MEC Mbalula joins farmers, cops to fight livestock theft

By Staff Reporter

BLOEMFONTEIN- Free State MEC for community safety, roads and transport Jabu Mbalula has welcomed suggestions from the department of agriculture on advancing rural safety, bridging legislative gaps, strengthening border road infrastructure and combating stock theft using private investigators.

“The department encourages working relationships with all rural safety role players, with a view to fighting all crimes posing a threat to rural communities, ”Mbalula said.

Free State Agriculture (FSA), a voluntary membership organisation for commercial farmers in the province, with a traceability system called Animal identity, Movement and Safety aims which uses technology to monitor and track livestock. FSA investigators’ coordinator Peet Swanepoel said they collaborate with the police.
Swanepoel said the initiative started last year in July with the trained investigators reporting cases to the South African Police Service (Saps) stock theft unit (STU) and endangered species unit.

“The stock theft unit has a shortage of manpower, vehicles and equipment to investigate reported cases properly,” he said.
Safety risk analyst Dr Jane Buys said that every one of the 104 police stations in the Free State province needed to visit the farms, do profiling, coordinate all the white and blue light patrols and do this on a weekly basis with the farming community.
Buys said there is a loophole in the Stock Theft Act which makes it easy for people to get away with livestock theft.

Community Safety, roads and transport Mec Jabu Mbalula with the farmers.

But Director of corporate communication at community safety, roads and transport, Hillary Mophethe said the department would raise the matter with Saps.
The department is advocating for a cross-border crime prevention forum to address transnational crimes.