Minister says farmers’ protests are not an attack on government
On Monday, Agriculture‚ Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said the #BlackMonday farmers’ protests were "not an attack on government". Speaking in Durban on Monday at the third Africa-Wide Agricultural Extension Week conference‚ a multi-stakeholder forum aimed at implementing smart agricultural initiatives in light of the effects of climate change‚ he said: "I hope beyond this march we will be calling its leaders to meet. We are saying to them, let us not politicise this matter." The minister went on to say "criminals do not belong to politics‚ they belong to themselves" and urged government departments and farmers associations to work together to isolate criminals. Meanwhile, sugar farmers in northern KwaZulu-Natal who didn’t participate in the protest‚ said they supported the campaign. Sugarcane farmer Roy Nohari‚ a member of the Tongaat Mill Group‚ said while they were unable to get to Estcourt‚ many of their members wore black in solidarity with the campaign. "There...
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