Limpopo DA leader Michael Holford has taken provincial MEC for agriculture Dikeledi Magadzi to task for requesting more money for “the work of her department”, while millions of rand from the previous budget year is unaccounted for. Holford said that Magadzi needs to resign from Limpopo’s agriculture department if it’s to be successful again.
After Magadzi recently put forward a budget of R1,04 billion, Holford countered that she should be ashamed of herself, as her department cannot account for R335,47 million that was allegedly misappropriated and spent on unnecessary expenses. While the spread of animal disease poses a serious threat to both commercial and emerging farmers in Limpopo, only R17 million of Magadzi’s budget is set aside for veterinary services.
Earlier this year there was an outbreak of Rift Valley Fever in the province and with poor border policing farmers in the far north of Limpopo are constantly exposed to animal diseases from neighbouring countries, especially Zimbabwe. While Magadzi advocated expropriation as a way of speeding up land reform, Holford said there were numerous land reform failures she should take responsibility for. He cited the Sapekoe Tea Estate, where, 6 000 workers lost their jobs when the land was transferred to the Makgoba clan, and to date nothing has been produced on the land. – Staff reporter
