17 Jun 2013

The Archbishop of Christ the Word of God Church, Mr Jackson Mbakile, together with his priests, held a prayer session at the place where Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) infected goats and sheep are going to be disposed of in Matshelagabedi.

Hovering over two large trenches, measuring 50 metres long by six metres deep by four metres wide, Archbishop Mbakile, his congregants and agricultural officials prayed solemnly. "The public should not worry much as they do not know what God has planned for them", said the archbishop.  

“You should accept the situation as it is because God knows everything,” he said, adding that he had faith that his prayer was going to be helpful.
On his thoughts of the whole eradication exercise, he said he had two thoughts about it.

“It is not right because goats are gifts from God; they provide food, people sell them to pay school fees for children,” he lamented, but, on the other hand, he argued that if there was a disease affecting their livestock they must accept the decision to kill them.

The bishop grumbled about compensation saying it was not enough considering that some of the goats that were going to be killed were special and expensive breeds that could net far more than the P700 compensation the government was offering.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture’s public relations officer for North East District, Ms Grace Boitshwarelo,  highlighted that small stock would be collected from Patayamatebele, Ditladi, Matsiloje, Matopi and Matshelagabedi, then killed at Impala Training Centre, and ultimately taken to the trenches at Matshelagabedi for disposal.   ENDS