RICHARDS BAY - KwaZulu-Natal is moving to declare the ongoing Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak a provincial disaster to address the crisis.
According to the KZN Premier, Thami Ntuli the province has recorded 207 cases.
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Ntuli said the growing number reflect the severity of the situation, with both commercial and communal farmers bearing the brunt of the outbreak.
"Declaring this as a provincial disaster will enforce the restrictions in the movement of the livestock in the province."
"At the same time, we wanted something that was going to empower us to be able to access a vaccine apart from what we were expecting to receive from a national government," Ntuli said.
The Premier also confirmed that he has met with the Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen who has committed that with the 1.5 million doses of the Foot and Mouth, KZN will be in the front line in terms of provision.