Agriculture
Free State busy with drought impact assessment─── SABRINA DEAN 15:49 Thu, 12 Mar 2015
Bloemfontein - A token amount of one million Rand has been set aside for short-term drought intervention in the Free State while the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development conducts its assessment of the impact of the drought.
This was revealed by Finance MEC Elzabé Rockman during a press conference following the tabling of the 2015/16 budget yesterday.
Rockman says the issue was discussed by the finance committee just prior to the tabling of the budget, adding that the department told an Executive Committee meeting last week an assessment is currently underway.
She says the R1-million will obviously not be sufficient:
“Rockman drought”
Rockman yesterday allocated R744.5 million to agriculture for the 2015/16 financial year. She says once the department has concluded its assessment, Treasury will sit with the department to see how they can make more money available.
Yesterday’s legislature sitting also saw incumbent Agriculture MEC Mamiki Qabathe elected as the new Legislature Speaker, leaving the department somewhat in limbo at what could be one of the most critical times for the sector since prior to the first democratic elections.
A departmental spokesperson last night told OFM News an acting MEC has not yet been announced but will be communicated in due course.
It is also not yet clear who will take the reins as the new Agriculture MEC and when this will be announced, with the legislature only scheduled to sit again on Wednesday 18 March. The department's budget vote is scheduled to take place on 24 March.
Sabrina Dean/OFM News
“Rockman drought”:
