PC Agriculture: Third Term Committee Programme

Meeting report

Condolences
The Chairperson expressed his condolences about the news of the murder of Committee Member Bishop I Tolo (COPE). He briefly mentioned the jolly nature of Mr Tolo’s character, which he experienced during oversight trips to provinces.

Mr L Bosman (DA) expressed shock at the high levels of crime in the country and noted that the Bishop served his constituency with utmost dedication.

Mr S Abram (ANC) mentioned that the deceased used part of his salary to build homes for poor people in his village. He went on to praise him for his selflessness and philanthropy, and was appalled by the disregard for human life among certain section of the society.

The Chairperson noted that there were two items on the agenda- consideration of outstanding minutes and Committee Programme.

Committee Minutes dated 18 January 18 2011
The Chairperson felt that the adoption of minutes and reports should not be left to pile up and adopted
at the last moment.

Mr Abram agreed and suggested that minutes should be adopted during the next subsequent
meeting.

The Committee agreed to this proposal.

Mr Bosman pointed out that the meeting was held on a Tuesday not on a Wednesday as incorrectly
captured. He indicated that he was not absent on that day, even though his name was not listed.

The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and invited members to comment and make
some corrections.

On page 3 at the top Mr Abram suggested the insertion of the word “Bill” after the word “Tenure”.

Mr Bosman moved for adoption and Mr Abram seconded the motion, and the January 18 2011
minutes were adopted with amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 24 January 24 2011
The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and invited comments from the Committee.

Mr N DuToit (DA) pointed out that one part of the Ministers double barrel surname had been omitted.

Mr Abram enquired whether the Ministerial Advisor’s surname was Moonsamy or Ramsamy. She was
referred to as Ramsamy, and in the rest of the Minutes she was referred to as Moonsamy on the list of Departmental delegates

The Secretary replied that the correct name was Moonsamy.

Ms N Thwala (ANC) moved for adoption and Mr R Cebekhulu (IFP) seconded the motion. The 24
January 2011 minutes were adopted with minor amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 25 January 2011
The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and asked Members for their input.

Mr Du Toit asked whether the third paragraph on page 5 was a policy directive or a statement by the
Committee.

Mr Abraham said that the statement was a recipe for disaster, because Cooperatives were not
working. He cited an example of group of people in Limpopo who had been set up as a cooperative by the Department. Later on they decided to subdivide the dairy cattle amongst themselves, thus destroying the cooperative.

The Chairperson replied that the Government was pursuing the development of small scale fishing
cooperatives. He suggested that the Committee should do a follow up on the issue to get clear understanding.

The Chairperson suggested that bullet point 1 on page 11 regarding Section 12 of Agri BBBEE should
also be flagged.

On page 13, second paragraph Mr Abraham pointed out that the acronym GADI should be written in
full as the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute.

Mr L Gaehler moved for the adoption and Mr Cebekhulu seconded the motion, the January 25 2011
minutes were adopted with amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 8 February 2011
The Chairperson invited comments and corrections from the Members.

On page 2 the first heading, Mr Abram substituted the word “guests” with the word “Departmental
Officials”.

On page 5 Mr Abram felt that the last paragraph should be flagged, Members concurred.

Mr Cebekhulu moved for adoption and Mr Bosman seconded the motion and the February 8 2011
minutes were adopted with minor amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 15 February 2011
The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and invited comments from the floor. He
then pointed out that the Committee needed an update on the norms and standards for the management of the damage causing animals in South Africa.

On page 4 the last bullet point, Mr du Toit suggested that the language used in that sentence be
toned down as it might antagonise wildlife organisations.

The Chairperson suggested that the Committee shelve it and look at the issue thoroughly at a later
stage.

Mr Bosman moved for the adoption and Mr Cebekhulu seconded the motion. The February 15 2011
minutes were adopted with minor technical amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 17 February 17 2011
Mr Gaehler pointed out that that his name was not written on the list of people that had tendered
apologies.

Ms Dineo Martin, Committee Secretary, explained that she was only required to list the names of
Members that had tendered written apologies.

Mr Abram pointed out that the initials of Mr Yusuf at the bottom of page 1 were omitted.

The Chairperson said that the Members concerns on pages 5 and 6 should be flagged.

Members suggested that the Members should invite the Department for a briefing on the Maputo
Declaration. He said that South Africa was a signatory of that declaration and was expected to abide
by its rules.

Mr Bosman felt that the South African economy was diverse and not merely based on agriculture;
therefore some of the targets stipulated in the Declaration could be inappropriate.

On page 6, second last paragraph, Mr Gaehler suggested that the Committee Secretary should
rephrase the sentence and make it less antagonistic.

Mr Gaehler moved for adoption and Ms R Nyalungu (ANC) seconded the motion and the minutes
were adopted with amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 22 March 2011
The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and asked Members for their input.

On page 1 Mr Abram pointed out that Ms Mareweck’s name had been misspelling.

The Committee Secretary said that she would look at it.

Mr Bosman suggested that the Committee should play an integral part in the election of the boards
that were related to the Department. As an example, he cited the role played by the Communications Committee in the election of the Board of the SABC.

The Chairperson suggested that the Committee should start looking at the terms of reference
regarding the relationship between the Boards and the Department.

Mr Bosman moved for adoption and Mr Gaehler seconded the motion. The March 22 2011 minutes
were adopted with minor amendments.

Committee Minutes dated 12 April 2011
The Chairperson went through the minutes page by page and asked Members for their input.

Mr Abram suggested that the nomination of persons to the National Agricultural Marketing Council
(NAMC) and Land Bank boards should be flagged.

The Committee concurred.

Mr Gaehler moved for the adoption of the minutes and Mr Abram seconded the motion pending
amendments.

The April 12 2011 minutes were adopted pending amendments.

Non Attendance of Members at Committee Meetings
The Chairperson expressed concern that some Members did not attend Committee meetings. He then
cited the example of Ms I Ditshetelo (UCDP), who had never attended not even a single Committee meeting.

Mr Bosman explained that some political parties were overstretched, and therefore they were unable
to be present on many Committees.

The Committee Secretary explained that such matters were supposed to be handled by the
Committee Whip, and the Whip of the political party concerned.

Third Term Committee Programme
The Chairperson tabled the programme for consideration.

Mr Bosman suggested that the Committee should invite the Department for a briefing on the Foot and
Mouth Disease.

The Committee agreed.

Mr du Toit suggested that the Department of Transport and the farming community should brief the
Committee on the effects of the proposed Toll Roads along the N2 and N1 national highways in the Western Cape.

Mr Abram said that he wanted the Department to brief Members on the impact the new toll gates on food prices. He added that the Departmental communication lines left much to be desired. The Committee wanted answers from the Department on many issues.

Mr Bosman said that there were many failures that could be attributed to incompetence of the Department. He added that the Committee had seen lots of failed projects during its oversight visits.

Mr Gaehler was concerned with the manner in which tractors were handed out in the rural Eastern Cape. Some of the tractor beneficiaries were not even farmers; he then wanted to know the criteria used by the Department in handing out the tractors.

The report was adopted pending further changes later on.

The meeting was adjourned.