Farmers warned to stay vigilant during the festive season

MBOMBELA –  On November 23 Lowvelder reported an almost twofold increase in housebreaking and theft incidents on farms in the greater Mbombela region.

 John Meintjies, chairman of Mbombela’s community policing forum (CPF), told the newspaper that there is definitely an escalation of criminal activity in the city. He explained that it is “that time of the year” and people on farms are soft targets.

Tommy Esterhuizen, the Agri SA media spokesman, indicated that 53 murders were recorded by the organisations this year, compared to 54 last year. “These figures are disturbing and could still increase by the end of the year,” he said.

 

“There have already been 383 farm attacks this year, compared to 394 in 2018. This is indicative of the risk to which farmers and farmworkers are exposed every day,” the statement read.

In recent meetings by the organisatons, their security structures indicated, that they were in favour of the creating a rural safety coordinating forum to promote cooperation and unity within the rural safety strategy. It was stated that “stock theft poses the greatest threat to stock farmers, the stock theft prevention forum will form part of the proposed rural safety coordinating forum”.

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The organisations causioned the farming community be more vigilant and better prepared by utilising the following methods:

• Employ effective access control and always be aware of visitors on your farm.
• Landowners must actively participate in their local organised agriculture and farm watch structures.
• Ensure that various alternative communication sources, such as radios, are available in the event of a power outage.
• Avoid selling farm produce directly from your homestead, as there was a recent shooting of a farmer in cold blood, where criminals pretended to be sheep buyers.

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• Apply proper control over farm equipment and secure it by locking up at night.
• Count your animals regularly as stock theft may increase during this time.
• Store your firearms in a safe.
• Educate visitors on your security planning so that they know how to act in an emergency situation.
• Report all suspicious-looking people and activities to your nearest police station. It is essential to maintain good communication with the local SAPS.