Police Minister Bheki Cele Police Minister Bheki Cele will present the budget vote on Tuesday. File Picture: Masi Losi
Durban – Agri SA said that it is imperative that the Ministry of Police’s budget includes meaningful resource allocation towards the implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy.
Police Minister Bheki Cele is expected to deliver the budget vote on Tuesday.
Uys van der Westhuijzen, chairperson of Agri SA Centre for Excellence Rural Safety, said it was a vital step in the preservation of the country’s food production capacity.
“We are of the view that the strategy is an appropriate vehicle to deal with the crime issues affecting farming communities provided that it is properly implemented and adequately resourced.”
Van der Westhuijzen added that the minister’s budget vote speech comes almost 11 months after the June 2022 Rural Safety Summit.
“It was intended to be a watershed moment for the sector’s cooperation with the police in ensuring greater safety for our food producing farming communities. It is, therefore, a source of great disappointment for Agri SA that little to no progress has been made towards the implementation of the strategy or utilising the summit findings to improve its effectiveness.”
He said that farmers battle economic, infrastructure and policy headwinds that vastly increase the cost of food production.
“It is vital for the country’s food security that rural crime does not continue to add to the burdens encumbering our rural farming communities. This strategy cannot be allowed to become just one more unfulfilled promise.”
Van der Westhuijzen added that Agri SA hopes the following important steps are included in Minister Cele’s budget vote:
Van der Westhuijzen said that Agri SA is under no illusion that this will not be easily resolved in a country with sky high levels of crime across the board.
“However, rural safety must be a key component of the nation's crime prevention strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of our farming communities and food security.
“We therefore call on Minister Cele to use this opportunity of his address to Parliament to demonstrate a seriousness that has been lacking in the effective implementation of the strategy.”