Minister Steenhuisen requested to withdraw Department of Agriculture’s BEE plans and requirements for imports and exports

Sakeliga has requested Minister John Steenhuisen to withdraw the Department of Agriculture’s recently promulgated BEE criteria for reduced-duty imports and exports as well as the Department’s official plans to make BEE compulsory.

On 3, 4, and 7 October 2024, Mr Mooketsa Ramasodi, Director-General of the Department of Agriculture, renewed three regulations subjecting reduced-duty imports and exports of agricultural products to BEE criteria.

The regulations affect reduced-duty exports totalling up to 200 000 tonnes of agricultural products and 190 million litres of wine to the EU and the UK and Northern Ireland; and imports totalling up to 500 000 tonnes of agricultural products and 9.5 million litres of wine from World Trade Organisation member countries. These constitute a minor yet meaningful portion of the total volume and value of South African agricultural trade.

The regulations are in step with the Department’s official and initially confidential policies called the AgriBEE Plan and the AgriBEE Enforcement Guidelines, which Sakeliga obtained and released publicly last year. The purpose of these standing policies are to “enforce compliance of sector stakeholders to the transformation programme of the government” by making B-BBEE “a qualification and legal requirement for Government” when issuing licences and permits, water rights and other concessions, and disposing of state assets.

The original regulations and the AgriBEE plans predate the tenure of the current minister.

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In our letter requesting the minister to withdraw the regulations and the BEE policies, we informed him of the engagement by Sakeliga and our lawyers with the Department and his predecessors. Persistence by the Department with its course of action would lead to litigation and engagement with international role-players, which Sakeliga would prefer to avoid. We have therefore requested a meeting with the minister to discuss an acceptable solution to the regulations, the AgriBEE Plan, and the AgriBEE Enforcement Guidelines.

The Department’s regulations and its official BEE policies are harmful, unlawful, and in violation of South Africa’s international trade obligations. Instead of honouring the agreements to lower trade restrictions with the EU, the UK and Northern Ireland, and World Trade Organisation members as intended, the South African government is abusing its administrative obligations to erect race-based trade restrictions.

Fortunately, the Plan and Enforcement Guidelines have not yet been successfully implemented everywhere and to their full extent. Agricultural economic activity in South Africa remains robust and can be kept this way by firm resistance to this kind of harmful government interference currently being attempted.

For Sakeliga’s letter to the Minister, click here.