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November 2016
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‘The drought as such
was not the issue’
C
onfident, respectful and critical. This is how the new Direc-
tor-General (DG) of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (DAFF), Mr Mzamo Michael Mlengana, better
known as Mike, describes himself. Mlengana took over the
reins from Prof Edith Vries on 1 July.
As the former president of the African Farmers’ Association of
South Africa (AFASA) Mlengana has proven himself as a leader in
the agricultural field. He also brings experience from his previous
top management positions like Telkom SA Limited, where he was
the vice president of Corporate Development at Telkom as well as
other private and publicly owned entities. Mlengana says he is ready
to take on the challenges of this multifaceted department.
To role-players in organised agriculture his appointment is good
news. As a commercial producer he has first-hand knowledge of
the challenges facing the farming industry and he worked with both
smallholder and established farmers.
He farms with Bonsmaras and meat Merinos in the Magaliesburg
district and also cultivates maize and vegetables.
‘To me farming creates harmony between man and nature. Harmo-
ny that is indescribable as you interact with the land and animals.
It brings a sense of fulfilment which generates passion,’ he says
about his love for farming and adds, ‘It is an intuitive reaction that
God has instilled in the inner being of who I am.’
Dealing with challenges
After only two months in office Mlengana is still in the process
of rectifying the shortcomings he has identified in the department.
As an analytical person, he focuses on the benefit of processes and
concentrates more on solutions than on the problem itself.
‘It has been necessary to give effect to transparent decision-mak-
ing and the manifestation of proper leadership skills to employees,’
he shares. He would like to see this department converted into an
efficient organisation to promote the collective interests of the
agricultural industry.
Taking over the reins in a difficult period in agriculture after a severe
drought, is not an easy task. He has already analysed the circum-
stances of the past season. ‘Indeed the drought has dealt a blow to
the farming community, but to me the drought as such was not the
issue. I believe the issue was our inability to predict the economic
shocks that accompanied the drought,’ he shares his viewpoint.
Mlengana believes that there should be greater co-operation
between the agricultural industry, the Weather Bureau and the
Disaster Management Centre to provide a pro-active understanding
of what to do before and when problems arise.
‘We should use the information of past events with current re-
sources and skills to help us make predictions and come up with
solutions to events that can present challenges to us, like the
drought,’ he expands.
In his opinion crisis management should be handled in two phases:
Short term intervention where the immediate identification of areas
which were affected the most severely should be declared as dis-
aster zones and aided accordingly and medium term intervention
where strategies should be put in place to manage disasters.
RELEVANT
LOUISE KUNZ,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor
The new DG of the DAFF, Mike Mlengana
On a personal note
Mike Mlengana was born and raised in a rural farming
community in the small town of Port St John’s (former
Transkei) on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape Province
as the son of a subsistence farmer. ‘Subsistence farm-
ing was all I knew. It was at the core of the communal
livelihood and what was done to survive in our area,’
he recalls. The society in which he was raised was one
of conservatism with a traditional culture and rules. He
mentions that he still respects those values and rules
whenever he visits the area.
He grew up in a semi-literate family with a father who
was not schooled and was therefore determined to get
a good education. His undergraduate degrees were
completed at the University of Fort Hare and Rhodes
University, after receiving a German scholarship to
study at this institution. He is also a Fulbright scholar
with an MA in Financial Economics and Economic De-
velopment from the Graduate School of Economic and
International Studies in Denver, Colorado in the United
States of America.
As a young boy growing up in a rural community he
was eager to have a job and earn a small income. He
was eventually employed by a store owner in Grahams-
town where school uniforms and sporting goods were
sold. Here as an honest child who wanted to ensure a
better future for himself and generations to come he
cleaned between the ceiling and the roof and earned a
mere R15 per week. This humble beginning in the busi-
ness world made him determined to succeed in life.
The motto by which he lives is: Live everyday as if it is
your last day. Appreciate nature – appreciate that which
God has created for us to enjoy – and live in harmony
with it.
He is married to Patience and they have three children.
Mike Mlengana