Latest news with #LandReformandRuralDevelopment
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Bold and decisive steps must be taken to reverse the legacy of the Native Land Act of 1913
Land reform successes have produced jobs and generated income, but more needs to be done. Image: AFP Bold and decisive steps must be taken to reverse the legacy of the Native Land Act of 1913, says Mzwanele Nyhontso, the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development. He said the Native Land Act of 1913 which became law in South Africa on June 19, (Act No. 27 of 1913), left an indelible mark on the history of South Africa. 'This legislation had a profound and devastating impact on the lives of black people. It was a calculated, cruel instrument and strategy of mass dispossession, that successfully entrenched racial segregation and economic inequality,' Nyhontso said. Land dispossession The Native Land Act, restricted black South Africans to only 7% of the land, forcing them into so called 'native reserves' while reserving the rest of land for white minority ownership. The minister added that through the prohibition of black South Africans from owning land outside the designated so called native reserves, the act stripped millions of their ability to sustain themselves, their families and communities through farming which was the main economic activity. 'The immediate aftermath of the passing of the Native Land Act was the violent and merciless eviction of people from their land, their cattle and crops were confiscated and their homes were destroyed. Up until that point in history, the African had led a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. Black people were stripped of their dignity, effectively forcing them into exploitative farm labour contracts. The act laid the foundation for the migrant system that provided a constant supply of cheap labour for the mines and industries,' the minister added. Undoing the damage The Department said it is committed to reversing this legacy, by ensuring appropriate legislation, policies and programmes are implemented. It added it will intensify its efforts to restore land rights to the historically dispossessed and the equitable redistribution of land. In South Africa, where youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, reaching over 45% of people between the ages of 15 and 34 years, the land reform programme is quietly emerging as a source of employment opportunities and playing an important role in economic development, says the Vumelana Advisory Fund. The organisation said the story of land reform is taking a turn, with some pockets of successes unfolding where young people are leveraging restituted land as a strategy for employment creation and economic transformation. Success stories Peter Setou, Chief Executive of Vumelana said: 'Over time, we've seen the CPP model consistently deliver tangible results and meaningful impact for beneficiaries of the land reform programme. These pockets of success highlight the model's potential. The challenge now is to scale these successes to unlock similar outcomes with other beneficiaries of the land reform programme across the country.' Since its inception, Vumelana said it has supported 26 land reform projects leveraging its transaction advisory support programme and capacity building and institutional support programme. The programme provides the beneficiary communities with access to required resources while negating the need to give up ownership of the land or wait for government grants. The transaction advisory support programme facilitates commercially viable, mutually beneficial partnerships between land reform beneficiary communities and private investors that create jobs, generate income and transfer skills. These successful land reform programmes such as the 151 hectare Moletele-Matuma farm in Limpopo, the Barokologadi-ERP Melorane Game Reserve partnership in North West and the Mkambati Nature Reserve Tourism partnership were said to be examples of success stories resulting from their interventions, where they have collectively managed to create over 2,500 jobs that benefitted over 16,000 households, mobilised over R1 billion in investments and developed approximately 76,000 hectares of land.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Soaring meat prices, rugby enthusiasts might just have to opt for a cheaper alternative
Soaring meat prices, rugby enthusiasts might just have to opt for a cheaper alternative Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) remains a significant challenge to South Africa's livestock industry, with recent outbreaks causing disruptions to trade and production. The highly contagious viral disease affects cattle, swine, sheep, and other cloven-hoofed animals, leading to severe economic consequences. You now have to brace yourself for higher meat prices and tighten the belt when it comes to a braai. 'The demand for beef is at an all-time high, but the supply challenges are immense. Prices have skyrocketed, and we still need to pay our employees. Consumers are buying less because of the cost, yet we have to raise prices to cover rent and wages. This situation has had a major impact on the local meat business,' said Rocky Moolman, manager at Meat & Fish. 'The rising cost of meat is impacting everyone, from suppliers to consumers. Foot-and-mouth disease has created serious challenges, and prices continue to soar,' said Charles Kruger, manager at Meat World. An Aphthovirus causes FMD and spreads rapidly through direct contact with infected animals, contaminated feed, and airborne transmission. Infected cattle develop painful blisters on their mouths and hooves, making it difficult for them to eat or move. While the disease is rarely fatal, it significantly weakens livestock, reducing productivity and market value. Outbreaks of this disease can lead to quarantine measures, restricting the movement of livestock and disrupting breeding cycles. FMD – know the facts: Is it dangerous for human consumption? No, meat and dairy products from infected livestock are considered safe to eat, as the virus does not affect humans. Are the animals vaccinated against FMD? In South Africa, animals that have been vaccinated against foot-and-mouth disease face strict movement and trade restrictions. According to recent reports, vaccinated animals are often marked with an F-brand on their necks, indicating they have received the vaccine. Does the vaccination prevent it from coming back? The FMD vaccine does not eliminate the virus completely, but it reduces transmission. How does FMD impact meat and dairy production? The impact on meat production: Farmers lose money when they are unable to sell or transport cattle due to restrictions on livestock transportation. International markets impose export restrictions, which lowers demand for beef from South Africa. Costs are raised by feedlot disruptions because livestock must be held longer before being killed. The impact on dairy production: As sick cows experience blistering and eating difficulties, milk production decreases. Up to 80% of dairy cows with severe mastitis see a decrease in milk quality. Source: Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. Breaking news at your fingertips … Follow WITBANK NEWS on our website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or TikTok Chat to us: info@ At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Daily Maverick
08-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Explainer: South Africa's chicken vaccine play may already be too late
South Africa is finally vaccinating its chickens, but unfortunately, it won't protect against the virus that's already shredded the industry. Here's the kicker in the Department of Agriculture's long-delayed greenlighting of mass poultry vaccination: Biosecurity Council proactivity will lead to the roll-out of H5 vaccines that can't protect against the H7N6 strain, the viral villain of the avian flu outbreak of 2023, the country's worst yet. A vaccine for the H7 mutation? Still 'in the registration process,' says the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. Meanwhile, the virus most responsible for wiping out nearly 10 million birds in 2023 is still loitering in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng, like a bad flu that just won't go away. Graphic by Yeshiel Panchia Don't panic, but it's endemic now, circulating in wild birds and on edge-of-recovery farms. And there's no shield against it, not even a metaphorical one. Wait, what is 'biosecurity'? John Steenhuisen has not explained that no farm has yet met the biosecurity protocols required to vaccinate against any strain, according to the South African Poultry Association (Sapa). 'Onerous' and 'prohibitively expensive' are the words the association is using. But this chicken-and-egg situation isn't new. It's the latest act in a decade-long outbreak drama that has seen small farmers bankrupted, prices skyrocket and government agencies perpetually one step behind. Nowhere is the policy and practicality mismatch clearer than in the agriculture department's long-standing 'nil compensation' policy. Graphic by Yeshiel Panchia Chicken and the egg The logic behind the concept introduced in 1984 was sound. In cases where animals are infected with a highly contagious disease, the government mandates their destruction to prevent further outbreaks. The argument for nil compensation is that infected animals have no market value and cannot be sold, making compensation unnecessary. However, the government must balance the interests of farmers with public funds. Paying compensation for infected animals could create financial strain, especially in large-scale outbreaks – especially when financial sanctions were hurting the economy (in 1984). To be fair, the 1986 amendment of the Animal Diseases Act provided for the possibility of compensation. So the move towards a 'nil compensation' policy for avian flu appears to be significantly influenced by the 2009 amendment to Regulation 30, which granted the director discretionary power over compensation amounts and the subsequent interpretation that diseased birds hold no value. A blunt instrument But this approach, cemented after the 2017 outbreak, has arguably done more harm than good. With no safety net, farmers have every reason not to report infections. The results? Delayed containment. Unregulated culls. And, in some cases, infected birds sold into the informal market. That incentive structure came under legal fire last year when a George-based farmer took the state to court over a R32-million loss from 387,000 culled chickens and 5.39 million eggs destroyed in a 2021 outbreak. In a Western Cape Division of the High Court ruling, the judge ordered the agriculture department to reconsider the claim, using the value of the birds in a healthy state as the basis. If enforced, it could open the door to billions in retroactive claims. But enforcement is the key word. As of mid-2025, there's still no confirmation that the agriculture department has changed its stance – or that it will. The future is viral Steenhuisen's department wants vaccination to be the foundation of a future-proof poultry sector. Which is fair, but vaccines alone won't cut it, especially when half the threat is unaccounted for. This is a virus that doesn't just travel across provinces. It migrates with birds, adapts, mutates and ignores borders. And the state's current selective vaccination, compensation and regulation playbook won't fix that. The new Biosecurity Council could help coordinate a smarter response. There's cautious optimism that weekly negotiations between Sapa and the agriculture department might produce more realistic vaccination protocols. The industry is pushing hard for a tiered, affordable system that doesn't just favour industrial-scale producers. But unless H7 vaccines become available soon, and unless the state offers fair compensation and support for biosecurity upgrades, we're looking at a future where avian flu is endemic and chicken is a luxury item. DM
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Urgent call to reopen poultry imports amid supply crisis
The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) has urged the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to immediately resume poultry imports from countries that have declared themselves free of Avian Influenza, in line with World Organisation for Animal Health guidelines. The Association of Meat Importers and Exporters (AMIE) has urged the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to immediately resume poultry imports from countries that have declared themselves free of Avian Influenza, in line with World Organisation for Animal Health guidelines. These countries include France (February 4, 2025), Sweden (March 31, 2025), and both Denmark and Belgium (May 23, 2025). The last recorded imports from Denmark were in 2020, when South Africa imported an average of 1 384 metric tons of poultry products per month, including both poultry cuts and mechanically deboned meat (MDM). AMIE on Wednesday also welcomed the Department of Agriculture's commitment to make a determination on a partial lifting of the Brazilian import suspension by the end of this week. This would be based on the fact that the Avian Flu outbreak is contained to the Rio Grande do Sol province in Brazil. Brazilian imports are currently halted due to the Avian Influenza outbreak in Rio Grande do Sol, which produces between 10% to 15% of all poultry in that country. Since local producers are unable to meet total demand, particularly for poultry offal and MDM, which South Africa does not produce at scale, it is critical to diversify supply sources to ensure continued affordability, availability, and market stability, it said. Imameleng Mothebe, the CEO of AMIE, said: 'Opening access to each additional AI-free market will help alleviate some of the current poultry supply gap and reduce the growing economic and food security risks created by the current overall suspension of imports from Brazil. Even with a partial lifting of the suspension of imports from Brazil, there will still be a shortfall that will need to be filled in order to maintain consumption demand in our country. Opening additional markets not only fills this gap, but also future proofs South Africa against AI-related supply shortages.' South African Meat Processors Association urged the government to implement zoning (regionalisation) with all haste. "One of our members, Sky Country Meats, has already been forced to lay off almost 100 employees, with more retrenchments to follow next week if imports of MDM are not restored as a matter of absolute urgency," it said.
The Citizen
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘I want to be with the people': Limpopo mayor resigns
Many in the ANC suspected that Mangena might have felt frustrated by ANC politics of slates Former Greater Tzaneen local municipality mayor Maripe Mangena has resigned. Mangena, who was a PR councillor representing the municipality at the Mopani district municipality in Limpopo, tendered his resignation this week. The resignation letter was noted by the ANC-led council during a council sitting at the municipal chamber on Thursday. His resignation comes after the current Mopani district municipality mayor, Pule Shayi, snubbed him during his appointment of councillors three and a half years ago. Shayi won the Norman Mashabane ANC regional elective conference a fortnight ago. Mangena did not endorse Shayi at the conference. He instead supported another slate, which was opposed to Shayi's candidature for a third term. Tension Many in the ANC suspected that Mangena might have felt frustrated by ANC politics of slates, which he was allegedly opposed to. 'We are not all President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa forgave former Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha for betraying him at the 55th ANC national elective conference on 19 December 2022. 'When many called for Mathabatha's axing, the president did not act. Instead, he continued to give him [Mathabatha] a second chance to finish his term. 'Matamela [Cyril] went on to appoint Mathabatha as Deputy Minister for Land Reform and Rural Development under his Cabinet in 2024. It must be a lesson to every politician in South Africa that no leader wants to hunt with another man's dogs. 'For sure, Mangena felt he could not continue working with a man he differed with politically for the next three years. The same goes for Shayi, he may not have been comfortable working with a man who continued showing him the middle finger,' said a municipal employee at the Mopani district municipality, who asked to speak on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak with the media on the matter. Shayi was not available for comment as he was allegedly in a meeting. ALSO READ: Third Term' slate shines at Limpopo ANC elective conference 'I want to be with the people' While Mangena told The Citizen that his resignation had not yet been processed, municipal spokesperson Neville Ndlala said the resignation was noted and accepted by council on Thursday. ANC regional spokesperson Peter Ngobeni, quoted Mangena as saying: 'I want to be with the people in their daily struggles and to freely be part of their efforts for the improvement of their lives' NOW READ: Mopani water crisis sparks control call from Tzaneen mayor
