NERPO IS PERTURBED BY THE MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT LAND BANK
28 Oct 2009
The National Emergent Red Meat Producers Organisation (NERPO) has noted with great concern the damning media reports about Land Bank’s alleged misappropriation of AgriBEE funds.
“If the Sunday Times recent reports about the Land Bank’s alleged squandering of AgriBEE funds are anything to go by, NERPO is extremely disheartened to have read about how the Land Bank has misdirected funds meant for AgriBEE projects. These immoral acts of self-enrichment are despicable, particularly since the funds that were allegedly squandered were meant to kick-start the AgriBEE which has not taken off since the Launch of the AgriBEE Charter. For example, companies like BAASA, whose major shareholders are NERPO and NAFU, have over the years failed to raise as little as R1 million from the Land Bank AgriBEE Fund in order to acquire equity in one of the highly strategic co-operatives in the Agricultural Sector”, argued the visibly unpleased Aggrey Mahanjana, the Group Managing Director of NERPO.
According to Mahanjana, NERPO and BAASA have continuously raised concerns with government about the failure of the AgriBEE, particularly its lack of funding for AgriBEE projects, and whether the Land Bank was the correct custodian of the AgriBEE funds.
“Since 1994, the Land Bank has been involved in the restructuring and conducting investigations on financial mismanagement with little or no delivery to its number one client, the emerging farmers” added Mahanjana.
“We are perturbed by these reports and hope the new administration will swiftly intervene to change the image and focus of the Land Bank” he said.
Meanwhile, NERPO welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Finance, Pravin Gordhan, that the Land Bank will receive a financial boost from government. The announcement was made during the Minister’s first Medium Term Budget Policy Statement that was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, 27 October 2009. NERPO has however urged government to see to it that the allocated State funds will be ring-fenced for the emerging sector.
“We have also noted with appreciation the Minister’s emphasis on rural development and we hope that the budget will be sufficient to handle the huge demand for rural infrastructural development” Mahanjana concluded.
NERPO is the official mouthpiece of South Africa’s emerging livestock farmers.
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Further Enquiries:
Aggrey Mahanjana
Group Managing Director – NERPO Group
Cell : +27 (0) 82 556 7297
Tel : +27 (0) 12 348 8566
Email : finance@nerpo.org.za
Web : www.nerpo.org.za
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