President Cyril Ramaphosa announced over the weekend that he has appointed Wandile Sihlobo, the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) and member of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, to serve as Presidential Envoy on Agriculture and Land.
Sihlobo is also a Senior Lecturer Extraordinary at the Department of Agricultural Economics of the University of Stellenbosch and has published widely on agricultural policy, land reform, and food security. He has more than a decade of experience in the sector and academia.
In a statement on Saturday, 21 February, the Presidency stated that Ramaphosa has appointed Sihlobo as an envoy in view of the importance of agriculture in South Africa’s economic growth path, recurrent challenges in the sector, and growth opportunities domestically and abroad.
According to the Presidency, Sihlobo will support priorities and objectives on agriculture, rural development, land reform and international trade. He will work closely with the responsible departments, in pursuit of the Presidency’s priorities.
“The Envoy will also work closely with various state-owned entities, such as the Agricultural Research Council, Land Bank, and Onderstepoort Biological Products, as necessary, in support of agricultural development and growth opportunities.”
Sihlobo will also engage other stakeholders, including the private sector, to unlock progress and realise tangible gains.
“The ultimate goal of this work is to advance The Presidency’s priorities for overcoming constraints to agricultural growth and boosting competitiveness, inclusion, and the sector’s export profile.”
Meanwhile, the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has questioned the appointment, labelling it, in effect, a “Presidential motion of no confidence in his own ministers.”
The party’s chief spokesperson on agriculture and MP, Dr. Wynand Boshoff, says while they congratulate Sihlobo on his appointment, the appointment raises eyebrows because it is difficult to distinguish his role from that of the relevant ministers.
“The Department of Agriculture and Land Reform is in the process of splitting, and there are already two Ministers and two Directors-General: one for Agriculture (the DA’s Mr John Steenhuisen) and one for Land Reform and Rural Development (the PAC’s Mr Mzwanele Nyontsho). Neither of the two has done much to impress since being appointed.”
Boshoff says public confidence in Steenhuisen “crumbled with his poor handling of the foot-and-mouth disease disaster, which is totally out of control.” He adds that, so far, Nyontsho has not been able to get land reform off the ground.
“In the Freedom Front Plus’s view, the President should not establish yet another department under his own authority – in this case, by appointing a special envoy. Instead, it would be better to simply appoint competent ministers.”
