Dam Levels on 5 January 2018

WERKSGESKIEDENIS

1989 to 1994 – Landboukundige vir  Kynoch Kunsmis Riemland Noord Oos Vrystaat

1994 to 1999 – Plaas bestuurder vir ‘n groot skaal groente plaas vir uitvoer en wat lokale ketting

winkels voorsien het

1999 to 2003 – Algemene bestuurder vir ‘n  groente verwerkings maatskappy vir uitvoer en

wat lokale ketting winkels voorsien het

2004 to 2010 – Tegnoloog Woolworths Foods – vars produkte afdeling

2010 to 2012 – Walmart Africa as bestuurder vir die “Direct Farm” program

2012 to current –  Bestuurder Good Business Journey  Woolworths Foods

KWALIFIKASIES

Universiteit van die Vrystaat 1987 – Graad in grondkunde en agronomie

Stellenbosch Universiteit 2013 – Nagraadse kwalifikasie in volhoubare ontwikkeling

GROOTWORD JARE

Gebore en skool gegaan in Ficsburg

PASSIE

Volhoubare voedsel sisteme

Cheetah rugby

STOKPERDJIES

Fietsry, tuinmaak en lees

[:en]EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

1989 to 1994 – Agronomist for Kynoch Fertiliser Riemland North Eastern Free State

1994 to 1999 – Farm manager for a large-scale vegetable production farming enterprise for local and international retail

1999 to 2003 – General manager for a vegetable processing company for local and international retail

2004 to 2010 – Technologist Woolworths Foods – produce division

2010 to 2012 – Walmart Africa managing the direct farm program

2012 to current – Good business manager Woolworths foods

EDUCATION

University of the Free State 1987 – Degree in soil science and agronomy

Stellenbosch University 2013 – Postgraduate qualification in sustainable development

GROWING UP

Born in and finished school in Ficksburg

PASSION

Sustainable food systems

Cheetah rugby

HOBBYS

Cycling, gardening and reading[:]

Francois Strydom is the Chief Executive Officer of Senwes Ltd.

Francois obtained his B.Sc. (Hons) degree at the University of the Freestate in South Africa.  He started his career at OTK (Afgri) in 1987 as Livestock Specialist and progressed to Director Grain and Sundry Industries.  His main duty was the restructuring of the various industries, taking over of various businesses and he specialises in the financial and strategic repositioning of businesses.

In May2001 he accepted an appointment at Senwes, where he successfully turned around the JSE listed subsidiary, Kolosus.  He was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee of Senwes Limited on 21 June 2003 as Operational Director, and was responsible for Grain, Retail, Mechanisation, Hartswater Wine Cellar and the Insurance Division. Francois was appointed as Acting Managing Director on 1 June 2010 and on 6 August 2010 he was appointed as Managing Director of Senwes Limited and is responsible for the whole Group.

He serves as a Director on numerous boards and subsidiaries among other the Agbiz Exco and Board, North-West University Board, Financial & Remuneration Committees. He also serves as Executive Director on the Board of Senwes Limited. Within the first year of his appointment several acquisitions were made after the conception of an agreed comprehensive 20/20 strategy. Various models for co-operation in the grain industry were formed, which would internationalise the Group by 2020, with a basis in Africa and South Africa. He strives to empower teams to excel in their performance and is very involved in the development of the economy and sport in the rural areas.

Senwes is an agricultural business whose focus is the provision of production inputs to mainly grain producers, as well as market access for grain products. It is strategically linked to the provision of value added services, which include finance, insurance and grain technical services. Senwes trades mainly in the North-West Province, Freestate, Gauteng, Northern- and Southern Cape in South Africa.

PROF. TOM GOUWS was awarded with the following degrees and diploma from the Potchefstroom University for CHE: BA, BA Hons, MA, DLitt and HED (Remedial Education). He also furthered his professional career through Harvard/Galilea College (Israel) and the University of Abbertay in Dundee (Scotland).

A prolific and awarded literary critic, writer, playwright, poet and academician, prof. Gouws has published widely in various fields and disciplines. He lectured at many universities (the University of Potchefstroom, the Vaaltriangle campus of PU for CHE, University of Pretoria and University of Bophuthatswana). He completed an academic career as acting Vice-chancellor and Rector of the University of North-West and Chancellor of Graduate Academy of Southern Africa. He is currently director of Foundation Publications and spearheads a continental developmental network entitled ElijahAfrica. He is a director on the boards of various companies in the fields of agriculture, health care and education. He is a sought after public speaker in diverse fields, also on radio and television.

Prof. Gouws is well known for his expertise in education, communication, spirituality  and mass media. He has an extensive tract record of community involvement and social engineering and is passionately commited to Africa. He has been awarded with many bursaries and scholarships, three prestigious literary prizes and a national award for his livelong contribution to the development of Afrikaans.

He is widely known in Christian circles. He planted and serves many house churches across Southern Africa and abroad. He has extensive experience in Christian ministry, counseling, therapy and deliverance and ministers widely throughout to many denominations. He is acknowledged in the Body of Christ as an apostle and prophet. His main calling and passion is the equipping of the Bride of Christ. He has been called to prophetically minister to the Bride of Christ with regard to fulfilling the redemptive purposes of God for themselves, their churches, their towns and cities, communities, countries and nations.

He and his wife Retha stay close to Pretoria. They have six children and four grandchildren.

Rachel Jafta is Professor in Economics at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. She studied at the Universities of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch in South Africa and Luigi Bocconi in Milan, Italy, and recently Harvard Business School and Europass Language Academy, Florence, Italy.

She is a director of companies and founder of the Media24 Rachel’s Angels Mentorship Programme and the Cape Town Carnival. She serves on the International Advisory Councils of Business Schools in South America and Europe.

She has received awards for excellence in research, teaching, and community engagement, as well as the University of Stellenbosch’s Award for Exceptional Alumni. In 2015, she received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Community Interaction(Social Impact).

Qualified as Animal Scientist at the University of Pretoria in 1982 and also completed his honours degree in Extension.  Worked for the Department of Agriculture in Mpumalanga and was Head of Extension (Southern Highveld) when he left the service in 2003.

Has extensive experience in Agricultural Development and Extension and a former President, Professional- and Board Member of the South African Society for Agricultural Extension.  Currently the General Manager of the National Wool Growers’ Association of SA (NWGA), the commodity organisation representing wool sheep producers in South Africa.

Serves on various structures of Organised Agriculture and forums on behalf of the primary producer and the industry. NWGA also provides a Production Advisory Service and Training and Development Program to both commercial and emerging wool sheep producers on contract with Cape Wools SA and funded by the Wool Trust. This T&D program is furthermore supported through Public Private Partnerships (PPP), with significant impact in assisting black producers to access and participate in the commercial and export wool market.

[:en]

Isa Thompson is Chief Engineer:  National Water Resource Planning at the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Isa Thompson was born on 19 October 1950. She obtained in 1973 her Hons Eng (Civil) at the University of Stellenbosch.  In 986 she obtained her MBL at the University of South Africa (UNISA).

Employed as a professional engineer from January 1974 to July 1988 by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in the Directorates Civil Design (one year); Irrigation and Engineering Services (Eastern Transvaal Regional Office – 18 months); Construction (Loskop Dam Raising – 3 years); Special Tasks (Strategic Planning – one year) and Project Planning (8 years):  This work included water resources planning in the Eastern and Western Cape, writing, translating and editing planning reports and White Papers.

From March 1992 to December 2004 a partner in Thompson & Thompson as a professional engineer.  Involved in various projects by supplying technical and administrative support services to clients.  These included amongst others the following:

• Providing the technical and administrative secretariat for the DWAF’s Consultants’ Committee and for the Interdepartmental Liaison Committee for Professional Engineers in the Civil Service;
• Language and technical editing of final drafts and proof reading of page layouts of numerous technical publications;
• Developing and presenting training courses on the art of writing technical reports;
• Developing and compiling guidelines for standard administrative procedures for various technical directorates in the DWAF;
• Providing administrative services for the project that developed waste discharge standards in terms of the National Water Act;
• Providing assistance with contract administration in the DWAF Chief Directorate: Planning;
• Technical support to the DWAF Chief Engineer: National Water Resource Planning (East)
• Project Manager for the Internal Strategic Perspective Studies for Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal in the DWAF Directorate: NWRP(E)
• Member of the team investigating the disestablishment of the Oberholzer Irrigation Board.

From 1 January 2005 employed by the Department of Water Affairs in the Directorate National Water Resource Planning as Chief Engineer responsible for water resources planning in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.  The responsibilities include among others:

• Managing multi-disciplinary teams of professional service providers appointed to do studies that develop strategies to ensure that all citizens in the Western and Eastern Cape provinces will have adequate water supplies well into the future. Studies completed include Reconciliation Strategies for the Western Cape Water Supply System; Reconciliation Strategies for the Amathole Water Supply System; Water Resources Assessment of the Outeniqua Coast area; Reconciliation Strategies for the Algoa Water Supply System, Assessment of development potential in the Mzimvubu Catchment, Reconciliation Strategies for all towns and clusters of villages in the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces.
• Managing teams of professional service providers that give administrative and technical support to relevant steering committees that oversee the implementation and maintenance of the various reconciliation strategies.
• Managing a team of professionals appointed to update the reconciliation strategies for all the towns and villages in the Eastern and Western Cape provinces.
• Managing teams of professional service providers that set up models that can determine the available water in specific river catchments and the effect of specific interventions on the system yields in order to determine when nw intervention will be required to augment required water supplies. Study completed is setting up the models for the Berg River catchment. Studies soon to be started for the Kromme/Seekoei, Baviaans and Kouga System, as well as for the Breede System.

Member of several Steering Committees, inter alia:

• Development of a Ground Water Strategy for SA
• Several WRC studies/projects
• Surface water feasibility studies for augmenting of the WCWSS
• Development of a catchment management Strategy for the Breede-Overberg Water Management Area
• Feasibility study for the development of the TMG aquifer to augment water supplies to City of Cape Town
• Development of river classification and resource quality objectives for several catchments in SA
• Sustainable Water Management Plan for the Western Cape

INVOLVEMENT IN THE PROFESSION

Contribution to Professional Associations, Societies and Councils:

• Registered with ECSA as a professional Engineer since 1976
• Member of SAICE since 1972

Prof Andries Jordaan is the Director of the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa (DiMTEC), University of the Free State.

Prof. Andries Jordaan is a registered Professional Natural Scientist and registered Professional Disaster Manager. He holds a degrees BSc Agric, B. Inst Agrar (Hons), MSc Agric Economics and a PhD in Agricultural Economics. He distinguished himself as an international expert with multi and trans-disciplinary expertise in rural and agricultural development, disaster risk and vulnerability assessment and disaster response management. He is currently a leading scientist on disaster and disaster risks in Africa. Andries is the Director of the Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC) at the University of the Free State.

Klein Ezeljacht is a 871ha apple, pear and sheep farm in the Overberg.  The farm is operated by Andre Cloete and his Wife Charmaine, Son, Andrio under a lease agreement with Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.  The farm has been part of the Market Access Programme (MAP) that was initiated by the Western Cape Department of Agriculture in 2010.  MAP programme set out to strengthen the economic sustainability of existing and new previously disadvantaged farmers by addressing a range of upstream and downstream challenges across the value chain such as access to markets by farmers.

André grew up on a farm in Grabouw where his mother was a farm worker and his father a technician and a builder on the farm.  At about six he knew he wanted to be a farmer.  After leaving school in 1985 he attended Kromme Rhee Agricultural College and further studied irrigation design at Cape Technikon. After this he worked in Elgin, first as an irrigation specialist and later as an assistant farm manager from 1993 until 2007.  At that point, André heard about the new opportunities offered by government through its Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS).

The MAP programme conducted a SWOT and gap analysis for Klein Ezeljacht to profile the business and identify opportunities.  Strategic business plans were prepared for farmers under the programme, which enabled some of the farmers to get funding.  André also received capacity building (training) in addition to the international exposure with regular technical advice through the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) Supply Chain and Logistics Programme (SCLP) which improved the quality of his produce.  Andre Cloete has been taken to both international and domestic market exposure trips, in 2010 he went to The Netherlands,Belgum, Sweden and Norway and again in 2010 he attended a conference Making Market Matter in Somerset Western Cape.He completed a Agricultural Leadership Development Programme at University of Pretoria in 2011.In 2012 he was a National Finalist in the Toyota New Harverst Farmer of the year Competition.In 2013 he received the National award for the new Entrant to Commercial Farming.He went with a study group to New Zealand and Australia to learn more about the orchard of the future( new rootstocks on apple and pears, high density planting and fruit under nets)This was all for his own costs.  In 2014 he attended Fruit Logistica in Germany (Berlin) and attended a Seminar on Promoting Rural Enterprises,Development for More Inclusive Economic Growth in Beijing, China.All these exposure played a role in improving the produce quality and getting access to better markets.  Andre is a Director in Two a Day and Elgin Fruit Juices which is a company that markets his fruits.Andre is also a Director on SAAPPA (South African Apple and Pear Association ) and the DFDC SA(Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber Of South Africa. He is currently the  Chairperson of the Caledon Noord Farmers Association.

He mentoring the Klipfontein Farming trust in Villiersdorp (Western Cape)since 2014 where they are busy develop 60Ha of Pome fruit over a period of 6-8 years.He also assist Makolobane Farmers in Freestate with technical skills on management on there apples.

He is one of the farmers that included in the new cultivar development that was tested on his farm through the SCLP project and has performed very well. As a result it will be expanded.  He is a role model to some aspiring farmers and not only a farmer but also a leader and a mentor. André has received accolades such as best and National Winner of the Toyota New Harverst Farmer of the year 2016 and other accolades from local cooperative.

Charl Senekal is the country’s largest sugar cane producer and lives just outside Mkuze in northern KwaZulu-Natal.

In 1967, he started working for the Pongola Sugar Mill as a trainee laboratory technologist. In 1971, he was promoted to Head technologist and in 1973 Laboratory Manager for the SA Sugar Association. In 1979, he started farming with 45 hectares in Pongola.

After 18 years of farming, he had established himself as the largest privately-owned sugar farm in South Africa.  In 2003he was selected as National Farmer of the Year

Senekal Boerderye currently produces 50 000 tons of sugar and 15 000 tons of molasses per annum.

Senekal Boerderye aims is to have 6 000 hectares of sugar cane by 2019 and which will make Charl Senekal one of the largest privately-owned sugar cane farmers in the world.

He is currently National Chairman of the Pro-Agri Forum. The Bible School in association with the Durban Westville University conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Agriculture & Community Up-liftment on Charl in November 2015. He is very involved in the uplifting of the community and his business supplies water to over 300 000 people.  He is also involved in building of schools for the community.

He is married to Elize Senekal and they have 4 children, all of whom are all part of the farming business.

Upon his retirement earlier this year, André Roux was immediately commissioned as a Special Appointee to the Premier of the Western Cape for Drought Relief Coordination to assist in relief efforts with the current crisis facing the Western Cape Province.

He is a registered Professional Engineer (Engineering Council of SA) and an Associate of the SA Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE). He is also a Member of the SA Institute of Agricultural Engineers (SAIAE) and an Associate and life-long member of SABI. André previously worked for the Department of Water Affairs for 26 years, 16 of which in planning, design and construction of water-related infrastructure and 10 years in management of water resources, infrastructure, personnel, finance and conflict resolution.

He thereafter spent 21 years at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and was involved in optimal utilisation of agricultural water, as well as management and other agricultural engineering aspects such as animal housing, dealing with waste, mechanisation, on-farm value-adding and conservation and sustainable use of our natural resources. Disaster management services and protection of agricultural land against other uses also formed a major part of his responsibility.

Judge Antonie Gildenhuys (Retired) is a former Judge of the Land Claims Court. Antonie Gildenhuys is a retired judge. He studied at the University of Pretoria and UNISA and also holds a doctorate. The topic of his doctoral thesis was expropriation law. He practiced as an attorney in Pretoria and Johannesburg from 1959 to 1995, and is a past chair of the former Transvaal Law Society. From 1991 to 1995 during the transition to a new political dispensation, he served as chair of the National Peace Secretariat. In1995 he was appointed as

From 1991 to 1995 during the transition to a new political dispensation, he served as chair of the National Peace Secretariat. In1995 he was appointed as judge in the Land Claims Court and in 2003 as judge in the High Court in Johannesburg. After his retirement in 2010 he from time to time acts as arbitrator in legal disputes and also hosts workshops as part of continued legal training for judicial officers.

He is the author of various publications on expropriation, valuation and water legislation and is currently working on a volume on land reform for the law encyclopedia, The Law of South Africa. He is married to Elma and the couple have three sons and nine grandchildren.”

Johan van den Berg is Manager of Specialized Crop Insurance at Santam agriculture. He is since March 2005 involved with Santam Agriculture in the crop insurance industry. He is currently the manager for specialized crop insurance in Bloemfontein where he is responsible for managing several crop insurance products for Santam Agriculture like the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance.

His involvement in climate and climate related risks followed his training as an agricultural meteorologist and more than 30 years of experience in the field of agricultural meteorology within the Agricultural Research Council, Department of Agriculture, the University of the Free State, the consultancy “Enviro Vision” and currently Santam Agriculture.

His focus is on the quantification of climate related risks and the development of risk management information as part of an initiative to stimulate better decision making in agriculture. He specializes in the use of the ENSO (El Nino-Southern-Oscillation) phenomenon as indicator of seasonal climate outlooks. His current focus is more on risk and risk management to quantify climate risks for the crop insurance industry.