Agriculture minister Willie Aucamp’s action follows allegations of misconduct relating to the pricing of FMD vaccines. The suspension is precautionary, and no finding has been made against him.

“This was not farmers being overcharged,” said FMD Response SA spokesperson Andrew Morphew. “This was the department of agriculture paying the state’s own company with taxpayer money. The minister has now done what oversight is supposed to do, and we welcome it.”

For most of the outbreak, South Africa’s FMD response has run through single channels. “Vaccine supply was the first. It was opened by agreement in July, allowing farmers and their veterinarians to buy vaccine directly. OBP’s vaccine pricing is now under scrutiny.

Agriculture minister Willie Aucamp’s action follows allegations of misconduct. Photo: Facebook

Testing remains a single channel. OBP and the Agricultural Research Council’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute are separate institutions, but the problem is the same: a critical function of the FMD response concentrated in one channel, with no external check.

The institute at Onderstepoort confirms outbreaks, performs FMD testing, advises government on vaccine selection, and manufactures its own FMD vaccine for the same response. It is both a player in the vaccine market and the referee at the same time, said FMD Response SA.

Morphew stressed this is not criticism of individuals, but about building confidence. “No institution should wear all of those hats. A routine share of South Africa’s samples should go to the world reference laboratory for FMD at Pirbright in the UK, so that results are checked outside our borders.”

Aucamp has shown this week what independent scrutiny looks like when a critical function sits in one channel. The same standard belongs in the laboratory system.

FMD Response SA remains committed to working constructively with all role players in restoring South Africa’s animal-health status. 

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