Ramaphosa still refuses to take action on farm murders

Dear Editor

• President Ramaphosa ignores DA’s formal request to establish a Commission of Inquiry into farm attacks and murders.
• Since submission of the request, 16 farm murders have been registered between May and July 2023, representing a 56% increase.
• With rising unemployment and many South Africans going to bed hungry, the Presidency should be very concerned about this critical sector and doing everything in his power to protect the farmers and farm workers.

President Cyril Ramaphosa is now firmly part of the problem on the ongoing failure to find a lasting solution to the escalating crisis of farm attacks and murders. 68 days after the DA submitted a formal request to his office requesting that he considers establishing a Commission of Inquiry into farm attacks and murders, Ramaphosa has chosen to ignore our submissions.

The DA asked Ramaphosa to use his authority in terms of Chapter 584(2)(f) of the Constitution, which empowers him to appoint commissions of inquiry, to set up an inquiry that will investigate the root cause of increasing farm murders and attacks in the country. The inquiry will have the mandate to make recommendations and advise on a comprehensive plan to safeguard our farming and rural communities against criminal activities.

Ramaphosa’s lack of decisive action on violence directed at farmers is part of the reason why individuals such as EFF leader, Julius Malema, have become emboldened to sing incendiary songs that further compromises the safety of farmers. Ramaphosa’s silence has effectively become tacit approval of EFF hooliganism against farming and rural communities.

Since submitting our formal request for a Commission of Inquiry, statistics show that 16 farm murders have been registered between May and July 2023. This represents a 56% jump in the murder rate when compared with the first quarter of 2023. These are individuals whose only crime was producing food to feed the nation but were left exposed by their government to marauding gangs of murderers.

Ramaphosa and his government would rather expend their energy defending Vladimir Putin than care for the welfare of farmers who work hard to protect South Africa’s food security. A recent television documentary on farm murder crisis in South Africa highlighted that once a farmer has been attacked or murdered on a farm, the farm is likely to be out of production for almost 12 months. With rising unemployment and many South Africans going to bed hungry, the Presidency should be very concerned about this critical sector and doing everything in his power to protect the farmers and farm workers. Moreover, farmers requires government to provide them with important information on how to protect themselves on their farms hence the Democratic Alliance called for the commission of enquiry.

In all occasions where he has bothered to say anything on farm murders, Ramaphosa has shown no urgency and has, instead, offered half-baked ideas to address this national crisis.

It took Ramaphosa hours to establish a panel to investigate the Lady R debacle – all because he wanted to prove that he did not send any weapons to his friend in the Kremlin. But he is dragging his feet on a Commission of Inquiry to investigate why South Africans have become sitting ducks to criminal gangs in the countryside. This is unacceptable and Ramaphosa should know that he is failing miserably to uphold his oath of office, in which he committed to protect citizens from threats – both domestic and foreign.

Regards

Noko Masipa MP
DA Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development