Chairperson, let me speak through you to the hon Minister. Indeed the rural safety issue is a rural issue as opposed to a farming issue, and ... ngisuka khona nami [I am from there too].
Rural people lose more cattle than commercial farmers do, and that's really an issue that needs serious attention. I am getting to a question, hon Chair. Many times rural people say to me hayi ngeke ngisimose isikhathi sami, amaphoyisa awafiki, awenzi lutho [no, I am not going to waste my time; the police do not come, and they do nothing].
Now, let's get back to the issue of trust. What kind of direct action, other than meetings and committees, is happening in rural communities to build trust and to ensure that, when an incident occurs, there is quick and good reaction and the cattle are recovered and returned to their owners to restore that trust, particularly amongst the rural people? It's easy for commercial farmers, because they've got vehicles, radios and all sorts of other things that they can use to assist themselves to recover their cattle. But poor rural people who bank on their cattle don't have those resources and, so often, when we ask them why they don't use the SAPS, they have a simple - reason - that they have no trust in them. Asibathembi. [They have no trust in them.]