Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, Cope welcomes the creation of a special Ministry to focus on rural development and land reform. These two national questions singularly hold the key to the true liberation of our people.
We are firm that while there is a dire need for the development of these areas, the slow pace of land reform creates uncertainty for those who wish to invest in rural areas, due to the unresolved questions of ownership. We welcome the fact that the Ministry recognises this as an immediate issue that must be attended to, and one hopes the Minister will engage with the investors meaningfully, to assure them of the progress and plans regarding the land reform of the areas in question.
Further with regard to rural areas, whether big or small, many of these areas have immense agricultural potential. There must be security of tenure so that farmers can invest capital, take risks and grow their wealth so as to enhance the wealth of the nation. The Minister has to be encouraged in his plan to meet with the traditional leaders, to find an acceptable solution to this problem, for indeed communal ownership as we have it will not deliver the kind of production that is required to feed our people.
In the business plan presented to the portfolio committee, the department bemoans the poor resources allocated to it to acquire land. This is a matter that Cope is happy to see further addressed in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, taking into account the new programmes that the hon Minister will be expected to introduce under this new mandate. In the face of 70% of land still in the hands of the minority, the department has to make these land acquisitions a reality.
Cope bemoans the high prices that have now been attached to the sale of land. The willing buyer, willing seller principle does indeed need to be revisited, albeit with sensitivity. It is essential that all parties involved realise how much is at stake for the country if there is no will to reach an acceptable solution on this important issue. Discussions about the review of this policy need to be speeded up so as to remove uncertainty. It is only logical that this situation will get worse with the recession upon us and the clear depression of the market. Cope strongly supports the call for more resources to be made available for this programme to be pursued with vigour.
On the other hand one will expect and urge the new department to ensure that the trend whereby millions of rands designated for this process are returned to the Treasury unspent year after year is reversed. Otherwise, how do we ask Parliament to vote more money when money allocated to this function has not been successfully spent?
One of the crucial reasons advanced for this dangerous situation is the fact that many posts in the department were not filled, and therefore the department finds itself bereft of the much-needed skills in this area. In the face of unemployment and shortage of required skills, it really needs some innovation to access or build skills required for these crucial areas of our national life. We call for stronger and more innovative partnerships with institutions of higher learning that would use the department's interventions as a training base for budding agricultural scientists and other related budding professionals. Internship programmes need to be doubled in the face of this lack of capacity. In the plans of the department, this element is not clearly announced.
Cope notes positively the department's concern that up to now there has been no adequate and coherent plan of post-acquisition support for new land- owners by government. We urge the hon the Minister to find a remedy to this situation. We also welcome the new department's position against the "use it or lose it" policy. We wish for the Minister to state without equivocation that proper and thorough support for the new owners will be prioritised. The pronouncement made by the Minister in the portfolio committee meeting in this regard needs to be amplified publicly, as it correctly speaks to the constitutional imperative of security of tenure. The Ministry has to strive for security of tenure, which can be in the form of a secure lease or ownership. In Rwanda there have been major land reforms, and an increase in production as a result of giving individuals secure tenure has been evidenced.
We accept the creation, therefore, of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform as the correction of an anomaly where there was no coherent plan for rural development. We would urge the department to form partnerships with relevant university faculties to ensure that its strategies are scientifically informed, to reduce the chances of failure in this bold programme.
There is equally a need for a proper national discourse on this matter, as poverty will be overcome through deliberate efforts to draw in the people. I have noted in the speech by the hon Minister that he has said that the rural communities and people must be subjects and objects of the programme. We would wish to encourage this and call for them to be equipped and inspired with confidence, that they are the key resource that is needed to overcome this problem. [Time expired.] [Applause.]