Department's unqualified officials threaten agriculture and land reform
4 November 2022
It comes as no surprise that the department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is burdened with one of the highest numbers of unqualified senior officials, as revealed in a parliamentary question posed by the DA earlier this year.
The high number of unqualified personnel is mirrored by the number of challenges that the department faces.
We have witnessed the dismal failure of managing Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiatives (PESI) vouchers, several outbreaks of foot and mouth disease in six out of the nine provinces, poor management of overall bio security in the country, lack of animal vaccines, the Department's continuous decline in meeting their targets and dismal failures of land reform that has led to many land invasion across the country.
While Minister Thoko Didiza is crisscrossing the country making empty promises to farmers, launching programmes year after year with poor results on the ground, the severe lack of competence in this department contributes to poor implementation of corrective measures on the ground.