Ke a leboga, Motlat?a Sepikara. Ke a leboga maloko a Ntlo ye e hlomphegagago. [Thank you, hon Deputy Speaker. Thank you, members of this august House.]
The Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, adopted by government in 2009, gave birth to a new era in our new democracy. The strategic framework correctly identified rural development as a central pillar in our struggle against unemployment, poverty and inequality. Its analysis of the challenges that faced government articulates the fact that people living in rural areas face the harshest conditions of poverty, food insecurity and a lack of access to services on an almost daily basis.
Further, workers living in rural areas face the brunt of poverty. Many of them work long hours for poverty wages. Mostly this affects women, who form the majority of those in residential and rural areas. They face the burden of poverty every day.
The adoption of the framework pointed to the necessity for an effective rural development programme, ensuring that investment in infrastructure, services and training reaches those areas of the country that have been affected most.
The Medium-Term Strategic Framework laid the foundation for a comprehensive rural development strategy linked to agrarian reform which builds the potential for sustainable rural livelihoods, particularly for African women.
This analysis of the Medium-Term Strategic Framework led to rural development being declared one of the five priorities of government, which would then need adequate operational capacity and resources to realise its vision.
The vision of this strategic framework is located in ensuring the building of vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. The mission is meeting basic human rights and human needs, rural enterprise development, the establishment of agrovillage industries, markets and credit facilities, and community mobilisation and organisation.
Coming to the evolution of rural development in adopting this amendment Bill, we need to remind ourselves of the evolution of where we have come from since 1994 with rural development. The Reconstruction and Development Programme, RDP, was adopted by government in 1995 as a broad framework and plan to deal with correcting the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. This was followed in 1997 by the Rural Development Framework which built upon the Reconstruction and Development Programme.
An assessment and evaluation of the Rural Development Framework took place in 2000, leading to the Integrated Strategic Rural Development Programme in 2001. This integrated approach to the challenges of rural development was strengthened in 2008 by the programme War on Poverty, and finally in 2009 by the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme of 2009.
Our nation-building project on jobs, rural development and land reform is inspired by the state of the nation. Job creation, our national project, has its foundation in the economic development of the rural areas. It must include affordable financing to promote economic development and to support programmes and training in assisting co-operatives and small enterprises, public sector ventures, and strategies to develop appropriate industries, including light manufacturing, handicrafts, services, tourism, etc.
Measures to support rural development include infrastructure development to produce thriving rural economies and ensure sustainable development. The expansion of basic infrastructure, which includes roads, electricity, water connections and public toilet systems in rural areas, has long been a central priority for the ANC.
In operationalising these changes through institutional reform and legislation, the policy evolution that has been described above has the procedural consequences that have led to the establishment of the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform. Essentially, this has meant that institutional reforms have become a necessity and this can only be carried out through the necessary amendments to legislation.
On 3 September 2010 the amending Bill was gazetted. This Bill amends various laws that are under the administration of the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform.
In terms of Proclamation No 44 of 1 July 2009 the President transferred, and I quote: "the administration, powers and functions" of specific legislation to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. A total of 28 Acts were specified.
The definitions of "Minister" in these Acts are outdated, as they still refer to the Minister of Land Affairs, Minister of Regional Land Affairs, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs and the Minister responsible for the planning profession.
Similarly, the definitions of department and director-general are also outdated in most instances. Therefore, to ensure legal certainty in respect to which Minister and department are responsible for the administration of these Acts, the Bill contains various clauses aimed at amending these relevant definitions. Where necessary relevant expressions within the Acts are also to be amended to reflect the correct Minister, department or director-general.
There are references in the various pieces of legislation to other Ministers and departments in these Acts, and their responsibilities. As these Ministries have also been institutionally affected, it is necessary also to amend those references appropriately. These refer to the Minister of National Education, which is now the Minister of Higher Education and Training; the Minister of Agriculture, now the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Minister for Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development, which is now the Minister for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
The proposed amendments have no financial or constitutional implications and do not affect any customary law or the customs of traditional communities.
All political parties indicated in the committee that they are in support of the Bill. I therefore, on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform, place before the House our support for the Bill. Ke a leboga. [I thank you.]
There was no debate.
Bill read a second time.