SONA #2 2019: watershed or shipwreck 

19 June 2019

Agri SA would like to urge President Cyril Ramaphosa to use the forthcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) to announce what the vast majority of South Africans have been waiting for: a shift to sustainable and reliable government policies.

The enormous economic pressure on the business environment, households and agriculture cannot be alleviated by mere words. South Africa urgently needs a tangible commitment to best practice from the President’s Office, in which both local farmers and international investors can trust.

"The decay in South Africa's core institutions, as well as economic policies that continually lead to a recession is well known,” says Omri van Zyl, Agri SA Executive Director. “This week’s SONA brings the golden opportunity for President Ramaphosa to put South Africa on the right track. Our fear is that if the President does not make the right decisions soon, it could do much more harm to the country."

Agri SA is confident that with the right tactical changes to policies, especially relating to agriculture, tremendous dividends will be returned in the short term. The recommendations in general include:

- Specific measures to curb corruption

- The removal of legislative proposals that allow expropriation without compensation

- Placing farm and rural safety as a national priority and the implementation of the rural safety strategy

- A strategy to sustainably manage agricultural transformation and land reform

- A proper plan to assist drought-stricken areas

- Addressing policy uncertainty and a management plan on South Africa's water resources and infrastructure

- A plan to stop the money wastage in failed state-owned enterprises

"President Ramaphosa set the table for a turnaround in government; the new cabinet and certain government appointments look promising, now the necessary needs to be done in collaboration with the private sector," says Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA Deputy Executive Director.

Agri SA is ready to support President Ramaphosa and the newly appointed cabinet with insights into workable policies in agriculture.

Issued by Omri van Zyl, Agri SA Executive Director, 19 June 2019