How Gauteng subsistence farmers are paying for the SAA bailout

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has learnt that critical funding is being taken away from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in order to fund the bailout of SAA.

This information was revealed in a presentation from Parliament to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature on the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill.

The following conditional grants will be affected:

• Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme Grant
• Ilima/Letsema Project
• Land Care Programme Grant: Poverty Relief and Infrastructure Grant

According to the presentation, reductions amounting to R1.3 billion have been made in support of the R10.5 billion required for SAA in terms of the Business Rescue Plan. Reductions in provincial conditional grants are made proportionately across provinces.

The Land Care Programme Grant: Poverty Relief and Infrastructure Grant are intended for a favourable and supportive agricultural services environment for the farming community, in particular subsistence and smallholder farmers within strategically identified grain, livestock and horticulture production areas.

The Ilima/Letsema Project provides assistance to vulnerable South African communities to achieve an increase in agricultural production within strategically identified grain, livestock, horticulture and aquaculture production areas.

The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme Grant provides effective support services, and promotes and facilitates agriculture development by targeting beneficiaries of land reform, restitution and redistribution, and other black producers who have acquired land through private means and are engaged in value-adding enterprises domestically, or involved in export.

These programmes will have their funding cut by the following amounts:

• Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme Grant – a reduction of R911 000 from R82.6 million to R81.7 million for 2020/21;
• Ilima/Letsema Project Grant – a reduction of R306 000 from R25.7 million to R25.4 million for 2020/21;
• Land Care Programme Grant: Poverty Relief and Infrastructure Grant – a reduction of R57 000 from R4.8 million to R4.7 million for 2020/21;

It is worrying that subsistence farmers will now have to forego the opportunity to acquire piggery or poultry structures, plant crops and contributions to sustainable land care to the tune of nearly R1.4 million rand. This is a slap in the face of Gauteng farmers who are already struggling with climate change, food insecurity, crime and inequality.

These farmers will in all likelihood never be able to afford a plane ticket, yet they are helping to bail out SAA. It is clear that government is not thinking about how these bailouts will affect the lives of the poor and the vulnerable is South Africa- their lives are made a little harder so that the ANC can fund their vanity projects.

Farming contributes enormously to the GDP and there is a need to ensure that farmers are provided with the necessary funding they deserve. Choosing SAA over farming clearly means that the ANC government cares little about growing a sustainable economy.

I will be tabling further questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature to ascertain exactly how government will be helping farmers considering the reduced funding in conditional grants.

Thousands of residents concerned about rural safety in Gauteng

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has received over 11 500 signatures on its petition to stop the war on rural communities across the province.

See the petition here: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/ruralcommunities.

Since the start of the year, there have been hundreds of violent crimes in rural areas across the country.

These attacks are carefully planned and correlate with the belief that guns, vehicles and cash are obtainable within relative obscurity given the isolation of settlements in rural areas

The South African Police Service (SAPS) Rural Safety Strategy has been a dismal failure.

In addition, police stations in the most hard-hit rural areas are understaffed, under-resourced and unable to curb crime.

The DA is calling on the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) to introduce a transversal approach to rural safety that includes the department of agriculture, social development and community safety.

For example, GDARD must be able to fund innovation in new technology such as surveillance drones, ShotSpotter and geo-fencing and can expand their extension services to include an approach to safety and community collaboration.

Farming plays an important role in creating job opportunities, food security and contributes to the GDP.

Where we govern in the Western Cape, an inter-ministerial team has been established to address rural safety. The Western Cape government is also engaging with district municipalities regarding their safety plans with a view to funding projects that focus on innovation, partnerships and technology yet in Gauteng not much has been done in terms of rural safety.

I will continue to put pressure on the Premier to implement best practice and call on all concerned South Africans to sign the petition.

#StopTheWarOnOurFood: DA petitions the President to act on rural safety now!

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched an online petition calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to act on rural safety.

There has been an unprecedented number of attacks on people living on farms, rural areas and small holdings.

A total number of 184 farm attacks and 20 farm murders have occurred in the country since the start of the year.

Gauteng has recorded the highest number of attacks of 51 incidents.

The increased attacks on our farming communities is as a result of a lack of political leadership by SAPS.

Farming plays a major role in creating employment opportunities, food security and contribution to the GDP.

The government’s Rural Safety Strategy has been a dismal failure because police stations in the most hard-hit rural areas are understaffed and under-resourced. SAPS is increasingly unable to protect rural communities.

We urgently need the following interventions:

  • Rural Safety Units must be reintroduced and properly resourced;
  • Innovation in new technology such as surveillance drones, ShotSpotter and geofencing must be explored as a matter of urgency;
  • SAPS must keep accurate statistics so that the success or failure of interventions can be measured;
  • The Reservist Programme in farm areas must be properly implemented with a concerted effort to recruit and train farmers, farm workers and farm dwellers;

The DA-led Western Cape government is in a process of setting up an inter-ministerial rural safety committee to tackle issues of farm attacks and rural safety.  We believe that if the national government replicates what the DA Western Cape government is doing an immediate solution to curb these attacks can be found.

We call on all South Africans to help stop farm attacks by signing the below petition to be handed over to the President.

An attack on the farms is an attack on food security #StopTheWarOnOurFood.

Please follow this link to view and sign the petition:

https://petitions.da.org.za/p/ruralcommunities

Together farmers crack stock theft syndicate

Late on Friday afternoon, an organised group of farmers reported stock theft of over 30 head of cattle to the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) in Westonaria.

Farmers from the Westonaria and Merafong areas responded to the call and an immediate search was undertaken that included areas in Finetown and Lenasia.

The cattle were found at Lenasia Livestock, on the N12, ready to be slaughtered, from where they were recovered. Another makeshift kraal was also found, newly built for the purposes of stock theft.

Several farmers from the area donated funds towards a Rural Safety Fund to assist with logistical costs such as diesel and airtime.

A case was opened with the South African Police Service in Westonaria

Farmers have told the DA that it is becoming increasingly difficult to curb and prevent stock theft and that they will be using simple technology to assist with cases.

They are following up on every reported case, and will push to ensure a conviction.

The CPF group is appealing to the community in the West Rand to assist with information, funds and time to ensure a collaborative effort in clamping down on cattle theft.

The DA has long held that the absence of organised Rural Safety Units is exacerbating the problem of stock theft, creating a situation where farmers put themselves at risk to help one another.

I will, therefore, write to the Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lt General Deliwe de Lange, to encourage SAPS engagement with the CPF and the organised farming community with regards to surveillance technology.

With collective expertise, tracking of cattle theft syndicates can be expedited and perpetrators can be brought to justice.

The DA will be monitoring this case closely and pursue all avenues to encourage state, community and civil society to work together in preventing cattle theft in the province.

Merafong’s farmers face uncertain future

This drought, the worst in 104 years, is in fact the biggest game changer we will face this year, not only as a province, but as a nation.

Already 2.7 million people are food insecure. We will need to import far more than the estimated 3.8 million tons of maize.

Many farmers planted outside of their normal schedules and it is very hard to predict what their yields will be.

Buying fodder and drilling boreholes will not be enough. Our drought relief efforts needs to be augmented to include additional funding for operational loans to farmers, a wage subsidy for farm workers, feed packages so sustain livestock and education programmes on conservation agriculture.

The DA will demand that the drought be declared a national disaster so that we can unlock the resources of the national departments, the defence force and the national disaster management centre.

In last year’s State Of the Province Address, the West Rand featured strongly as a development corridor. There were plans for the region to become an agricultural hub.

And yet, The Gauteng Provincial Government, in association with Department of Mineral Resources will soon be considering an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for Sibanye Gold to build another mega-tailings facility smack in the middle of some of the best agricultural land in Gauteng.

There are some 1.3 billion tonnes of surface tailings, mine dumps, sitting around the West Rand. Inside these tailings are hundreds of millions of pounds of uranium and gold.

The mining house will be asking permission to mine those dumps, retreat them, and move them to another, new site.

It’s going to cost Gauteng 1500ha of prime agriculture land just on the actual site of the mega dump. This translates into 8250 tonnes of maize, every season.

The mine themselves acknowledge that there is also an environmental risk –  Dust particles on windy days can be found up to 3000m in the air affecting and contaminating large areas of the West rand and the Vaal Triangle. The surrounding farms and the communities of Fochville, Greenspark and Kokosi will bear the brunt of the pollution.

If there is any breach of the 50km pipeline or any fault in construction or operation the effects will be seeping into the groundwater.

The mines already have a very poor track record when it comes to respecting our environment.

In my reply to the SOPA, I made it clear that MEC Maile has two choices to make:

If he makes the right choice, the western and southern corridors of Gauteng can become sustainable and vibrant agricultural regions.

After all, in 10-12 years according to Sibanye the gold will be gone. Agriculture will be the only sector that the West Rand will have to offer the economy of Gauteng.

If he makes the right choice, the mines can extract the minerals from the tailings without dumping their waste to become someone else’s problem and compromising agricultural production.

If he makes the wrong choice, without considering the alternatives available, the Westrand will continue in its downward trajectory.

Similarly, voters can exercise their choices in the local government elections this year and, building up to the Provincial Election of 2019. Its time to vote for clean and responsible government that put the economic prosperity and health of the people above the politics of Greed.

Media enquiries:

Ina Cilliers MPL

DA Gauteng Constituency Head – Merafong City Local Municipality
060 556 4344

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