Trade union the South African Parastatal and Tertiary Institutions Union (Saptu)\u00a0– affiliate of the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa) – and Afriforum have\u00a0called on\u00a0government to act decisively, following\u00a0a spate of high-profile attacks since the beginning of February.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaptu has noted with great concern that 11 people were killed on farms in the first 14 days of February this year alone, averaging one murder a day,\u201d the federation said in a statement on Saturday.<\/p>\n
This was echoed by Fedusa general secretary, Dennis George, as he noted that\u00a0government should begin\u00a0looking deeper into “the real causes” of farm killings, instead of treating them as traditional crimes or a way of dealing with the thorny land reform issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur agricultural community is a strategically important component that ensures stability by being putting food on everyone\u2019s table,\u201d said George.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe strongly feel that regardless of our differences, the ongoing attacks on farmers will not help bring any solution. We need to escalate this problem and engage our government and encourage all citizens to unite and strongly condemn these killings.”<\/p>\n