07 Sep 2016

Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kgotla Autlwetse,  has informed Maitengwe residents that repairing the border fence along their village was part of their responsibilities.

Addressing a kgotla meeting in Maitengwe on Tuesday, Mr Autlwetse said government facilitated installation and maintenance of the fence, adding that where an urgent need arose, the community could act to control movement of their livestock.

Mr Autlwetse asserted that it was important for the people not to look up to the government to do everything for them even where they could assist to prevent and safe keep their livestock. 

He encouraged farmers to engage fully in agriculture instead of doing it as a part time job, thus leaving the whole responsibility on herdboys. He added that failure to look after livestock had resulted in cattle crossing the boundary line into Zimbabwe.    

Mr Autlwetse said in such cases, the law was clear that such animals would be killed and owners given P700 per beast compensation. He therefore urged farmers to look after their cattle, adding that to date about 160 beasts had been killed.  Kgosi Mbuso Vavani said government should consider reintroducing pickets along the border fence noting that at the time there were pickets, the damage to the fence was minimal.

Kgosi Vavani also pointed out that at some point they were asked by the district agriculture coordinator to volunteer to repair the fence along their border line and farmers responded positively but there was no feedback from the office.  Farmers pleaded with government to tighten laws on farmers who leave their livestock to destroy other people’s ploughing fields. 

For his part, deputy district agricultural coordinator, Mr Onkeme Gaebope said they were still to call kgotla meetings to address the public on the issue of relocating pickets to central points, following the death of one of their workers. 

He said work on the repairment of the fence had so far commenced in Tuli circle and some officers would soon start from Maitengwe ending in Sepako. ENDS