BEITBRIDGE paramount Chief Vho Stauze has called on
Government through the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Climate and Rural
Resettlement to urgently intervene and save livestock in the area from the
effects of the devastating drought.
It is understood that nearly 2 000 cattle have died as a
result of drought in Beitbridge since the start of drought last year.
The traditional leader said in an interview last week that
the drought situation should be treated as a state of disaster. He said cattle
and small livestock rearing was the major economic drivers in the semi-arid
district.
“It’s sad to see cattle dying every day. As the Beitbridge
people we are calling on Government through the Ministry of Agriculture to
treat our current situation with the urgency. We have people who are willing to
sell cows in bad shape to buy stock feed, but access to stock feed is an
elusive dream. Beitbridge is the worst district hit hard by the current drought
and we cannot continue to fold hands and treat the issues on a business as
usual approach. People are losing their source of livelihood and we need a
solution without delay.
“We are a cattle country and we are willing to work with
anyone with a dream to save our livestock from further deaths. You will note
that most cattle are now vulnerable to a number of diseases because of their
current bad shape. The situation in the grazing lands is heart wrenching. Stock
feed must be brought closer to the people and most of the smallholder farmers
are ready to buy at relatively affordable prices”.
The traditional leader said it was also critical for
Government to urgently revive the existing feedlots in the community, where
people take their animals for feeding. Beitbridge has an estimated 100 000
cattle, 144 000 goats, 60 000 sheep, 70 000 donkeys, 40 000 dogs and 150 000
poultry. On average a standard heifer is sold for R5 000 (equivalent) on the
local market and most smallholder farmers have between 100 and 300 herds of
cattle. Chief Stauze said the drought situation in the area had been worsened
by the drying up of boreholes and other natural water points.
“Our wish is to see departments like the District
Development Fund (DDF) being capacitated by Government to attend to our dire
water and sanitation issues. The setup where people and their domestic animals
are scrambling for the little available water facilities is devastating,” he
said.
The traditional leader said although in some areas members
of the community had tried to resuscitate boreholes on their own, they had no
capacity to deepen them to the new water table. An estimated 200 000 people
live in rural Beitbridge where there are 1 350 registered boreholes. Sunday
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