Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon MECs here present, hon members, to those who know and understand whose sons and daughters we are, it will not be amazing when I, on behalf of Cope, support this budget. Ndilandela ke ezinyaweni zikanyawontle uMfundis' uDandala ... [I'm following in Rev Dandala's footsteps ...]
... my leader, who has, without reservation, supported this budget.
To us, as Cope, this department is meant to deal with economic development in rural areas, where we would see the establishment of agri-industries, co- ops and local markets in rural settings.
The empowerment of rural people and communities, especially women and the youth, with regard to training them in technical skills such that they are able to deal with animal diseases, natural disasters, hunger and food security, should be a priority. Hence we must jointly stop the selling out or the unilateral outsourcing of schemes like the Ncora Irrigation Scheme in the Eastern Cape.
We also want to appeal to the Minister to focus, in an integrated approach, on the implementation of the rural transport development Programme. I advise, hon Minister, that this will succeed only if we reclassify and declassify rural roads.
Kuphele le nto yokuba kuthiwe kukho imigwaqo yesizwe, eyephondo kunye neyoorhulumente basekhaya. [Eliminate the idea of national, provincial and local government roads.]
In conclusion, please agree with me when I say that not much has been done on land reform and the restitution of land rights. We hope and pray that since this budget will be your first tool of trade, hon Minister, you will push for the settlement of all outstanding claims. Please remember ...
... Tat' uMnqarhwane, ukuba basilindile kwaMajola ePort St Johns ... [... Mr Mnqarhwane, that they are waiting for us at kwaMajola, in Port St Johns ...]
... in the Eastern Cape. If one looks at this budget, one will see that it is the Freedom Charter in action. [Interjections.]
I want to assure you, Mnqarhwane, that we are not in opposition to all the good things that are done by the ruling party. Furthermore, we will not hug and kiss reactionary elements that are still conservative and have "verkrampte" [conservative] tendencies. At no stage shall we marry the AWB, or Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging.
I also want to pronounce that we shall never be confused when it comes to affirmative action and black economic empowerment. Those who came to Cope with ulterior motives, both doors are open. They can come in through that door and go out through the other. Cope will remain in place. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr R T MTHEMBU (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister, thank you very much for affording KwaZulu-Natal an opportunity to participate in the debate on the Budget Vote of the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform introduced by the Minister, hon Gugile Nkwinti. Let me congratulate the Minister for a comprehensive Budget Vote speech on rural development, agrarian transformation and land reform.
Key to effective rural development is the meaningful involvement of rural people and the understanding of current livelihoods. The acupuncture principle will concentrate on what intervention will provide best value for money, and the systems thinking will concentrate on asking ourselves what this would look like in 20 years' time.
The Minister has emphasised integration and ensuring that there is no fragmentation or duplication. To respond to the Minister's call in KwaZulu- Natal, we have mainstreamed rural development in all government departments, the provincial rural committee chaired by the director-general in the province, departmental rural development committees and district rural development forums.
Msinga has been pronounced as the pilot for KwaZulu-Natal. The chairperson, Minister Gugile Nkwinti and the MEC visited the Msinga site to formally pronounce this area as the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme pilot site in the province on 26 April 2010. The pronouncement of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme site marked the commencement of the 100-day action plan leading to the launch of the site by the President. Currently, the department is working closely with the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and our sister departments in the province on the Msinga site, as follows: We will finalise household profiling by the end of May and data capturing and the launch of the stakeholder council by the end of June. The Msinga and Nkandla provincial task team is working hard to ensure the implementation of the 100-day action plan.
The implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme will be effective through joint planning, aligning and co-ordinating with stakeholders to ensure holistic, integrated and coherent government programmes through district municipalities in partnership with traditional leaders.
The provincial cabinet approved an integrated rural development plan. The thrust of the framework for rural development strategy is the importance of aligning planning processes for different spheres of government, the integration of departmental efforts and the involvement of people in their own development and empowering the people to participate and own processes of development to ensure sustainability.
The hon premier introduced the concept district champions, making sure that service delivery happens and is monitored at ward level. The premier announced a provincial rural model in partnership with the Ngonyama Trust - the one village, one product model. Amakhosi will identify 100 hectares and link the produce to markets with a clearly defined value chain management strategy.
The theme of the ANC January 8 Statement 2010 was "Working Together to Speed Up Effective Service Delivery". In his state of the nation address, His Excellency President Jacob Zuma declared 2010 as a year of action. He further said that we should work harder, faster and smarter. A large part of the address was dedicated to agriculture and rural development, which is an indication of the importance of agriculture and rural development.
His Majesty the King, in his address during the opening of the legislature, stressed the importance of agriculture as a turnaround strategy for poverty in rural areas and that people should not only be consumers, but also producers.
What the Minister said will be done in the Budget Vote has already started, and this will continue with great speed and dedication. Firstly, the One Home, One Garden strategy was started and well received, and lessons have been learned. We will assist in upscaling and improving the campaign. We will also launch the One Church, One Garden strategy in September in partnership with the religious community and the office of the premier.
Secondly, seed distribution will be upscaled, and the support to the community will be strengthened.
Thirdly, subsistence farming has been provided to communities, but more still needs to be done to increase participation.
Fourthly, support has been given to land reform farms through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme.
Fifthly, markets for primary agricultural co-operatives were secured through partnership with the Department of Health. More still needs to be done in this financial year.
In the sixth place, communities are being built through social facilitation and mobilisation, as well as technical and institutional capacity-building.
In the seventh place, strategic investment in the old and new social and economic infrastructure has occurred.
Lastly, the revival of small towns linking to the growth path of the province, in partnership with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, acts as a catalyst for rural development.
We concur with the hon Minister when he says that rural development is multifaceted and multidimensional. It is not only agriculture that is involved in the rural development space, but also all provincial and national government departments, as well as the private sector.
We would like the intervention of the Minister with regard to outstanding land claims in the province being fast-tracked so that we can deliver to our communities. The outstanding land claims are creating a problem in our communities. We will appreciate his intervention in this process so that we can go back to our communities and give them the right answer.
As a department we are taking the lead in the co-ordination and integration of all rural development initiatives and programmes in the province, in partnership with our national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Partnerships are key to the success of an integrated development strategy. A strong productive working relationship - horizontally and vertically - is also important between rural communities and various institutions and sectors, as well as local, provincial and national government.
In conclusion, this year is the year of action. We need to roll up our sleeves, dirty our hands and improve the lives of our rural communities.
Sithi phezu komkhono, masibuyisele emasimini. [The ploughing season is upon us; let us go back to the fields.]