The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, would like to clarify the remarks she made last Sunday after conducting a flyover inspection of the flood-hit areas regarding compensation to the communities affected by the floods.
The ministry has noted comments from some sections of the society questioning why government and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in particular, was not offering compensation to the farming community affected by the floods.
Government has no mandate to offer compensation to the flood-stricken areas; however, government will provide relief and assistance to the affected farms, as it has done previously with other disasters.
“Where there is damage to infrastructure, government will assist, however, government would not afford to offer compensation for any damage to the crops. The commitment of government to assist can never be in question, as past experience has proven that in cases of disasters caused by the floods, fire and drought, we have always prioritised the plight of our people, especially the most vulnerable of our population,” Joemat-Pettersson said.
The issue of crop damage is matter of insurance and we hope that the farmers will be able to recover their losses through their insurance companies; however, the farm workers do not have any form of insurance, which is why Minister Joemat-Pettersson emphasised the need to also provide assistance to the vulnerable farm workers.
“Government will not abdicate its responsibility and leave its citizens in the lurch. We will provide everything possible in terms of evacuation, food parcels and to assist with the restoration of the damaged infrastructure. Compensation, however, is out of the question as government would not afford it. Provinces affected by the floods, especially those that have been declared as disaster areas can apply to Treasury for financial relief,” Joemat-Pettersson said.
Selby Bokaba
Tel: 012 319 7876 or 021 467 4500
Fax: 012 319 6681 or 021 465 6550
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E-mail: SelbyB@daff.gov.za
