The DA says it has received thousands of signatures from concerned citizens petitioning President Cyril Ramaphosa to act to protect rural communities.
The party launched the #RuralSafety campaign last week as a result of the unprecedented number of attacks on people who live in rural communities.
DA spokesperson, Ina Cilliers said that a total of 184 farm attacks and 20 farm murders had occurred in the country since the start of the year.
She said Gauteng had recorded the highest number of attacks, with 51 incidents.
Cilliers said at the end of 2018, there were 29,000 reported cases of livestock theft in South Africa, adding that this was costing the country billions of rand and was taking its toll on the agricultural economy.
She said a University of South Africa study on rural safety found that R1.3 billion was lost to livestock theft in one year.
- African News Agency
