South Africa’s internationally acclaimed wine industry could undergo significant changes in the future.
A two-day black economic empowerment conference, which began in Cape Town on Friday, is expected to thrash out a black economic empowerment (BEE) charter for the sector.
”I see this as a watershed initiative in setting empowerment and growth in the wine industry on a solid basis for the future,” said Agriculture and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza in her opening address.
Didiza said not enough black South Africans had made sufficient progress in farming or in the agricultural value chain, and a cross-sectoral agricultural BEE would represent a plan of ”deliberate and systematic” support.
”Notwithstanding the strides already taken within the wine and spirit industries, government is aware of the major challenges still facing the industry.”
The development of resources and the transfer of skills was an important challenge.
Farm workers, in the past ”merely workers”, also needed training ”so they can become wine makers and enter higher skilled opportunities”, she said.
Didiza said another area of concern was in accessing financial assistance for aspirant wine makers.
She argued for ”bold and courageous” decisions and said it was not enough to produce a BEE strategy on paper only.
”There must be a more concerted effort to transform this industry in a tangible and measured manner. It must be an industry capable of diversifying and pushing the boundaries of wine and spirit-making beyond what we see today,” she said.
Didiza mentioned that government would also be restructuring the South African Wine Industry Trust (Sawit), a quasi-public-private partnership mandated to facilitate the growth of historically-disadvantaged individuals in the wine industry and aid the commercial development and promotion of the South African wine
industry. Sawit is the conference host.
A senior lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch spoke on current BEE initiatives in the wine industry, saying that many innovations had been noted.
”We have seen third party shareholders who invest, housing and education security and out-contracting for mechanisation and other services. The biggest innovation has been branding (of wines) where the intellectual capital has been identified,” said Mohammed Karran.
Karran said that results from the point of view of workers in the wine industry to date indicated that there were ”serious” collective action problems because groups were not homogenous; an erosion of trust and social capital and in some instances ”severe dissent” occurred; heightened suspicions of ”entrepeneurial”
opportunism; and mixed financial results with recapitalisation required and even some closures and liquidations.
”Clearly (it has) shown that BEE not premised on human capital strategy is going to be flawed,” he said.
He argued for greater government flexibility and said banks had to present added financial packages.
The Western Cape Farmworkers Association told Sapa that they wanted to see empowerment throughout the whole chain of the wine industry.
”There also needs to be BEE talks in the fruit, grain and nursery gardens (sectors)… and the BEE wine charter must also look at supporting initiatives against Alcohol Foetal Syndrome and the tot-system,” said regional president Piet Waterboer. – Sapa