Minister John Steenhuisen: Ministerial Recognition Ceremony

Ministerial Recognition Ceremony for South African Sheep Shearing Champions Beyerskloof Wine Estate, Stellenbosch

Programme Director,
Distinguished guests,
Leaders of our wool industry,
Members of the South African Sheep Shearing Federation,
Our champions, Bonile Rabela and Teboho Nyatsa,
Mr Izak Klopper,
Mr Andries Pretorius,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is genuinely a pleasure to be here this afternoon, in a setting that reflects so much of what South African agriculture stands for, to recognise a group of individuals who have achieved something truly remarkable.

Let me begin by thanking Mr Beyers Truter for hosting us here at Beyerskloof. There is something quite fitting about celebrating agricultural excellence in a place that itself represents years of dedication, craftsmanship and consistency. That same spirit is what we are here to honour today.

We are not simply marking a win. We are marking a sustained standard of excellence that very few countries, in any field, are able to maintain.

For the sixth consecutive time, South Africa has been crowned world champion in hand shearing at the Golden Shears Championships in Masterton, New Zealand. If you pause on that for a moment, you realise just how significant it is. To reach the top once is an achievement. To stay there, year after year, against the best in the world, requires something deeper. It requires discipline, consistency, and an almost relentless commitment to getting the details right.

And while Bonile Rabela and Teboho Nyatsa rightly stand at the forefront of that achievement, it would be a mistake to see this as the work of individuals alone.

Behind every world-class performance is leadership. There is structure. There is preparation. There is someone ensuring that standards are upheld long before the competition begins.

And that brings me to Mr Izak Klopper.

Izak, as Team Leader, your role is not always the most visible, but it is absolutely foundational. It is your responsibility to prepare, to guide, to steady, and to ensure that when our athletes step onto the world stage, they do so with confidence and clarity. Sustained success of this nature does not happen without strong, consistent leadership, and what South Africa has achieved over six consecutive championships speaks directly to that.

You carry the weight of expectation, you manage the pressures behind the scenes, and you create the conditions in which excellence can thrive. Today, we recognise that contribution fully. This victory belongs to you as much as it does to those holding the shears.

Bonile, to defend your title as the world’s best hand shearer is an extraordinary achievement. There is a quiet confidence in mastery, and what you demonstrated on that stage is the result of years of honing your craft to a level that very few ever reach.

Teboho, your performance is just as important. What you have shown is that this excellence is not confined to one generation. It is being carried forward, strengthened, and redefined. That gives us confidence not only in where we are, but in where we are going.

Together, the three of you represent something much bigger than individual success. You represent the strength of our wool industry, the quality of our training systems, and the depth of talent that exists within South African agriculture.

You are not only skilled professionals, but you are also elite athletes in one of the most physically demanding and technically precise disciplines in global agriculture. And it is important that we recognise this for what it is because what happens in that shearing shed has real consequences far beyond the competition floor.

What makes your achievement even more significant is the strength of the industry you represent. Our wool sector is performing strongly on the global stage, with prices increasing sharply over the past year and demand for high-quality, sustainably produced wool continuing to grow. The fact that South Africa commands a premium in these markets is not accidental. It is built on quality, on consistency, and on the kind of technical excellence that you demonstrated in New Zealand. 

At the same time, we must be honest about the complexity of the environment in which this industry operates. While prices have strengthened, we have also seen volatility in export volumes and shifts in key markets. That makes it even more important that we continue to invest in the fundamentals that give us a competitive edge, and skills sit right at the centre of that.

This is where institutions like the Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute come into the picture. Grootfontein has played a critical role in developing the kind of technical ability, discipline and professionalism that we see in our shearing teams today. It is not just about training people to shear. It is about developing a standard of excellence that can stand up anywhere in the world.

We see that reflected not only in our competitors, but also in Mr Andries Pretorius, who represented South Africa as a judge at these championships. That is a recognition of expertise at the highest level, and it speaks volumes about the quality of knowledge and experience that we are able to produce locally.

What this all points to is something we sometimes overlook.

Agriculture is often spoken about in terms of output, hectares, and export figures. But at its core, it is a human endeavour. It is about skill, about pride in workmanship, and about people who take what they do seriously enough to keep improving it over time.

In the wool and sheep industry, that human element is particularly visible. This is a sector that supports livelihoods in rural communities, that creates opportunities where they are often most needed, and that carries with it a strong sense of tradition and identity.

When we celebrate achievements like this, we are not only recognising individual excellence. We are recognising leadership. We are recognising training. And we are recognising the system that produces outcomes like this, year after year.

As government, we are committed to ensuring that this system continues to work. That means supporting institutions, strengthening partnerships with industry, and ensuring that sectors like wool remain competitive and sustainable.

To Bonile, Teboho and Izak, I want to say this.

You have done more than win a title. You have set a standard. You have demonstrated what South African agriculture is capable of when talent, leadership and discipline come together.

We are immensely proud of you.

And to everyone here who contributes to this industry, thank you for the role you play in sustaining it.

Let us continue to build on this success, and ensure that South Africa remains at the top, not just for today, but for many years to come.

Congratulations once again.

Thank you.

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