The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply saddened by yet another farm attack in the Mooi River area of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The victims, a young couple, were attacked in their home at around 8pm last night by three men. The male victim was severely assaulted and was taken to Hilton Life Hospital where we received treatment for injuries to his head and body. The DA visited the victims at the hospital shortly after the attack and they were visibly shaken and covered in blood. We extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery from this senseless and horrific attack.
As of 9am today, SAPS Mooi River had not yet taken a statement from either of the victims. This due to their being in hospital and amid concerns around being exposed to the current Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, no suspects had been apprehended at the time.
The rising violence and criminality within our country and our province’s farming and rural communities must be a priority for government. Yet, true to the uncaring manner that we have become accustomed to, government has not shifted resources towards addressing this scourge. The President was even recorded in 2018 denying that farm safety was an issue.
While some choose to divide the country on the issue of farm and rural safety, the DA in KZN is focused on solutions aimed at curbing this sickening trend. These include:
• Directly subsidizing security initiatives within rural and farming communities such as farm watches and patrols;
• Utilizing technology such as drones and licence plate recognition cameras within rural areas;
• Categorizing farm attacks/murders as hate crimes;
• Establishing court watching briefs to track the progress of cases and;
• Introducing properly resourced rural safety units and monitoring these through a dedicated provincial safety directorate in SAPS
The growing number of incidents in rural and farming communities should be a concern for all South Africans. Not only are we witnessing brutal attacks against our fellow citizens but if these trends continue our food security is also being placed at risk.
It is increasingly clear that KZN’s Agriculture and Rural Development portfolio has failed on its mandate to support and protect farmers and rural communities. This is backed by the fact that a meeting scheduled to interrogate SAPS and KZN’s MEC for Safety on the 2011 rural safety strategy has still not materialized. Three attacks and two deaths have taken place in KZN since this meeting was supposed to occur.
The DA remains the only voice in the KZN legislature fighting for the safety of farming and rural communities.