02 Mar 2016

Parliament has been told that the impact of the drought situation will be known by the end of March as the drought assessment team was currently concluding its work.

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr France Van Der Westhuizen said due to the seriousness of the situation, assessment had to be done earlier than normal in February instead of April/May. He added that strategies, implementation plan and proposed budget would be known once the Rural Development Council has deliberated on the assessment report and made recommendations to cabinet for final decision making.

He said in the meantime, the government was implementing drought mitigation measures as outlined in the Presidential Directive CAB 17 (a)/20156 declaring 2014/15 a drought year, as pronounced by the President in June last year. Mr Van Der Westhuizen said the government continues to monitor the drought situation, and that in December, cabinet approved an increase of livestock subsidies from 25 to 50 per cent to mitigate livestock mortalities.

Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe had asked if the minister was aware of the drought situation in the country and to state its impact. He also wanted the minister to state strategies in place to mitigate the situation as well as the implementation plan for the strategies and the proposed budget. ENDS