Gauteng farmers have been failed again by the Gauteng MEC for Agriculture Vuyiswa Ramakgopa during an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD). While a decisive strategy on FMD has been put in place by the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, at the national level, MEC Ramakgopa is missing in action at a time when farmers urgently need reassurance and coordination. Currently Gauteng has no clear provincial directives and has had no meaningful public engagements with farmers to explain how the province will handle this new outbreak.
This leadership vacuum is unacceptable during a biosecurity crisis. While vaccine procurement and overall policy direction rest with the national government, critical operational responsibilities lie squarely with the province.
These include:
• Designating FMD-free or controlled abattoirs to ensure continuity of slaughter and market access;
• Ensuring strict biosecurity enforcement at abattoirs, feedlots, and collection points;
• Coordinating and enforcing animal movement controls within Gauteng; and
• Keeping farmers informed through regular, clear, and accessible communication.
To date, these responsibilities have not been visibly or effectively discharged. Despite clear timelines for vaccine availability at national level, Gauteng shows no evidence of operational readiness to implement mass vaccination when doses arrive.
Of particular concern is the absence of:
• A consolidated provincial register of veterinarians, including state, private and contracted vets, with confirmed availability to assist immediately once vaccines are released;
• A coordinated plan to mobilise veterinary capacity across the province at short notice; and
• Advance planning to procure sufficient handling pens, which are essential for safe, efficient vaccination and post-vaccination monitoring of livestock.
Without these basic building blocks in place, even timely vaccine delivery risks being delayed or unevenly implemented.
Gauteng is a high-risk province for FMD and without firm provincial coordination, there is uncertainty about where animals may be legally slaughtered; biosecurity standards differ at every facility, and unauthorised and informal movement of animals continues. This uncertainty undermines collective disease control efforts.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands that Gauteng MEC for Agriculture urgently publish a clear Gauteng FMD implementation plan, aligned with the national strategy and convene regular farmer and stakeholder briefings with written guidance, and convene regular farmer and stakeholder briefings with written guidance.
The continued absence of decisive provincial action risks undermining a nationally sound strategy and placing Gauteng’s farmers, food security, and livestock economy in jeopardy.
The DA will continue to stand with Gauteng’s farmers and will not stop demanding accountability where the provincial government fails to act.