The governments of Botswana and Zimbabwe have taken a bold move to team up and fight the rampaging Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) that has ravaged Zones Six and Seven on the Botswana side.
The cost sharing exercise will entail the vaccination of about 220 000 cattle on the Zimbabwe side starting from the Plumtree area up to Beit Bridge.
On the Botswana side, the notorious epidemic is spreading like veldt fire having been diagnosed from Vakaranga up to Makomoto in Zone 6 as well as Robelela, Tshokwe up to Leribe near Bobonong in the Zone 7 area.
When the disease was first diagnosed in April, the number of affected was estimated at about 23 000 but the figures have so far risen to around 45 000.
Addressing kgotla meetings at Matsiloje and Matopi villages, Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Oreeditse Molebatsi, informed the farmers that he had come to consult them and further inform them about the rapid spread of the disease.
He said he was initially scheduled to come last week but his visit was postponed because investigations on the spread of the disease were still being carried out and the government was not yet sure where it would end.
Molebatsi said the whole area east of the railway line from Vakaranga to Makomoto was infected.
He also informed the farmers that government had agreed with Zimbabwe government to buy cattle that were vaccinated and that the first batch of 120 cattle had already been dispatched to Zimbabwe.
The assistant minister said the decision to sell to Zimbabwe was reached after it was realized that the Francistown abattoir could not be able to absorb all the cattle as initially planned.
However, not all the cattle in the affected areas will be sold to Zimbabwe as some would be killed, especially those that have been diagnosed with the disease.
He said while negotiations with Zimbabwe were continuing, the compensation rate still stood at P1 700 per animal adding that the farmers would be paid 70 percent in cash while 30 percent would go into restocking once the disease has been eradicated.
Molebatsi also said some of the decisions taken by government in the fight against the spread of the disease included the creation of a 10 kilometre buffer zone.
Responding to the minister’s address, Albert Mosojane said they were worried that some of them had obtained loans from the National Development Bank through the Ntlhatlose ko Morakeng scheme and wondered how they were going to service their loans.
Matsiloje Kgosi, Lephalo asked the minister that the meat from the killed cattle be supplied to the schools and the destitute while Masocha Masocha was worried that this was not the first time that the cattle were killed in their area as the same was done during the 2002/03 outbreak.
Masocha was also worried over the distance they had to trek the animals to the designated slaughter points while another farmer decried the killing of the cattle instead of vaccination asking that they be allowed to sell since a market has been identified.
Joel Mpetsane was worried that there could be another recurrence after the restocking exercise and asked if there was any assurance to curb further recurrences in the future, adding that government should ensure that they were fully consulted during the creation of the buffer zone.
He also requested that they be allowed to eat the meat and wondered what assurance there was that if Zimbabwe bought the animals for a better price the compensation rate would be increased.
Some farmers complained that they did not understand how the government had arrived at the 30 percent restocking and when the restocking would take place.
Another farmer, Modisenyane blamed veterinary officers for negligence in doing their work hence the spread of the disease and echoed the sentiments of other farmers on the distance involved to the designated slaughtering points while another farmer wondered whether government allowed them to opt for cash as opposed to the 30 percent restocking.
Some farmers  were worried that Zimbabwe may fail to pay Botswana as the northern neighbour already owed the country the money they were loaned during their fuel crisis.
Simon Lephalo was unhappy that the Ministers of Labour and Home Affairs and Wildlife and Environment (Peter Siele and Kitso Mokaila) had refused to address them as per their requests.
Alfred Majama queried the criteria that was used to kill the cattle in Zone Six and vaccinating cattle in Zone Seven and described it as discriminatory.
In reply Dr Micus Chimbombi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of  Agriculture asked the farmers to cooperate with his officers to ensure that the exercise was smoothly carried out, adding that his deputy, Dr Letshwenyo, had been assigned to coordinate the exercise to ensure that it was effectively done and address other problems.
He also acknowledged that some people had obtained loans from the banks and that their pleas would be taken to government for consideration, adding that they would be consulted on the issue of the buffer zone.
Matopi farmers bemoaned that they were not consulted before the decision to sell the cattle to Zimbabwe was taken.
Area MP Samson Moyo Guma, who accompanied the minister, was worried about the rapid spread of the disease and pleaded with the minister to ensure that the farmers plea for the replacement of the first 10 cattle  be considered by government.
Government has decided that farmers with 10 or less cattle can opt for a full restocking.
Meanwhile, government has expressed its disappointment over parliament’s rejection of the inclusion of the veterinary services cadre under the essential services in the Trades and Dispute Act.
In a statement, government said failure to control FMD in cattle has remained a recurring threat to the country’s cattle industry.
“Millions of Pula have been spent to make sure that Botswana remains FMD free and that the cattle industry, that many Batswana are dependent upon, is protected. The current spate of the disease appears to be more threatening than those we have had before. We received reports that some union activists attempted to influence those charged with the management of FMD to go on strike. It is clear that any intensification of strike action in the industry would clearly cause irreparable damage to our economy and the livelihood of Batswana,” read the government statement.
