22 February 2007
"This question has been answered before but I insist that I want to answer
it again for the last time."
This was the response by KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Premier Sibusiso Ndebele today
to a parliamentary question that was asked for the second time in the
KwaZulu-Natal Legislature on whether he has any government Nguni cattle in his
possession.
Ndebele responded that he does not have any government Nguni cattle in his
possession and read out a list of beneficiaries of the KZN Department of
Agriculture's Nguni Cattle programme which included politicians and
Amakhosi.
Ndebele went on to say that when the new democratic government took over in
1994 there were only about 350 Nguni cattle that could be located in the
province out of a total of more than 4 000. "The rest of the cattle just went
missing on government farms and an operation for the search and seizure of
these missing cattle has since been initiated. However, the media could also
assist by pursuing the story of these missing Nguni cattle.
"The Provincial Government views agricultural development as a key and
strategic intervention in the growth of our rural economy. As stated
previously, this province's competitive advantage lies in mass-scale
agricultural development in the Second Economy. One of the central programmes
of the Agrarian Revolution is the Nguni revitalisation programmes. All of these
programmes have one common goal: creating food security for the vulnerable and
creating an opportunity to move from unemployment to employment, and ultimately
to self-employment," said Ndebele.
Ndebele also alluded to several other areas where the Nguni cattle programme
was a resounding success including the North West province, Limpopo province
and Swaziland. "In the North West province, the R7,5 million Nguni cattle
project that was initiated by the Industrial Development Corporation was lauded
by the agricultural sector as a major developmental programme. Similarly, our
own Nguni cattle revitalization programme is progressing very well and will be
intensified," said Ndebele.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Spokesperson to Premier
Cell: 083 6444 050
E-mail: maistryl@premier.kzntl.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
22 February 2007
