24 December 2003
The South African Communist Party (SACP) is concerned about the current drought in many parts of our country, and its possible effects on the living standards of millions of people and implications for hunger and food prices.
We call on government to ensure that drought relief must include strategies and measures to avoid and minimise retrenchment of farm workers, and also to meaningfully involve poor communities. We also call on commercial agriculture not to use the drought as an excuse for massive retrenchments of workers.
The SACP calls on government to implement a comprehensive strategy to deal with the drought. Such a strategy must include the formation of broad drought committees in the affected areas: these committees must include government, communities, farm workers, trade unions, municipalities, small farmers and commercial agriculture.
Much of public commentary has presented the drought as a concern of commercial agriculture alone. Much as commercial agriculture has an important role to play, the voice of other affected sectors, particularly, vulnerable farm workers and poor communities, is not being heard, yet these sections are likely to be the most affected by the drought. Commercial agriculture has asked for government assistance for crop protection. But we believe that protection of farm workers and poor communities in affected areas is just as important.
We welcome the proposals made by the Minister of Land and Agriculture to deal with the drought.