NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION
DATE OF PUBLICATION: FRIDAY 06 NOVEMBER 2009 [IQP No 27 -2009]
FIRST SESSION, FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 2159 for Written Reply: National Assembly, Mr P J C Pretorius (DA)
to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
(1) Whether, as part of the unbundling of the KWV, an empowerment fund was
created to benefit previously disadvantaged groups or persons; if not, why
not; if so,
(a) what was the value of the fund at the time of unbundling,
(b) what is the current value of the land,
(c) who are the (i) shareholders and/or (ii) beneficiaries of the fund and
(d) what are the main objectives of the fund? NW2853E
REPLY:
(1) According to information received from the KWV, no empowerment fund was
created.
(a) As part of the unbundling of the KWV in 2003, a KWV Employee
Empowerment Trust (KEET) was created with a Board of Trustees. The
beneficiaries of the KEET are the current permanent black employees and
retrenched employees, who will remain beneficiaries of the Empowerment
Trust until 2014.
A new company was established for the operational activities of the KWV.
The KEET acquired seven and a half percent (7,5%) in both the original KWV
entity and the new operational company.
The KEET received an interest-free loan from KWV to acquire the 7,5% equity
stake. A further soft loan was received by KEET from the South African Wine
Industry Trust (SAWIT). The dividends which the beneficiaries of the KEET
received were used to service the loan.
The goal of the KWV Employee Empowerment Trust is to increase its
empowerment shareholding in the operational company which employ the
beneficiaries.