Minister John Steenhuisen is facing legal action from business organisation Sakeliga, led by CEO Piet le Roux, alongside Saai and Free State Agriculture, over his refusal to allow private, on-farm vaccinations during a severe Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak.
The organisations have approached the Pretoria High Court seeking an urgent interdict to prevent the Department of Agriculture from interfering with private vaccination efforts. Sakeliga argues the ban on private procurement and administration of FMD vaccines is unlawful and is causing “long-term damages” to the meat industry through obstructionist policies.
After demanding that Steenhuisen allow private vaccination programmes and receiving no satisfactory response by 30 January, the groups launched court action. Steenhuisen has defended his position, stating that private vaccination could interfere with official efforts and that the government had already imported vaccines and accredited private veterinarians.
The Minister dismissed the legal challenge as based on “absolute fabrication” and accused the industry groups of acting on false premises.
The dispute has escalated beyond vaccination policy, with Steenhuisen holding a briefing last month specifically addressing what he termed “malicious misinformation”. During the briefing, he accused Le Roux of making false claims, including allegations that he had introduced “AgriBEE” transformation policies and established transformation funds.
“Both these claims are false and are clearly being used by Piet Le Roux to steer a public campaign of misinformation and distortion,” Steenhuisen said. “He seeks to falsely portray me as some BEE Tsar in order to try and drive Sakeliga’s own membership and income through manufacturing outrage and sensationalism.”
The Minister said he wished to “set the record straight and refute Mr Le Roux’s baseless sensationalism”. The legal battle highlights severe tensions between agricultural stakeholders and government over FMD management strategies, with both sides accusing each other of undermining efforts to combat the outbreak.
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