In a Stalineque move, the department edited a press photo to erase the biggest representative of South African farmers after his criticism of race-based expropriation
Today, Ernst van Zyl, the spokesman for AfriForum, discovered that the official photograph of the South African delegation to Germany displayed in the newsletter Peo (The Seed), the official newsletter for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, was digitally edited to remove Theo de Jager, head of the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai).
Below is provided the original photograph, followed by the version used in the official newsletter
Theo de Jager has been outspoken about the stance of the government regarding land expropriation, race-based and otherwise, and as head of SAAI, represents the largest number of individual farmers in the country.
Minister John Steenhuisen recently lambasted the various critics of the radical ANC policy on land reform and other race-based discrimination policies in agricultural policy, saying that "I will as the minister of Agriculture, continue to support interventions which create equalities of opportunity rather than those that seek to manipulate equalities of outcome. Without a sense of urgency to overcome historical injustice by those in government, South Africa will not enjoy a prosperous future."
The media contact for the department, Mr Reggie Ngcobo, could not be contacted for comment. The editorial team for the newsletter is produced here:
