Steenhuisen slated for delays in foot-and-mouth disease vaccination scheme
Farmers urge urgent action as there are more delays in their legal bid for private vaccination against the foot-and-mouth disease.
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Rome is burning in the agricultural sector; farmers told the court this week in the wake of the government asking for yet another postponement in the legal bid for the private sector to produce and administer foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine.
The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria reluctantly granted the postponement to enable agricultural minister John Steenhuisen more time to publish a vaccination scheme under section 10 of the Animal Diseases Act.
But Judge Corrie van der Westhuizen ordered this must be done by May 5.
The court set the urgent application down to be heard on May 11. In a sign of the court’s displeasure, it granted a punitive cost against the government.
This is the second time the urgent proceedings were postponed due to the government not being ready to proceed.
The matter was set down to be heard on March 24. It stood down until this week and the court in March ordered the minister to promulgate and publish the intended animal health scheme relating to FMD by no later than April 17.
Agricultural Minister John Steenhuisen.
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But this was not done and this week the minister and departmental officials asked for more time to finalise the scheme.
They wanted the court bid to be postponed to June 2, but the judge had put his foot down.
Judge Van der Westhuizen criticised the minister and fellow respondents for their lethargic conduct.
He commented that the FMD outbreak is a matter that was announced by the government to be of national importance and a national emergency.
Sakeliga, SAAI, and Free State Agriculture who launched the urgent proceedings, vehemently opposed the postponement.
Counsel told the court that the government is simply wasting their (the applicants’) time. This, the court was told, while the animals are dying and while the government has the means to save them by allowing for private vaccinations.
The government is of the opinion that FMD vaccination must be centrally controlled as unregulated private vaccination could affect disease management efforts.
The department meanwhile said that it did not wilfully undermine the court’s deadline regarding the draft scheme for FMD.
Mooketsa Ramasodi, the director general of agriculture, explained that some errors were picked up regarding the draft regulations, and it had to be re-evaluated before it could be sent to the minister for his signature and publication, thus the delay. He assured the court that the process is being prioritised with a view of finalising the scheme.