Koos Meiring from the farm Diepkloof in Barandas has won the Klein Karoo’s Farm Worker of the Year Competition. Meiring grew up at Diepkloof, and left school early due to financial constraints. He worked on the farm for a year, then completed an apprenticeship as a welder, after which he worked for 12 years in George.
He returned to Diepkloof in 1993 and was soon promoted to middle management. The 48-year-old Meiring was surprised to win and thanked his employer, JP van der Westhuysen, and his family for their contribution to his success. The judges selected him for his people skills and active involvement in the community. With his support, his wife Nancy was able to open a nursery school in Rooirivier for the community’s children.
Other winners included Ricardo Timmie in the category of Best General Worker; Koos Fourie for Best Tractor Driver; Sageas McKenna for Best Administrative Staff; Jan Marais for Best Technical Operator and Charles Minie for Best Junior Management. The marketing manager of Sanlam Cobalt, Erna Wentzel, said the competition, which is sponsored by the agriculture department in the Western Cape and Sanlam, has made a huge contribution towards upliftment. “The quality of the entrants is testimony to how much farmworkers are improving each year and making a valuable contribution to the sustainability of agriculture and their communities,” she said. The winners will be competing in the provincial Farm Worker of the Year in October. – Glenneis Erasmus
PG Bison plant kicks off near Ugie
The Premier of the Eastern Cape, Nosimo Balindlela, recently opened the new particle board plant in the pine forest plantations near Ugie. The plant is at the centre of a R1,5 billion forestry cluster development, which is meant to transform this remote area. Local timber products manufacturer and distributor PG Bison embarked on this greenfield development, with the financial backing of parent company Steinhoff International. The plant will be supplied with timber from the PG Bison plantations grown on 33 000ha of the 80 000ha of land holdings.
Balindlela attributed the success of the project to good governance and the ability to make speedy decisions when investors knock on the door. “This particle board plant represents four years of resilient and tenacious effort by the government and the private sector,” she said. PG Bison is currently engaging the local communities of Gcunkunqa and Etwa in out-grower schemes, where 3 000ha of timber will be planted for future use.
According to PG Bison, the 1 000m³/day particle board plant, which has a 35 000m²/day short-cycle press, is significant as it aims to extract the most value from raw materials by using the whole tree in an integrated operation. The forestry cluster development is a significant economic boost for the region, having already created almost 1 200 permanent jobs. – Tim and Sharon Salmon
