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: