Deputy Chair, the speech we are going to present to this august House is much the same as the one that we presented to the National Assembly on the occasion of a similar debate.
We have looked at the department in terms of its programmes. We conducted an overview, and we looked at the current mandate that government is carrying on with, looking at outcomes on the basis of that mandate. We looked at the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, CRDP, and made a few comments with regard to how it is performing in terms of pilot programmes. We also looked at our ability in the department to carry out those programmes. Of course, we looked at a few elements of the CRDP, and then we looked at what it is that we would like to see moving forward in terms of the changes that we are proposing. That is a summary of what we are going to present briefly to the honourable House. Deputy Chair, hon members, hon MECs, esteemed traditional leaders, representatives of organised agriculture, ladies and gentlemen, today my speech, as I have just said, is very similar to the one that we presented to the National Assembly on the occasion of a similar debate on 26 March. Since then, we have seen remarkable progress with the implementation of the CRDP, which gives meaning to our vision of vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. At the opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders on 23 February 2010, the President underlined the important role that amakhosi have to play in the planning and implementation of rural development. He implored us to work together for the improvement of the quality of life of our rural people and communities.
National sovereignty is defined in terms of land. That is why, even without it being enshrined in the Constitution of the country, land is a national asset. The resolution of the 52nd national conference of the ANC in 2007 on agrarian change, land reform and rural development confirmed the ANC's acute awareness of and sensitivity to the centrality of land as a fundamental element in the resolution of the race, gender and class contradictions in South Africa.
That is where the debate about agrarian change, land reform and rural development should, appropriately, begin. Without this fundamental assumption, talk of land reform and food security is superfluous. We must, and shall, fundamentally review the current land tenure system during this Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, period. We shall, through rigorous engagement with all South Africans, review the land tenure system so that we should emerge with a tenure system which will satisfy the aspirations of all South Africans, irrespective of race, gender and class.
It is therefore fitting and appropriate that the strategy of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform be agrarian transformation, interpreted to mean a rapid and fundamental change in the relations of land, livestock, cropping and community. The objective of the strategy is social cohesion and development. All anticolonial struggles are, at the core, about two things, namely repossession of lost land and restoring the centrality of indigenous culture to underscore all nation-building endeavours. These two are therefore integrally linked.
With regard to the review of the programmes of the department for 2009-10 in particular, I have to acknowledge that the land reform programmes implemented to date have not been entirely sustainable, and they have not provided the anticipated socioeconomic benefits to all the recipients of the programmes. To date, approximately 6 million hectares of land have been transferred through restitution and redistribution, and much of this land is not productive and has not created any economic benefit for many of the new owners.
There has been an overemphasis on hectares at the expense of development and food security. This has contributed to declining productivity on farms, a decrease in employment in the agricultural sector and deepening poverty in the countryside. Coupled with this is a leak-out of redistributed land, which results from recipients failing to honour debts with the Land Bank and other commercial banks. The monetary implications to transfer the remaining 19 million hectares of land by 2014 has been calculated at approximately R72 billion, if we are to continue to pursue the willing- buyer, willing-seller model.
It is clear that the current land reform environment is the result of institutional weaknesses in overall land management, policy and legislation. We have to strike a realistic and sensitive balance between the acquisition of land hectares on the one hand and land development for food security on the other.
The mandate of the department is derived from the five priorities of the ruling party and government's Medium-Term Strategic Framework priorities. The CRDP has set us on a new course for postcolonial reconstruction and development. This shall be achieved through co-ordinated and broad-based agrarian transformation, which focuses on the following: building communities through social facilitation and mobilisation, as well as technical and institutional capacity-building; strategic investment in old and new social, economic and ICT infrastructure and public amenities and facilities co-ordinated through the rural infrastructure programme of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform; a new land reform programme implemented in the context of a reviewed land tenure system; the rendering of professional and technical services, as well as effective and sustainable resource management through the components of geospatial services, technology development and disaster management; and, finally, the effective provision of cadastral and deeds registry, as well as surveys and mapping services.
The department is committed to the achievement of outcome 7 of the 12 outcomes pursued by government over the MTSF period, that being vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities. The success of this department over the MTSF period will be measured through delivery on the following outputs: sustainable land reform, food security for all, rural development and sustainable livelihoods, and job creation linked to skills development.
In our efforts to make rural development a reality, we have developed the framework for comprehensive rural development. This has been shared with all national sector departments, as well as provinces through Minmec. The key thrust of the framework is an integrated programme of rural development, land reform and agrarian change.
In its quest to create vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities, the department is implementing the CRDP in several wards across the country. Since the launch of the first pilot site by the President of the Republic in Muyexe, Giyani, Limpopo province, the department has expanded the implementation of the CRDP and is currently working in 21 wards across the country. This work will be rolled out to 160 additional wards by 2014, as stated by the President. We have adopted all the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programmes across the country, that is the ISRDP nodes, and have incorporated the lessons learnt from them into the CRDP.
As from 1 April 2010, the War on Poverty programme, which has prioritised 1 128 wards over the next MTSF period, has been relocated from the Presidency to the department. During this period, we have also been working on building the institutional capacity of the department to deliver effectively on these mandates. A new organogram has already been approved by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration, as well as the National Treasury. The department is currently in the process of recruiting the required capacity. As promised during my maiden Budget Vote speech last year, the postsettlement support strategy has been strengthened and properly capacitated with a new chief directorate and a trading account unit at head office, as well as more than 100 employees across the country.
Realising that we cannot do this alone, partnerships have been developed with tertiary and research institutions, as well as the department of Higher Education and Training. An overview of the Department's overall performance has been completed and has guided the development of certain short- and medium-term strategic and operational remedies.
Of importance is that in each area where the CRDP is being implemented, a new vibrancy has been created around working together, involving communities, the three spheres of government and the private sector. This has enabled us to mobilise resources from all sectors of government to ensure delivery. An inclusive CRDP stakeholder participation model has been developed with the council of stakeholders functioning as a planning, implementation and monitoring mechanism. Communities themselves have become central to their own development. We have, through the work undertaken at the CRDP sites and in conjunction with the national, provincial and local government, erected infrastructure such as housing, water, sanitation, agricultural inputs, community halls, multipurpose centres, fencing, renovation of schools and clinics, and much more.
Simultaneous with the implementation of these different projects, we have been piloting a job creation and skills development model. Professional support is ably provided by the IDT, Independent Development Trust, in this regard.
One of our key responsibilities is the revitalisation of small rural towns as they act as catalysts for job creation and skills training in the rural and peri-urban areas. This will be achieved by interfacing rural and peri- urban areas through infrastructure development, initiatives to meet basic human needs, enterprise development, agro-village industries and credit facilities. Key drivers in this regard will be water services, energy, sanitation, the communication system and human skills. The department will continue to play its part in the local government turnaround strategy by providing support to municipalities in the compilation of spatial development frameworks.
We are driven by the strategy of putting one job in every household. From the CRDP entry point of mobilising and organising rural people, we build unemployed people's skills, particularly the youth, and unleash them in their own communities to do decent work. The hon members who are close to sites in this regard would probably have seen this. We have entered into strategic partnerships with the Department of Higher Education and Training, FET colleges, HSRC and universities of technology in this regard. The HSRC is developing training modules for use in intensive preparations of young people to run their own enterprises so that they could create sustainable jobs in their own communities. We are focused on transforming them from being job seekers into becoming job creators to break the cycle of dependency on social grants.
The ANC's 52nd national conference in 2007 resolved, among other things, that the government should establish an appropriate institution with the resources and authority to drive and co-ordinate an integrated programme of rural development, land reform and agrarian change. The policy and legislation for the envisaged rural development agency is receiving increasing attention and shall be finalised by May 2012.
The challenges in our current service delivery model and fiscal constraints have compelled us to review our approach relating to 1and redistribution. The following principles will underpin our new approach towards sustainable land reform: the deracialisation of the rural economy for shared and sustained growth; democratic and equitable land allocation and use across gender, race and class; and, finally, strict production discipline for guaranteed national food security.
With regard to the land tenure system, we have introduced new proposals. In the Green Paper on rural development and land reform, we propose that for South Africa to achieve equitable access to land and sustainable land use, the current land tenure system must be overhauled. In this regard, we propose a three-tier land tenure system, namely introducing leasehold tenure on state land, introducing freehold with limited extent for private land and foreign ownership should be under precarious tenure. The above system will be based on a categorisation model informed by land use needs at the level of household, smallholder, medium-scale and large-scale commercial farming.
To address the institutional weaknesses in land management policy and legislation alluded to earlier, there is a need for a land management commission that will: be autonomous, but not independent of the Ministry; be accountable, transparent and professional; and have the powers to subpoena, inquire on own volition or at the instance of interested parties, verify and validate title deeds, demand declaration of landholdings and grant amnesty and cause individuals and entities to be prosecuted. The state shall have the first right of refusal on all land sales. This is fundamental for establishing and maintaining the integrity of our national heritage and asset, which is land.
To respond to the challenges of the collapsing land reform projects and defunct irrigation schemes in the former homelands in particular, we have introduced a new programme called recapitalisation and development. The objectives of this programme are to increase production, guarantee food security, graduate small farmers into commercial farmers, and create employment opportunities within the agricultural sector. The core principles of the programme are mentorship, comanagement, and share equity.
To implement this programme, we have taken a decision to allocate 25% of our baseline land acquisition budget. This amounts to R900 million for the current financial year. The centrality of the public-private partnerships in the recapitalisation and development programme cannot be overemphasised. We are encouraged that organised agriculture has fully embraced this strategic intervention.
While we are in the process of developing legislation linked to the Green Paper, it is imperative that we find immediate mechanisms to respond to the plight of farm workers and farm dwellers as was enjoined on us by the President during the state of the nation address last year.
We will introduce a Land Tenure Security Bill which will repeal the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, as well as the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act. This Bill will be informed by the following objectives: firstly, to protect relative rights of farm workers, farm dwellers and landowners; secondly, to enhance the tenure rights of farm dwellers; and, thirdly, to ensure food security through sustained production discipline.
I am pleased to announce that over the past few months the department has been focusing on the development of a Green Paper on agrarian transformation, rural development and land reform, which will articulate and elaborate on some of the measures mentioned above. It will culminate into a new land policy framework and omnibus legislation, which should be a consolidation of all land-related laws. The Green Paper will soon be presented to Cabinet for consideration, and the plan is to submit it to Parliament during the course of this year. In conclusion, the President of the Republic entrusted us with the mandate of rural development and land reform. He entrusted us with the future of South Africa's poorest of the poor. As part of a responsive and responsible government, we shall implement policy that will create a better life for all rural communities. We will work together, and we will achieve these goals together.
The President enjoined us to make this the year of action. We are ensuring that the department is properly orientated and adequately capacitated to give effect to the President's call. The time for rural development is now and not tomorrow. This is the time for rural people to experience the desired change which some of us have been talking about. Let us all be the agents of that change. I thank you, hon Deputy Chair. [Applause.]