KEETMANSHOOP – Teams comprising Karasburg State Veterinary District officials and members of the //Kharas regional Namibian Police are manning semi-fixed and sporadic roadblocks at strategic places in the region, following the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on farms within the district.
When New Era visited a point outside the town of Keetmanshoop last weekend, long lines of trucks and motor vehicles were observed, with officials working around the clock to enforce restrictions announced by the government to curb the further spread of the disease.
Activities carried out at these points include, among others, restricting the transportation of cloven-hoofed animals and their raw by-products, spraying vehicles with chemical disinfectant, enforcing the law against perpetrators, verifying exemptions and certificates, and disseminating information.
Namibian Police regional commander Commissioner Marius Katamila explained during a press conference last week that they are working in close cooperation with, and under the guidance of, the Veterinary Department on where checkpoints should be erected and manned.
“We are currently operating within the vicinity of the 17 farms close to Farm Graswater (where the first case was detected), including the Warmbad and Veloorsdrift areas, and if the situation does not change, we will be doing this until 23 December,” said the police chief.
The commissioner added that more roadblocks would require more officers, which might lead to the deployment of some members from police divisions in the region.
“If we find a person with meat at the checkpoints that they cannot account for, it will be confiscated, and further action will be taken accordingly in terms of the law, while the meat will be disposed of in consultation with the Veterinary Office,” he explained. Katamila added that no cases of people violating these restrictions had been recorded so far.
“I am appealing to the public to report any unusual animal movements to the nearest police station, as the teams cannot be visible everywhere all the time.”
Johannes Steenkamp, owner of farm Brergzicht in the Karasburg area, said that if the FMD outbreak continued for more than three months, it would bring farmers who rely on farming as a source of income to their knees.
“I used to market and export my small livestock to South Africa, but with these restrictions in place, I have no source of income. However, I must continue to pay my workers’ salaries, as I have not laid them off at this stage, as well as cover diesel and maintenance costs and make a living, while interest on my bank loans continues to accumulate,” he said.
Steenkamp continued: “I used to get good prices when exporting my lambs, but by the time these restrictions are lifted, my animals would have grown into sheep and goats, with prices then reduced by N$20 to N$30 per kilogramme, resulting in huge losses.”
The farmer also suggested that the disease could have been contained earlier if a farmer who received three letters from authorities instructing him to move his animals further away from the Orange River had complied or been held accountable. The animals could have mixed with those on the South African side of the border.
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