TLU SA’s request to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Enoch Godonwana, with a view to Thursday’s medium-term budget, is to see the agricultural producers as South Africa’s biggest asset.
Mr. Bennie van Zyl, TLU SA’s general manager, says: “It is important to create a favourable environment to ensure that they (agricultural producers) can continue to produce.”
He referred to the excessive rise in input costs which is putting pressure on farmers’ profitability.
“This means that farmers have to make decisions on what products to produce and that can lead to shortages in some commodities. A big word of thanks must be expressed to the agricultural value chain, which has lately been producing enough food under unfavourable conditions to put healthy and affordable food on consumers’ tables.”
South Africa’s economy is currently characterised by, among other things, junk status, unemployment, low economic growth, unacceptable levels of crime and mistrust in government.
“The price of cadre deployment is too high due to the lack of expertise. The dumping of additional financial support is indeed just what it says, namely dumping, but unfortunately in bottomless wells.”
Mr. Van Zyl says agriculture wants the government to make better provision for disasters to keep the commercial farmers in production.
It is an open question whether the ideological environment that the ANC pursues can in any way lend itself to the right things that should happen.
“It must be seriously considered whether the current approach can be continued. The budget can only come into its own if a number of issues are addressed, namely eradicating corruption, halting cadre deployment and appointing experts, cutting spending, and taking the impact of economic growth into account with every decision.”
