18 Nov 2013

Tati East MP, Mr Samson Guma has pleaded with government to officially declare the outbreak of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) a national epidemic as it continues to impoverish the community and the country’s economy.

Commenting on the State-of-the-Nation Address in Parliament, Mr Guma said unless government reacted to FMD the same way it reacted to the HIV, then Batswana living in FMD infected areas would continue to be deeply rooted in poverty due to the frequent out breaks of the diseases.

He was of the view that by restocking at affected zones before taking the diseases on in a collective manner with other SADC countries, government would continue to fail to bring the disease to an end since it is a spillover from neighbouring countries.

He said with the current restocking progress, government was throwing money down the drain since it has not wiped out the disease but simply chasing after it. He said the current route that the government had opted for to fight the disease is a trial and error exercise.

Therefore he said government need to quickly change tactics on fighting the disease because more money is spent on the disease while on the other hand it is continuously impoverishing Batswana who are heavily dependent on cattle rearing.

He noted that unless the disease is taken on with a collectively by the technocrats and the leadership, the disease will continue to cripple the economy of the country. He called for a total review regarding the performance of the agricultural sector since they have failed to fully address the FMD outbreaks.

He said government also needs to address the European Union market dominance in beef sales since it is evident that the EU market has terms and conditions that many Batswana cannot comply with and will even be impoverished further should government not seek other markets elsewhere.

With regard to the dominance of the EU market, Minister of Trade and Industry Ms Dorcas Makgato-Malesu clarified that both the Ministry of Agriculture and her ministry have recently started to seek alternative markets and to-date they have consulted nation like Ghana, Nigeria and the Middle East.

Mr Guma said government should only facilitate the economy and let the private sector run it. He indicated that the agricultural sector has the potential to change and drive the ailing economy if well administered.

He said one of the driving factors for adequate job creation is through investing in the local agricultural sector and cutting down on the importation of food and other basic necessities. He urged Members Parliament to put aside their political affiliations and concentrate on uplifting the country’s economy.

“As politicians we should speak with a collective voice on issues that can improve our citizenry and leave our legacy at the end of our spell in Parliament since we are custodians of people’s values,” said Mr Guma. ENDS