The rooibos tea industry has paid more than R12m to the San and Khoi-Khoi people following an agreement it signed in 2019 with the two communities and the government.

The payment is part of the implementation of the Rooibos Traditional Knowledge Benefit-Sharing Agreement signed in November 2019.

Forestry, fisheries and environment minister Barbara Creecy said the payment is a significant milestone in collaboration efforts between communities, industry and government.

“The payment of the monies to the two communities is a significant measure of the success of the work being done by the department with sister departments and all relevant stakeholders to successfully implement this pilot phase of the first industrywide Traditional Knowledge Benefit Sharing Agreement,” said Creecy.

She said the department had played a key role in the nine-year negotiation process that saw the signing of the agreement that is now one of SA’s success stories in the implementation of the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act (Nemba).

''Because rooibos has a long history of commercialisation in SA, it was deemed important for the rooibos industry to comply with Nemba and the associated regulations. Thus, the 2019 industrywide agreement which entails the one-year pilot through which the San and the Khoi-Khoi people will receive 1,5% of the farmgate price from the 10 rooibos industry processors. This payment is done in the form of an annual levy,’’ she said.

The minister said an amount of just over R12.2m in the first year of the farmgate purchases was paid into the bioprospecting trust fund or suspense account before being transferred into the two community trust accounts established by the South African San Council and the National Khoisan Council.

‘’The two councils are presently finalising processes and procedures on how the money received will be distributed across the Khoi-Khoi and San communities. The money will be used to assist the communities with their endeavours to protect their traditional knowledge and related biodiversity,’’ said Creecy.

The funds will also be used to protect their cultural heritage, advance education and development within the community and to improve their livelihoods.

Creecy said the Khoi-Khoi biodiversity trust is developing a comprehensive plan to distribute the funds in a way that will secure equity and fairness to all.

''It will be guided by a set of principles and policies, and communities will only be able to access funds by submitting a formal business plan to the CEO of the trust. This process will be communicated to the different community structures and be followed up by workshops."

Her department has also initiated a process to review the terms and conditions of the rooibos industry-wide benefit-sharing agreement, which includes consultation with all parties linked to the agreement. A process to appoint an independent service provider to consider transactions related to the existing agreement is also being finalised.

The review process will also involve the appointment of an independent service provider to develop a non-monetary benefit sharing model for consideration by the communities and the industry for future negotiations.