9 February 2024
According to the state’s latest affirmative action proposal, about a third of top management in agriculture enterprises must come from so-called designated groups within five years.
The state proposes that 35% of top management in agricultural enterprises should be black, coloured or Indian in five years, with 15% being women and 20% men.
The targets for affirmative action in agriculture are “too high and unattainable”, says Thapelo Machaba, agricultural economist and policy analyst at Agbiz.
Proposed five-year targets for various sectors were announced in draft regulations in the Government Gazette.
For senior management in agriculture, the proposed target is 40% (25% men and 15% women); for professionally qualified and middle management, it is 60% (35% men and 25% women); and for skilled technical personnel, it is 78% (50.4% men and 27.6% women).
The targets for agriculture have remained unchanged since the previous version of the draft regulations. At the time, Agbiz requested that the targets should not be broken down into individual designated groups.
“We still consider the targets to be too high and unattainable, even though the department has now omitted targets for individual designated groups,” says Machaba.
The proposed targets apply to enterprises with 50 or more employees. Machaba says the legislation initially had an additional provision for exemption: annual turnover of less than R10 million. This was amended earlier so only the number of employees now determines exemption.
“Therefore, small enterprises or farmers producing on a small scale do not have to report on their compliance with equality targets and black economic empowerment, which is a victory for small farmers and enterprises with high turnover.”
Enterprises can choose whether to use the national or provincial benchmark of the “economically active population” concerning designated groups, depending on whether they have national or provincial operations.
‘Nuanced’ application
According to the draft regulations, affirmative action may not cause dismissals. Employers will not be fined or penalised if an analysis shows they have justifiable or reasonable grounds for not meeting the targets, and affirmative action must be applied in a nuanced manner.
Comments on the draft regulations must be submitted within 90 days and Machaba says Agbiz is considering commenting on issues such as unattainable targets.
After the deadline, the department must consider all comments and draft final regulations and targets.
According to Machaba, the impact of the final version on the AgriBEE code will need to be assessed to determine whether the code needs to be amended.
“The AgriBEE code is a sector code that sets out specific requirements and guidelines for empowerment in our industry. It may include provisions on ownership, management control and skills development. In contrast, the aim of the draft regulations announced by the department is to promote equality and diversity in the workplace.”
Machaba says the department’s sectoral targets have an impact on enterprises needing a compliance certificate for state contracts or to do business with the state or any public institution.
