New levy for Namibian veterinary cordon fence

The recent inspection by the Namibia Livestock Producers Organisation (LPO) and the Meat Board of Namibia of a section of that country’s Veterinary Cordon Fence (VCF), east of the Bravo gate and directly north of Tsumeb, revealed the poor state of the VCF in the area and the urgent need for the maintenance thereof. This was according to Thinus Pretorius, LPO chairperson.

The VCF separates the veterinary buffer and veterinary surveillance zones in Namibia. It starts at Palgrave Point on the west coast of that country, running in a more-or-less easterly direction to a point on the common border between Namibia and Botswana at 20° latitude. Movement of game and animals between the two zones was strictly controlled to prevent the spread of animal diseases such as corridor and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Pretorius told Farmer’s Weekly that damage caused to the VCF by elephants was a serious issue along the 480km stretch of the fence from the Bravo gate towards the Botswana border. This included the Veldduin and Nurugas areas. The current fence was erected in 1962, and maintenance was urgently needed. The area is sparsely populated and remote, and the elephants come and go as they please.

“The parts of the fence destroyed by the elephants makes it possible for buffaloes as carriers of FMD to move towards the disease-free zone and come into contact with cattle. This poses a threat of epic proportions to the Namibian red meat industry, both internationally and locally,” Pretorius said.

The LPO was, in principle, in favour of a statutory levy of 2,3% on every livestock transaction that was concluded in that country to fund the upkeep of the fence. The levy was payable to the Meat Board, and would be specifically ring-fenced for the VCF.

According to the levy proposal, 50% of the levy would be payable by the seller and the other 50% by role players in the value chain, such as auctioneers and abattoirs. The LPO leadership was, at the time of going to print, consulting with its members at grassroots level about the levy and the effect it would have on them.

According to Pretorius, the Namibian government simply did not have the money to attend to the maintenance of fence. “That is why the private sector, including organised agriculture, is left with very little choice other than to get involved,” he said.

‘THE NAMIBIAN GOVERNMENT CANNOT AFFORD TO MAINTAIN THE FENCE, SO THE PRIVATE SECTOR MUST STEP IN’