DTA president Katuutire Kaura asked Parliament to debate on the pros and cons of an envisaged export levy by government on live calves, also called "weaners" to South Africa from 1 November 2006. This levy would hit communal farmers especially in the Omaheke region, Kaura told the House this week. "Communal farmers produced some 75% of the 150,000 that were exported to South Africa each year, Kaura argued. The government had amended the Customs and Excise Act of 198 in 2004 with putting on a 30% levy on all slaughter-ready cattle exports on hoof and weaners were exempted for 3 years and that grace period would end on 31 October, Kaura said. The exemption was granted on condition that "the activities of the traders in weaners would be closely monitored and reviewed on an annual basis to assess their impact on the effectiveness of the levy system in place". - He wanted to know, Kaura said, where these annual reviews were so that they could be scrutinized. Namibia’s abattoirs did not have the capacity to slaughter 150,000 additional weaners from November onwards, Kaura said. Should the Cabinet resolution of 2004 be implemented, Kaura warned, then Namibia would loose that market in South Africa and in return, South Africa might import cheap meat from New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Argentina. This would cause the death of Namibia’s meat industry, the DTA leader told the House.