JOHANNESBURG - The Gauteng High Court has set a deadline for Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen in a case over access to foot-and-mouth disease vaccines.
The court has ordered the department to publish a key plan by early May and hit them with a punitive cost order.
Steenhuisen says the delay accusations are untrue, as they are engaged in trying to vaccinate as many animals as quickly as possible.
"We're in the midst of a crisis. Let's get through this. Let's vaccinate as many animals as quickly as possible," he urged.
"And obviously, we can sit down there afterwards and have the luxury to have these long discussions. But right now, the imperative is to vaccinate as many animals as quickly as possible. And certainly that's where my focus is."
Steenhuisen said everybody needs to work together to achieve results.
"I don't think court cases and running interference is going to yield the results that we want in the short term," he said.
"We really have an opportunity here to give the South African red meat sector the best chance it's had in 20 years to start to get the international premiums again and to get FMD under control."