Note to editors: Please find attached English and Sesotho soundbites by Cllr Hismajesty Maqhubu.
Game farming has proven to be a profitable business in the Tokologo municipal area with a lot of flourishing privately-owned businesses. Yet, the municipality has failed to generate income or profit from its two game farms in Boshof and Hertzogville, which have been run by the Local Economic Development (LED) office without a manager for over 5 years.
Given that the primary economic activities in Tokologo Local Municipality are restricted to agriculture such as livestock farming, game farming, and crop farming, more should be done to generate income.
The municipality’s management has failed to provide an asset register of the two farms with no audit of the biological assets in these farms for over 5 years. Resulting in potential income being lost by the cash-strapped municipality due to management incompetence as a result of the ANC cadre deployment policy.
Some of the activities that can generate income directly from the game-farming operations for the municipality include the sale of live games, income from the slaughter, and the sale of game meat, carcasses, and skins. Another one could be fees received from hunters for permission to hunt the game and income that could be derived from supplying guides and trackers used in a hunting expedition. The Boshof Game Farm is supported by 10 chalets from which the municipality can derive income for accommodation and catering as well as admission charges payable by persons spending holidays on the farm.
All the above can only be achieved with qualified personnel who have the necessary skills and qualifications. Game farming generates new values and opportunities that could allow the municipality to generate more income. The DA believes that a ‘strategy for a new way of farming’ that may indeed generate new opportunities through the creation of new forms of value-adding is possible if the municipality can get a private partner who will run these farms for profit and ensure safety and accountability of the biological assets in these facilities.
We are concerned about many unconfirmed reports that we have been getting from concerned members of the community about hunters who have been seen at the Boshof farm for two consecutive years during the hunting season. We submitted questions to the acting Municipal Manager and the Mayor to this effect and we expect to receive these in our eminent council meeting.