In correspondence seen by Farmer’s Weekly, dated 20 April 2026, legal representatives for Sakeliga, the Southern Africa Agri Initiative (Saai), and Free State Agriculture (FSA) argue that Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen failed to meet a 17 April deadline to publish a draft animal health scheme under Section 10 of the Animal Diseases Act (No. 35 of 1984), as required by a court order issued on 24 March.
The order directed that the scheme be gazetted ahead of the next hearing, scheduled for 28 April 2026, as part of ongoing litigation over the state’s management of FMD.
Sakeliga, Saai, and the FSA contend that the delay has implications for producers, particularly in the absence of regulatory clarity on vaccination and broader disease control measures. They also indicate that they are considering additional legal steps, including raising the issue of non-compliance with the court order.
The dispute also centres on a supplementary affidavit submitted shortly before the March hearing, which indicated that a draft FMD scheme was close to finalisation and would be published imminently. According to the applicants, this timeline was not met.
At the same time, questions have been raised about the accessibility of the DoA’s public consultation process on the draft framework.
The draft Section 10 framework, published in the Government Gazette on 10 April, was open for public comment for seven days, closing on 17 April 2026. It is expected to inform future policy on FMD management.
Section 10 allows the minister of agriculture to introduce schemes enabling specific disease control measures, including vaccination, under regulated conditions. The current draft proposes a voluntary system in which livestock owners, working with veterinarians, can vaccinate animals within a structured, state-supervised environment.
During the consultation period, several stakeholders, including organised agriculture bodies and individual producers, reported difficulties submitting comments to the official email address provided by the DoA, with emails returned as undelivered.
Farmer’s Weekly submitted questions to Steenhuisen on 15 April, seeking clarity on whether the submission channel was fully operational, how many submissions had been received so far, and whether the deadline would be extended in the event of technical issues.
Further questions focused on how stakeholder input would be incorporated and whether submissions would be made publicly available.
No formal written response has been received yet.
On 17 April, less than 24 hours before the deadline, ministry spokesperson Joylene van Wyk confirmed telephonically that network problems had been experienced and indicated that submissions could be sent directly to Dr Emily Mogajane, head of the Ministerial Advisory Task Team on Animal Disease Prevention and Control. However, no written communication confirming an extension of the deadline was issued.
The limited comment period, combined with reported technical challenges, has raised questions about whether all interested parties had a reasonable opportunity to participate in the process.
Stakeholders have indicated that clarity is needed on how the DoA will account for any submissions that may not have been received and whether further opportunities for input will be provided.
The developments come amid ongoing concern from producers over delays in the rollout of FMD vaccines, with some industries – particularly dairy – warning that gaps in vaccination coverage continue to heighten vulnerability.
Together, the regulatory uncertainty and implementation challenges are reinforcing calls for a more coordinated and responsive national disease control strategy.
