Delay in receiving fishing permit
EARLY this year Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana awarded a 13-ton abalone [permit] to the Eastern Cape Divers and Fishers Forum.
We were all excited by the contribution from the government side to give the poor a chance to work for themselves.
We submitted all the required information to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to meet the requirements set by the department.
When we interacted with the minister, asking him when we were going to get our permit, his reply was that it was up to the directorate to deal with the administrative aspect of it. We waited and waited, nothing came forth. When we contacted the directorate we were told that we were having internal fights and we should put our house in order first.
We have done that with comrade Beza Ntshona, from the ANC, acting as a mediator and we submitted a report to the department that said we had made a truce. Ntshona submitted his input to the department as well.
After these efforts nothing is happening and we are beginning to think it was a political stunt.
Now the members of the forum and those supposed to be beneficiaries of this project are losing hope and their patience with the ruling party. Now I don’t want us to find ourselves in the situation that happened in the Western Cape because if you are playing with e people’s minds and emotions, you are really playing with fire.
I appeal to Zokwana once again to fulfil his promise to make the poor people of the Nelson Mandela Metro very happy because we are approaching the festive season.
If you feed your own people very well, you will have peace and prosperity in your country.
Mzwandile aka Pepe Nkomombini, ECDFF committee member