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John Steenhuisen, the Minister of Agriculture, and his department have committed treason against livestock farmers and consumers in the country with their handling of the purchase of vaccines against foot and mouth disease (FMD) and Design Biologix’s role therein, says AfriForum.

“The Minister knows that the government is ineffective and that the private sector is effective. Yet he chose the ineffective government over the private sector by having the Department of Agriculture covertly apply pressure to exclude Design Biologix from the process,” says Lambert de Klerk, Manager for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum.

During the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) North West Congress in Potchefstroom on Monday, Steenhuisen implied that Design Biologix had withdrawn its application to import and distribute the FMD vaccine – which is manufactured in Argentina by Biogénesis Bagó. This would mean that the exclusive agency contract between Design Biologix and Biogénesis Bagó was consequently revoked. Design Biologix confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that this is untrue and that their exclusion is the result of intervention by officials from the Department of Agriculture.

Issued by AfriForum