Question NW2619 to the Minister of Finance

Commodities of Approved Transactions as at 31 August 2023

Avocados

Nuts (Macadamia and pecan nuts)

Bananas

Poultry

Dry Beans

Raisins

Citrus

Sugarcane

Grains and Oilseeds

Table Grapes

Livestock (Red meat)

Vegetables

(i) Reasons for delays in finalizing applications

1. Clients not submitting all the required application information simultaneously. The quality and accuracy of business and financial information contributes to the waiting time during which the processing of the transactions are paused until all the critical information is submitted.

2. Applications not viable and financial projections indicative of the business’s inability to service the loan – at times this leads into the submissions being reworked by the clients.

3. Lack of adherence to environmental and regulatory requirements such as environmental impact assessments, sufficient water volumes and water licenses. These issues generally take long to resolve, and are handled externally by the client through the relevant government departments. The application cannot be finalised without these matters being confirmed.

4. Poor credit records where clients need to resolve defaults and judgements prior to the application being taken forward.

5. Insufficient grazing capacity or applications with overgrazing where access to additional parcels of land are not easily accessible. The application will therefore be delayed as a result.

6. Intermittent capacity constraints and high volume of applications. Some of the Bank’s provincial offices were constrained to turn the transactions around at speed due to vacancies that are currently being field.

(ii) Delays in processing disbursements

1. Delays in clients meeting the funding conditions which need to be fulfilled prior to disbursement of funds. These include the following:

• 1. Delays experienced in clients obtaining licences for additional water rights from the Department of Water and Sanitation.

• 1. Delays in obtaining the condition for provision of DALRRD’s written consent to cede all and any of the rights of the Borrower under the 30-year lease agreements.

• 1. There are often delays where the client is required to provide Life Cover / Credit Life as clients undergo medical examination, and in some instances the clients may not qualify.

• 1. The conversion of letters of intent to the required off-taker agreements may take longer to obtain.

• 1. Title deeds in some of the provinces have restrictive clauses on selling to external buyers that are not from the location.