Farmer’s Weekly – 23 August 2019

Weekly neWsWrap

14 farmer’sweekly 23 August 2019

Inanefforttotransformthe

agricultural auction industry in

North West, the MEC for Rural,

Environment and Agricultural

Development in the province,

Desbo Mohono, has announced plans

to train aspiring black auctioneers.

According to a statement by

the department, this undertaking

would be realised through a

mentor-mentee programme to be

launched by the department.

With this programme, the

department aimed to increase the

pool of previously disadvantaged

people, who owned, controlled

and managed existing and new

enterprises in the auction industry.

Tabling her 2019/2020 budget

and policy vote in the North West

Provincial Legislature recently,

Mohono stressed that deserving

youngpeopleaspiringtobecome

professional auctioneers needed

to be afforded the opportunity.

Aggrey Mahanjana, the group

managing director of the National

Emergent Red Meat Producers’

Organisation, said the initiative

was needed to build trust in black

auctioneers in the value chain,

while at the same time ensuring

transformation of the industry.

“Livestock auctions are mostly

held by established commercial

companies; there are a limited

number of black auctioneers.”

Athenkosi Denga, co-owner of

Lizwe Meat, a livestock production

farm and auctioneering business

based near Peddie in the Eastern

Cape, said as young farmers

who recently entered this sector,

the company was receiving

assistancefromGWK,theNational

Agricultural Marketing Council,

and Fort Cox Agriculture College.

“In order to enter this space

we’ve learnt that you need to

have a solid background in

livestock [production] and have

used various auction [entities].

“As an auctioneer, who sells

other people’s livestock or assets,

people need to be able trust you

to allow you to sell their assets.

“I support the initiative and

it should be [implemented]

nationally,” said Denga.

Dr Xolile Ngetu, the programme

manager of the National Red Meat

Development Programme at the

National Agricultural Marketing

Council, concurred, saying the

development of black auctioneers was

a necessary process. – Siyanda Sishuba

empoWerment

Development programme for aspiring black auctioneers

Severalformeremployeesof
livestockgeneticscompany
TaurusStockImprovement
Co-operative(Taurus),which
ceasedtradingaboutfive
yearsago,arestillwaitingto
receivetheirpensionbenefits.
ChristoBotha,a former
accountantattheco-op,
saidit hadbeennearly
fiveyearssinceheleft.
Hisdeparturecoincided
withthefinalroundofstaff
retrenchmentsatthebusiness,
justbeforeit ceasedoperations.
Hesaidatthatpoint,pension
beneficiarieshadbeeninformed
thatthefund,administered
byLiberty,wasinthered.
“Weweretoldthatthe
pensionfundhada negative
balanceofR28millionat
thetime,”saidBotha.
“Theboardofdirectors
saidtheywouldcloseTaurus
andgointoa partnership
[witha Europeanroleplayer]
toopena newcompany,

andthentheywouldselloff

assetsoftheco-operativeto

fundthepensionfund.”

Bothasaidthelatestupdate

hehadreceivedwasthatthe

pensionfundwasnowreflecting

a positivebalance,butthat

outstandingpensionpayments

couldnotyetbemade.Hesaid

theyhadbeeninformedthatthe

primaryasset,namelya farm

nearIrene,firsthadtobesold

beforepaymentscouldbemade.

Anotherbeneficiary,former

consultantJohanAckerman,

toldFarmer’sWeeklyhehad

workedforTaurusfrom 1988

to2012.Hesaidhispension

balancewasstandingatabout

R1,6millionin2008,butthatto

datehehadnotreceiveda cent.

“Wearehearingrumoursat

themomentthatwhenwefinally

dogetpaid,wewillbeluckyto

get20c[to]therand,”hesaid.

A formerdirectorofthe

company,HarryHepton,

confirmedthattherewerestill

Business

Former Taurus staff still awaiting pension payout

several employees awaiting

pension payouts. This was also

confirmed by Chrisjan van der

Vyfer, a former general manager

at Taurus, who was among those

still awaiting a pension payout.

“There are 27 people who

did not receive their pension,

or only received a small

portion, and they were the

last of the staff to leave or be

retrenched,” Van der Vyfer said.

Hepton said they were working

“very hard” to try and dispose of

the remaining company assets.

According to Van der Vyfer,

once the farm near Irene had

been sold, outstanding debts,

such as an overdraft and

municipal arears, would need

to be settled, and a liquidator

appointed to finalise the process.

Taurus Livestock Improvement

Co-operative ceased operations

in 2014 and was amalgamated

with a French livestock genetics

company to launch Taurus-

Evolution in 2015. – Sabrina Dean