Picture: Tracey Adams/African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - The Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) says it will do everything it can to support families on their farms who are in distress, have to flee or are in danger of sustaining damages as a result of protests and looting.
Farmers have also been encouraged to remain in constant contact with each other and their organised agricultural structures, report incidents and keep their farms, families and workers safe.
The organisation’s chairperson Theo de Jager said although farmers welcome the deployment of the SANDF, 2 500 soldiers are not nearly enough.
”The public destruction of buildings, vehicles and shops is nothing but an extension of the mentality of looting that the ANC has been entertaining and even encouraging for far too long. The looting of the state and South Africa’s assets has been going on since long before the current riotous demands to free (former president Jacob) Zuma.
“The deep-rooted greed, nepotism and fraud within the ANC were exposed before the Zondo Commission. The ANC repeatedly gave its unanimous support in Parliament to Zuma long even after the extent of looting had become public knowledge.”
De Jager said at the core of the collapse of law and order in KZN and Gauteng lies the ANC’s policy of cadre deployment.
“Unless strong enough leadership emerges to solve the current crisis, farmers of all sizes, races and cultural groups in South Africa will remain vulnerable and dependent on themselves and each other to protect their farms and families against criminal attacks.”
AGRI SA executive director Christo van der Rheede on Tuesday warned that the looting of shops, stoning of cars, blocking of roads, burning of trucks and crops as well as theft of livestock were posing a serious threat to food security in the country.
tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za
Political Bureau