President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address has received mixed responses from organised agriculture. Some organisations welcomed Mbeki’s comments on crime and his promises to do more to fight it, while others bemoaned the fact that not enough was said about agriculture’s role in South Africa.
Both Agri SA and Grain welcomed Mbeki’s comments on the ongoing development of the biofuels industry. “The commitment to develop an overarching strategy for key interventions to stimulate production, especially of capital goods, is also welcomed. It is understood the president refers to, among others, a trade policy that would include the implementation of a fair and reasonable tariff structure, also for agriculture,” said Grain general manager John Purchase.
Bennie van Zyl, TAU general manager, said it was a pity Mbeki didn’t address the agricultural situation in the country or the recent fallout between the agriculture minister and farmers’ unions. “Agriculture forms the basis of our economy and brings stability to the rural areas – it should be higher up on the agenda. And the food security issue wasn’t even mentioned, despite the fact that we have a food availability problem in our country,” Van Zyl said.
All agreed, however, that the speech should be judged by its outcomes. “It could be the best speech ever made by a president, but that has no impact. What one has to look at is whether government can deliver on those promises,” Van Zyl said. In stark contrast to last year’s address, Mbeki barely touched on the thorny land issue, probably because the reasons for dismal delivery are politically unpalatable. His 2006 address drew largely from resolutions formed at the previous year’s Land Summit, which included scrapping the willing buyer, willing seller principle, fast-tracking expropriation and introducing a progressive tax to discourage land speculation – all premised on the perceived reluctance of white landowners to part with their properties.
By the end of last year it had become clear to government that ineptitude of its own officials was at least as important as resistance from white landowners in causing delays, prompting the land and agriculture minister to launch a probe into the performance of its administration.
Mbeki urged “more effort” in settling the more complex remaining restitution claims, and repeated last year’s promise that reasons delaying land delivery would be reviewed. Presumably this implies both boosting administrative efficiencies and continuing discussions on implementing Land Summit resolutions outlined above. Mbeki also pledged to improve and expand infrastructure and input support from small-scale and cooperative farmers. – Gwenda van Zyl and Stephan Hofstätter
