Agri Free State farmers established their own special task force at a meeting this week to patrol the border between South Africa and Lesotho, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
”Agricultural representatives reiterated their dissatisfaction with the decision to withdraw SA National Defence Force troops from the border,” the organisation said.
The New National Party last week appealed to Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota to reconsider the deployment of soldiers on South Africa’s borders following an upsurge in stock theft.
The NNP said farmers in certain areas had recorded losses of up to R1-million per month since the troops had been withdrawn earlier this year.
The border between Lesotho and South Africa was especially a problem spot.
NNP representative on agriculture Bertie van der Merwe said the deployment of defence force troops along the border worked well in combating crime. ”… crime decreased by 50% compared to last year,” Van der Merwe said.
Lekota earlier said the armed forces were obligated to support the police in maintaining security, particularly where the latter was not equal to the task.
”If the police can’t cope they’ll tell us.”
The police had not asked the SANDF to return to the border, he said.
”It should not be a daily thing. In five years’ time there should be no reason to support the police except in an emergency.”
Police representative Senior Superintendent Lazarus Tlomatsana said the police was aware that the SANDF did not have the funds to continue guarding the borders.
He said guarding the country’s borders had always been a function of the defence force, with assistance from the police.
He said the police had set up a task team to ”look into the new situation” and that the police would have to expand their duties to include the borders.
”The whole process is being reviewed and if we get complaints from people affected by increasing crime on the borders, we will assist them,” Tlomatsana said.
Agri Free State said they welcomed his statement.
”We trust that the allocation of funds in future would be realistic and that it would not be necessary for farmers to take responsibility for border control,” the body said. – Sapa