The role of political oversight is often underestimated, but it is a vital instrument for holding the executive accountable, monitoring action and intervening where capacity is lacking.
Oversight is not merely an administrative process, but an essential mechanism to ensure that policy is effectively implemented and that failures are remedied.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus), which chairs the Gauteng Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Environmental Affairs, is leading this crucial process regarding the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis with the support of all parties serving on the Committee. The focus is on protecting food security, agricultural production and jobs – rather than on party-political differences.
On 28 February and 1 March 2026, a joint oversight workshop led by the Freedom Front Plus, in collaboration with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), will take place at the Fairways Hotel in Randburg.
The workshop brings together committees from all nine provinces to assess the current status and spread of FMD, evaluate the effectiveness of containment and biosecurity measures, review vaccination programmes and control of livestock movement, and examine the economic implications for farmers and the broader value chain.
The aim is to move beyond diagnosis and develop practical solutions that restore confidence, stabilise the sector and protect livelihoods.
FMD remains one of the most damaging transboundary animal diseases affecting cloven-hoofed livestock.
Outbreaks have disrupted production, jeopardised export markets and placed enormous pressure on rural communities.
The ripple effect extends far beyond farms and affects households, informal traders and the entire agricultural value chain. This crisis demands urgent, coordinated and accountable action from the executive – and it is precisely here that political oversight plays an indispensable role.
The Freedom Front Plus remains determined to keep fulfilling its leading role, with the support of other parties, to hold the executive accountable and ensure that the necessary steps are taken to protect the agricultural industry and South Africa’s food security.
