PROJECT: GOVERNMENT'S PROMISES ON FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE - NO ACTION AND NO ACCOUNTABILITY (PART 4)
- Isabel Spies
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
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A video released on 27 November 2025 on the official Facebook page of
a senior government leader raised public expectations that decisive action would be taken to address
South Africa’s escalating Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) crisis.
"I can announce that the Department of Agriculture has resolved to implement
a comprehensive strategy to vaccinate the entire national herd.
This strategy aims to vaccinate South Africa’s national herd systematically,
beginning with the hardest-hit provinces."
- John Steenhuisen -
In that video, strong assurances were given that the government would intervene, enforce controls,
and protect farmers, food security, and the national livestock industry.
Today, months later, those promises remain largely unfulfilled.
Despite public commitments to improve vaccine supply, strengthen animal movement controls,
and restore biosecurity enforcement, the situation on the ground has
deteriorated. The disease has continued to spread across provinces, farmers remain under severe restrictions,
and the livestock industry faces deepening economic losses.
What was presented as a turning point has become another example of political statements without operational delivery.
PROMISES MADE - REALITY IGNORED:
In the November 2025 video, the following expectations were created:
That Foot-and-Mouth Disease would be treated as a national emergency.
That vaccine supply and veterinary capacity would be urgently restored.
That illegal livestock movement would be stopped through enforcement.
That farmers would receive protection and relief.
None of these commitments has been implemented at the scale or speed required.
There has been no sustained national enforcement strategy in place.
There has been no visible improvement in SAPS involvement at livestock checkpoints.
Municipal bylaws on illegal grazing remain largely unenforced.
Vaccine shortages and delays persist.
Farmers continue to suffer financial hardship due to prolonged movement bans.
A MAN-MADE BIOSECURITY FAILURE:
This crisis is no longer a matter of disease alone.
It has become a man-made national biosecurity failure driven by:
Failure to enforce existing laws under the Animal Diseases Act.
Collapse of local vaccine production capacity.
Chronic shortages of state veterinarians.
Weak coordination between national, provincial, and municipal authorities.
Political promises without operational follow-through.
South Africa had the legal and institutional tools to contain this outbreak.
What was missing was leadership, urgency, and accountability.
HUMAN, ECONOMIC AND ETHICAL COST:
The consequences are now undeniable:
Farming families face bankruptcy.
Rural communities are collapsing.
Jobs are being lost across agricultural value chains.
Export markets remain closed.
Animal suffering continues unnecessarily.
National food security is increasingly at risk.
This is not only an agricultural issue — it is a national crisis with social and economic consequences for every South African.
CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND IMMEDIATE ACTION:
The public has the right to ask:
Why were strong promises made in November 2025, yet no effective action followed?
Who is responsible for the failure to implement disease control measures?
Why are laws applied to some farmers but ignored in other areas?
Why is illegal livestock movement still occurring openly across provinces?
We call for:
A formal independent investigation into government handling of the FMD crisis.
Immediate enforcement of animal movement controls and municipal bylaws.
Full SAPS involvement in livestock transport inspections.
Transparent reporting on vaccine procurement and veterinary capacity.
Financial relief and protection for affected farmers.
The Foot-and-Mouth Disease crisis was preventable.
The promises were public.
The failures are visible.
South Africa cannot afford leadership by press statements alone.
Action is required now.
This matter must not fade into silence.
The agricultural sector, the public, and the international community must be made aware that assurances were given,
yet the crisis was allowed to continue unchecked.
The time for accountability has arrived.
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