[ Home ] [ Speeches & statements ]

12 April 2005

Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces
Chairperson of the Select Committee
Members of the Select Committee
MECs for Agriculture
Delegates of the National Council of Provinces
Honoured Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen

Chairperson, honourable members as we make increased progress with the implementation of both agricultural and land reform programmes, one thing has become very clear. That is, the success of our programmes implementation depends largely on the governmental relation. In other words, the cooperation between the three spheres of government, and with other government departments.

Coordination is sometimes severely lacking. In this respect the new proposed legislation of DPLG on intergovernmental relations is of great value to my departments. Especially the provision for protocols between different spheres of government opens way for healthy relations.

Chairperson I want to thank the Members of the Executive Council responsible for Agriculture for the way in which they have understood the importance of such a relationship between spheres in the way they have undertook their task. Members will recall that last year after the appointment of all of us in our new Responsibilities, we were confronted by animal diseases in Eastern Cape with Avian Influenza, Foot and Mouth in Limpopo and now disease in Pigs in the Western Cape. The collaborative that has been displayed in combating such diseases was enormous. The MECs were willing to share expertise with one another’s province, we worked as a team and that is why we have succeeded.

Also last year on realization that we were not spending in time resources allocated for the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, national department dispatched a team to the Provinces in order to ensure that we work together in resolving whatever challenges there may be. This exercise has revealed certain challenges that we will have to address, the capacity of the state at various levels in order to meet our transformation objectives as a country.

In our February Minmec this year, 2005, we agreed that the heads of departments in the provinces responsible for agriculture and the senior management will work together to identify what capacity needs do we have and make proposal on what we need to do. It is our view that this process will add value on the work that the President gave to the Forum of Director’s general to undertake, under the leadership of the DG in the President, which task is to look at the entire government’s capacity.

Chairperson, building relations within government is just but one element in trying to meet the challenges of transformation for the country; the other is to build relations with Civil Society as well as with the Private Sector. The Agriculture Sector Plan was an outcome of such working together, however it is true to say that such relationship needs a lot of working at .Just yesterday, in one of our national Media, it is reported that farmers do not think that the deadline of producing a AGRIBEE charter will be met, alleging to certain processes which they think are slow and that there are fundamental issues around which there is no agreement amongst stakeholders.

I must say chairperson and members what is worrying, if the statements are true, the individuals cited are the same individuals I appointed to a Steering Committee to drive this consultative process, who in my view owe me a report as a collective. I do not expect that members of the Steering Committee should display their differences in the media, but rather to seek mediation and move on with the process should the process delay, they all must share a collective blame.

Secondly, on issues where they say there are differences, I am surprised chairperson why we are even debate some of these matters. The target of redistributing 30% of agricultural land is there in the Reconstruction and development Programme, a policy that was adopted by this parliament and government.

The fact that it is enunciated in the AGRIBEE framework does not change or amplify in anyway what was agreed than. Surely, the challenge of 10% access to land for farm workers is a new issue, where I am expecting proposals from the various stakeholders, not to debate the matter in public without finding resolutions.

I am raising these matters chairperson in the context of the relationship, because indeed it is important to find a way in which such relationships are built for the sake of transforming our country not for convenience as and when the relationship is beneficial only to me.

Chairperson, as you may be aware a lot of work that we undertake in the area of land reform, in particular restitutions relies on the networks that we have with civil society organizations, who in most instances will work with claimant communities in assisting them in various ways, other were instrumental in mobilising communities to lodge their claims, while others have been there during the process or research and verification. We believe therefore that Civil Society organisation is an important element in the land reform process. It therefore follows that our relationship must be worked at and strengthened.

In our last Minmec March we have agreed that in this second quarter of the celebration of the Freedom Charter, we will mobilise our communities in a dialog on Land and Agrarian issues. These will be amongst other things the popularisation of our programmes that relate to agriculture and land, such as Restitution, LRAD, Commonages, Land Care and Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programmes.

The very discussions will amongst other things include assessment of the pace of land reform in the past ten years, the blockages in implantation, the land market in South Africa and how it works and well as making interventions on what is required to improve our delivery mechanism. We will end this mobilization by hosting a Land Summit at the end of June.

Chairperson in the ANC’s January 8th Statement, we are reminded to focus on the local sphere of government to ensure that local government, including elected representatives, ward councils and other forms of structures for popular participation, genuinely realise the vision of the Freedom Charter at local level that the land shall be shared among those who work it and that the people shall share in the country’s wealth. That is indeed a challenge whose call we need to heed. Fortunately there are efforts in the Ministry to work closely with other government institutions in different spheres of government towards realising this endeavour.

The commendable achievement by Restitution cannot go unnoticed having settled, 57 908 claims as at 28 February 2005, benefiting 863 138 beneficiaries who have obtained 854 444 hectares of land.

We have settled major claims such as Mkambati in OR Tambo Municipality where 5960 households got 17 400 hectares for biodiversity, agriculture and eco-tourism.

This saw R44.5 million of restitution grants going towards developments in this ISRDP node.

Other settled claims which fall on the ISRDP nodes are in KZN, they include Hlahlindlela (1 000ha), Msuluzi (7292ha), Nkaseni (11 457ha), Charlestown (1 100ha), Manzengwenya forest land (18 280ha), and Siqakatha (3 136ha) In the Masilonyane Municipality in the Free State the Wittes family, with 500 households, received their 2 325 hectares. They have decided to use this land for livestock farming as well as crop farming.

The replacement of SLAG by LRAD has definitely contributed positively because of its shift from a household to an individual focus which has broadened our base to include women and youth.

Of the 23 520 beneficiaries which benefited from LRAD, 19% were youth and 34.7% women. A case in point is that of Ms Mpopi Sehlare, a Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) beneficiary, who is a co-owner of the Thaba Bosiu dairy in the Magaliesberg area. The farm has eleven dairy cows and produces 120 litres of milk a day in summer and about 80 litres in winter.

From the profits of the sale of milk they have bought a milking machine and a trailer.

They have added 2 Nguni heifers to their stock and three ewes, and after lambing they now have nine sheep. Their farm is progressing very well and they intend venturing into cheese production as well. The farm employs 2 fulltime employees.

This is not the only success story, on a larger scale; the Mpumalanga Provincial Land Reform Office has assisted 419 former farm workers through LRAD, to buy Koedoe Farm which has vast sugar cane plantations in the district of Barberton. The majority of the beneficiaries worked on the farm. The farm is 1658 hectares in extent and the capital invested is R50 million. The strength of the project is that it also has a public private partnership with the Transvaal Suiker Beperk (TSB) and is funded by the Department and the Land Bank.

The partnership ensures the sustainability of the business, transfer of skills, and it generates immediate cash flow into the beneficiaries’ bond repayment. Indeed this project is in support of the President’s call for closer partnership between the public and private sectors to develop action plans to help realize the vision of a united prosperous agricultural sector.

The project employs 90 people, who were previously working on the farm and have knowledge and experience of sugar cane farming operations. Having TSB as their strategic partner, the beneficiaries get training on ploughing sugar cane and are assisted with irrigation, fertilizers and first aid in cases of emergency when there is an injury on the farm.

Through LRAD the Masetjhaba family in 2002 accessed an LRAD grant for purchasing a farm in the Eastern Free State. They concentrated successfully ventured on vegetable production and supply a nearby township Phutaditjhaba. They also grow wheat.

In that same year they won the Free State Farmer of the Year Award, in the category “food safety net” Since 1994 approximately 537 000 hectares of DLA controlled land has been disposed, 236 600 hectares of agricultural land have been made available to emergent farmers by the Provincial MEC’s through transfers and option purchase through the vesting of State Land.

About 209 000 hectares of DLA agricultural land were transferred to emergent farmers or communities since 1994. Currently 30 400 hectares of land are leased out with an option to purchase.

Gauteng has transferred 1067 hectares of land for commonage purposes. Approximately 40 residents have access to commonage.

The Tenure upgrading project gave individual titles to over 3 400 households on 2 400 hectares in Groutville near Stanger.

In Limpopo, Brothers of Charity and the Pietersburg Diocese of the Catholic Church have donated no less than 3 313 hectares of land to two communities that occupied church land. 334 households have benefited from this generous offer.

These beneficiaries have accessed LRAD grants and embarked on piggery and poultry farming projects. The Provincial Department of Agriculture offers training and technical assistance to this community.

The Communal Land Rights Bill was enacted on 16 July 2004. This is a major achievement regarding extension of security of tenure to people living in communal areas. It also creates an enabling environment for sustainable economic development in these areas.

In this financial year we will implement the Communal Land Rights Act (CLaRA) in KwaZulu-Natal as a pilot and roll it out to the rest of the country from 2006/2007 onwards. We have selected KwaZulu-Natal because of the experience we have accumulated, through the Ingonyama Trust Board administering the Ingonyama Trust land. The implementation plan for the Communal Land Rights Act to be finalised in June 2005 will serve as a basis for the KwaZulu-Natal pilot.

The phased approach is meant to allow for proper training and communication on the legislation’s content and setting up of the Land Rights Boards at a provincial level necessary for supporting the Land Administration Committees at local level. We are already collaborating with the University of KwaZulu-Natal in designing a training programme for land administration clerks.

Surveys and Mapping will establish real-time base stations in support of the surveys for CLaRA. Surveying and registration of the outer-boundaries of communal areas in terms of CLaRA will receive priority. This will enable communities who were previously excluded from the benefits of land ownership, to take formal title to their land. Maps of aerial photography coverage in the rural areas, particularly within the ISRDP nodes, will be updated.

To enable government to monitor the patterns of land ownership as it implements land reform, the deeds registration system would be improved to reflect nationality, race and gender of land owners. This would also assist the Committee that the Minister appointed to investigate the extent of ownership of land by foreigners.

A report in this regard will be submitted to the Minister in August this year.

In KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga 5 273 and 1 449 labour tenant claims respectively have been finalised in the financial year 2004/2005. To date 10 329 claims out of 21 148 have been settled. We plan to settle all labour tenant claims by the end of the financial year 2006/2007.

Having outlined these successes by government, I would like to outline government’s programme of action for the next three months:

Government will mobilise farmers and land users to commit to land use and resource management. In Mpumalanga, this has culminated in the “Masibuyele emasimini” campaign calling on farmers to till fallow land to increasing food production.

As part of the ongoing discussions within national and provincial departments, we shall, over the next three months, embark the on the following government programme of action:

Mobilise farmers and land users to commit to land use and resource management. In Mpumalanga, this has culminated in the “Masibuyele emasimini” campaign calling on farmers to till fallow land to increasing food production.

The Gauteng Province will mobilise communities around AgriBEE and Land Reform policies.

In commemorating worker’s day in May, government will focus on the plight of the farm workers, with various problems such as evictions, minimum wage and safety and security issues being addressed.

We will continue to engage our social partners, AgriSA, NAFU TAU, FAWU and work towards adopting a protocol that will guide our collective actions in ensuring that the farm workers are treated with dignity. We shall also work closely with the Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development to ensure that all births on farms are registered.

During the month of June, government will focus the development of the youth and women agriculture.

We are mindful of the critical skills shortage that continues to threaten our sector. We shall continue to promote the voluntary mentorship programmes that exist between established farmers and the new entrants. The spirit of Vuk’ uzenzele should be alive within our farms.

We will continue to issue title deeds to land users who qualify for ownership where such title deeds have not been transferred. We will work with Municipalities and other government departments such as Defence in auditing the status and use of our land resources in order to ensure that where such land is no more required for use, it is earmarked for land reform. This audit has a possibility to help us in addressing the land need for housing development.

We will also create general awareness on the existing programmes of government such as CASP and LRAD to ensure that there is access to land and agricultural resources.

Our conviction about the necessity that all our people should share in the country’s wealth, has led government us to enshrine in the broad based black economic empowerment of our agriculture sector to promote access for all as well as equal participation.

We shall promote participation in agricultural production and effective use of productive agricultural land to those previously disadvantaged.

We shall embark on comprehensive human capital development to increase the capacity and capability of all people involved in agriculture.

Promote employment creation and equity in the sector; and implement procurement procedures of empowerment.

All of these activities will culminate in an agricultural and land access and use summit in June where we shall engage all the various land based NGO’s and civil society on the various issues that they have raised with regard to land reform program as well as issues of agricultural development.

Over the next financial year, the three spheres of government will undertake various activities that are in line with our social and economic imperatives of the country.

We shall engage with municipalities to conduct research on land needs such as housing and land needs prior to the sale of land to developers.

Government will continue to issue outstanding title deeds to our people in order to speed up the land reform.

We will launch the Agricultural Financial Scheme aimed at land and agrarian reform beneficiaries as announced in the President’s 2004 State of the Nation Address.

We will work together as government to improve CASP implementation with extensive focus on support for land and agrarian beneficiaries to further improve production on their farms. Extensive work has already been undertaken in the following nodal examples;

* Repaired and upgraded irrigation infrastructure and created 10 temporary jobs in the Kalahari Kgalagadi nodal point at a cost of R110 000.

* Improvement of livelihoods in Hegebe through the appropriation of technologies for solving production problems at a cost of R 1 192 000.

* Erected stock watering systems and created 24 food gardens within the Carnavon District within the Kalahari- Kgalagadi nodal point.

Food security continues to be a major challenge for government. We will therefore form partnerships between the departments and municipalities to gain greater insight on issues of food insecurity with more focus on Integrated
Development Plan (IDP).

The recent drought experienced by the Western Cape Province has strengthened the notion that there are indeed dramatic climatic changes that will require adaptation skills by farmers. Government will therefore work closely with the farmers in outlining new strategies for adapting to the changes.

Conclusion

Chairperson, the work we do as government is a demonstration of the commitment to our people that we will priorities issues of delivery and social upliftment and we will embrace the spirit of the Freedom Charter that says that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, Black and White”, as well as the declaration that “the people shall share in the wealth of the country”.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Agriculture
12 April 2005
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agrica.za)