Forestry BBBEE Charter Steering Committee meeting of 15 February

20 February 2006

The Forestry BBBEE Charter Steering Committee met on 15 February 2006 in
Kempton Park to deliberate on the draft Forestry Charter and address issues
raised by stakeholders at various consultation workshops held throughout the
country during November and December 2005. The Committee is working towards
meeting the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), Ms Buyelwa Sonjica’s
deadline to develop a final draft Charter by March 2006.

Of significance in this meeting were the discussions and debate on the
weighting and the 10 year targets. Ms Gugu Moloi, Chairperson of the Forestry
BBBEE Charter Steering Committee urged members to have a futuristic approach.
She said, “Members need to anticipate the sector 10 years from now and work
towards creating a transformed and growing sector. The weighting and targets
therefore needed to reflect the kind of sector that they anticipate”. She
further stated that, “The Charter will not serve the industry alone, but it can
propel and facilitate government’s agenda of transforming the economy”. The
chairperson emphasised the need to balance the transformation that must take
place within the current formation of the industry as well as the
transformation that needs to take place as the industry develops. She indicated
that the industry must focus on the outcomes that it wishes to create in the
future.

Land reform has been identified as a major challenge to the forest sector
and for new aforestation opportunities. One of the key aspects to ensure that
the Charter can be implemented is for the DWAF and Department of Land Affairs
(DLA) to agree on a way to fast track the resolution of various land issues
that are hampering growth of the sector. It was also reported that DWAF had
convened a workshop with the DLA where agreement was reached on how to fast
track the resolution of land issues in forestry areas and an action plan was
developed. Priority areas for afforestation where the resolution of land issues
needed to be undertaken were identified as the area in the Eastern Cape where a
Strategic Environmental Assessment has been done and those areas where
Afforestation Maps have been developed in KwaZulu-Natal.

During the report back sessions working group facilitators stressed that
despite various attempts to make this process as inclusive as possible in many
instances labour, stakeholders and role-players do not attend meetings. The
Committee tasked the Secretariat to explore ways of ensuring broader
participation by all stakeholders.

Although the public will have sufficient time to comment on the draft
Charter, anyone who has an interest in making input into the Charter process is
requested to contact Dr Themba Simelane: Director Forestry Policy and Strategy
at the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

Enquiries:
Dr TL Simelane
Tel: (012) 336 7740
Fax: (012) 336 6663
Email: Themba@dwaf.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
20 February 2006