Levy in Sorghum Industry: briefing; Environmental Ethics: briefing
NCOP Agriculture, Land Reform and Mineral Resources
20 February 2002
Meeting Summary
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
Meeting report
LAND AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
20 February 2002.
LEVY IN SORGHUM INDUSTRY: BRIEFING; ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS: BRIEFING
Please note: These minutes were prepared by the Committee Clerk
Chairperson: Rev P Moatshe
Â
PRESENT:
Eastern Cape
Ms B N Dlulane
Mr R Z Nogumla
Free State
Rev M Chabaku
Mpumalanga
Mr V V Z Windvoël
Northern Cape
Mr M A Sulliman
Northern Province
Mr R M Nyakane
North-West
Rev P Moatshe
Western Cape
Ms N D Mtwanambi (Alt.)
APOLOGIES
Mrs E C Gouws
Mr N M Raju
Dr E A Conroy
Also in attendance were:
Ms L Moolman of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC)
Ms L Seeliger of the University of Stellenbosch
MINUTES
The
Chairperson welcomed members and guests present, and Ms L Moolman of the NAMC
then proceeded to brief the Committee on the proposed levy in the Sorghum
industry.
Briefing on the proposed levy in the Sorghum industry:
Ms Moolman pointed out that the Sorghum Forum had requested a continuation of
the levy on Sorghum and its increase to R5/tonne. All interested parties had
been consulted and their views had been taken into consideration.
The levy was of great importance to the Sorghum industry as proceeds from it
would be used for research, information, market access and administration.
There was a need for the speedy finalisation of the process of approving the
levy as it would have to come into operation by 1 March 2002.
Discussion
In response to a question, Ms Moolman pointed out that an increase in
the levy had not been sought before because the process of consultation on this
was tedious and it was always the aim to keep the levy as low as possible.
Also, the increase had not been necessary before because the amount spent on
administration had been made progressively lower.
She also pointed out that the objection of Grain Line had been noted and that
part of the problem was that Grain Line representatives had not attended
Sorghum Forum meetings. This position had now been rectified. In addition,
Grain Line members did benefit from the research and information gained with
the assistance of proceeds from the levy. Also, in line with Grain Line's
objections, funds dedicated to administration had been reduced significantly.
It was one of the NAMC's priorities to conscientise role-players about the
needs of emerging farmers, especially with respect to training for production
and marketing. In addition to this, NAFU representatives participated in the
Sorghum Forum. The NAMC's annual report would indicate the progress made with
transformation and other matters related to previously disadvantaged
individuals.
The collection rate for the levy was 98% at present. Collection was being
strictly enforced and those not paying would be prosecuted.
Adoption of Report:
The Committee adopted a report agreeing to the recommendations of the NAMC
with respect the statutory levy in the sorghum industry.
Briefing by the Unit for Environmental Ethic at Stellenbosch University:
Ms Seeliger stated that the unit was undertaking a survey on environmental
decision-making in the Western Cape due to problems around the implementation
of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). She said the aim was
partly to identify the level of confidence in decision-making.
She then posed the question as to what the dilemmas and frustrations were with
respect to environmental decision-making, and asked what tricks and grey areas
had been encountered.
The Committee felt that they could not be quizzed in this manner without prior
notification. They also did not have party mandates to answer such questions.
Also, the presenter had not provided evidence of dissatisfaction with the
implementation of NEMA. Furthermore, the Committee felt that they represented
the whole country and should not be limited to considerations of the Western
Cape.
The Ethics Unit was advised to focus their attention on the Western Cape legislature.
Alternately, questions could be made available to Committee members who could
then answer them in their personal capacity and seek party mandates if they
considered it necessary. Documentation on dissatisfaction with the
implementation of NEMA was also requested.
 The Chairperson thanked members and
guests for their attendance and adjourned the meeting.
Audio
No related
Documents
No related documents
Present
- We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting
Download as PDF
You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.
See detailed instructions for your browser here.