DURBAN – Economic Development MEC Sihle Zikalala has announced that major role players in the hospitality industry, including Tsogo Sun, have agreed to support radical economic transformation by sourcing fresh produce from emerging black farmers.
Zikalala said some major food retailers, such as Massmart, had also bought into the government’s economic transformation programme meant to benefit black people in an economy largely dominated by white-owned companies.
Addressing black farmers in Durban yesterday, Zikalala said the provincial government had successfully engaged with KwaZulu-Natal-based hotels, including those under the Tsogo Sun group.
“At least 23 hotels, including 19 Tsogo Sun hotels and three Coastland hotels, have already agreed to be part of the RASET (radical agrarian socio- economic transformation).
“Major supermarket groups such as Massmart and others based in KwaZulu-Natal have also agreed,” said Zikalala.
The government was negotiating with other businesses to come on board.
Three provincial departments – Education, Health and Social Development – would stop buying from developed farmers, and instead “buy from black farmers, especially co-operatives”, he said.
Zikalala said radical economic transformation would address unemployment, currently at 27%.
He said departments at national level spent R2.2billion on buying food items a year. “Very little of this R2.2bn goes to black people; a large portion goes to white people.”
He said KZN’s social development department spent R263million on food a year and provincial education spends more than R100m to provide food for its 273 schools, while health spends R271m. “The president would have to come in so that SANDF and Correctional Services can start buying food from black farmers.”
According to the MEC, the Chinese government, through a memorandum of understanding with KZN, which Premier Willies Mchunu signed last year, needed red meat from the province, which black farmers should supply. Zikalala said for black farmers to benefit they should ensure quality and quantity of their products.
Meanwhile, eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede said the municipality was going ahead with plans to buy Rainbow Chicken farms near Camperdown.
She said the municipality had programmes to empower 80 young small, medium and micro-enterprise businesses as part of implementing RASET. By the end of July, the municipality would open a farmer’s office under the city’s economic development unit to assist young farmers.
“We have allocated R16m to buy six tractors to assist the farmers and R30m to assist farmers to supply schools with their produce.”
The mayor confirmed that the ICC, uShaka Marine World and Moses Mabhida Stadium would only buy vegetables from these farmers.