The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition party, was quick to welcome Mashatile’s announcement of the pending relief package, and to claim some credit for the government’s “u-turn”.
DA agricultural spokesperson Noko Masipa said in a statement that the South African poultry industry had been devastated by the bird flu outbreak “and it did not make sense for the government to stand on the sidelines as entire operations faced the risk of bankruptcy and job losses”.
Masipa said the DA would examine the package when it was announced “and we will not accept token assistance disguised as compensatory relief”.
“Minister Didiza should work with the industry to develop a comprehensive support package that would enable famers to rebuild their operations without incurring huge amounts of debt,” the party’s agricultural expert said.
This is a different tone to a statement on the poultry industry issued in September by the DA trade and industry spokesman, Dean MacPherson. He called for a temporary suspension of all tariffs on imported chicken and blamed chicken price increases on the “anti-competitive behaviour by big, JSE-listed poultry producers”.
