Ramaphosa's Sona must be followed by urgent action, says Agbiz

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address (Sona) on Thursday focused on most critical issues facing agribusiness today, including energy security, logistics, water security and infrastructure.

Responding to the address, the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) said on Friday it hoped new positions being created within the presidency would provide the necessary impetus for solutions, as business needed urgent interventions.

Agbiz CEO Theo Boshoff said an expectation had been created that must be fulfilled.

“Agbiz, research institutions, government and partners in the agricultural value chain have worked tirelessly as part of [agriculture, land reform and rural development] minister Thoko Didiza’s task team on energy security to negotiate workable solutions to ensure food security.”

Boshoff said as Ramaphosa had noted, it was a complex problem because solutions were guided by technical limitations in the grid and a lack of clear guidance on the requirements for alternative load-shedding schedules that could better align with industry needs. 

“Centralising decision-making within the presidency will hopefully inject much-needed urgency and provide a response to the proposals the task team has made.”

He said the declaration of a state of disaster to deal with the energy crisis represented a clear statement to move forward with greater speed in addressing the crisis. “This needs to be done in a very focused manner, without unnecessary disruption to business or society at large.”

Boshoff said agribusinesses were the lifeblood of rural towns and bore the cost of poor service delivery. “These companies invest considerable resources into maintaining infrastructure and providing services to businesses and communities.”

Public-private partnerships were a golden thread through the industry, Boshoff said.

“The president has called upon social partners to come forward and partner with the government. Agbiz has been at the forefront of this call through its work on the agricultural and agro-processing master plan and the negotiation of an interface agreement with Transnet to establish agro-logistic corridors that are fit for purpose.”

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