Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Ministers, hon members of this House, distinguished guests in the gallery, we are here today to support the Budget Vote of Rural Development and Land Reform together with the Ingonyama Trust Board.
The South African countryside is made up of a very significant class stratum of the landless rural masses who are confronted by economic exclusion. This directly results from a long period of racial land divisions entrenched through the provisions of the Natives Land Act of 1913. This class stratum is a living testimony of people ravaged by unemployment and poverty. [Applause.] Some of these people live on land owned by the Ingonyama Trust.
Ingonyama Trust yakhiwa ngokwezimiso zeMithetho yaKwaZulu-Natali ngonyaka we-1994. Izindaba zeNgonyama Trust ziphethwe yibhodi elakhethwa ngonyaka we- 1997. Umsebenzi webhodi leNgonyama Trust yilo: ukuba ngumnikazi osemthethweni womhlaba weNgonyama Trust ongamahektha ayizigidi ezi-2,8; ukulawula umhlaba nomcebo wawo; ukwenza ngcono izimpilo zabantu abahlala emhlabeni weNgonyama Trust; ukuthuthukiswa komhlaba ukuze ungenise inzuzo ukwenzela abantu bethu abasemakhaya futhi uhambisane nomthetho kazwelonke; ukuqinisekisa ukuthi nanoma yikuphi okuletha inzuzo okwenziwa kulo mhlaba wabantu kuthuthukisa ezomnotho, kuphinde kwenze ngcono izimpilo zabantu basemakhaya. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[The Ingonyama Trust was established by Acts passed in KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. The affairs of the Ingonyama Trust are administered by a board that was elected in 1997. The following are services offered by the Ingonyama Trust Board: legal ownership of land belonging to the Ingonyama Trust, which is 2,8 million hectares; to administer the land and its resources; to improve the lives of people living on the land owned by the Ingonyama Trust; to develop the land for the purpose of making a profit from it for the benefit of the rural people living on it, and that has to be in line with national regulations; to ensure that all activities performed to make the land profitable develop the economy and improve the lives of its rural residents.]
Hon Chairperson, the economic vision of the African National Congress is founded on the Freedom Charter's call that the people shall share in South Africa's wealth. [Applause.] The work of the Ingonyama Trust Board is specifically meant to ensure that the wealth of the land is shared. [Interjections.] In addition to the legislative mandate of administering the land on behalf of the community who live on it, the board has assumed the role of a typical development agency. It has entered into business transactions with investors for the material benefit of communities. It has thus become a catalyst for development in the areas of its jurisdiction. [Interjections.]
We would like to congratulate the Ingonyama Trust Board on the completion of its new administration building in Pietermaritzburg, at the cost of R22,3 million. [Applause.] The building was officially opened by His Majesty King Zwelithini on 9 November 2012. [Applause.]
Ngonyaka wezi-2012, ikomidi lesiGungu esiPhezulu sikaZwelonke lokuBuyiselwa koMhlaba wabantu kubanikazi lavakashela amahhovisi ebhodi. Ikomidi elakuthola kuNgonyama Trust wukuthi imisebenzi yalo yona mihle kangangokuba kuthuthukiswe ilokishi laseMpumalanga kwakhiwa i-Eris Shopping Complex. Le miklamo yenzelwe ukuthuthukisa izindawo zasemakhaya. Lo msebenzi uzovulwa ngokusemthethweni ngomhlaka 6 kuNhlangulana 2013. [Ihlombe.] Lo mklamo uveze ukubambisana okukhulu phakathi kwabaholi bendabuko, nebhodi leNgonyama, omasipala nemboni ezimele. Ukuhlinzeka ngomhlaba, ngokubolekisa ngawo ukuze umphakathi uzithole uhlomula kule ntela ekhokhwa ngosomabhizinisi.
Enye yezimpumelelo esingazibala Somlomo kule zinto ezenziwe yiNgonyama, yizingxoxo zokubambisana eziqinisekisa ukuthi imiphakathi yendabuko iyazuza ekubolekweni komhlaba osetshenziswa ngosomabhizinisi. Engingakubala nje yilokhu: ukwakhiwa kwehhotela eJozini; Ukuhlanganisa uhulumeni, imboni ezimele kanye nenkampani i-Tongaat-Hulett neNgonyama Trust; ukuvuselela amandla omnotho osimeme; ukukhulisa izinga lempilo ephucukile kubantu basemakhaya; kanye nokuzibophezela kweBhodi leNgonyama Trust nebhange iThala Limited ekwakheleni abantu izindlu ezibiza kancane nokuthi abantu bakwazi ukuboleka imali engabasiza emakhaya. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[In 2012, the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform paid a visit to the offices of the board. The committee found that the Ingonyama Trust was doing very good work and that the Eris shopping complex was constructed in order to develop the township of Mpumalanga. The board was established for the development of rural areas. The official opening will be on 6 June 2013. [Applause.] This project has encouraged great co- operation among traditional leaders, the Ingonyama Trust Board, municipalities and the private sector. Land tenure to the business sector and the taxes they pay provide substantial benefits to the communities occupying it.
One of the successes of the board that we can mention, Speaker, is discussions that are aimed at ensuring benefits for indigenous communities from the use of the land by private businesses. The following are worth mentioning: the construction of a hotel at Jozini; bringing together the government, private companies, Tongaat Hulett and the Ingonyama Trust; developing the economy; and developing rural communities. Furthermore, a contract was signed by the Ingonyama Trust and iThala Bank Limited for the construction of low-income houses and to enable these communities to obtain loans from the bank in order for them to meet their domestic needs.]
It is important to note that South Africa has to deal with the reversal of the legacy of a colonialism of a special type which is characterised by the antagonistic contradictions of class, race and patriarchal relations of power. These are major causes of social conflict. Apartheid colonialism had consequences for black communities because it ensured that the ownership and the distribution of wealth was conducted in a manner that excluded and neglected these communities. Therefore the Ingonyama Trust Board, as a land management agent, strives to ensure that the benefits from the land are accrued to the beneficiary traditional communities. These are the central issues facing economic transformation of our society. The depth of experience in communal land management by the Ingonyama Trust Board can provide very useful lessons for policy on communal tenure.
Somlomo nakuba zikhona izinto ezinhle ezenziwa ibhodi leNgonyama Trust akusho ukuthi azikho izingqinamba elibhekene nazo. Ngesikhathi ikomidi livakashele iBhodi leNgonyama Trust lasho ukuthi kunesivumelwano esasayindwa yi-Shell Garage. Ikomidi yatshelwa ukuthi i-Shell Garage yathola imvume yeminyaka engama-50 yokusebenzisa indawo ngezivumelwano ezaqala ngowe-1998 eziphela ngowezi-2038 ngezindleko ezibiza ... [Kwaphela isikhathi.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.) [Speaker, although the performance of the Ingonyama Trust Board is highly commendable, it still faces some challenges. When the committee visited the Ingonyama Trust Board it mentioned that a contract was entered into by the board and Shell garage. The committee was informed that Shell obtained permission to use the land for 50 years, starting from 1998 to 2038, for the amount of ...]
The ANC supports the Budget Vote ... [Time expired.] [Applause.]