The red meat industry has been identified by the DALRRD as a productive sector and job driver with potential for accelerated economic growth and job creation through the Agricultural Policy Action Plan and the Agricultural and Agro-Processing Master Plan processes. The red meat industry refined, aligned and redefined a new statutory measure to support the crucial future development and sustainability of the sector. As such, the red meat industry wishes to implement a new levy for a period of four years to deliver on the functions previously identified, whilst investigating how these functions could be better. These functions are—
| (a) | Animal Health, Public Health and Biosecurity |
| (i) | FMD high risk prioritisation |
| (ii) | Traceability and identification |
| (iii) | Consumer assurance and product safety |
| (b) | consumer communication and education |
| (i) | Increase market size and value-chain participation |
| (c) | transformation and development; |
| (i) | Transformation in the developing sector |
| (i) | Production development |
| (iii) | Red meat research and development |
| (iv) | Consumer communication and education |
| (e) | Administration and Governance |
The levy is not detrimental to any of the objectives of the Act, and in particular will not be detrimental to the number of employment opportunities or for labour practice in the red meat industry.
The levy will be administered by the Levy Administrator who will act in terms of the mandate granted to it by the Red Meat and Livestock Primary Cluster, the representative structure of the red meat industry. The Levy Administrator who will appoint a Levy Collector if and when necessary to assist them with the collection of the statutory levy.
This levy is necessary to finance the above-mentioned functions and the levy will be utilized in accordance with the levy application submitted to the Minister. The Auditor-General will solely be responsible to audit the statutory levies collected and expended.
The actual beneficiaries of the levy will be determined by the Levy Administrator in accordance with their approved business plans and budgets for the benefit of the entire industry.
