A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

The

grain and oilseed industry

of south africa – A journey through time

that a process of amalgamation should be followed in order to ultimately estab-

lish only one producer organisation for agriculturalists in South Africa. Messrs

Andries Beyers and Nico Hawkins were nominated by the WPO to serve on the

Steering Committee.

At the meeting the request was also made that talks be started with the SPO

with a view to possibly involve them in the process. As a result of the talks

Van Zyl subsequently had with the SPO, representatives from that organisation

participated in a planning meeting with the management committees on 17 No-

vember 1998. The Chairperson of the SPO, Mr Pieter Morkel, confirmed at this

meeting that the SPO supported the unification process.

On 17 November 1998 the management committees of NAMPO, NOPO, the

WPO and the SPO convened in the NAMPO Boardroom in Bothaville. This was

the first opportunity at which the four organisations met jointly on the process

of amalgamation.

At the meeting they decided among other things that the Steering Commit-

tee should get legal advice to prepare the final draft constitution for the new

organisation. The final dates for the dissolution congresses of the respective

organisations and the founding congress for the new organisation would be

set in January 1999. In the meantime, the integration process for the various

magazines had to continue.

Various recommendations for the name of the new organisation were considered,

including Grain Producers Organisation of South Africa (GPO), National Grain Pro-

ducers Organisation (NAGPO) and South African Grain Producers Organisation

(SAGPO). However, it was decided to reconsider the name of the new organisation

again in January 1999.

Van Zyl, nominated General Manager of the new organisation, was recovering at

home after bypass surgery and could not attend the meeting.

Steering Committee expanded

The Steering Committee was expanded to include representatives from all four

the producer organisations, namely NOPO, NAMPO, the SPO and WPO, and met

for the first time on 4 December 1998 with the brief to thresh out the details of the

process to amalgamate the four organisations. Specific attention had to be given

to matters like the name of the new organisation, the finalising of the constitution

in collaboration with the attorneys Hofmeyr Herbstein, servicing of special inter-

ests, membership and the organising of the closing and founding congresses. It

was resolved to hold the various dissolution congresses on 9 June 1999, with the

founding congress of the new organisation to be held on 10 June 1999.

Initially it was recommended that the organisation be known as the Grain Produc-

ers Organisation of South Africa. The Steering Committee recommended the fol-

lowing names, in order of preference:

• Grain Producers Organisation (GPO)

• Grain SA (GSA).

The principle was accepted that servicing of special interests must be continued

for each of the respective industries in the new organisation. This was already

established at the first congress of the new organisation with the introduction of

breakaway sessions for specialist working groups in order to discuss industry-

specific matters.

Recommendations were also made by the Steering Committee about the legal sta-

tus, objectives, profit objectives, powers and capacities, control structures and

location of the offices of the new organisation. The principle was accepted that

NAMPO would be the vehicle through which the new organisation would function

and that the assets of other organisations would be sold and the proceeds em-

ployed in the new organisation.

During the period from January to April 1999 the decision-making structures of

the respective organisations granted approval and final mandates in terms of their

constitutional requirements that the amalgamation process could continue.