Chairperson, I have been formally mandated by my beautiful and evergreen Northern Province to participate in this debate. [Laughter.]
This debate takes place against the background of the fiasco that is happening over land in one of our neighbouring countries. I would like to thank our Government for addressing the question of land systematically so that, unlike what is happening in that country, we do not have the same problem.
I would like, again, to thank the Minister and her department for doing everything in their power to implement this Government's land reform programme. This is evident from the number of positive pieces of legislation passed by this Government.
Having said that, however, the Government now needs backup machinery to implement this programme. We need loyal, committed, dedicated, thinking and unselfish people to implement the Government's policies.
On 30 October 1999, a delegation of the Select Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs visited Mpumalanga to find out if, and how, the land reform programme was being implemented. The committee also visited the Northern Province on 12 November of the same year. We met Government officials, traditional leaders, business communities, community leaders and NGOs, and MECs from both provinces were in attendance.
During these visits, the committee discovered that many people had lodged claims for their land. They submitted all relevant documents to the regional Land Claims Commission, they undertook follow-ups with the said office and asked for meetings with the land claims commissioner, but all in vain. Aspirant or earmarked beneficiaries are not informed of the latest developments. There is no regular communication between claimants and the regional office of the Land Claims Commission. Claimants in both provinces categorically state that they have completely lost confidence in the regional land claims commissioner.
The Northern Province Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Land Affairs met on 6 March this year to look into the question of land redistribution and restoration. It was discovered that, for the past five years, out of 5 000 claims lodged only three had been successful. The pace is very slow. Only 0.004% of land claims had been successfully handled. What a shame! The attitude of some of these officials who are responsible for implementing these policies is questionable. It is now clear that one commissioner cannot afford to serve these two provinces. It was again questioned why the Northern Province and Mpumalanga are served from Gauteng province. I say to the hon the Minister: Enough is enough, and it cannot be more than enough!
This brings me to the following questions. What is to be done if officials in a particular section in the Minister's department are not committed to their task? What if an official has a negative attitude towards the Government's land policies? Some of these officials are operating from their offices which are more than 400 kilometres away from the people they purport to serve. I ask the Minister: Are we going to keep them even if they are failing the Minister? Are we, with our caps in our hands, going to beg them to change their attitudes? As regards those who are contracted to the Minister's department: Are we going to wait until their contracts expire? The relevant person to deal decisively with these questions is my loyal and reliable Minister.
The Northern Province had no room for someone who had run out of ideas. [Laughter.] As the Northern Province, we are saying that the time for communities to get their land back is now. This can be done without causing any row. We cannot tolerate that there are unmilked holy cows. The question to be answered by all of us is how we should deal with the matter. Some of the officials' actions are questionable, and their attitude towards our people is deplorable. Their behaviour when dealing with our people is unacceptable. This Government's commitment to land reform and their attitudes are irreconcilable.
My province wants to bring to the attention of the Minister the strained relationship between the provincial department of land affairs and officials attached to the national department. There is a ``we-and-them'' attitude between them. My Minister is urged to iron out this problem before it escalates. Again, there is no proper co-ordination between the provincial department of land affairs and the office of the regional land claims commissioner. The sooner this bickering is stopped the better, because while it is continuing, claimants are the ones who are bearing the brunt.
It is shocking and sad to know that there are still some farmers who refuse their farmworkers the right to bury their dead on their farms, even though they have worked on those farms for more than 25 years. Some were born on those farms. One family had to travel more than 70 km to bury their dead; another had to bury theirs at the roadside. What a pity, what a shame.
Are we going to allow our people to be exploited in this way? The answer is no. It is shocking to notice that these people are only interested in our labour. Their barbaric action is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated. In Northern Sotho we have a saying:
Mo?utelelwa ga a nabe. [Beggars cannot be choosers.]
My province will support the hon the Minister in her endeavours to better the lives of our people.
Montshepet?a bo?ego ke mo leboga bo sele. [Legofsi.] [The one who brought me up while I was young will be thanked when I am a grown-up. [Applause.]]