Disaster declaration urged for KZN as Foot-and-Mouth disease escalates

THE outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) should be declared a disaster in the province. The disease, the DA and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government have said, is beyond a crisis, and the national government must intervene.

- THAMI MAGUBANE

DA spokesperson for Agriculture, Sakhile Mngadi, has formally written to MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa, and Premier Thami Ntuli, calling for the urgent declaration of Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) as a provincial disaster.

"FMD is no longer a looming threat in KZN - it is an active and escalating emergency that is already causing serious harm to farmers, rural livelihoods, and food security across the province.

"The scale of the outbreak now requires decisive provincial intervention and the immediate activation of disaster management mechanisms," he said.

Recent developments in Howick illustrate the pressure farmers are under.