The Democratic Alliance (DA) will table a formal motion in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature calling for urgent oversight intervention by the MEC for Agriculture, Nakedi Sibanda-Kekana, and the MEC for Cooperative Governance, Basikopo Makamu, regarding the Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality’s continued failure to enforce the Limpopo Pound Act.
Through the motion, the DA will call for immediate provincial oversight into the municipality’s non-compliance, a detailed report on livestock control measures implemented during the Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) disaster in the Greater Tzaneen area, and accountability from both provincial departments for the evident oversight failure.
The MECs for Agriculture and Cooperative Governance must account to the people of Limpopo for the consequences of this continued non-compliance.
The provision and operation of an animal pound is a constitutional municipal function, not a discretionary service. Yet since November 2025, the DA has raised serious concerns about the municipality’s failure to impound free-roaming cattle, in direct contravention of its own by-laws and the Limpopo Pound Act.
Formal questions submitted by DA Councillor Chrisma Bredenkamp to the Municipal Manager, Donald Mhangwana in November 2025 remain unanswered and have still not been tabled before Council by the Speaker, Mrs Sanie Tiba.
This ongoing failure is particularly reckless in the context of the national FMD disaster classification initiated by the DA Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, which requires strict livestock movement control to protect the national (and Limpopo’s) herd, farmers, and the agricultural economy.
Allowing cattle to roam freely during a biosecurity crisis undermines disease containment, endangers motorists and residents, and reflects a clear breakdown in municipal law enforcement.
The Limpopo Pound Act and municipal by-laws impose a clear statutory duty to establish and operate pounds and impound unlawfully roaming livestock. The persistent failure to fulfil this obligation raises serious concerns about maladministration and dereliction of statutory responsibilities.
Ignoring the Pound Act during an FMD disaster is not incompetence, it is a dangerous governance failure, and the DA will hold those responsible accountable.
The situation in Tzaneen is unacceptable, and the DA will continue to use every available oversight mechanism to ensure accountability and lawful governance.