This past week Saai, an organisation that represents the interests of family farmers, has been inundated with phone calls from frustrated family farmers who were prevented from travelling through roadblocks because they did not have Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) certificates that identify them as essential service providers.
Regulations in terms of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, issued by the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, currently regulate all aspects of the lockdown and prescribe the necessary documents that essential service providers require in order to continue with their duties. In terms of the regulations, the agricultural industry has been declared an essential service, critical to provide the country with essential goods and to ensure food security. “The only document farmers require in order to travel is a form that ‘corresponds substantially’ with Form 1 in Annexure C of the regulations and that is issued by the head of an institution – the head of an institution being the owner or manager of the farming operation,” says Francois Rossouw, CEO of Saai.
In order to obtain a CIPC certificate from the Commission, an operation performing essential services needs to be registered at the CIPC, which does not include sole proprietorships.
The regulations issued thus far make no mention of essential service providers registering with the CIPC. This was a requirement announced in a statement by Ebrahim Patel, the Minister of Trade and Industry. While the validity of this announcement is highly questionable, the Department has issued a statement that exempts farmers from the requirement of registering for a CIPC certificate in order to continue with their essential services. Despite the fact that this statement has been issued twice, officials at some roadblocks still demand to see these documents in order for farmers to continue their journey.
This is clearly a communication issue, one that should be addressed by the Department of Cooperative Governance. We have received reports from small farmers forking out the last of their savings to pay for CIPC certificates online, a service that is free, or paying for Form 1 Annexure C documents at road blocks – which is illegal,” Rossouw adds.
Saai calls on the Departments of Trade and Industry, of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to align their official views and communicate this to the SAPS and SANDF officials on ground level in order for the agricultural industry to continue with its critical task, unimpeded.
Saai requests any farmers who experience problems or corrupt activities at roadblocks, to report this to the Saai WhatsApp hotline at 066 071 6094 in order for further action to be taken.
Saai: Registrasie by CIPC ’n kopseer vir familieboere
Saai, ’n organisasie wat die belange van familieboere verteenwoordig, is die afgelope week oorval met oproepe van gefrustreerde familieboere wat verhoed is om verby padblokkades te reis omdat hulle nie Kommissie vir Maatskappye en Intellektuele Eiendom (CIPC)-sertifikate het wat hulle as noodsaaklike diensverskaffers identifiseer nie.
Regulasies ingevolge die Wet op Rampbestuur, 2002, wat die Minister van Samewerkende Regering en Tradisionele Sake uitgereik het, reguleer tans alle aspekte van die staat van inperking en skryf die nodige dokumente voor wat vereis word vir noodsaaklike diensverskaffers om met hul pligte voort te gaan. Ingevolge dié regulasies is die landboubedryf as ’n noodsaaklike diens verklaar en dus van uiterse belang om die land van noodsaaklike goedere te voorsien en voedselsekerheid te verseker. “Die enigste dokument wat boere nodig het om te reis, is ’n vorm wat ‘substansieel ooreenstem’ met Vorm 1 in Bylaag C van die regulasies en die hoof van die instelling moet dit uitreik. Hiermee word bedoel die eienaar of bestuurder van die boerdery moet dit uitreik,” sê Francois Rossouw, uitvoerende hoof van Saai.
Om ’n CIPC-sertifikaat by die Kommissie te bekom, moet ’n instelling wat die noodsaaklike dienste verrig, by die CIPC geregistreer wees – ’n vereiste wat nie eenmansake insluit nie.
Die regulasies wat tot dusver uitgereik is, maak nie melding dat noodsaaklike diensverskaffers by die CIPC geregistreer moet wees nie. Dit was ’n vereiste wat Ebrahim Patel, Minister van Handel en Nywerheid, in ’n verklaring aangekondig het. Alhoewel hierdie aankondiging se geldigheid uiters twyfelagtig is, het die departement ’n verklaring uitgereik wat boere van die vereiste CIPC-registrasie onthef sodat hulle met hul noodsaaklike dienste kan voortgaan. Dié verklaring is reeds twee keer uitgereik, maar daar is steeds beamptes by sekere padblokkades wat eis om hierdie dokumente te sien voordat boere hulle reis kan voortsit.
“Hier is ’n duidelike verwarring in kommunikasie tussen departemente – iets wat deur die Departement van Samewerkende Regering die hoof gebied behoort te word. Ons het klagtes ontvang van kleinboere wat die laaste van hul spaargeld moes opdok om aanlyn vir CIPC-sertifikate te betaal – ’n diens wat gratis is – of ’n Vorm 1 Bylaag C-dokument by die padblokkades te koop, iets wat onwettig is,” voeg Rossouw by.
Saai doen ’n beroep op die Departemente van Handel en Nywerheid, van Landbou, Grondhervorming en Landelike Ontwikkeling en van Samewerkende Regering en Tradisionele Sake om hul amptelike standpunte te belyn en op grondvlak oor te dra aan die SAPD en die Suid-Afrikaanse Nasionale Weermag (SANW) sodat die landboubedryf onbelemmerd kan voortgaan met hul kritieke taak.
Saai versoek dat enige boere wat probleme ondervind of onwettige aktiwiteite by padversperrings ervaar, dit aanmeld by Saai se WhatsApp-lyn 066 071 6094 sodat die nodige aksie geneem kan word.
