While budget vote debates are supposed to focus on the policy and budgets of provincial departments, many budget speeches by ANC members in the Mpumalanga Legislature focused on the alleged “racist, brutal and barbaric” murder of farm workers on the farm Pampoenkraal near Piet Retief.
During the budget vote debate for the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, the ANC kept harping on about the Pampoenkraal incident even though the matter is still under investigation and there has been no ruling or conviction by the court.
The FF Plus strongly condemns this.
The ANC is abusing this platform, which is supposed to facilitate discussions around departmental budgets, to incite racial tension in the Legislature as well as the rest of the province.
The ANC is also using the Pampoenkraal incident, which is still shrouded in much uncertainty, to demonise the farming community in Mpumalanga.
It is unacceptable seeing as the same generalisation could be applied to every case where a white farmer is murdered and that would be a recipe for disaster.
The FF Plus has called on the Speaker of the provincial Legislature, Ms Makhosazane Masilela, to restrain the ANC members from making any unfounded claims as it could have far-reaching consequences for farmers and other minority groups in Mpumalanga.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Werner Weber on FF Plus
Read: Farmers in jail: IRR CEO expresses concerns around Piet Retief killings
Read: Piet Retief: Police lied from start to finish, painted false narrative, wrongfully accuse farmers
Read: 4 Farmers arrested for murder: Police must play open cards about Piet Retief incident
