Mr Speaker, hon members of the House, I noticed with interest when the hon President, in his state of the nation address, referred to the government's rural development programme, which, in his view, will improve rural productivity and consequently also the lives of people living in rural areas.
The fact of the matter is, however, that the transformation programmes, including land reform and black economic empowerment programmes, are failing dismally. Billions of rands of taxpayers' money are being wasted in this process.
My ervaring is dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering hom die afgelope paar jaar tot so 'n mate met die uitdaging van transformasie besig gehou het dat hy sy greep verloor het op dit wat nodig is om kommersile boere in staat te stel om mededingend en volhoubaar in 'n globale markomgewing te produseer.
Dit was met teleurstelling dat landbou weereens nie deur u as van besondere belang vir die land se ekonomiese groei en stabiliteit uitgesonder is nie. Die belangrikheid van die landbousektor as verskaffer van voedsel, asook as 'n werkgewer en verdiener van buitelandse valuta, word steeds nie deur die ANC as sulks erken nie. Die gesegde lui dat enige land wat sy landbou verwaarloos uiteindelik tot mislukking gedoem is.
Die huidige omstandighede veroorsaak alreeds dat boere en landboubesighede in ander lande in Afrika na beleggings- en ontwikkelingsgeleenthede gaan soek. Landboubeleid en faktore soos venynige uitsprake deur politici wat vertroue skaad, dien as verdere stimulus vir die migrasie van Suid- Afrikaanse burgers na ander lande in Afrika.
Dit bekommer my voorwaar dat sodanige vertroue in die land verlore moes gaan vir boere om in ongunstige omstandighede in Afrika hulle heil te gaan soek. Die DA sal alles in sy vermo doen om produsente in Suid-Afrika te hou tot voordeel van al ons mense. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[My experience has been that the South African government has been so engaged, in the past few years, with the challenge of transformation that it has lost its grip on those issues that would have enabled commercial farmers to produce products competitively and in a sustainable manner in a global market environment.
It was disappointing to note that you have once again not singled out agriculture as being of particular importance to the country's economic growth and stability. The importance of the agricultural sector as a producer of food, and as an employer and earner of foreign currency, is still not being recognised by the ANC. There is a saying that any country that neglects its agriculture is doomed to fail.
The current circumstances are already causing farmers and agricultural businesses to seek investment and development opportunities in other African countries. Agricultural policy and factors like vindictive pronouncements by politicians which damage confidence, are giving further motivation for South African citizens to migrate to other African countries.
It really concerns me that such confidence in this country has been lost to such an extent that farmers are seeking their salvation in unfavourable conditions in Africa. The DA will do everything in its power to retain producers in South Africa for the benefit of all our people.]
Mr President, the DA supports a united, profitable, sustainable and thriving agricultural sector in South Africa. We believe that this is critical for food security and job creation. As a result of government's confrontational stance to commercial agriculture, we have seen a huge disinvestment in the sector.
The threats to do away with the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle and to again review the Expropriation Bill, certainly also contribute to the decline in investor confidence. We cannot afford to keep repeating these mistakes.
The challenges that we now face to restore confidence and improve production are the following: We must have a clear policy framework to instil confidence and enhance investment in the sector. This will include that all land redistribution under our land reform programmes will be carried out at market-related prices and that there is an adoption of the willing-seller principle to establish the market value of land purchased by government.
We must overhaul our land reform programmes by ensuring that the new land beneficiaries have adequate postsettlement support and financial support.
We need to identify people with an interest in farming and have proper partnership agreements with former landowners for a period of at least five years, to ensure a smooth and productive transfer. New farm owners should have freehold title ownership to unlock the economic potential of their assets. To minimise the cost of land to government, the land can be bought at market value and sold back to beneficiaries at productive value, with the Land Bank to carry the loans at reduced interest rates.
Another crucial and critical issue, which has a vast impact on agriculture, is the effect of natural disasters and climate change. The implementation of a disaster risk management system with adequate funding is now long overdue. We simply cannot carry on with ad hoc schemes, with aid reaching farmers years after it is needed. Current examples of droughts, floods, and fire damage like that in the Eastern Cape can be quoted.
More resources need to be allocated to infrastructure development, such as roads, rail and communication, in order for our products to reach our markets timeously. Roads in rural areas are virtually nonexistent, and, in many cases, farmers maintain gravel roads themselves. The maintenance service can be outsourced, in my opinion.
Last, but certainly not least, the high crime rate in rural areas should be addressed as a matter of urgency. Farmers and their workers remain soft targets, and murders are again escalating alarmingly.
The Minister of Police's call for a gun-free country is far removed from the reality. Guns are smuggled and are freely available on the black market to potential criminals. The solution to protecting rural communities should rather be found in armed guards on each and every farm to protect innocent people from being brutally murdered.
In closing, the DA assures the President that we will work relentlessly to ensure the successful implementation of rural development and food production at affordable prices for all our people. I thank you. [Applause.]