The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo calls on the ANC-led Provincial Government to stop delaying the declaration of a disaster following the black frost and veld fires that devastated large parts of the province in June and July this year, severely impacting the agricultural sector.
Without this urgent declaration and the release of emergency funding, many subsistence and small-scale farmers will struggle to survive until the next harvest and will lack the input resources needed to plant again.
The most vulnerable members of society suffer the greatest impact—whether it is small-scale farmers trying to sustain their livelihoods, or consumers facing higher food prices as a result.
It has now been five months since these disasters, the worst to hit Limpopo in 30 years, yet there has been little sign of progress.
The declaration of a disaster is critical to enable negotiations between commercial farmers and the banking sector and to unlock emergency government funding to assist small-scale and subsistence farmers.
The Democratic Alliance has repeatedly urged the ANC-led provincial government to act. However, a call for a debate on the matter in the Provincial Legislature was rejected outright by the ANC. Efforts to engage the MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development have also yielded no results.
Apart from our clarion call for the immediate resolution of the matters impacting on the delaying of the declaration of a State Of Disaster, we call upon the Cogstha Minister to appraise all stakeholders as to the extent of funding has been put aside for potential disasters in Limpopo in the Provincial Disaster fund for times of emergency and relief.
The Democratic Alliance believes in responsible and responsive governance and will continue to push for action to protect farmers and consumers alike.