Farmers waiting for cows to come home

Letters, Normal
Source:

The National, Monday January 4th, 2016

 THE National last week reported a donation of 20 cows and some cash money by Huon Gulf MP Ross Seymour as a Christmas gift to the people of West Taraka in Lae.

It has become a habit of Seymour to give cows and cash donations to people at every event or ceremony he attends. 

This is a sign of a leader who has no strategic and tangible development plan for his people and the electorate he represents.

Seymour in his previous capacity was as the manager of the public holding company formed between Wampar Small Cattleman’s Association and the State under the Public Private Partnership to manage the state owned cattle farm.  

This was a National Government programme initiated by former Huon Gulf MP Sasa Zibe. 

More than 5,000 cattle were made available through the National Agriculture Development Programme to revitalise the cattle industry through a breeder programme in Wampar area of Markham Valley. 

Seymour was responsible for the breeder farm to distribute the cattle herds for 80 small farmers in Wampar LLG because Wampar has the suitable land for the program. 

The 5,000 cattle were initially distributed between the 10 major breeder farmers and eventually the breeding programme would reach out to small 80 farmers in Wampar LLG.  

I wonder if Seymour has met these targets.  

The Government should check whether the 80 small farmers have received their cattle herds because we understand these farmers are still waiting to receive their cattle under the programme. 

Donating 20 herds of cattle to West Taraka is nonsense since there are no cattle farmers in this city suburb. What can the seurban cowboys do with the 20 cows?

We want the Huon Gulf MP to explain to the small farmers of Wampar where the cows that he donated to East Taraka came from.

East Taraka is in the Lae electorate so what benefit will the people of Huon Gulf get from their MP donating cows and money to people in another electorate.

It doesn;t make sense.

We want the Prime Minister and his Minister for Agriculture to investigate what is happening to the cattle breeder programme in Wampar LLG. Something is not right.

 


Dusty Zamunu

Huon Gulf , Morobe