Article By: Giovanna Gerbi, EWN
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille on Thursday said the agricultural sector stood to lose millions of rands following Wednesday's mayhem there.
Violence spread rapidly as farm workers marched through several Boland, West Coast and Cape Winelands towns - leaving a trail of destruction.
The workers are demanding that farmers pay them at least R150 per day, instead of the minimum amount of R70 they are currently earning.
Zille briefed the media yesterday, on how security measures were being implemented at the provincial disaster risk management centre.
She described the unfolding violence as a crises and feared violence in the province would spiral into anarchy.
Zille could not put a monetary value on the losses, but stated that it had already run into millions of rand.
Several buildings in Wolseley were razed to the ground, while packing sheds and fruit ready for export were set alight in other towns.
In Ceres and Prince Alfred Hamlet, 8,000 crates of grapes were charred.
Zille said protesting workers would ultimately be the ones to lose out.
“The people, who are going to be devastated by this are the workers, who will no longer have jobs to go to because the entire harvest [will] be destroyed and all the infrastructure that goes with it.”
The premier also called for Labour Minister Mildred Olifant to return from his overseas trip to address the farm protests - which started last week.
Meanwhile, a 28-year-old farmworker was killed in Wolseley yesterday, during a police operation.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the matter.
(Edited by Lindiwe Mlandu)
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