The ANC government's propaganda is not matched by delivery on the ground as senior provincial cabinet ministers together with the national Minister of Agriculture Lulu Xingwana are heading to campaign in the uThungulu District tomorrow. 

"The people of the local Umlalazi Municipality (part of the uThungulu District) are about to endure another ministerial road show filled with self-congratulation and fresh promises. The IFP will be in Umlalazi to dwell on some inconvenient home truths," said IFP spokesperson on agriculture Henry Combrinck. 

Here are the facts: The much-publicised land reform piloted by the national Department of Agriculture and overseen by its provincial counterpart has seen 19 of some 100 farms in the Umlalazi Municipality handed over to the previously disadvantaged farmers.  

"As many as 16 of those 19 farms have gone bust due to insufficient training and failure of the Department of Agriculture to provide adequate support structures," said Combrinck. 

The IFP has estimated the net loss of this failed policy at 150 000 tons of sugar cane, 900 farming jobs and income of R40-million. The combined loss to the local economy could be as high as R120-million. 

"In a local economy based on agricultural output, these figures are overwhelming and affect everyday lives of the poorest of the poor," said Combrinck. 

The IFP has warned that apart from affecting the rural poor who depend entirely on agriculture for their livelihoods, the loss of farming output in Umlalazi has also threatened the milling capacity of the local Tongaat-Hulett Sugar facilities. 

The joint ministerial outing scheduled for tomorrow and advertised prominently in the Zululand Observer is likely to gloss over such inconvenient details and focus on canvassing local votes ahead of the 2009 election. 

"The IFP is urging those farmers and labourers who have been affected by the failed land reform to confront those responsible in Umlalazi tomorrow," said Combrinck.
 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Henry Combrinck
082 576 7255