Deputy Chairperson, I want to start by thanking the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the director-general for always making themselves available to attend our meetings. The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs has so far always had a good collaboration with the department and, more specifically, Minister, your staff always sends in documents in good time so that members can interrogate them and have good discussions during our meetings. Thank you for facilitating our oversight over your department.
Minister, your department has a mammoth task. The implementation of the CRDP is seen as the main tool to address the needs of the rural marginalised communities. It is also a great achievement for the administration. In the 2010 state of the nation address and during the Minister of Finance's Budget Speech, rural development, linked to land reform and food security, emerged as one of the five key government priorities for the year. Since the majority of the poor in the country are in rural areas, it makes sense that rural development emerged as a key government strategy to fight poverty and to ensure a better life for all South Africans.
The aim for rural development is to enable the rural poor to take charge of their destiny by creating sustainable rural livelihoods through optimal land use and the management of natural resources. The main issues identified for the department in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, include sustainable land reform, food security for all, rural development and sustainable livelihoods and job creation and skills training, including a job creation model.
Underpinning the above-mentioned outputs is a focus on creating sustainable rural livelihoods and improving food security. This implies a shift of focus from land delivery, as was the case in previous financial years, where there was much focus on meeting the targets of land delivery while ignoring postsettlement support. This is evident in the fact that there was no mention of fast-tracking land delivery and finalising land claims in the 2010 state of the nation address or the Budget Speech.
In the 2010-11 financial year, the intention of government is to have a balance between land delivery and postsettlement support to address the challenge of poverty and food insecurity. The focus is to recapitalise struggling commercial farms that have been transferred to emerging farmers. In March this year, the Minister confirmed that the recapitalisation of 200 nonproductive commercial farms and the taking over of farms that are not in use is aligned with the government's new approach to land reform.
Furthermore, the department aims to overhaul the land policy and legislation in order to facilitate sustainable land reform. These initiatives are fully supported. As our people have been landless for far too long, we need to speed up delivery in this regard.
It is clear from the vast mandate of the department that various challenges inhibit the department from implementing its programmes. Comrades, this is the time for proper integration of programmes of various departments so that we can do more together. In line with the objective of creating sustainable rural livelihoods and a better life for all, the Minister of Finance, in his Budget Speech, alluded to the fact that rural development has been identified as an important area that needs more spending and co- ordination.
In the 2010-11 budget, an additional allocation of R860 million is provided for improving the quality of life within rural communities and broadening the base of agricultural production. In addition, a special allocation of R1,2 billion for the rural household infrastructure grant to support rural communities, especially for on-site water and sanitation infrastructure, was made to cover the 2010 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework.
However, this allocation is located in the Department of Human Settlements as the role of providing water and sanitation has been shifted from the Department of Water Affairs to the Department of Human Settlements. This implies that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has to work closely with the Department of Human Settlements, other departments and other spheres of government to ensure provision of water and sanitation in rural areas, and to deliver on the rural development mandate.
From the budget portion, the department has been allocated a budget of R6,7 billion for 2010-11, which shows a slight increase from the R6,4 billion allocated in 2009-10. In nominal terms, the budget for the department increased slightly by 5,8% between the 2009-2010 and 2010-11 financial years, while, in real terms, it decreased by 0,89%. The slight increase is driven by the significant increase in the budget for the land reform programme, whilst the budget for the other four programmes declined. The slight increase in the budget allocation for the department for 2010-11 is of serious concern, considering the fact that rural development and land reform is one of government's five key priorities for the medium term.
Furthermore, the fact that the budget allocation for the department makes up by Vote, only 1,47% of the total government appropriation is not in line with prioritising rural development at a national level. One would have expected the budget for the department to increase drastically in order to be able to cover previous commitments as well as demands due to the expansion of the mandate of the department.
Minister, and Deputy Minister, other areas that your department needs to address include the frustration experienced by land claimants who await agricultural support and extension services. The Select Committee on Land an Environmental Affairs has visited far too many restored farms that are lying idle after millions of rands of government funds have been spent in the restitution process. In a country that needs to increase agricultural productivity, Minister, we need to find solutions quickly.
Mphathiswa, ikomiti ibikhe yaphuma yaya kwelaseMpuma Koloni. Ukusuka kwayo eQamata neziphaluka zayo, iye yayakubona iLubisi Dam. Into ethe yayibona endleleni, lukhukhuliso lomhlaba olumangalisayo. Kubonakala ukuba abantu baza kuhlala ezindongeni. Ngoko ke ndicinga ukuba isebe lakho likhe likhawuleze ukujonga ezi ndawo okanye libuze kuthi thina bantu bamane bengena bephuma kwezi ndawo ngelokukhangela ukuba zeziphi na iindawo esizibona zikwimeko embi. Loo nto ingalinceda isebe.
Ukuba siyajonga phaya, kukho amahlathi, abantu abahlelanga kakuhle kwaye nemigaqo ayikho. Eli sebe lakho kufuneka libhinqele phezulu oko mgqakhwe eleqwa ekwendeni. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Minister, the select committee paid a visit to the Eastern Cape. The select committee noticed severe soil erosion on their way to Lubisi Dam from Qamata and surrounding areas and the erosion is so extensive that residents could end up living in the dongas. I therefore think that your department should look at these areas immediately or else consult with us, the people who pay frequent visits to these areas on a mission to find out which areas are in a bad condition. That will help the department.
If you look at these places you will notice that there are forests, and the conditions under which people live are not right and the roads are terrible. This department needs to pull up its socks in terms of a work ethic and standards as of yesterday.]
Finally comrades, I would leave you with this quote:
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme is our national collective strategy in our joint fight against poverty, hunger, unemployment and lack of development in our rural areas. It is an embodiment of our unshaken commitment that we shall not rest in our drive to eradicate poverty.
These are the words of our President, spoken at the launch of the programme in Giyani, Limpopo, on 17 August 2009. The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs supports the budget for the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform - Vote No 32. I thank you. [Applause.]