Quit the ’melodrama’, Joburg, says Gordhan
THE Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has stepped into provide grazing for small-scale subsistence cattle farmers on communal land in droughtstricken rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Communal farmers, whose cattle often form the mainstay of their wealth, are widely seen as the most vulnerable in the current drought.
Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti said 62 000ha in four communal areas in the province had been set aside to support communal farmers. Details of the 200 000ha to be set aside for communal farmers in North West will be announced soon, Nkwinti promised. He said the communal farmers were unwilling to move their cattle to these new grazing areas, but asked them to co-operate.
Provincial agriculture departments have provided R36-million to subsistence farmers, while the Department of Agriculture has provided them with R226-million in water and livestock feed.
Negotiations have also started with the Industrial Development Corporation and the Land Bank to provide guarantees and soft loans to commercial farmers.
The ministerial drought task team, led by Co-operative Governance Minister Pravin Gordhan, has called on South Africans to save water.
But Gordhan warned Joburgers against “melodrama” over water shortages, saying less than 1% of households had been without water at any one time during the current heatwave.
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane confirmed that the provincial governments of Limpopo, the Free State, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and North West have applied to have part of their provinces declared drought disaster areas.
The minister hoped the country would have enough white maize to see South Africans through to the next harvest cycle, but yellow maize was running low.
Maize production has declined by 31% over the past two years.
Gordhan admitted that many municipalities did not do the necessary maintenance on water infrastructure, and said part of the municipal infrastructure grant might be earmarked for maintenance of bulk infrastructure.