Daar was 'n aantal beperkings op visvangregte wat toegang vir kleinskaalvissers tot die tradisionele visvangterreine bemoeilik het - toegang wat arm gemeenskappe in staat sou stel om swaarder op die plaaslike hulpbronne vir die verkryging van goedere en dienste vir oorlewing te leun en om toegang tot betalende indiensneming te verkry. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Ms M N PHALISO: There were a number of restrictions on fishing rights which encumbered the access of small-scale fishermen to traditional fishing grounds - access which would have enabled poor communities to lean more heavily on local resources to obtain goods and services for survival and to gain access to paying employment.]
Now, through this Bill, there will be easy access to fishing grounds. The fishermen who have no income at all will manage to get the goods and services they need for their livelihoods or gain access to employment through relying on the local common resources. The ANC government will ensure that restrictions on fishing rights are replaced by easy access to fishing grounds. The fishing communities will also be capacitated to be able to process and trade their products.
At present, the most important contribution of small-scale fisheries to poverty alleviation is through the use of marine living resources, food security and the amendment of section 2 of the Marine Living Resources Act, Act 18 of 1998, which excludes women, youth and people with disabilities. It's a very important step towards rectifying the past prejudices against women, youth and people with disabilities, effectively seeking to roll back the legacy of the triple oppression under apartheid. [Applause.]
On 19 June 1913, the then racist colonial government of our land enacted the Black Land Act, which is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever known to mankind. This was diabolical, as it introduced a system of land tenure that inevitably deprived the vast majority of South Africans of their right to own land and enjoy open access to the bountiful natural resource endowments that our magnificent land and its two oceans offer.
The provisions of this Bill are the following:
the need to promote equitable access to and involvement in all aspects of the fishing industry and, in particular, to rectify past prejudice against women, the youth and persons living with disabilities; the need to recognise approaches to fisheries management which contribute to food security, socio-economic development and the alleviation of poverty; and
the need to recognise that fish may be allocated through a multispecies approach.
These amendments give the most vulnerable groups a chance to participate in the fishing industry in order to prove their capability of contributing to the economic growth of the country without prejudice.
The Bill also provides an opportunity to fishing communities to come together as groups to form co-operatives by the addition to the definition of "South African person" of the following paragraph:
... a co-operative registered in terms of the Co-operatives Act, 2005 of which all the members are South African citizens but, where any member is a juristic person, such person's principal place of business must be in the Republic ...
These two above amendments are the most important milestones towards achieving our objectives of a nonsexist, prosperous and united South Africa, where people are able to make decisions about their own development.
Ons weet uit ondervinding dat die meeste huishoudings wat in die visbedryf, veral die in ontwikkelende lande, betrokke is, nie op 'n ho inkomste kan reken nie en slegs daarop kan staatmaak om te oorleef. Daar moet dus aandag geskenk word aan die ontwikkeling en steun van kleinskaalvissers in gebiede soos Paternoster, Hondeklipbaai, Laingville, Elandsbaai, Houtbaai en Hamburg. Ek kan nog ander arm gemeenskappe noem.
Miskien is armoedeverligtingsmeganismes nie so aantreklik uit 'n ekonomiese oogpunt nie, maar uit 'n sosiale hoek beskou, is die rol van kleinskaalvissery as 'n lewensonderhoudende en tredhoudende meganisme noodsaaklik vir die armes, veral in gebiede waar alternatiewe werksgeleenthede skaars is en geen sosiale sekerheidsprogramme beskikbaar is nie. In sodanige gebiede sal vissery die rol speel van 'n welsynsprogram wat deur ander vorme van sosiale ondersteuning deur verskillende regeringsvlakke verskaf sal moet word.
Soos aangedui in die Nasionale Ontwikkelingsplan, NOP, is seevissery belangrik vir oorlewing, vir kleinskaalvissery en vir indiensneming. Die NOP stel dit duidelik dat kleinskaal vissers op marienebronne as 'n bron van voedsel staatmaak.
Terwyl die visbedryf redelik getransformeer is vir sover dit swart ekonomiese bemagtiging betref, word diegene wat tradisioneel in die visbedryf betrokke is gereeld gegnoreer - aldus die NOP. Tradisionele vissers moet beter geleenthede en ondersteuning kry. 'n Spesifieke voorbeeld is om supermarkte aan te moedig om hul waardekettings oop te stel deur vennootskappe met plaaslike produsente en plattelandse visserygemeenskappe te sluit.
Ons moet ook kennis neem van die feit dat die vertroue op vissery om 'n inkomste aan die armes te verseker nie net so ver as vissery-aktiwiteite gaan nie, maar dat dit ook verwerkings- en handelsaktiwiteite insluit. Hierdie aspek bring ons ook by die geslagsdimensie van kleinskaalvissery, naamlik dat vroue gewoonlik die hoofdeelnemers in hierdie verwante sektore is.
Die beskerming, ondersteuning en erkenning van die regte van kleinskaalvissers strook met nasionale beleid, planne, programme en internasionale standaarde. Kleinskaalvissery sal aangewend word as 'n strategie om armoede te verlig en om voedselsekerheid en plaaslike sosiale en ekonomiese ontwikkeling te bevorder.
Die departement erken dus dat kleinskaalvissers 'n bydrae tot die land se ekonomie sal lewer en dat 'n verspreidingsmeganisme vir armoedeverligting en generiese sosiale ondersteuning verskaf sal word. Ondersteuning sal ook verskaf word vir infrastruktuur en dienste wat noodsaaklik is vir ekonomiese ontwikkeling, maar slegs die sodaniges wat waarskynlik nie deur die privaatsektor verskaf sal word nie, soos byvoorbeeld vervoerinfrastruktuur na markte en die voorsiening van opvoedings- en gesondheidsorgfasiliteite. Op hierdie wyse sal 'n ontwikkelingsagenda in werking gestel word wat kleinskaalvissery sal bedryf. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[We know from experience that most households involved in the fishing industry, in particular in developing countries, cannot depend on a high income and can only rely on being able to survive. Attention should therefore be given to the development of and support for small-scale fishermen in areas such as Paternoster, Hondeklip Bay, Laingville, Elands Bay, Hout Bay and Hamburg. I can name more poor communities.
Maybe poverty alleviation mechanisms are not so attractive from an economic point of view, but seen from a social perspective the role of small-scale fishing as a subsistence and support mechanism is essential for the poor, particularly in areas where alternative employment opportunities are scarce and social security programmes are not available. In such areas fishing will play the role of a welfare programme that would have to be provided by other forms of social support through various government tiers.
As indicated in the National Development Plan, sea fishery is important for survival, for small-scale fishery and for employment. The NDP states clearly that small-scale fishermen are reliant upon marine resources as a source of food.
While the fishing industry has been fairly transformed as far as black economic empowerment is concerned, those who have traditionally been involved in the fishing industry have regularly been ignored - according to the NDP.
Traditional fishermen should be getting better opportunities and support. A specific example is to encourage supermarkets to open their value chains by concluding partnerships with local producers and rural fishing communities.
We should also take note of the fact that the dependency on fishing to secure an income for the poor does not just go as far as fishing activities alone, but that it also includes processing and commercial activities. This aspect brings us to the gender dimension of small-scale fishing, namely that women are usually the main participants in these related sectors.
The protection, support and acknowledgement of the rights of small-scale fishermen are all in line with national policy, plans, programmes and international standards. Small-scale fishing will be employed as a strategy to alleviate poverty and to promote food security as well as local social and economic development.
The department therefore acknowledges that small-scale fishermen will make a contribution to the country's economy and that a distribution mechanism for poverty alleviation and generic social support will be provided. There will also be support for infrastructure and services that are essential for economic development, but only those which probably won't be provided by the private sector such as, for instance, transport infrastructure to markets and the provision of educational and health facilities. In this way a development agenda will be established that will run small-scale fishing.]
A number of factors which will play a critical role in regard to achieving our goals include equity in the value chain and growth and competitiveness through providing support to small operators to enable them to improve their productivity and incomes. [Interjections.] The integrated fisheries development plan ...
... daar is 'n plan vir die leuenaars ... [... there is a plan for the liars ...]
... will also assist in regard to addressing the value chain and the development of alternative livelihoods for coastal communities.
Die tyd dat ons die geduld van vissersgemeenskappe ... [Tussenwerpsels.] [The time for the patience of fishing communities ... ] [Interjections.]]