Minister of Agriculture: Making BEE Compulsory
The Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, is expanding BEE in the agricultural sector. This is harmful and adds significant risk to South Africa’s already strained international trade relations.
We are undertaking further investigation and consulting with our legal team on appropriate next steps.
Minister Steenhuisen is expanding BEE in at least two ways.
First, the minister is upholding AgriBEE and defending its implementation.
AgriBEE is the department’s officially adopted policy to make BEE compulsory in agriculture. Although a serious matter, the policy is currently still far from fully implemented and agricultural activity in South Africa remains generally robust.
While the policy of AgriBEE predates Minister Steenhuisen’s tenure, he has so far not only failed to take it under review, but he has also upheld his Director-General’s (DG) renewal of regulations in accordance with the policy.
AgriBEE’s express objective is to “enforce compliance” “to the transformation programme of the government.” It seeks to make B-BBEE “a qualification and legal requirement for Government” when issuing licences, permits, water rights and other concessions, and when disposing of state assets.
The policy of AgriBEE became publicly known when Sakeliga revealed its existence late in 2023, after forcing the department to release it under a Promotion of Access to Information Act request. The department and some industry roleplayers denied or downplayed its existence at the time.
In October 2024, Sakeliga alerted Minister Steenhuisen that his DG had renewed regulations that restrict quotas for reduced-duty agricultural imports and exports based on the race of farmers and business owners.
It affects a minor yet meaningful portion of the total volume and value of South African agricultural trade, including:
· 200 000 tons of agricultural exports and 190m litres of wine exports to the EU and the United Kingdom under the respective partnership agreements.
· 500 000 tonnes of agricultural imports and 9.5 million litres of wine imports from World Trade Organisation member countries.
We also pointed out to Minister Steenhuisen that the policies are in violation of international trade agreements.
There are 2 million hectares of state farmland sitting idle for black owners
In reply to our alert and request for a meeting, Minister Steenhuisen attributed the regulations to “muscle memory” from a previous administration, and undertook to provide us with feedback after receiving a full briefing from his DG. The minister has so far provided neither feedback nor undertakings to retract or review the policy.
Transformation funds
The second way in which Minister Steenhuisen is contributing to BEE is by establishing several transformation funds, directly in accordance with AgriBEE.
Between October 2024 and January 2025, the minister promulgated at least three regulations to ring-fence millions of rands for “transformation” as part of statutory crop levies. The levies are imposed on farmers, traders, packers, processors, exporters, and others in the value chains of three crops:
· soya beans,
· table grapes, and
· dried vine fruit.
Each regulation signed by Minister John Steenhuisen provides that “at least 20% [of the crop levy] be allocated towards transformation.” He stipulates that these transformation funds are to be administered by designated existing industry bodies who, in each case, are awarded the rest of the levies for purposes of their industry-related activities, such as marketing, research, etc.
The minister’s regulations accord perfectly with his department’s AgriBEE Enforcement Guidelines, which specify that industry levies should be used as a “lever” for transformation. It specifies that there should be “no granting of statutory measures (i.e. levied funds) to Non-Compliant entities/contributors.” In plain language, this means that industry bodies are being compelled to run transformation funds if they wish to continue receiving levy funds.
Contrary to denials by the department and industry roleplayers these past two years, there is indeed clear evidence that the Department of Agriculture is implementing its AgriBEE policy, which seeks to subject agricultural activity to BEE requirements.
While there are differences in scale and structure, minister Steenhuisen's funds are reminiscent of the recently touted R100 billion transformation fund envisaged by Minister Parks Tau at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, also funded by extracting money from businesses and the public.
Sakeliga is submitting PAIA requests to the Department of Agriculture to obtain more information about these transformation funds and to determine how many other such funds exist. We know of at least one similar set-aside by the previous minister, but there may be more.
Sakeliga will continue to expose BEE plans in agriculture where we uncover them and resist these harmful interventions in the interests of flourishing, value-based agri-business.
Issued by Piet le Roux, CEO, Sakeliga,
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Time to address Sakeliga’s false claims that as Minister I have introduced AgriBEE and established several transformation funds. Firstly, the Department of Agriculture is not the custodian of BBBEE. Basic research by Sakeliga and Mr le Roux would have shown that the gazetting and… pic.twitter.com/v9QYlq9JZ7
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) February 18, 2025
