FMD outbreak cripples butcheries
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Wednesday February 11, 2026 11:58
The FMD outbreak, which has been ongoing since February 2 in Jackalas No.1, North East District, has prompted the government to impose restrictions on animal movement and launch vaccination efforts.
During the recent kgotla meeting addressed by then-acting president Ndaba Gaolathe, a business owner and farmer, Tomas Shabalala indicated that he has been forced to close his butchery due to the outbreak, leaving him and his employees without income.
He stated that because he solely depends on selling beef, he is praying that, just as it was during the COVID-19 outbreak, there would be a subsidy.
Shabalala mentioned that he is renting and has employees who still want to be paid even after the business is closed.
'If, for example, I was giving my employees P3,000 as their salary, the government can assist with P1,500, and I will pay the rest during the tough times,' he added.
He stated that the FMD outbreak started in 2001 and is still ongoing.
'According to my calculation, this disease will be celebrating 25 years of tormenting us,' he continued.
He revealed that in 2010, he lost close to 135 cattle to FMD.
Shabalala made a request that officers should vaccinate cattle even when there is no outbreak of FMD.
'What I saw yesterday (Thursday) was heartbreaking because when veterinary officers are administering vaccines, the farmers were present; therefore, I am also pleading that social workers should be present to offer counselling to farmers who will be going through a lot at the time,' he added.
He also said that the fence is always destroyed daily due to cross-border criminal activities, and no one is arrested.
A farmer representative from Moroka village, Joseph Balise, said that there is a need for intensive border patrol.
'As an impassioned plea to you, it is high time there was a budget for the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) set aside for patrolling along the border line, which could help curb cross-border crimes, Foot and Mouth (Disease), amongst other things,' he continued.
Ramokgwebana Farmers' committee chairperson, Mpaladza Alec, said that there is a need for drones and a helicopter to patrol along the border.
He also said that another alternative was to come up with a border gate between Jackalas No.1 and Matsiloje to cover up the long distance.
He stated that the distance between the two villages leads to people crossing the fence illegally.
Alec also mentioned that people in Jackalas and the surrounding areas do not have a grazing area; hence, the alternative may be to make use of nearby farms so that cattle movement can be limited.
He said that veterinary officers need to be present at all times, but not be active on dates after the outbreak of FMD for preventative measures.
Another farmer representative from Siviya, Busani Selalami, was concerned about the recurrence of FMD in the area.
Selalami said that last time, it was raised that Zimbabwean citizens will enter Botswana using their identity card, which calls for the government to introduce another border gate for people not carrying goods to control the movement of people.
He said that this will help reduce the damage caused to the fence by people who regularly cross to and fro between the two countries.
'Patrols, which will be expensive, will not be a solution for the government. For instance, in areas like Butale, they will maintain the fence, and the following day, it will be down again,' he added.
Selalami stated that there is a new system, which is a drawback, of which, if illegal immigrants are caught, they are charged P300 and then released, which is of no use to their fight; there is a need for harsh punishment against such acts.
Acting Minister of Lands and Agriculture Edwin Dikoloti said that there is a need for farmers to bring their cattle for vaccination so that they can arrest the situation.
He said that even if the farms were allocated to the farmers, if the same farm is part of the affected zone, it will be red as well.
Dikoloti said that they needed to follow the instructions of the leaders and officials to fight against FMD.
He stated that 60% of the damaged fence is caused by people and animals; therefore, there is a need to set a record and report to the command centre.
He further said that there is a need for them to make use of the command centre.
He indicated that there is an ongoing training on drones at Tlokweng, and they want to make use of technology so that drones can be used to survey along the border and communicate with the command centre.