Agri SA
Mediaverklaring / News release
Agri SA, Posbus/ PO Box 1508 Pretoria 0001, Tel +27+12 322 6980, Faks/ Fax +27+12 320 0557
1 Desember 2006
Agri SA stem nie in tot AgriSEB-handves veranderinge
Agri SA het met teleurstelling verneem dat van die mees kritieke elemente van die konsep AgriSEB-handves - wat deur die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee voorberei is - nie deur die Minister van Landbou en Grondsake aanvaar is nie. Sy het onder andere 'n verhoogde mikpunt vir Swart eienaarsbelang vir oorweging daargestel en die net ook veel wyer gegooi vir die insluiting van kleiner boerderye by die kwalifiserende kleinsakegroep deur die voorgestelde jaarlikse omsetdrumpel vir vrystelling van AgriSEB-verpligtinge van R5 miljoen tot R1,5 miljoen te verlaag.
Agri SA het vroeër vanjaar insette by die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee gedoen oor benaderings tot Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging in die landbou wat goed aansluiting sou vind met dit wat in die res van ekonomie toepassing vind, en nie ontwrigtend vir die groot persentasie relatief klein boerdery-ondernemings sou wees nie. Hierdie voorstelle is waar moontlik met amptelike statistiek en empiriese gegewens gemotiveer en is as sodanig deur die Stuurkomitee aanvaar. Agri SA sal nou weereens hierdie motivering dokumenteer en aan die Minister sowel as die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee voorlê.
Dit is vir Agri SA vreemd en onaanvaarbaar dat daar sonder inagneming van basiese ekonomiese gegewens wysigings op die voorstelle van die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee aangebring is met die twyfelagtige uitgangspunt dat klein landbou-ondernemings in 'n beter posisie is as soortgelyke ondernemings in ander sektore van die ekonomie is om aan die indikatore en teikens van Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging te voldoen. Dit is Agri SA se mening dat met inagneming van heersende ekonomiese omstandighede in die landbou, die teendeel eerder die geval is.
Agri SA wil dit ook kategories stel dat sy verteenwoordigers op geen stadium ingestem het tot die veranderings wat die Minister van Landbou en Grondsake op die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee se voorstelle aangebring het en by 'n parlementêre portefeuljekomitee-vergadering aangekondig het nie. Die gewysigde voorstelle is derhalwe beslis nie die resultaat van raadpleging met belanghebbendes soos Agri SA nie. Nog minder kan Agri SA die strekking van die Minister se jongste voorstelle ten opsig van gewysigde teikens steun teenoor dit wat die AgriSEB-Stuurkomitee aan haar voorgelê het nie.
Daarom vind Agri SA dit jammer dat 'n regeringswoorvoerder op 30 November 2007 tydens 'n SABC 2 nuusprogram die indruk gelaat het dat die voorstelle soos aangekondig deur die Minister van Landbou en Grondsake die resultaat van raadpleging en onderhandeling is. Soos reeds gemeld kan hierdie standpunt nie van toepassing wees op die kritieke elemente van die konsep-hanves wat die Minister van Landbou en Grondsake goedgevind het om te wysig nie.
Agri SA sal graag deel wil wees van 'n benadering tot Swart Ekonomiese Bemagtiging in die landbou waarby die oorgrote persentasie van geaffekteerdes kan inkoop en sodoende, sonder ontwrigting van die ekonomiese lewensvatbaarheid van die duisende boerderye van 'n relatief klein skaalgrootte, kan bydra tot die sinvolle transformasie van die landbousektor met behoud van die landbou se produksie-prestasie en landelike stabiliteit. Agri SA vertrou dat die proses vorentoe voorsiening sal maak vir die akkomdering van voorstelle en 'n benadering wat dit moontlik sal maak.
Uitgereik deur Agri SA: Korporatiewe Skakeling
Navrae: Lourie Bosman, Agri SA President, 082 388 3000
News release
1 December 2006
Agri SA do not agree to AgriBEE chater changes
Agri SA was disappointed to learn that the most critical elements of the draft AgriBEE charter - which was prepared by the AgriBEE Steering Committee - were not accepted by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs. She, among other things, set a higher target for black ownership for consideration, and cast the net much wider for the inclusion of smaller farming operations within the qualifying small-business group by reducing the proposed annual turnover threshold for exemption from AgriBEE obligations from R5 million to R1,5 million.
Earlier this year Agri SA submitted input to the AgriBEE Steering Committee regarding an approach to Black Economic Empowerment in agriculture which would have been in line with what is happening in the rest of the economy and would not be disruptive for a large percentage of relatively small farming operations. These proposals were, where possible, motivated with official statistics and empirical data and were accepted as such by the Steering Committee. Agri SA will now again document this motivation and submit it to the Minister as well as the AgriBEE Steering Committee.
Agri SA finds it strange and unacceptable that amendments were effected to the AgriBEE Steering Committee’s proposals without taking into account the basic economic data, with the dubious point of departure that small farming operations are in a better position than similar businesses in other sectors of the economy to comply with the indicators and targets of Black Economic Empowerment. Given the current economic conditions in agriculture, Agri SA is of the opinion that the opposite is in fact true.
Agri SA wishes to state categorically that its representatives had at no stage agreed to the changes to the AgriBEE Steering Committee’s proposals which the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs announced during a parliamentary Portfolio Committee meeting. The amended proposals were therefore definitely not the result of consultation with stakeholders such as Agri SA. Moreover, Agri SA finds even less acceptable the purport of the Minister’s latest proposals in respect of amended targets as opposed to those that the AgriBEE Steering Committee had submitted to her.
For this reason Agri SA finds it regrettable that a government spokesperson on 30 November 2007 during an SABC2 news programme created the impression that the proposals as announced by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs had been the result of consultation and negotiation. As mentioned, this view cannot be applicable to the critical elements of the draft charter which the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs had decided to change.
Agri SA would like to be part of an approach to Black Economic Empowerment in agriculture which the vast majority of affected parties can buy into and, in the process, contribute to the meaningful transformation of the agricultural sector while maintaining agriculture’s production performance and rural stability and without disrupting the economic viability of thousands of relatively small-scale farming operations. Agri SA hopes that the process to be followed from here onwards will accommodate proposals and an approach that would make this possible.
Issued by Agri SA: Corporate Liaison
Enquiries: Lourie Bosman, Agri SA President, 082 388 3000