Johannesburg – Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi reiterated that political representatives should not get involved in business, following reports of dying animals on a farm owned by National Council of Provinces (NCOP) chairperson Thandi Modise.

Vavi expressed his shock over the issue in a speech prepared for delivery at the Food and Allied Workers Union’s regional congress in Port Elizabeth.

“We were all shocked at the story of the dead and dying animals on the farm of…Modise,” said Vavi.

“It reinforces our insistence that political representatives should not get involved in business. They must choose one or the other, and not try to fight for the poor, while enriching themselves from their businesses.”

Last weekend, police and officials of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) went to the farm and discovered pigs, sheep, geese, goats and ducks that had been without water and food for around two weeks.

There were no farmworkers on the property, no electricity, and the water pumps were broken.

At the time, Modise told the Sunday Independent newspaper that she was still “trying” to farm: “I am learning. But if you are a woman and you are learning you are not allowed to make mistakes.”

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