The government sought to assure agricultural leaders on Tuesday that it had no intention of tampering with a report on violent farm attacks, Agri SA said.
”Minister Charles Nqakula (of safety and security) told us the government had no desire to change the contents of the report,” Agri SA spokesperson Kobus Visser said.
An Agri SA delegation met Nqakula and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota in Pretoria in the morning to discuss rural safety and related issues.
Also on the agenda was an inquiry by independent experts, instituted in 2001 by the government, into the motives behind farm attacks. It was commissioned by former safety and security minister Steve Tshwete at the request of Agri SA.
Nqakula earlier in the month promised the report would be released last Wednesday. When this did not happen, his office said the minister first wanted to take up some queries with investigators.
The delay prompted accusations that the government intended tampering with the document, and might want to change a reported finding that some rural brutality was racially motivated.
Nqakula explained on Tuesday he wanted to consult the investigating committee before submitting the report to Cabinet, Visser said.
”According to the minister, his department intends to be able to outline its response to the findings of the report when they are released.”
Visser said Agri SA had understanding for this approach. In a statement, Agri SA and the two ministers said: ”Government is following due process to ensure the speedy release of the report.”
Visser said Lekota told union leaders no rural security vacuum would arise from the phasing out of commandos over the next six years.
”We were assured the safety of the farming community would not be compromised in the process,” he said. – Sapa