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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is reiterating our plea to the Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, to declare a provincial disaster in respect of the destructive locust plagues that continue to destroy veld and farmland in the Northern Cape.

Engagements with agricultural stakeholders during the National Council of Province’s (NCOP) visit to the Northern Cape last week highlighted the plight of farmers who, despite being physically and financially worn out from the prolonged drought, must still battle the locusts.

Payment delays for the locust officers and their teams, that in certain circumstances have had to be carried by the farmers, as well as the supply of low quality Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the unavailability of poison, continues to be a major stumbling block in combatting the locusts, as is the illogical cap on payment for spraying of no more than 150 km land per day. This is despite these issues previously being raised by the DA on numerous platforms. This includes letters to the MEC and the Minister of Agriculture by the Party’s provincial and national spokespeople of agriculture, and even a direct submission to the Premier made by provincial leader, Harold McGluwa, during the State of the Province debate.

According to Mr Willem Symington of Agri NK, who addressed the NCOP, the risk of not prioritising the locust plague immediately could be severe, causing the locust plagues, which can travel up to 100 km per day when locust wings are fully developed, to spill over into other provinces, completely obliterating certain crops, such as citrus.

Surely this is a preventable disaster and must be treated as such.

The DA’s direct request to the Premier during the NCOP week was not opposed by the rest of the NCOP, yet a week later, there has been no mention of the locusts by the Premier, who doesn’t seem to be taking our call seriously. In much the same way, my motion to declare the locusts a disaster during an NCOP sitting three weeks ago, was also not taken seriously by the ANC.

The DA will continue to push for locust combatting actions to be prioritised, for the cap on spraying of only 150 km per day to be increased, for an agreement to procure poison from neighbouring Namibia to be sped up, and most importantly for the ongoing presence of these winged pests to be declared a disaster, to ensure that the fight against this plague is backed up with required funding.

Issued by DA Member of the NCOP, Willie Aucump, MP