The bad news is that, despite massive opposition, government is determined the Gauteng tolling will go ahead. The good news is that
plans for more tolls have apparently been shelved. So it does pay to protest after all; what irks, however, is that the government cannot seem to see - or refuses to see - that tolling is double taxation (we already pay towards new roads with every litre of fuel we buy), and tolling in Gauteng will hit every person in this country. Why? Because every company that operates in or through Gauteng and/or has client companies in that province, will face increased costs. And, they will probably pass them on to us.
Meanwhile, the association representing the trawler industry is testy with agriculture and fisheries minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, who wants to
move the fisheries branch of her department from Cape Town to Pretoria. Doesn't it make sense to have a department and its officials close to the very people - trawler companies, fishermen and so on - with whom they need to be working?
From the blue sea to the blue sky... Despite some unkind soul nicknaming the company Velcro Sky, if everything works out as chief executive Dhevan Pillay says,
Velvet Sky will fly again.
Finally, for all of you in the tourism industry,
nominations for the HICA Business Awards are open, so get your entries in now.
Rod Baker, general manager: content
Submit your company news to
agriculturenews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to
contributors-agriculture@bizcommunity.com.
Louw Steytler, newly elected chair of Grain SA and a farmer from Lückhoff in the Free State said that South Africa's grain farmers can certainly produce sufficient food for the country and that political rhetoric and generalisations about the agricultural sector must end, Fin24.com reports. 
"Whilst unlawful water use by some irrigators is a concern that should be addressed, various other factors pose an even bigger threat to the availability and sufficiency of good quality water to society. It is, therefore, unfortunate that the irrigation sector was singled out as culprit with the launch of the National Water Week," says Johannes Möller, president of Agri SA. 
A plan by agriculture, forestry & fisheries minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson to move the fisheries branch of her department from Cape Town to Pretoria has been criticised by the SA Deep Sea Trawling Industry Association. 
