Askies baas Jannie & voracious appetites

I stand corrected! Grain SA’s Baas Jannie has pointed out that he never implied that Agri SA is jealous of Grain SA.

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Instead, he says he referred to a sense of animosity from the governmental powers that are and those that want to be. Ag groot askies Baas Jannie!

I can easily see how certain government figures are jealous of Grain SA’s successes, especially as far as recapitalisation and farmer development are concerned. Nothing surprises me any more.

It’s old hat that government’s track record when it comes to land reform is abysmal. And compared to Grain SA’s exceptional successes, particularly in the Free State and North West, the government guys have really been left far behind. But enough of that!

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I am deeply concerned by minister of finance Pravin Gordhan’s attempt to put the brakes on the gravy train. Given the top brass’s penchant for fast food, I foresee a difficult time for the chicken industry in particular. I mean, it was recently reported that the Northern Cape’s Sylvia Lucas used her official credit card to spend R53 159 on fast-food during her first 10 weeks in office.

This must have aided the local economy of Kimberley tremendously!

And the hospitality industry is just as compromised as the fast-food lot. Can you imagine the gall of that man Gordhan! To expect politicians to stay in the accommodation provided by the state while there are hugely expensive guest houses and hotels available. Shame on him.

Ja well, Boet, we can joke about the gravy train as much as we like, but at the end of the day it’s you and I who pay for those voracious appetites and soft beds.

When I saw that Lucas’ spokesperson Monwabisi Nkompela mention those food purchases are within Lucas’ rights, I wanted to cry. How sad it is when politicians and their aides can’t see the trees for the wood…

Can you imagine how much fast-food can one buy for R53 000? I bet a small RDP house costs about R50 000. So, if one wants to be pedantic one can argue that Premier Lucas and her team, whoever they might be, chomped up a small house’s worth of food in 10 days. Dis-flippen-graceful!

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Annelie Coleman represents Farmer’s Weekly in the Free State, North West and Northern Cape. Agriculture is in her blood. She grew up on a maize farm in the Wesselsbron district where her brother is still continuing with the family business. Annelie is passionate about the area she works in and calls it ‘God’s own country’. She’s particularly interested in beef cattle farming, especially with the indigenous African breeds. She’s an avid reader and owns a comprehensive collection of Africana covering hunting in colonial Africa, missionary history of same period, as well as Rhodesian literature.