King Zwelithini calls for rapid response to irrigation

KING Goodwill Zwelithini has highlighted the plight of subsistence farmers in rural communities.

He said if water provision was fast-tracked by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, it would improve the work of farmers who often experience poor harvests because of inadequate water resources.

King Zwelithini officially met with KZN MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Bongiwe SitholeMoloi, at Linduzulu Royal Palace in Nongoma, where the MEC outlined the objectives of the budget that was tabled in the KZN Legislature in July.

He urged the MEC to assist communities with irrigation services, especially those that rely on farming for survival and have been hard-hit by the recent drought.

“This should be done by scooping dams and drilling boreholes, among other things, to preserve and provide clean water for livestock and crop irrigation,” he said.

In order to address this and other challenges, the MEC outlined departmental programmes that were aimed at eradicating water shortages for agricultural purposes.

“To ensure sustainable rural development, the Rural Socio-Economic Strategy will be developed in the current financial year through a consultative approach with stakeholders, strategic partners, relevant departments, district and local municipalities,” Sithole-Moloi said.

She said this strategy would ensure co-ordination, integration and implementation of all programmes within the national, provincial and local sphere that would embrace a strong and economically viable rural economy.

This process will outline the department’s vision of advancing comprehensive rural development in KZN that was centred on viable livelihoods and expanding economic opportunities for rural citizens for sustained development.

However, Sithole-Moloi said that there were already irrigation schemes that had been finalised in Hlathikhulu, Tugela, Indumo and Insuze.

This year’s total departmental budget tabled by the MEC amounts to R2.4 billion.