At the event, Mlengana and other senior department officials signed a commitment charter against fraud and corruption to demonstrate DAFF’s commitment to good governance, accountability and transparency in public expenditure.
“DAFF takes a zero tolerance approach to fraud and corruption and does not victimise whistle-blowers,” Mlengana said.
“We are accountable to those who pay taxes.”
Senzeni Zokwana, minister of DAFF, said that the past financial year was characterised by a challenging economic environment, as well as poor production conditions caused by the drought.
According to the report, government’s response to the drought had amounted to more than R1 billion, which included R528 million allocated to smallholder producers.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Lank Bank had also contributed at least R130 million to the financial relief of indebted commercial farmers. The IDC had committed a further R500 million in soft loans to producers.
Zokwana said that the National Development Plan’s targets for the agricultural sector were inconsistent with SA’s economic growth and the impact of the drought.
He said that these targets needed to be reviewed as the country’s struggling economy would affect job creation.
Download the full report here: DAFF Annual Report