Farmer’s Weekly – 30 August 2019

Weekly neWsWrap

16 farmer’sweekly 30 August 2019

Adverseclimaticconditions,suchas

widespreaddrought,haveresulted

inmanyfarmersfallingbehindin

theirpaymentsordefaultingon

debtandcredit,whichnegatively

affectedtheircreditprofiles.

ThiswasaccordingtoChris

vanRensburg, CEO of Kudough

Credit Solutions, who told Farmer’s

Weekly that it was vital for producers

who were falling behind with

payments as a result of environmental

factors to approach lenders and

inform them of the situation.

Creditors were usually prepared

to explore alternative repayment

avenues and to negotiate revised

payment plans, he said. Many financial

institutions would look at restructuring

loan terms for a specific period to

lighten the pressure on producers who

wereunabletomeettheirrepayments

due to environmental challenges.

“There are multiple factors that

need to be considered, such as the

cash-flow budget, historic production

[performance], gross production costs,

gross income, as well as individual

farmer’s unique profiles, to determine

repayment ability,” Van Rensburg said.

It was, nonetheless, of the essence

that producers maintained a good

credit record. A credit profile was about

more than simply a credit score on a

loan application to a bank, he added.

Under normal circumstances, it was

vital to ensure that, among other issues,

accounts were being paid timeously,

and excessive debt levels were avoided

so as to maintain a good credit score.

A higher credit score increased the

chances of approval by lenders.

Monitoringscoresalsoenabled

farmers to keep track of any drastic

changes on their profiles and detect

identity theft, Van Rensburg said.

Credit scores were valuable tools in

planning finances more effectively,

allocating resources to required

areas of the farming business and

improve budgeting, and creating

an awareness of financial fitness.

“Even if a producer qualifies for a

loan, [an] interest rate is still based

on a credit score. An improved

credit score increases the ability

to negotiate better rates with

banks and loan providers.

Improved rates on vehicles, new

and refurbished equipment

and property will, in the long

run, result in considerable

savings.” – Annelie Coleman

Financial

‘Maintaining a good credit record can benefit farmers’

AfriForumhaslaida chargeof
fraudattheKomatipoortpolice
stationagainstSingoConsulting.
Accordingtoa statementby
AfriForum,thiswasdoneina
bidtohaltthedevelopmentof
a plannedcoalmineinclose
proximitytotheKrugerNational
Park,whichtheorganisationsaid
couldhavedireconsequences
fortheimmediateenvironment,
andthreatenjobsinthearea.
Thestatementsaidthat
thecompanyhadallegedly
committedfraudintheformof
plagiarisminitsenvironmental
impactassessment(EIA),which
AfriForumclaimedmatched
anotherEIAwordforword.
Theproposed 18 000ha
miningoperationcould
have“enormousdestructive
consequences”fortheimmediate
environment,theCrocodile
River,otherwatersources,nature
reserves,wildlife,andtheroad
networkinMpumalanga.
Thestatementalsosaidthat
AfriForum had received the EIA

onlyaftertheorganisation’slegal

teamhadsenta lettertoSingo

ConsultingandManzolwandle

Investments,despitebeing

registeredasaninterestedparty.

LambertdeKlerk,thehead

ofenvironmentalaffairsat

AfriForum,saidit wasbrought

totheorganisation’sattention

thatthecompanieshad

allegedlycommittedfraud.

“Ibelievethat,withan

in-depthinvestigation,more

violationswillcometolight.

Uptonow,wehavenotbeen

trulyinformedofevents,while

theprocessesbeingfollowed

areinsufficient.AfriForum

requestedanextensionto

submit[its]commentary,but

therequestfellondeafears.”

TheSouthernAfricanAgri

Initiative(SAAI)alsojoined

thebidasaninterestedparty

toopposethedevelopment.

FrancoisRossouw,CEOof

SAAI,saidthatabout7 000people

wereemployedintheagriculture

sector in the 18 000ha area, and

environment

Alleged fraud in bid for new mine near Kruger National Park

the establishment of the mine,

which would only employ about

150 people, would thus result in

significant job losses in the area.

He said the area earmarked

for the mine consisted mainly

of irrigation farms and other

export industries that employed

a large number of workers, and

this was far more sustainable

than the planned mine.

“Initial calculations indicate

that a once-off yield at a

stripping ratio similar to other

anthracite mines in the Vryheid

formation north of Swaziland,

will not be viable. Moreover,

the land will be left barren and

dead for centuries to come.

“This once-off yield, as well

as damage to the water table,

ecology and tourism, should be

weighed up against the current

agriculturalactivitiesinthe

area,whichcanyielda growing

income of more than R100000/ ha

per year after deductions

for an indefinite time,” said

Rossouw. – Pieter Dempsey