Farmers & Fishers in Same Boat

It's not only the fishing industry being subjected to the incompetence of the Fisheries Minister and her inept officials, but farmers too!

Our Agriculture & Fisheries Minister, responsible for two critical food security sectors, is hell-bent on destroying both sectors. In a recent BLOG article on www.farmersweekly.co.za the author bemoans the parlous state of the farming sector. Here is an extract of his article:

Recent statistics showed that the sector shrank every quarter of last year. Employment (on a like-for-like basis) in commercial agriculture declined from 764 000 jobs three years ago to 630 000 jobs in the last quarter. Agricultural output – or services and products generated by the sector – declined by 0,4% for 2011.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is rudderless, with its three main actors reportedly not seeing eye to eye. The department is in a state of limbo. And this is reflected in the state of agriculture. Nothing is happening. Rather, the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has been busy explaining hotel bills and expensive chartered flights.

We need a strong political head of agriculture who can confidently steer the sector through the next couple of years while land reform is intensified. We need a minister who will ensure the sector grows – in terms of output and employment – while the target for land transfer is reached.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Dion George's Removal as Fisheries Minister is a GOOD DECISION: Some Facts Not Considered by the Daily Maverick

The Daily Maverick has over the past few days since it emerged that Dion George would be removed as the SA Minister of Forestry, Fisheries & Environment published two substantial pieces preferring view points opposing and objecting to his removal. The premise of the objections is that his replacement - Willie Aucamp - is an avid hunter and close to the hunting lobby, drumming up fears that South Africa will somehow adopt a pro-canned hunting policy despite this being contrary to Aucamp's own party's publicly stated policies.  If canned hunting is against DA policy and is certainly contrary to SA national ecological policy, then the fears being raised by the Daily Maverick pieces are misplaced in my view.  There are some other facts as to why he was fired as the Minister responsible for forestry, FISHERIES & the environment.  Dion George was most likely removed as fisheries minister because of his record of ridiculously bad decisions that ARE IN FACT CONTRARY TO D...
Read more

Small Pelagic Fishery Headed for Turmoil As George Continues to Fail as Minister

SA's fisheries minister, Dr Dion George, admitted on 31 October 2025 that he's predecessor and her staff advising her took such bad decisions in the small pelagic (anchovy & pilchard) sector in 2022 and 2023, that he has to now approach the WC High court to review and set aside ALL decisions taken since March 2022.  While he's press statement billed this step as some sort "unprecedented" solution, it sadly is not. It is a repeat of the catastrophic decision-making processes that plagued the 2016 fishing rights allocations in the hake inshore trawl and horse mackerel fisheries. In both fisheries, the Minister sought to self-review her own incredulously bad and unlawful decisions. So unprecedented, this is not .  George's failure to finalise the appeal decisions despite some 20 court orders that he do so is also a failure in his leadership given that he conceded these reviews (except for 3) on 3 February 2025 before Judge Mantame. And before that, he insiste...
Read more

Fisheries Minister Commits to MAYBE Deciding Abalone Appeals by 31 October 2025

"The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, has indicated that he will endeavour to finalise his decisions on the appeals lodged against the decisions taken by the Deputy Director General: Fisheries Management on exemptions for the 2024/2025 Abalone fishing season, by 31 October 2025. Minister George has emphasised the importance of concluding the process without delay, as the livelihoods of many fishers, their families and coastal communities depend on timely, fair and lawful decisions in the abalone sector." This is from a statement issued by the Fisheries Minister on 4 September 2025 regarding appeals filed against a decision by his department to summarily deny 179 abalone divers permits for the 2025 abalone season which ends on 30 September 2025 .  The Fisheries Department had commenced "investigations" into apparent unlawful fishing by divers in November 2023. By December 2024, they had finalised these investigations without ever i...
Read more