Shock has, up to now, kept me from passing comment on the passing of the Protection of State Information Bill by the puppets the ANC has for MPs. Oh no, I hear you say, not politics again!

I live for the day when politicians will mind their own business and leave farming to the farmers. However, I fear I will be long dead and buried, and politicians will still be pushing their own agendas. With food security sure to become a major factor in future politics, you can bet your bottom dollar that their interference will get worse, and not lessen.

So why do I say this “Secrecy Bill”, as it’s commonly referred to, will affect agriculture? Need I remind you how Farmer’s Weekly uncovered the fraud at Land Bank and how we reported on inflated land valuations for land reform? What has this got to do with state security you ask?

I don’t know either, but according to the Sunday Times, General Solly Shoke, the chief of the South African National Defence Force, the definition of national security encompasses “economic, social and environmental developments.” So there you have it, agriculture can be of national concern on all three counts.

To sell the idea of the Secrecy Bill, I see government has taken out an advertisement in the Sunday papers. In the ad, it promises that it will put measures in place to prevent those officials who will be deciding on the classification of information from being corrupted. Zuma has been promising to clamp down on corruption for years. We’re yet to see any results. Why should we believe that the Classification Review Panel will be any different? Oh, and the advert says that anyone can apply to the courts to have information declassified.

Meanwhile, the ANC is making plans to have court rulings “assessed” by government to see “if we are moving in the right direction”. And Zuma made sure he has a malleable chief justice in place. Their argument?

The courts must reflect the will of the people. But their will isn’t necessarily in accordance with the law. And by people ‘they’ of course means the ANC executive committee. The ‘people’ who voted them into power have long ago become irrelevant.

But for now we still have a Constitutional Court which puts the law above politics and which will surely be asked to judge on the constitutionality of the bill. And let’s not forget that even though we’re living in uncertain times, farmers through the ages have always proven themselves resilient.

Whether it was after losing all but two of their horses, like the Cloetes in this week’s main feature or losing their whole crop to a hailstorm, farmers pick themselves up and give it another go. Because, as many farmers say, “I can’t imagine doing anything else but farming, it’s in my blood.”

Does this mean though, that we should sit back and let the politicians ride roughshod over our rights? Just let them try, they might get more than they bargained for.

Regards

Alita van der Walt

Editor - Farmer's Weekly