FOLLOWING the retirement of sugar industry legend Trix Trikam (65) as the long-standing executive director of the South African Sugar Association (SASA), highly regarded agricultural economist Sifiso Mhlaba (36) has been appointed as his successor with effect from 1 November 2024.
“I am truly honoured to be stepping into Trix’s big shoes. Make no mistake, it is a huge task and massive responsibility. I feel honoured that SASA and industry members have shown this level of confidence in me,” says Mhlaba. Before ascending to the CEO position, Mhlaba excelled as SASA’s national market executive and was later promoted to national market and Trade policy director. Prior to joining SASA in 2015, he was a regulatory and competition economist at DNA Economics, a consulting firm based in Pretoria, where he also consulted on agriculture, climate change and energy projects. He is also a small-scale sugarcane farmer in Mpumalanga.
In terms of academic qualifications, Mhlaba holds four degrees – BSc in Agricultural Economics (cum laude, North West University), BSc Honours in Agricultural Economics (cum laude, North West University), Master of Science in Applied Economics (Washington State University) and an MBA from Stellenbosch University. Mhlaba also holds the Certified Director designation from the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA)
“I look forward to working closely with our internal and external stakeholders as we secure and ensure the sustainability of the industry, which makes a critical social and economic contribution to job-starved rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga where sugarcane growing and milling activities occur. The Sugarcane Value Chain Master Plan to 2030 remains crucial for the industry. Policy coherence and support is a requisite for its successful implementation,” says Mhlaba.
Welcoming the appointment, SASA independent chairperson Advocate Fay Mukaddam says Mhlaba is the CEO who SASA needs right now to take the industry to the next level as SASA leads the “Reimagined Cane Industry Strategy” efforts, with more emphasis on innovation, product diversification and transformation. “Sifiso takes over from an industry stalwart who has done so much – Trix was with SASA for 43 years (of which 26 years as the CEO). Sifiso has now taken the baton to build on Trix’s outstanding legacy and take SASA (and the industry) to even greater heights,” adds Adv Mukaddam. “I call on all stakeholders including our government, industry role-players, downstream users and all value chain partners to support our new CEO,” she concludes.
