Chairperson, hon members of the NCOP, our MECs present here, senior government officials, ladies and gentlemen, it is indeed a great honour and privilege for us to have this opportunity to come and share with the NCOP the vision of our department and Ministry and the plans for contributing towards the improvement of the quality of life of our people, especially those in the rural areas.
Fourteen days ago, our new Ministry and Department of Rural Development and Land Reform completed their first year of existence. The creation of this department by the hon President, as announced on 11 May 2009, had been a culmination of a process which started at the ANC conference in December 2007, when a very detailed resolution was adopted outlining the challenges of rural development. This was followed by the ANC election manifesto for the 2009 general elections, which identified rural development and food security as one of the top five priorities for the 2009-14 term if elected to government. Of course, it is now common knowledge that the ANC was returned to office by an overwhelming majority of South Africans in the 2009 general elections.
Today as we stand in front of this honourable House, which is a vital link between lawmakers at the national level and our masses in the provinces, we are confident in saying that we understand our mandate and that we are ready to discharge our responsibilities to the rural masses.
The mandate for this department has to do fundamentally with repairing the damage caused by over three centuries of colonisation and apartheid. The ANC Polokwane conference resolution captured this very succinctly when it said:
Colonisation and apartheid were rooted in the dispossession of the African people of their land, the destruction of African farming and the super-exploitation of wage labourers, including farm workers and their families. Poverty, inequality and joblessness are the consequence of centuries of underdevelopment and exploitation consciously perpetrated on the majority of the population, which had its most destructive and enduring impacts on rural South Africa. Consequently, the structural faults that characterised the apartheid rural economy remain with us today.
In charting the way forward, the conference drew a clear relationship between improving the quality of life of the rural masses and addressing the question of land disposition by declaring:
Rural development is a critical pillar of our struggle against unemployment, poverty and inequality.
The resolution also states that:
A more equitable distribution of land is necessary both to undo the injustices of history as well as to ensure higher productivity, shared growth, employment and sustainable livelihoods.
In charting the way forward, the conference further declared that we should -
... and resolved to -
... embark on an integrated programme of rural development, land reform, and agrarian change;
... accelerate the roll-out of rural infrastructure, particularly roads, but also other services including potable water, electricity and irrigation and ensuring in particular that the former Bantustan areas are properly provisioned with an infrastructure base for economic and social development.
There is also u need to improve the co-ordination and synergy between departments and all levels of government to ensure an integrated approach to land and rural development.
I thought it was important that as we are gathered here to discuss our programme of action to address the expectations of our rural masses, we must remember our mandate, which was endorsed actively by more than 12 million South Africans at the ballot boxes on 22 April 2009. It is therefore quite clear that there is no question of us in the Ministry and the department not knowing what the people out there expect from us.
We've gone a long way over the last 12 months in laying the foundation to systematically reverse the damage caused by many centuries of rural degradation and neglect. The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme which we conceptualised after our establishment provides a very clear vision and mission and an anchor strategy of agrarian reform for us to take this task forward.
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme speaks to the key tenets of our resolutions and our election manifesto that rural development should speak to poverty eradication, provision of employment opportunities, reduction of inequality and support for sustainable livelihoods. Our Comprehensive Rural Development Programme also speaks to the required roll- out of rural infrastructure as outlined in our resolution.
Our decision to embark on the first pilot project in Giyani municipality, Limpopo, within a few months of establishment, which was launched by the President within his first 100 days in office, provides us with invaluable experience in terms of rolling out the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. Up to now, this project, with its many challenges - not least of which is the scarcity of water - provides an inspirational motivation to all of us involved in this mammoth task in all government departments which are involved in Limpopo, and it also provides valuable experience for other role-players, both in government and in the private sector.
The other subsequent pilot projects in seven other provinces also provide a valuable mix of experiences, with each one of them having their own unique challenges and opportunities; from the programme we've launched in Riemvasmaak in the Northern Cape, to Mkhondo in Mpumalanga, to Diyatalawa and Makgolokweng in the Free State, and the North West, the Eastern Cape and Dysselsdorp in the Western Cape province. Experiences from these projects make us better prepared for a more extensive roll-out during the course of this financial year and beyond, as spelled out by the President in his state of the nation address in February this year.
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme provides a perfect platform to practise our 2009 election motto, "Working together we can do more". The success of this programme hinges heavily on the ability to bring together various role-players in the three spheres of government, various state entities, the private sector, NGOs and community structures. It is for this reason that we place a lot of emphasis on our implementation in strengthening institutional governance and social cohesion in communities where we are already operational.
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme also provides an excellent opportunity to contribute towards reducing unemployment, especially amongst the young people. The implementation of all the projects, be it social facilitation, community profiling, or the laying out of infrastructure such as water, electricity, clinics and schools, ICT, early childhood development and many other infrastructural projects, provides a major opportunity for our young people to learn skills, which can result in medium- to long-term job opportunities and also an ability to start their own businesses.
From an economic point of view, we are very clear also that the central anchor of this economic activity is agrarian transformation. We want to make sure that, increasingly, most of our rural people should not be dependent on social grants.
We've gone a long way in reorganising our department to meet the challenges of this new mandate. The process of the retraining of staff and recruitment of new staff where skills cannot be found in-house is ongoing. We also value very highly the support, the co-operation and the enthusiasm of our premiers in all provinces, MECs, mayors and councillors, which we have experienced over the last 12 months. This has been very encouraging.
The twin challenges of our mandate - that of acceleration of land reform - have been a major learning curve over the last 12 months. As we appreciate the extent to which land dispossession has been a cornerstone of colonisation and apartheid oppression, as noted in our Polokwane resolution, the redress of this invokes a lot of passion and emotions from South Africans, depending on the standpoint they come from. Those who were beneficiaries of the old order want to protect what they have, whilst those who were victims of colonisation and apartheid feel that the pace of redress is rather slow. It is for this reason that land reform has dominated the media space with regard to our department over the last 12 months of our work.
A lot of progress has been made in the restitution of our ancestral land to claimants, with up to 96% of such claims already concluded. The remaining 4% is a mixture of court challenges, overlapping claims and complex and expensive claims on conservation land, forestry land, sugar cane farms, and land used for mining operations and other such enterprises. We have to navigate very carefully in many of these situations to make sure that the public funds used to acquire such properties are indeed to the long-term benefit of the beneficiaries.
A lot of progress has also been made in implementing various schemes for land redistribution to aspirant black farmers. Cumulatively, up to 5,9 million hectares of land have been transferred to new black beneficiaries over the last 15 years. The reality we have been confronting, however, as the Minister has already indicated, is that quite a lot of these farms have not been used productively. It is for this reason that we've made a decisive intervention to invest in the recapitalisation of such farms. It is clear that if we want to adequately address this challenge, more resources will need to be allocated to our department.
In going forward, we will up the pace in making sure that there is a qualitative and quantitative acceleration of all the programmes meant to improve the quality of life of our rural people who are the backbone of our democracy. With the experience of 16 years of democratic governance and one year of this administration, we believe it is high time we review comprehensively the policy framework of our land reform strategy, which is critical for a lasting, equitable rural development; therefore, as announced by the Minister, an introduction of the Green Paper, which will be tabled soon.
We believe that together we must find solutions for the creation of a truly inclusive, nonracial, democratic, nonsexist and prosperous South Africa. We must soon reach a situation where we can confidently say that we can respond to the battle cry of many years of struggle which said, "Mayibuye iAfrika" [Let Africa return], and that we can confidently reply to our people that, "Ibuyile iAfrika" [Africk has returned]. I believe that at the present moment we are only able to say so in hushed tones, because there are many of our people who will argue that, "Ayikabuyi iAfrika" [Africa had not returned].
The Green Paper process therefore will provides a platform for all South Africans who love and cherish the country to engage in a dialogue, which will make us get closer to a stage where the majority of our people will agree and say indeed, "Ibuyile iAfrika" [Africa has returned].
I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
UMntwana M M M ZULU: Sihlalo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe nePhini lakho, oNgqongqoshe abamele izifundazwe, kulo Mnyango omusha ngithi ngiyazi ukuthi ubhekene nezinselelo ezinqala ngokuthi yonke iMinyango ingenelela kuwe njengoba uphathiswe inhlabathi nje.
Ngabuka uhlelo lwakho lokusebenza ngabona ukuthi okunye uyakwazi ukukufeza. Ngqongqoshe kulesiya siFundazwe engisuka kuso seNkosi uDinizulu uma ngibheka amaphesenti ayi-13 womhlaba, usaphethwe ngabamnyama kodwa wonke lo omningi uma siyakumaphesenti angama-87 ulokhu ukwezinye izandla. Ngakho-ke Ngqongqoshe kulapho lakufanele ubone khona ukuthi abantu bakithi basese osizini lokungabi nawo umhlaba.
Ngiyazi ukuthi uphathiswe uMnyango obalulekile nakuba kuthiwa Isabiwomali Saphakathi Nonyaka sakho sangonyaka odlule sasisikhulu, kodwa kwasikhalisa thina njengeqembu leNkatha ukuba ucoshe imali eyizigidi ezingama-R256 kuphela. Kodwa ngiyabona ukuthi mhlambe Umcwaningi mabhuku-Jikelele akacabanganga ukuthi leziFundazwe eziyisishiyagalolunye zibhekene nawe ngqo.
Ngiyazi ukuthi kukhona umhlaba okuthiwa uhlezi kithi njengabaholi bomdabu,kodwalawa madolojana amancane, nomasipala abancane bayaye babe nenkinga enkulu ngoba ezindaweni ezinjengalaphaya ekhaya KwaNongoma, izinduna zezigodi ziyaye zibambise abantu isigxobo khona eduze nedolobha nje. Lezizinto ezinje kufanele nizibheke Nqgongqoshe, ukuthi kungeziwa njani ukuthi kuhlukaniswe omasipala basemakhaya nezindawo zamakhosi ukuze abantu bakwazi ukusizakale na. Uma ubheka idolojana elingangoKwaNongoma, oSuthu, naKwaMandlakazi lawo madolobha awanazo izindlela zokuthuthuka nanoma ngaluphi usuku ngoba izinduna zicabanga ngeyazo imicabango ngingakugxeki-ke lokho.
Izinselelo onazo, izinselelo okufunele ubhekane nazo njengendoda. Ngicela ukuthi ubheke ukuthi uzokwenza njani kodwa ngiyafisa ukuthi uhulumeni awuthathele phezulu lo Mnyango wakho, ngoba ubaluleke kunayo yonke iMinyango ekhona ngoba inhlabathi yingubo yethu yokulala. Inhlabathi sithola ukudla kuyo uqobo.
Ngaleyo ndlela njengeqembu le Nkatha isabiwomali sakho siyasesekela noma imali incanyana kodwa kuyofuneka ubheke ezinhlelweni zakhona ukuthi abantu bakithi basizakala kanjani ukuba bathole inhlabathi. Ngiyabonga. (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Prince M M M ZULU: Chairperson, hon Minister as well as your Deputy and the MECs representing the provinces, I know that this new department is facing major challenges because others are dependent on it as it deals with land.
I looked at your programme of action and noted that you were able to resolve other issues. Hon Minister, in iNkosi Dinizulu's province, where I come from, when I look at the percentage of the land, I find that only 13 per cent is in the hands of black people but the other large stretch of land - 87 per cent of it - is still in the hands of other people. That is where you are supposed to realise, hon Minister, that our people are still languishing in poverty for they do not have land.
I know that you are heading an important department and although it was said that your mid-term budget allocation for last year was sufficient, we were not satisfied as the IFP because you were only allocated R256 million. However, I realise that maybe the Auditor-General did not take into consideration the fact that all nine provinces are your responsibility.
I know that as traditional leaders we have access to land, but the small towns and the small municipalities are usually faced with big problems because in places like my hometown KwaNongoma, regional headsmen usually allocate plots to people close to town. You must look at such issues, hon Minister, to see how you are going to separate rural municipalities and tribal authorities' land so that communities could be assisted with regard to getting land. Towns like KwaNongoma, oSuthu and KwaMandlakazi have never had development programmes before, because headsmen just have their own ideas - not that I am criticising that.
Your challenges are challenges which you need to face like a man. I am asking you to look at ways in which to deal with this issue, but I would also like to ask the government to take this department seriously because it is the most important of all departments, because land is our blanket. Land also produces food.
In that way, as the IFP, we support your budget, although the allocation is so small you need to look into the programmes to see how our people could be assisted with regard to getting land. Thank you.]