Mr. Louis Meintjes, president of TAU SA, accused President. Jacob Zuma and his government of not having the political will to take care of the farming community’s safety.
Mr. Meintjes also accused President. Zuma of betraying the farming community, a strategically important component by not ensuring stability, and his failure to tackle the very important community safety, as providers of food on everyone’s table.
In the first 14 days of the second month of the year, 11 people have been murdered on farms. It’s almost a murder a day.
TAU said that the government has a constitutional obligation to the safety of its citizens and cannot escape from the responsibility. This includes the agricultural community, said Meintjes.
In addition, the country’s economy is edging closer junk status. “The government must create a climate to boost the confidence of the private sector. The Zuma government fails miserably in doing so, just as with its obligation to keep the community safe,’ said. Meintjes.
The security environment in South Africa is unacceptable and fundamentally corrupted by the ANC government whose only policy is the continuation of the “struggle”, translating into a practice of the survival and enrichment of government officials and their cronies, instead of governing the country for the benefit of all. The example that the government sets and allow others to make, is indeed an encouragement for anyone just to take what they want, where they want, even if it is a person’s life. Farmers today are largely left to provide for their own safety, while politicians go out of their way to ensure sufficient safety mechanisms for themselves, even to deploy the SANDF for their cause.
Mr. Meintjes clearly challenged President Zuma to take a stand on the unacceptable levels of farm murders and also spelled out that the government’s immediate course of action must be to stop the infringement of the right of life of farmers.
Meanwhile, the agricultural community has no alternative but to mobilize itself to fight terrorism committed against them.
“Our farmers will not be carried out of their farms in green bags while the criminals are within days granted bail and parade around as heroes of their communities. The farmers’ emotions are running high, and many feel as though they have nothing to lose and are therefore prepared to go to extremes to at least save their lives and those of their relatives and to defend everything they have with what they have at their disposal,” said Mr. Meintjes. “ Only the government is to blame for the explosive situation.”
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
South Africa Today – South Africa News
