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CHAPTER 4
1989 Congress
NAMPO’s Congress of 1989 was characterised by a very unusual incident that led
to a major change in the top structures of the organisation.
At the Congress a serious argument developed between the Vice-chairperson, Mr
Hennie de Jager, and the General Manager, Dr Piet Gous. The exact nature and de-
tails are not known, but it led to Mr Boetie Viljoen, who in his capacity as Chairperson
of NAMPO was also the Chairperson of the Congress, declaring himself willing to
resign as Chairperson if De Jager would resign as Vice-chairperson. De Jager ac-
cepted the challenge and he and Viljoen immediately resigned.
Dr Gous also resigned and the Congress was in a constitutional crisis because
there was nobody to chair the Congress. Initially Mr Giel van Zyl, Head of Admin-
istration, acted as chair. After objections by a member, Mr Jasper van Zyl, that
an official could not act as Chairperson of the Congress, Mr Kobus Jooste, the
president of the SAAU, with the approval of the meeting, handled the election of a
Chairperson (Mr Cerneels Claassen) and Vice-chairperson (Mr Jan Schabort).
After the Congress Dr Le Clus and Van Zyl for a while jointly handled the responsi-
bilities of the General Manager until Mr Danie Schoeman was appointed as General
Manager. In 1992 the latter was replaced by Van Zyl as General Manager.
Maize Board
Since its establishment until the abolition of the Maize Board NAMPO played a
significant role in the Maize Board. The producer members of the Maize Board, who
constituted the majority on the board, were all members of NAMPO’s Executive. The
Chairperson and Vice-chairperson of the Maize Board were both NAMPO members
too. More details on the founding, composition, activities and important events in
the history of the Maize Board are provided in Chapter 2 of this publication. The role
of NAMPO and its office bearers in the Maize Board is clear from that chapter.
However, what should be mentioned here is that NAMPO’s direct involvement in
the Maize Board also introduced a new era in the board, with greater focus on mar-
keting and activities as a marketing council rather than a control board. In fact, on