The hon Dlali is asking an important question. I will surprise him today. Normally there are two pieces of legislation which inform us of what we should do with regard to this problem of evictions. This problem is a medieval practice that continues. Normally we have the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, ESTA, and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, with which we are trying to handle this matter.
Actually, there are three pieces of legislation. I think that we should start using the third one for the purpose of working against these evictions as in accordance with the 1993 law, and that is the Provision of Land and Assistance Act as we amended it extensively in 1998 - as I've mentioned earlier today. We cannot generalise regarding the protection of farm dwellers' rights. As you are rightly asking, there are serious things happening.
In problematic instances we have started using this Act, which for example, says that the Minister may, from money appropriate by Parliament for this purpose, acquire land for residential purposes and, further, for securing land and tenure rights may designate certain land and expropriate it. Now, if you start doing it in a few instances I'm sure this practice will stop in midair. We use the ESTA and the LTA. We are contracting firms of attorneys; we've developed a land rights management facility in the Department of Land Affairs; we are rolling out the national awareness campaign of rights; we are facilitating social mobilisation on these evictions and somewhere we always say, without explicating it really, that we will aggressively acquire land, including through expropriation, to secure long-term tenure security.
The cases that you've refer to are being followed up in court. It is unfortunate that these matters are continuing, as we see a stream of reportage on this matter. In the cases that you've reported the law will take its course. It is also true that this land support Act is our law and the government is expected to implement it. Thank you, Madam.