Nation in Conversation at NAMPO

The second session of Nation in Conversation at the Nampo Harvest Day festival in Bothaville on Tuesday saw the heat being turned up a notch or two in a panel comprising only black persons discussing the politics of food.

Mpumelelo Mkhabela, former editor of the Sowetan; Prince Mashele, political analyst; Joe Maswanganyi, Senwes group executive, and Prof. Mzukisi Qobo, political risk analyst, got their teeth stuck into this meaty topic where the conclusion was unanimous that “we need to move away from an ‘us and them mentality’ and realise that food security affects us all. If government continues to alienate farmers with unsustainable policies, and farmers continue to look at workers and black farmers as different entities to themselves, both parties end up losing”, said Prince Mashele.

Prince added that “you can’t just give people land. Does Julius Malema and the EFF know where the oil came from in which they cooked their bacon this morning? If you just gave people land without a support package that included training, financial aid and skills in all aspects of the business, the land will become unproductive and the entire country would end up starving.” Press Release