| (b) | at least eight but not more than 15 other members appointed by the Minister; and |
| (c) | the president, who shall serve on the Council by virtue of his or her office. |
(2)
| (a) | The members referred to in subsection (1)(a) and (b) shall be appointed by virtue of their knowledge and experience of agriculture, marketing, the training of agriculturists and veterinarians, business and financial management, the law, the environment, rural development, or research, development or technology transfer in the field of agriculture. |
| (b) | In the composition of the Council the interests of each province shall be taken into account. |
(3)
| (a) | Whenever a member of the Council has to be appointed, the Minister shall— |
| (i) | by notice in the Gazette and other appropriate media, invite persons, stakeholders, the Premier of each province and the Portfolio and Select Committees of Parliament responsible for agricultural affairs to submit to the Minister, within the period mentioned in the notice, the names of persons who comply with the criteria referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2); |
| (ii) | establish a selection committee consisting of at least three persons, designate a chairperson for the committee and submit to the committee all the nominations received. |
| (b) | The selection committee shall, within 30 days after the signing of the letters of appointment of its members, from the nominations submitted to it by the Minister, compile a short-list of eligible candidates who have knowledge and experience of any matter referred to in subsection (2), and submit it to the Minister. |
| (c) | The Minister shall appoint such number of members as is required from the short-list of candidates recommended by the selection committee. |
| (d) | Within 30 days after making any appointment in terms of paragraph (c), the Minister shall inform the Portfolio and Select Committees of Parliament responsible for agricultural affairs in writing of the appointment made. |
[Subsection (3) substituted by section 1(a) of Act No. 27 of 2001]
| (4) | No political office-bearer as defined in section 190A of the Constitution, as well as a member of a Provincial House of Traditional Leaders, the Council of Traditional Leaders, the Volkstaat Council or a local government, and any official of a political party, shall be appointed as a member of the Council. |
| (5) | A person may not be nominated or appointed as a member of the Council if such person— |
| (a) | is not a South African citizen or permanently resident in the Republic; |
| (b) | is an unrehabilitated insolvent in respect of whom the trustee of the insolvent estate has not certified that the insolvent is a fit and proper person to serve as a member of the Council; |
| (c) | has failed or is unable to comply in full with a judgment or order, including an order as to costs, given against such person by a court of law in civil proceedings; |
| (d) | has been convicted of an offence involving an element of dishonesty or has been sentenced for any other offence committed on or after 27 April 1994 to a period of imprisonment without the option of a fine; |
| (e) | is of unsound mind; or |
| (f) | has contravened a provision of section 7 of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 (Act No. 4 of 2000), and it has been so determined by an equality court. |
[Subsection (5) inserted by section 1(b) of Act No. 27 of 2001]
[Section 9 substituted by section 1 of Act No. 16 of 1996]
