Thank you hon Chairperson,Minister, hon Thoko Didiza, Deputy Minister, hon Mcebisi Skwatsha, Chairperson of the NCOP and Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, the Chief whip of the NCOP, members of Salga, hon Members of this House, MECs, especially Bongiwe Sithole-Moloyi, Deputy General and your team, our guests in the gallery, I greet you all; hon Smit, it's funny that you stand before us and want to remind us of when you were in power three years back together with hon Cloet from the Freedom Front Plus, FF Plus, and
you talk about land. You tell our Minister to speed up the process of title deeds. Where should those title deeds come from, when you are the ones who own the land as inheritance from your forefathers? To date, you don't even consider giving a black child a chance to be in that land.
IsiZulu:
So awuzukusitshelake ukuthi ...
English
the land, do this and do that.
IsiXhosa:
Sithi esiphetheyo ngoku.
English:
We are telling you to give us that land. Chairperson, let me take this opportunity, also to welcome the reconfiguration of Agriculture together with Land Reform and Rural Development.
Without land there can be no agriculture and therefore, no life. Agriculture plays and important role in the life-blood of our economy and the society. The 2011 Planning Commission's Diagnostic
Report highlighted poverty, inequality and unemployment as challenges still faced by the country and called for bold and decisive steps to place our economy on a qualitatively different path that eliminates poverty, creates jobs and sustainable livelihoods. In 2012, the Executive Cabinet adopted a National Developmental Plan, NDP, with a target growth of at least 5% per year and this was further adopted by the ANC's 53'"National Conference held in Mangaung 2012.
The NDP provides key points for an integrated and inclusive rural economy and land reform'. It identified the importance of greater social, economic and political opportunities to overcome poverty and called for the introduction of an agrarian and land reform programmes that would ensure job creation and improve the livelihood of rural communities. Through the Industrial Policy Action Plan, IPAP, government aims to support the agricultural sector for local procurement drive, for which the NDP had targeted 75% of procurement from South African producers. The Industrial Policy action plan, IPAP, further identified opportunities with the green economy; the ocean's economy and plans to grow South African agricultural exports in order to grow African markets.
In this regard, we welcome the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Agreement, facilitated through the African Union and we are very optimistic that this agreement will boost intra- African trade, reduce poverty and help grow domestic economies of African member states.
IsiZulu:
O-Smit azange baze basinikeze lelothuba...
English:
but the African National Congress, ANC,did ...
IsiZulu:
ngokuthi isebenzise abantu abahlakaniphile abazokwazi ukuthi beze nalezi zinto ngaphandle
English:
Chairperson, our progressive government is committed to ensuring that there are no policy impediments to the private sector and this is important for our agricultural sector and for this reason our land reform programme is progressive and brings into cognizant the role of the private sector in building a thriving and inclusive rural economy. Our people need access to land in order to enhance
their productive capabilities and it is for this reason, among many others, that a comprehensive approach to land reform has been adopted by our government and we are going to adopt it.
IsiZulu:
Noze niyivume whether niyathanda noma anithandi.
English:
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development derives its priorities through Medium Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, and these are aligned to the NDP. Honourable Members, the MTSF is a government strategic plan, aligned to our electoral term and reflects the commitments made in the ANC Election Manifesto. The aim is to ensure policy coherence, alignment and coordination of government plans and its budgeting. The MTSF has two over-arching strategic themes and that is radical economic transformation and improved service delivery. Departments don't work in silos in Kwazulu Natal, they compliment each other and again working in the ground and close to stake holders. That's what we do. Hon Cloet from the FF Plus ...
IsiZulu:
ake ngikukhumbuze, ngikuvivise ngesiZulu ngoba nawe ungivivisa ngesiBhunu ufuna ngingezwa. Hash tag: Asidlali, siyasebenza, siyaqhuba. Useyokutshela oseduze kwakho ukuthi ngithini.
English:
We note, Honourable Minister that you and your deputies know your story. Agriculture is a significant contributor to the country's Gross Domestic Product, GDP, and the Medium Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, had set a target of increasing GDP growth rate from 2.5% in 2012 to about 5% growth rate in 2019. The growth rate of our GDP is not anywhere near this target and we acknowledge a multiple number of challenges faced by our slow- growing economy.
IsiZulu:
Singcono ngoba siyazivuma izono zethu, kunani eningazivumiyo.
English:
We are, however, convinced that an improved land reform programme, coupled with a productively growing agricultural sector is critical for us to meet the desired growth rate for our economy.
If this sector is fully exploited, including its related value- chain, we will be able to realise our growth targets. Our rural
strategy aims to strengthen food security and agricultural competitiveness. We note that chronic underdevelopment with its social, economic and cultural dimensions, still continues in many rural areas. In order to transform our rural landscape, investment is required in infrastructure and skills development. One of the most important programmes of the department is skills development through the National Youth Service Corps, NARYSEC. This programme has benefited an impressive number of young people and women, including people with disabilities.
IsiZulu:
Sithi abo, ingabe nina nanikwenza yini ngoko?
English:
We call upon the department to reflect and address issues raised in the Budget Review and Recommendation Report, BRRR, on the compilation and submission of the training programme and an outline on the assessments standards and qualification that each graduate receive, as well as post- training and monitoring of graduates in order to ensure that they are placed within the employment market. That is what we do in KZN. We ensure that all the graduates are absorbed within the department or that they go out to the field.
IsiZulu:
Akekho umuntu ohlezi ekhaya.
English:
With this configuration of the department, we welcome progressive programmes that this department has embarked upon. Let me outline them for Freedom Front Plus, FF Plus, and the Democratic Alliance, DA, as they don't know them. When we talk about CASP, you don't know what that is, so let me tell you, it stands for Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, CASP, and llima/Letsema which "aims to provide post-settlement support to the targeted beneficiaries of land reform and other producers who have acquired land through private means,
IsiZulu:
sisemva kwenu.
English:
The Deputy Chairperson: Sorry hon Bebee, just one moment. Hon Smit?
Mr C F B Smit: Point of Order: Thank you hon Deputy Chair, I would like to find out if the hon member would take a question and a comment now?
Ms L C Bebee: Not now bab' u-Smit, when we are done...
IsiZulu:
singadibana emnyango.
English:
I'm taking you through a workshop, we further talk about MAFISA, you don't know what MAFISA is.
IsiZulu:
Awuthi sikutsheleke thina,
English:
it stands for, Micro Agricultural Financial Institutions of South Africa, a scheme developed to address the financial services needs of smallholder farmers in the agribusinesses; we also have AgriBEE, which aims to promote the entity and participation of black people in the entire agricultural value-chain; there is also what we call, Black Producers Commercialisation Strategy and Blended Funding Model, BFM, to commercialise smallholders through loan and grant funding.
Chairperson, this blended finance model is a radical programme and we ask the department to consider the model that would be used to commercialise smallholder producers and ensure that the most marginalized producers are targeted as beneficiaries under this model. The department has told this Parliament that Government Food Procurement Model will ensure prioritization of smallholder produces as suppliers and the department has been working with partners such as the World Food Programme, Radical Agricultural Sector Economic Transformation, RASET, in KZN; North West Economic Development Cooperation, NWEDC, and Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, MEGA,; and the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion, SHEP, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA. We make sure that wherever you go, we follow you, sise-Japan manje. Chairperson, the former Minister of Agriculture said that "partnerships with local and international partners have improved the extent of support to land reform beneficiaries'.
We welcome this partnership and this further serves as an expression that our strategic and local partners understand very well the importance of our land reform programme with clear policy objectives. In conclusion, we welcome the presentations made by the department to this House and we are confident that, the monies
allocated to the department will be used in the good advancement to departmental mandates.
IsiZulu:
Sesisho kuwenake mhlonishwa u-Smit nomhlonishwa u-Cloet, ukuthi nje sikhona, asigudluki futhi asiyi ndawo. Simile ku ...
English:
agriculture and the land. The ANC supports this budget.