Chairperson, rural development must be and remain a top priority of government in order to correct the imbalances of the past. In order to give more impetus to this portfolio, the President of South Africa announced in 2009 that the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform would be responsible for working together with and co-ordinating different departments to improve the lives of the residents in rural areas.
In Limpopo province an amount of R500 million was set aside for the development of an area called Muyexe. The community and its leadership received the development warmly, the result being that the lives of the residents at Muyexe are now changed for ever. These are the success stories that the department must build upon in its mandate in order to fully eradicate informal rural areas from our country's landscape.
The department also has its challenges. In the garden project in Muyexe there is a major problem with the supply of water as a result of nonmaintenance of the irrigation system, which has led to the destruction of numerous crops in the scorching heat of the sun. Poor maintenance of the net shades over the crops is another reason, but the main culprit has been the lack of co-ordination and bringing together of our government departments to assist the hard-working women in the area. That is why the project has failed.
Another problem that must be dealt with immediately by the department is the seeming lack of a work ethic in the extension officers in the department. These officers are by and large spending way too much time in department offices and not enough time out in rural areas assisting communities with the aims and objectives of this portfolio, as they are mandated and paid to do. This negligence is of the highest order and must be stamped out immediately.
Land claims and issues associated therewith are another big departmental challenge because of the snail's pace at which they are being processed. This, we hear, is due to the poor attitude of staff members at provincial land claims offices, corruption, and the lack of financial resources in the department to settle these claims.
The continuous changing of ownership of restituted land is another very worrying factor, as a trend seems to be developing in which people are selling the land that has been restored by the department to their ownership. Whilst alienation of land is one of the rights of ownership, it is not the intended consequence of this process. Beneficiaries of land restitution should be encouraged to remain owners of the land so restored.
The challenges above are not insurmountable, but they will cost money to overcome and the budget allocation does not seem to be enough for this department. Nevertheless, the Minister will have to cut his coat according to his cloth, and do the best with what has been provided to him. The IFP wishes the Minister and the department all the very best for 2011. The IFP supports the budget. Thank you. [Applause.]