John Steenhuisen warns of 15,000 job losses in South Africa

Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen has warned that the potential liquidation of Tongaat Hulett puts over 15,500 jobs at risk, along with as many as 40,000 people whose livelihoods depend directly on the supply chain linked to the company’s mills.

The minister warned that this is more than a theoretical risk, saying that allowing production to collapse would have “far-reaching economic and social consequences well beyond the farm gate”.

The minister’s comment came after Tongaat Hulett’s business rescue practitioners announced that it had filed for the provisional liquidation of the company.

Founded over 134 years ago, Tongaat is a pillar of the local sugar industry as one of the country’s biggest sugar millers. The company employs thousands of people, with operations spanning South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Eswatini.

However, a major accounting fraud scandal in 2019 wrecked the company, destroying R12 billion in shareholder value.

Failing to recover after this scandal, Tongaat entered voluntary business rescue in 2022, and an official business rescue plan was adopted in January 2024.

One of the central players in this plan was the Vision Group consortium, which, up until recently, played a major role in the company’s potential turnaround.

Tongaat’s business rescue practitioners (BRPs) devised a plan to have the Vision group acquire the company’s operating assets in South Africa, as well as its investments in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Botswana.

Under this plan, Vision would also assume responsibility for stabilising the business, and the group was in talks with the Industrial Development Corporation to secure funding.

However, the two parties failed to reach an agreement, and on 12 February 2026, Tongaat’s BRPs announced that they saw no other alternative and had applied to discontinue the business rescue proceedings.

The BRPs applied to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court for an order placing Tongaat into provisional liquidation, with the hearing scheduled for 27 February 2026.

John Steenhuisen’s warning

In a recent press release, Steenhuisen explained the impact that Tongaat’s liquidation would have on the local sugar industry.

Describing it as an “escalating crisis facing the sugar industry”, Steenhuisen said his department has been engaging with industry stakeholders.

The minister warned that, unless the current funding impasse is urgently resolved, growers will be unable to deliver cane and processing will come to a halt. 

“The consequences of such an outcome would be severe, affecting approximately 15,500 delivering growers and between 35,000 and 40,000 people whose livelihoods depend directly on the supply chain linked to the mills,” he said.

“This is not a theoretical risk – it is an immediate economic threat to rural communities. If the mills do not open, farmers cannot harvest, workers cannot earn an income, and entire local economies will stall.” 

Steenhuisen explained that the longer uncertainty persists, the greater the damage becomes. This is because the agricultural industry works on biological timelines, not legal or financial deadlines.

Therefore, he said an intervention that unlocks funding and restores operations certainty is urgently required to protect both production and jobs.

“The Department of Agriculture is engaging with the relevant departments and financing stakeholders to support a practical solution that preserves production capacity and avoids irreversible losses in the sector,” he said.

However, the minister added that his department’s objective is not to intervene in commercial negotiations, but rather to ensure a viable path forward.

Trade Minister Parks Tau has undertaken similar commitments, saying his department, along with other organs of state, would oppose Tongaat’s liquidation and support all lawful efforts aimed at finding a viable solution.

Tau described Tongaat as a “systemically important player” in the sugar value chain and said he is optimistic about its potential stabilisation and restructuring.

It should be noted that no ministry has the power to stop the liquidation, but, along with other interested parties, can participate in the hearings and present the case against it.