Cabinet ramps up efforts on food security and disaster management

Banele Ginidza

Cabinet is placing a significant emphasis on food security and disaster management, as highlighted by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni during a report on Thursday.

The announcement follows the formation of two speciality task forces aimed at addressing the challenges confronting these critical sectors. This strategic move comes amidst growing scrutiny over the government's use of Value Added Tax as a means for revenue generation.

Ntshavheni assured South Africans that the government still had matters in order and would yet announce on sending out envoys to engage global partners.

"Remember, we’re not sending the envoys to the US alone. We’re sending envoys to all major capitals of the world. So we are meeting with the EU [European Union] so that we can engage on our way forward and how to deal with global challenges, how to deal with our own trade relations, how to grow our own economies, how to cooperate on matters of mutual interest, as we indicated in the statement," said Ntshavheni, dismissing a reported clamour by members of AfriForum and and the Democratic Alliance for relocation to the US on the that country's new administration's invitation.

"Sometimes you rush too early, and you get tripped up. So sometimes it’s better to relax. And we like our relaxing mode and our calm approach. But we continue to interact. Remember, the US sent representatives both to the Foreign Minister’s G20 meeting and also to the finance minister’s G20 meetings. So we are engaging. So don’t stress too much about the engagement."

She reported that the first Task Force Meeting on food security which was held virtually on 5 March 2025 discussed policies and programmes to improve food security with participants agreeing  to build a stronger, fairer and more sustainable food system. They also committed to address key challenges like trade barriers, funding for food production and the impact of climate change on food supply chains.

Ntshavheni said the 17.2% uptick in agriculture, along with growth in finance, trade and household sectors  gave confidence that economic growth coming off a 0.4 percentage point in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be bedrock food security would be built on.

She said the food security task team priorities identified at the last meeting included promoting inclusive market participation and food security, empowering youth and women in agrifood systems,  fostering innovation and technology transfer; and Building climate resilience for sustainable agriculture.

Meanwhile, the first Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting  discussed the acceleration of early warnings for all initiatives, which is a key global target set by the United Nations and reinforced the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. 

"South Africa sees this meeting as a key international forum to drive the agenda of a shared responsibility to build resilience, strengthen our cooperation, and drive meaningful action that is needed to prevent an escalation or exacerbation of risk," Ntshavheni said.

She identified priorities included addressing inequalities and reducing vulnerabilities through global coverage of early warning systems;  disaster resilient infrastructure;  financing for disaster risk reduction; disaster recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction; and Ecosystems-Based Approaches for DRR/Nature-Based Solutions.

Ntshavheni announced the upcoming Water Indaba, which is to form consensus on the state of water security in South Africa, progress on incomplete actions from the 2024 Water Summit and key actions required to improve water security and an updated (new) action plan.

"Cabinet acknowledged the water security challenges facing the country and reaffirms its commitment to ensure that every South African has access to clean, safe and sustainable water and sanitation services," Ntshavheni said.

"The expected outcomes of the Indaba are to have consensus on the state of water security in South Africa, progress on incomplete actions from the 2024 Water Summit and key actions required to improve water security and an updated (new) action plan."

BUSINESS REPORT