...farmers angry at government
MBABANE - Some Lundzi farmers are furious about the theft of their livestock.
They said they had lost so much cattle but government had done nothing to man the porous borders.
They argued that they had tried several times to cross to the South African side to search for their livestock, once they discovered that it had been stolen. They said upon arrival in those South African farms they failed to find their livestock.
At times, they said, the cattle were found already rebranded.
immediate
They also revealed that thieves were now also stealing livestock from as far as Nhlangano and rustled it out of the country via Lundzi.They said their livestock was found in place like Lothair, Mayflower and Badplass, Msoze Mndzebele, one of the farmers, said the main issue they faced was that anytime they reported the matter to those in authority, no immediate action was taken. He said as a result, conflict had emanated within the area, since the residents had been accusing each other of theft.
He said government must fully intervene on the matter Gweje Dlamini a former members of the Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF)said he lost 17 of his livestock last year, but had not found them. He said after they had conducted their own investigation, two responsible for the cattle rustling were taken to the police but later released without any charges. He wanted government to take stern action against the cattle ruslting.
Pension
“I used my pension to buy the livestock they stole.I have discovered that 12 of my livestock were being reared in one of the farms in South Africa. Where is the Ambassador of Eswatini to South Africa and why is he or she not doing something regarding the issue at hand?” asked Dlamini. He stated that a farmer in Matseni lost 30 of his livestock while another at Bhekizwe lost 18. He said the issue was getting worse since it was taking place at Zondwako. He mentioned that the onus was on law enforcers to ensure that something was done.Sithembiso Mbuyisa said they lost track of the stock theft cases in court.When the Times of Eswatini visited Lundzi it was discovered that the barrier lines separating SA and Eswatini were down.
poles
The Times only saw poles signifying that the border fence used to exist, while rusty old wire lied idle on the ground which showed that the fence had long been severed.
Border guards of the UEDF were also not found within the area that was visited. Surprisingly, one of the residents alerted this reporter that he was threading on SA.
Looking at the situation, it seemed easy to drive livestock to South Africa or smuggle goods into the country without paying customs duties. The area without the borderline was so wide.