Chair, hon Minister Nkwinti, special delegates, hon members of the NCOP, I know you must have wished me a speedy recovery. I have recovered from the procedure I underwent with remarkable speed, and I thank you.
We must know that when we speak about rural development, we are speaking about something that touches the nerve of poverty and backwardness of our rural community. It is from this that all historical systems of government, in their successive following, made certain that our rural communities were left in devastating and sustainable poverty, as is still the case even today.
We are happy that rural development has been identified as one of the development priorities in our country. More so, it will impact positively on the eradication of the degradation to which our people have been subjected. It will stimulate economic growth to its full potential and ensure a high level of social development.
South Africa, as an emerging leading light amongst developing nations of the world, on the African continent in particular, must take issues of rural development very seriously and with the determination to demonstrate how this can be done. We must also be aware of the fact that if we have to engage in real rural development, the first requirement would naturally be land acquisition.
We must do vigorous auditing to determine who owns what as well as the extent of the land. There are people sitting with several very big farms. I think we all know that land ownership is skewed in a particular direction. We have not yet made a significant dent in the landownership position of 1913. The majority of our people are still landless. With that, we cannot guarantee food security.
Whilst we commend our government for the enthusiasm, commitment and political willingness it has shown in making resources available to build infrastructure required for staging the 2010 Fifa World Cup tournament, we have seen organisational structures being set up as well as the unleashing of huge financial resources for the success of this soccer spectacle. We would like to see the same enthusiasm, commitment and political willingness in making meaningful resources available in support of rural development. It is only rural development that has the potential of pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
It is the responsibility of this activist Parliament, that has to pass laws, to make acquisition of land easier for equitable redistribution. The preamble of the Freedom Charter says, and I quote: "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white." In my view that means that every South African must have a piece of land where he or she can conduct his or her own economic activities.
If rural development is carried out with the vigour it deserves, it can address many challenges facing our country. We should in fact start thinking about how we can unbundle these big metropolitan centres because eventually there will be no movement in these big centres.
It is also the responsibility of this activist government to pass laws that encourage and redirect investment from urban areas to rural areas. If we can do that, we will turn the tide that causes congestion in the metropolitan centres. Nation-building must be accompanied by concerted efforts to deliver our people from poverty to prosperity so that all can taste the fruits of the democracy they have fought so hard for.
Rural development will curb urban migration, which negatively impacts on existing urban infrastructure. It will eventually work to eradicate shack settlement, which makes our people lose their human dignity and self- respect.
Farm workers' position must be stabilised, and they must be given pieces of land where they can conduct their own agricultural activities and move from being perpetual workers to becoming emerging farmers. This would enable them to build houses for themselves, eat decent food, have clean running water in each household and send their children to the best schools.
I heard the MEC of the Western Cape saying that black farmers are are not widespread in the Western Cape. I don't know when that happened. Last year, intensive research was done by the South African media, and it focused on black people in the Western Cape - which opportunities they have. The findings were that whenever professional or senior jobs crop up, they are not even considered. They all complained about racism.
In conclusion ... [Interjections.]