Grain South Africa was disappointed with the Agricultural Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) framework document launched on Monday, the body’s chairperson said on Tuesday.
Bully Botma said in a statement that throughout the process of drawing up the document roleplayers and stakeholders had committed themselves in good faith to a process that ”could deliver an acceptable framework document for black economic empowerment in the agricultural sector”.
Botma said it was clear earlier in the year that the process was being derailed when a meeting on the impact of land reform was delayed until early this month.
He said many of the key elements agreed upon by the stakeholders and roleplayers were left out of the published document, while many others had been unilaterally introduced.
Botma cautioned that the provisions of the framework document introduced on Monday could have a negative impact on the further process.
He also urged agricultural minister Thoko Didiza to take greater notice of the needs as put forward by the Agri BEE working group.
Didiza said on Monday in a speech prepared for delivery in East London that the Agri BEE framework document ”should be seen as a guide to help us work together in finding solutions that will reverse the inequities that are still prevalent in our society, particularly in the economic sphere”.
She said the framework aimed to deracialise land ownership, control of land and skilled occupations, as well as develop initiatives to help blacks to own, establish, or participate in agricultural enterprises.
Various targets, including a 30% black ownership of agricultural land by 2014 was announced.
”It is also necessary that we further look at the possibility of creating opportunities for leasehold above this 30% which can be accessed by black people for agricultural use,” she said.
She suggested making a further 20% of agricultural land available to black people through leaseholds.
”We also propose that an amount of land be made available for use by farm workers in order to address issues of poverty alleviation as well as creating opportunities for SMEE (small, medium and micro enterprises) development within this sector.”
The minister said she was committed to improving literacy and numeracy skills for
farm workers and agri-businesses.
She said the framework, which would be launched to the provinces in August, would help to deal with matters unique to agriculture, including land reform. – Sapa