Free State Agriculture demands transparency in allocation of disaster funds

Free State Agriculture (FSA) welcomes the National Flood Disaster classification issued 20 January 2022.

Although this is not a declaration, dr. Jack Armour, commercial manager of FSA, confirms that a classification does acknowledge the disaster and implements the reprioritisation of budgets and other resources (ex. staff) for further flood damage prevention and relief
measures.

The fact the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) has taken control of the national disaster is encouraging and we welcome the good cooperation at national level with Agri SA and at provincial level the cooperation between FSA and the Provincial Disaster Management Centre and Department Agriculture, says Armour.

FSA makes an urgent plea to reallocate funds to the Free State Department of Roads for urgent intervention to our roads that are being further decimated by the floods. “If the department Police, Roads and Transport had properly maintained our roads over the past 5-15 years the extent of the damage to roads and adjacent lands in flooded water way and gullies would not have been as bad.”

Transparency in the allocation of funds is now critical, says Armour, given the history of corruption in previous disaster allocations.