Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Roy Jankielsohn MPL and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL
The DA has written to the Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance requesting that, as the political head of the responsible department, he declare a provincial disaster to ensure greater coordination between provincial government departments, the allocation of necessary resources, and the enforcement of critical control measures.
This follows correspondence to municipalities, which underscores the seriousness of the situation and the need for immediate and decisive intervention.
The DA welcomes the request for a meeting from the Free State MEC for Cooperative Governance, Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, Mr Teboho Mokoena, to municipalities and the MEC for Agriculture, Ms Elzabe Rockman, to discuss the spread of foot and mouth disease in the province. However, engagement alone will not be sufficient without urgent, enforceable action on the ground.
We welcome the fact that the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, is moving to get FMD declared a national disaster. However, municipalities in the Free State have a responsibility to draft and implement by-laws regarding the movement of livestock within their areas of jurisdiction.
Municipalities should already have collected information about livestock and owners operating on commonages and other municipal property. In most towns across the Free State, commonage cattle roam freely alongside roads, posing a huge threat to the spread of foot-and-mouth disease. In some places, even municipal reserves have cattle on them with a similar lack of controls. The danger not only lies in physical contact between cattle, but also in the manure that follows their movement. Many commonage cattle are herded into enclosures in the evenings, which places a further risk on the spread and control of the disease.
Cattle are also sold and illegally moved without the necessary permits, while law enforcement remains inadequate. There is also a hesitation to report the disease due to fear of quarantine, allowing infections to spread undetected.
Since it is a state-controlled disease, it remains the responsibility of the state to vaccinate cattle, control movement and distribute information to all livestock owners.
As the third sphere of government, Free State municipalities have as much responsibility as provincial and national departments regarding the reporting and control of the spread of this disease.
Foot-and-mouth disease requires proactive leadership, coordinated enforcement, and clear accountability. Delayed or reactive responses will only deepen the crisis and place the Free State’s agricultural economy, food security, and rural livelihoods at further risk.
The DA will continue to play an active oversight role to ensure that all spheres of government fulfil their responsibilities in containing foot-and-mouth disease. We will not allow administrative hesitation, poor coordination or weak enforcement to place farmers, rural communities and the provincial economy at risk. Where government fails to act decisively, the DA will continue to lead, escalate and demand accountability in the public interest.