Monnasetilo, fa nako e ne e le teng, ke ne ke tla bua ka Setswana le Sesotho. Mme jaanong gonne re le makgabe a dipapetla, ke tla dirisa t?homi gore ke oke tse di kwa godimo fela, mme tse dingwe ke di tlogele di le jalo. (Translation of Tswana paragraph follows.)
[Rev M CHABAKU: Chairperson, if I had enough time, I would address the House in Setswana and Sesotho. But, because I am in a hurry, I shall use English to touch on the main points, and leave the rest for some other time.]
Aangesien die tyd beperk is, sal ek maar in die Engelse taal praat. [Since time is limited, I shall resort to speaking in the English language.]
Mr Chairperson, Deputy Minister, who is, after all, a Free Stater, special delegates, hon councillors of this House, for whom I have great admiration, allow me to express the reflections of the Free State province, as this Bill affects the greater part of the agricultural economy of the province on which much of life depends, especially at subsistence level.
Great concern has been expressed at the approval of a certified abattoir for economic purposes. While we commend the Bill for excluding slaughter for cultural and religious purposes, there needs to be adequate provision for slaughter and sale for economic purposes by many who have been deprived and denied of such economic ventures by past racist and sexist policies. Simply put, the Bill says that slaughtering is legal for religious and cultural purposes, but not for making an income, unless it is done at certified abattoirs, which are at present very few and far between. With the Free State being declared one of the very poor provinces, the poor and marginalised will be barred from off-street sales.
Very few cities do have an abattoir nearby. Obviously, abattoirs will also demand a fee for the slaughtering service. Provision has to be made to build extra abattoir facilities where health and safety precautions can be made available and can be effected.
It would be shocking if the truth were revealed about how many abattoirs belong to people of Caucasian background, as compared to the number owned by people of indigenous African background. Yet the latter form the bulk of those who buy and sell meat products. They are also the ones who maintain their subsistence level of living by buying and selling offal, e mala le mogodu, not of their own choice, but as a way to make ends meet.
We commend the Minister for tightening the loopholes in the definitions enshrined in clause (1)(i) to (xxv). We would like to see opportunities made available for the underprivileged through the erection and maintenance of abattoirs in rural areas and even urban areas where carnivorous demands are very acute.
The bulk of buyers and sellers of offal are very poor women and widows. Provision should also be made to encourage pupils to train in the running and owning of abattoirs in order to enhance the safety of meat and other products, be they for home consumption, export or even importation, or for human or animal consumption.
We should curb the increasing importation of subsidised meat products that are cheaper to purchase and of inferior quality, thus undercutting and killing our own domestic production of especially lamb, chicken and cold meats. What guarantees do we really have that their sources of origin uphold similar or better standards?
We commend the fact that the Bill will enhance the health and safety standards laid down for exports. The proposed control of imports and exports is laudable. Persons doing on-the-spot inspections should reflect the demographics of our motherland and their numbers should be increased to this end. We want the number of inspectors representing our own people to increase in order to compare numerically with the population in relation to the ethnic groups that make up our beloved South Africa.
Right now very few veterinarians are of indigenous origin. The statistics are bleak. Equal opportunities of employment, operation and ownership, especially for women and the youth, should be encouraged, and we should ensure that regulations are complied with and that penalties are effected.
Regarding the regulations, concerns have been expressed over clause 22(1)(d), according to which fees have to be charged for the examination of an animal, meat or an animal product. The fees are often prohibitive and restrictive. Very often people do not have the means to transport the said animal or products for inspection, nor can they afford the travel expenses to go to an inspector where the animal or products may be presented for inspection.
This tends to have unavoidable racial implications because of the past of our motherland.