Farmers across Mzansi have called on municipal councils-to-be and other spheres of government to prioritise infrastructure development for an environment conducive of food production.
Statistics South Africa recently released a report on capital expenditure by the public sector, which paints a scary picture for the country. The report points to a huge decline in infrastructure spend across the three spheres of government: national, provincial and local.
A staggering 147 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities have cut down on capital expenditure, resulting in major infrastructure projects being halted or shaved, the report states.
In some places this is leading to a total collapse of ailing existing infrastructure.
“A number of municipalities indicated that they had spent less due to the completion of large-scale construction projects that were active in 2019. On the more concerning side, other municipalities indicated that the decrease in capital expenditure was the result of delays related to a range of issues, such as procurement delays, the Covid-19 pandemic and protest action (July looting unrest),” the report states.
On a provincial level, the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport recorded the biggest decline in capital expenditure as the entity scaled back on new construction projects in the province.
On a national level, the report states, “Public corporations curtailed their spending from R90 billion in 2019 to R76 billion in 2020. The decline in 2020 was largely attributed to Eskom, that reduced spending across all capital expenditure types.”
What farmers need: electricity, roads, sanitation, water supply
The provincial coordinator of farmers association Saamtrek Saamwerk in the Northern Cape, Sehularo Sehularo, says the decline in funding infrastructure projects by government was hitting the farmers hard.
“Our members in the rural areas are really struggling. There are no roads, sanitation, water supply and – importantly for us – the electricity issue remains the biggest concern as our farmers are unable to do business properly.”
Their wish is that incoming councils start engaging farmers in a more proactive manner and Sehularo deems it unacceptable that rural development is not taken into consideration 27 years into democracy.
“With the recent municipal elections, we are calling on those who will be elected to remember that agriculture is the bedrock of the South African economy. It starts from catering for the needs of backyard farmers to large-scale farmers across all races and genders. We are open to talks with government to enhance a more productive relationships. At the end of the day we need each other,” he says.
The ability to move products to markets – freely
North West livestock farmer Simon Mokwele says his biggest concern is roads, as a lack of maintenance is keeping farmers from markets and buyers for their products.
“In my area, under the Moses Kotane local municipality, there is a lack of service in terms of infrastructure, which is not working in anyone’s favour. As livestock farmers we are really struggling to do business with the state of roads in our area.
“The councils must just prioritise infrastructure. There is no way they could underspend on such a crucial aspect. Without infrastructure, there is no development at all. I can only appeal to them to work hard on infrastructure planning,” he says.
Mokwele feels that there’s a great need for farmers to unite and speak with one voice. Their concerns are the same, after all. “The saddest thing is that this dilapidated infrastructure negatively affects us all, so if we are not assisting each other in addressing these challenges, we are not growing as black farmers.”
Meaningful engagement with farmers
A grain farmer in the Eastern Cape, Sinelizwi Fakade, has called on government to implement earlier plans and to bridge the communication gap between government and farmers. This, he believes, will ensure that there is a proactive approach in dealing with the sectors’ challenges.
He starts with an appeal to incoming municipal councils. “From me, it is only words of encouragement to the councils. They must be more proactive, they must make farming easy, they must make trading easy for farmers.”
Fakade says new local governments must hit the ground running by addressing challenges urgently and finding lasting solutions.
Is there reason to hope?
National public works and infrastructure minister Patricia de Lille said last month, at the infrastructure summit in Cape Town, that multiple projects were in the pipeline in most parts of the country, all aimed at easing the burden of the already dilapidated structures.
De Lille announced various projects on rural bridges, roads, a small harbour development, transport and water savings.
“Following the sustainable infrastructure development symposium last year, we have operationalised the R100billion infrastructure fund with R10billion committed from government over a ten-year period as a blended financing instrument to crowd in additional private sector finance to grow the country’s infrastructure programme.”
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