Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a relaxation of the lockdown regulations to reduce the economic damage caused by the government’s excessive state of lockdown, is too little and too late for many farmers, agricultural industries and value chains, according to Dr Theo de Jager, Chairperson of Saai’s Board of Directors.
For the game industry, already crippled by the absence of trophy hunters from abroad, the incomprehensible ban on interprovincial travel for local hunters (while taxi passengers are allowed to be transported on the same routes) came as a deathblow. The traditional hunting season has almost reached its end and hundreds of game farms have been plunged into a financial crisis with thousands of job losses upstream and downstream in the value chain.
Similar job losses have already resulted in a social crisis in the wine industry, where the loss of business is not limited to the 2020 production year only. Overflowing cellars have no storage capacity in tanks and barrels and have already notified producers that they are unable to allocate 2021 quotas. “A farm cannot be closed down for a year, and very few family farmers are able to survive two consecutive years’ loss of income or turnover,” says De Jager.
Tobacco farmers and their workers who have been doomed to cash flow crises by the 20 weeks long cigarette ban are upset by the obviously deficient research and data on which the decision to ban smoking was based. The arguments and information used by Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in the court applications brought by Saai, BATSA and others to justify the ban on selling cigarettes are far removed from the reality of a demolished value chain where billions of state revenue have been lost and businesses, farming enterprises and job opportunities are unable to survive.
“To be calling now for new job opportunities to be created while affected farmers and rural businesses are struggling to retain existing manpower, especially following cries of distress addressed to the government since May 2020 to give the businesses that have been choked to death some breathing space, is very strange indeed. The rural business sector’s confidence in the government has been shattered by the unpredictability, recklessness and irrationality of the government, to such an extent that it will take a long time for investments to back new job opportunities again."
The announcements did not come as a surprise, given the pressure exerted by the court applications in the tobacco, hunting and wine industries brought by Saai and the weak arguments and data sets the government has based its defence on.
Verslapping van regulasies te min, te laat
Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa se aankondiging dat inperkingsregulasies verslap word ten einde die ekonomiese skade wat die regering se oordrewe staat van inperking veroorsaak het, te beperk, is vir baie boere, landboubedrywe en waardekettings te min en te laat, meen dr. Theo de Jager, direksievoorsitter van Saai.
Vir die wildbedryf, wat reeds deur die afwesigheid van buitelandse trofeejagters vermink is, was die onverklaarbare verbod op interprovinsiale reise vir plaaslike jagters (te midde van ’n bedeling waar taxipassasiers op dieselfde roetes vervoer mag word) ’n nekslag. Die tradisionele jagseisoen is amper verby en honderde wildplase is in ’n finansiële krisis gedompel met duisende werkverliese stroomop en stroomaf in die waardeketting.
Soortgelyke werkverliese het reeds ’n maatskaplike krisis tot gevolg in die wynbedryf, waar die verlies aan besigheid nie net tot die 2020-produksiejaar beperk is nie. Oorvol kelders het nie bergingskapasiteit in tenks en vate nie en het produsente reeds in kennis gestel dat hulle nie 2021-kwotas kan toeken nie. “’n Plaas kan nie vir ’n jaar gesluit word nie en baie min familieboere kan twee agtereenvolgende jare se verlies aan inkomste of omset oorleef,” sê De Jager.
Die tabakboere en hulle werkers wat deur 20 weke se sigaretverbod tot kontantvloeikrisisse gedoem is, is ontsteld oor die opsigtelik gebrekkige navorsing en data waarop die besluit om rook te verbied, gegrond was. Die argumente en inligting wat dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Saai, BATSA en ander se hofaansoeke gebruik het om die verbod op die verkoop van sigarette te regverdig, is ver van die werklikheid van ’n afgetakelde waardeketting waarin miljarde se staatsinkomste verlore gaan en ondernemings, boerderye en werkgeleenthede nie kan oorleef nie.
“Om nou te vra vir die skep van nuwe werkgeleenthede terwyl geraakte boere en landelike sakeondernemings sukkel om bestaande mannekrag te behou, veral ná noodkrete wat sedert Mei 2020 tot die regering gerig is om die doodgewurgde ondernemings asem te gee, val vreemd op die oor. Die plattelandse sakesektor se vertroue in die regering is dermate deur die onvoorspelbaarheid, onverskilligheid en irrasionaliteit van die regering geskend dat dit lank sal vat vir beleggings om weer nuwe werkgeleenthede te rugsteun.”
Die aankondigings kom nie as ’n verrassing nie gegewe die druk van die hofaansoeke in die tabak-, jag- en wynbedryf wat Saai aanhangig gemaak het en die swak argumente en datastelle waarop die regering sy verdediging gebaseer het.
