The long-awaited arrival of 175 goats in July last year was greeted with joy, and there were hopes that the Makana Goat Project, an initiative of the Makana Goat Farmers Co-operative, which got a R4 million start-up boost from the Eastern Cape government in 2007, would finally take off. It hasn't.
The long-awaited arrival of 175 goats in July last year was greeted with joy, and there were hopes that the Makana Goat Project, an initiative of the Makana Goat Farmers Co-operative, which got a R4 million start-up boost from the Eastern Cape government in 2007, would finally take off. It hasn't.
Instead, a request for a report from the project's beneficiaries has brought up allegations of mismanagement, personal vendettas, ruin, and a debt of R850 000.
Thina Sinako, a support programme run in partnership with the Eastern Cape's Department of Local Development, says the project's term ended on 30 November. Now the department wants a report from the beneficiaries – plus they need to pay back R850 000.
The local government is also demanding answers. Councillor Les Reynolds at the municipality's recent Economic Development, Tourism and Heritage portfolio committee meeting asked how long Makana, which had helped facilitate the project, would have to keep on nursing it.
Thina Sinako visited the project in October. The report from their agricultural expert was that the goats were in poor physical condition. One had died from suspected heartwater disease. Their well-being was further at risk because of erratic deliveries of water by the municipality.
"If the current status quo were to remain, the goats could all be dead by the end of the year," the report read, suggesting that it was cause for serious concern, given that they were bought with public funds. It was resolved that the goats be removed temporarily until 18 January next year and that a commercial farmer would be paid to help restore the goats to health.
Department of Local Economic Development director, Riana Meiring, said at a Project Management Committee meeting on Monday, 22 November attended by Thina Sinako, they had explicitly explained what would happen upon project closure.
Meiring said it was explained that the beneficiaries were responsible for compiling the closing-out report, which included a verification of expenditure since the inception of the project. This report must be submitted to Thina Sinako at the end of February in preparation for a final report by an appointed auditor.
"They made it clear that an amount of R850 000 needed to be recovered from the project," Meiring said. However, she said the time spent by the Municipality, Cacadu District Municipality and department of Agriculture could be converted to money, which could decrease the amount that needed to be recovered.
Meiring said that there was a PMC meeting scheduled for Thursday, 9 December where it would be discussed what would become of the goats once they were released from "hospital". Chairperson of the Makana Goat Farmers' Co-operative, Mike Mamkeli, told Grocott's Mail that the beneficiaries had opted for the goats to go back to Inneskilling Farm, where they planned to continue with the project and were looking for funds in this quest.
