Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa and deputy president of the ANC, in 1913, and again in 1948 when apartheid gained power, the people of South Africa were more dispossessed of land than ever. When the ANC and all democratic forces went to the real Congress of the People in Kliptown, in 1955, they came up with the kind of South Africa they wanted. Among the clauses of the Freedom Charter was one on land restitution.
We are standing here, 15 years into the democratic breakthrough, to ensure that indeed we use the Constitution to take the land back to the people who had been dispossessed.
Sekhukhune is one of the areas that were hit the hardest by land dispossession. Hence, we are crying to the mines that did not respond, which indeed are the mines of a democratic government, and which are now showing some commitment. Part of the land there is the land of Sekhukhune, and therefore, as came out clearly, the issue of royalties will be addressed with Parliament.
We are saying we could not resolve the land issues without the various conferences of the ANC. We went to Polokwane to take resolutions. Key issues in the election manifesto were the resolution of the land issue and the security of tenure - that was a priority issue of the elections. And the Fourth Parliament has created a specific Ministry to ensure that this matter is given a specific focus, hence the Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform, in addition to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Even before we could implement what we wanted to implement, we heard the President declare in Parliament, during the state of the nation address, that the first pilot project would be undertaken in this province, in Giyani, Muyexe. Thereafter many others would follow in other areas.
Today, as we speak, that pilot project is yielding results. Already we have seen the premier and the President giving people electrification programmes. We have seen them outline the programme to develop the socioeconomic infrastructure of that area, including making sure that there are good roads. Other matters addressed by that package include small business enterprises.
Therefore, we have seen the seriousness to resolve the mess that apartheid had created. In fact, we are still in trouble because we are carrying the heavy burden of the apartheid system. There are some parties that want to play with the minds of our people. They are sentimental. They want to make our people think that nothing has been done. What we are doing is to undo the legacy of over 300 years of colonialism and apartheid in this country. Ever since Jan van Riebeeck came here, no one made a noise in any apartheid parliament. Now that we have created a space for noise, we want a democratic noise, not the noise that will oppose for the sake of opposing anything. That is not what we are interested in here. [Applause.]
What is happening at the moment, this event, is drawn from the state of the province address, precisely because land matters are so serious. In the state of the province address, the premier clearly stated the programme of redistribution and restitution of land, and that programme has started.
The MEC Letsatsi-Duba has clearly demonstrated the commitment with which the province is going about these issues. It's not just noise, noise, noise - we are serious! The ANC-led government is very serious about making sure that things are done faster and smarter.
Among other things - and the Deputy President alluded to it this morning - we want to make sure that the country really creates food security. Among the things that will be done - as also alluded to by the Minister yesterday - is that people will be given tractors, pesticides, and all sorts of things that are needed in agriculture or in the support of agrarian reform. All these things will be done to make sure that we turn the situation around.
The issue of corruption has been raised by the ANC ever since it has been in government in 1994. We were the first to blow the whistle on corruption. Those who steal must know that they have ideological poverty. Because they suffer from that poverty, they will always learn from the manifesto and the actions of the ANC.
During the apartheid era people were arrested if they talked about apartheid. They would take you to jail. Now we have created a space for the battle of ideas; we are not arresting people. Those who talk about apartheid indeed demonstrate how the ANC brought democracy to our society. We need to deepen that.
It is not the other parties that struggled with apartheid. The other parties stole the ideas of the ANC and now come and attack us. They should dissolve and join the ANC, because the people want them back. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]