Comment on this story
Independent Newspapers
Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini has called on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to stop international suppliers from using the province as a dumping ground for sub-standard food. File photo: S’bonelo Ngcobo
Durban – Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini has called on the people of KwaZulu-Natal to stop international suppliers from using the province as a dumping ground for sub-standard food.
Speaking during the opening of a two-day Ingonyama Rural Development Forum in Durban yesterday, the king said the province had enough land for fresh food production.
King Zwelithini is the chairman of the Ingonyama Trust Board, which organised the forum in preparation for the Rural Development Summit, which takes place inDurban next month.
He appealed to community leaders to come up with ideas of how to use rural land productively.
“I don’t support imported food. I want food to be produced here. Let us not be treated as a dustbin for lower quality food which cannot be consumed where it comes from,” he said.
According to the SA Revenue Service website, food suppliers spent R4.5 billion on importing dairy and grain products in April.
KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union president Brian Aitken, said
: “We provide rural stability, we provide food and we employ South Africans. Which is why we do not support the importing of food.”
Judge Jerome Ngwenya, acting chairman of the board, said it had asked tribal authorities to provide 100ha of land each to be used for food production.
The Mercury
Comment Guidelines
- Please read our comment guidelines.
- Login and register, if you haven’ t already.
- Write your comment in the block below and click (Post As)
- Has a comment offended you? Hover your mouse over the comment and wait until a small triangle appears on the right-hand side. Click triangle (
) and select “Flag as inappropriate”. Our moderators will take action if need be.
