S
even top achievers in the South African deciduous fruit industry received
awards for their excellence on Friday
night, 16 September 2016, at a gala
event in Somerset West.
The awards went to:
Charmaine Scholtz, Specialist Agricultural
Worker of the Year;
Sivuyile Maguga Solitswayi en Irene Jansen,
joint General Agricultural Worker of the
Year;
Earl Loxton, New Entrant of the Year;
Dr. Piet Stassen, Innovator of the Year;
Jack van Dyk, O.S.H. Reinecke Industry
Leader of the Year; and
Engela Duvenage, received the Izethelo Media Award.
This year the judges decided to give the General Agricultural Worker of the Year Award to
two worthy recipients: Sivuyile Maguga
Solitswayi from the farm Bronaar in the Koue
Bokkeveld and Irene Jansen from Wilhelm de
Kock Boerdery near Worcester.
Solitswayi is one of the true heroes of the deciduous fruit industry without whom growers
would not be able to manage. He is one of
the multitude of general workers who, like
human machines, pick fruit, prune trees and
thin flowers. What distinguishes Solitswayi
from other workers is that his productivity levels are twice that of any other general worker.
Not only that, he is accurate and works at a
phenomenal pace.
Solitswayi joined Bronaar in 2013 and according to his manager he is always motivated
and sets high goals for himself. “Maguga is
motivated and ensures that he does his work
right the first time. He is by far Bronaar’s best
and fastest fruit picker. Maguga is an excellent example for his co-workers and a great
asset in our business. Bronaar would like to
salute Maguga for his excellent service.”
In turn, Irene Jansen started her young life
with many challenges. She grew up in the
Steinthal Orphanage at Tulbagh and is a single parent. But against all odds, Jansen is
carving out a bright future for herself in the
agricultural sector.
Jansen’s colleagues describe her as a born
leader and an excellent example for her coworkers. “Irene is active in almost all the farm
programmes such as the women’s choir, the
mixed choir and an outreach group. She even
initiated a board game group for women on
the farm. She also loves to bake and regularly
arrives at work with sweet treats for everyone.”
During the season, Jansen is involved in quality control and the manipulation of young orchards. The other workers know that she is
always available to answer questions and to
mentor them. According to her manager, it is
not often that one comes across someone
with such a positive attitude. “Even though
life dealt Irene a tough hand, she gets up every morning and spreads joy wherever she
goes. She has a bright career in agriculture
ahead of her.”
Charmaine Scholtz, Specialist Farm Worker of
the Year, is a qualified teacher who decided to
throw her energy into agriculture. Scholtz,
who started her professional life at Remhoog-