Camdeboo Landscape with Nqweba Dam in the background / Image via Wikimedia Commons
Eastern Cape drought: DA calls on Ramaphosa to help farmers
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has also been called upon to give aid.
Camdeboo Landscape with Nqweba Dam in the background / Image via Wikimedia Commons
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has given a plea to President Cyril Ramaphosa on behalf of Eastern Cape (EC) farmers who are currently in the grip of drought.
According to a press release by the DA’s Retief Odendaal, farmers are currently suffering. Odendaal is the EC Shadow Member of the Executive Council (MEC) of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) and a Member of the EC Provincial Legislature (MPL).
DA’s written plea to the president about EC drought
The MEC claimed the provincial government had deserted the farmers in their time of need. The DA called on Ramaphosa to help save the local agricultural sector and rural economy.
On 1 October 2019, Odendaal directly wrote to the president with his plea. He revealed that he was worried that the drought escalate to a point where it was too late for both commercial and emerging farmers in the province.
Odendaal also wrote to EC premier
This wasn’t the first time that the MEC had reached out to others in power to seek assistance with the matter. In the week before, he wrote to EC’s Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
In the letter, the DA member asked Mabuyane to submit a plan that detailed the steps to be taken to declare the province a disaster area. Odendaal hoped this action would’ve been taken by 30 September 2019, but the premier never responded.
The MEC reached out to the premier because he felt the DRDAR wasn’t taking the impact of the “worst drought in a century” seriously. Organised farming sectors have also held several fruitless meetings with the department hoping to get the province declared a disaster area.
Odendaal explained:
“In order to take quick action, or action that is outside of the ordinary, or to apply for relief funding from national treasury, it is necessary to have a provincial state of disaster declared and maintained as long as necessary. This is a requirement of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.”
Retief Odendaal, DA’s EC MEC and MPL
DA: EC farming sector could collapse
He anticipated that the lack of drought assistance would end with the untimely collapse of the farming sector and rural economy. The DA member noted how the natural disaster had already affected farmers by increasing job losses.
The result of this is seen in rural towns where economies have started to feel the effects. The MEC noted how some emerging farmers were forced to sell most of their livestock in order to stay afloat.
Odendaal said:
“The DA implores President Ramaphosa to acknowledge the devastating effect of this inaction and to order Premier Mabuyane and his government to declare a disaster before it is too late for Eastern Cape agriculture and the rural economy.”
Retief Odendaal, DA’s EC MEC and MPL
