The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has announced that it will be suspending the Presidential Employment Stimulus vouchers programme immediately following unhappiness about the programme’s implementation.

The programme – which is in its second phase – is geared at assisting subsistence farmers to buy means of production through vouchers in order to feed themselves and their families.

Women, youth and people with disabilities, as well as child headed households, farmworkers and farm dwellers were earmarked as the programme’s main beneficiaries.

The department explained that it is “reviewing, reengineering and redesigning” the implementation of the programme to make it more efficient.

“It is unfortunate that the department has received endless complaints from the PES [Presidential Employment Stimulus] beneficiaries and the South African community at large, regarding various challenges on the PES implementation. These implementation challenges cannot be left unattended, hence the decision by the department to temporarily halt the current implementation.”

The department said it will be communicating with beneficiaries on the way forward.

“Beneficiaries are further urged to check their cell phones’ messages as sent by the department from time to time. The department had issued production input vouchers in support of subsistence producers, as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus in South Africa,” the department said.

Source: South African Government News Agency