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26 July 2005

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WESTERN CAPE LAND SUMMIT 18 JULY 2005

Chairperson
Minister Didiza
Directors-General
Ladies and gentlemen

Thank you for allowing me to report on the Western Cape Land Summit to this very important gathering.

Introduction

The Western Cape Provincial Land Summit was hosted by the Department of Agriculture, in partnership with the Department of Land Affairs, the Regional Land Claims Commission and the Provincial Development Council. The summit took place on 18 July 2005 at Goudini Spa, Rawsonvillle, and was attended by 404 delegates drawn from 4 sectors, namely business, labour, government and civil society.

Plenary Programme

The proceedings were opened by the Programme Co-ordinator, Mr Adrian Sayers from the Provincial Development Council.

It was my task to provide an overview of 10 years of land reform in the Western Cape. This was followed by an input from the MEC for Housing and Local Government, Mr Marius Fransman, on the critical relationship between land and housing, and the need to support the fast-tracking of the restitution process.

The key note address was delivered by the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr Ebrahim Rasool, who stressed that successful land reform requires the strong and motivated commitment of all sectors involved in land use and land issues.

Short position papers were given on behalf of 3 of the key stakeholders, namely Mr Tony Ehrenreich from the labour sector, Mr Leslie Africa from the business sector, and Mr Andrew Petersen from civil society. Each of these stakeholders focused on the successes and challenges of land reform as perceived by that sector, as well as key recommendations and their possible contributions to making land reform a success. Ms Sarah Claasens gave a passionate account of how people living on farms experience the urgent need for land, housing, security and basic services.

In comments from the floor, speakers noted issues such as disappointment and frustration with the pace of land reform delivery; the need for issues from the provincial summit to be tabled at the national summit; the need and will to review existing land reform policy and procedures; and the need for all role-players to commit themselves to a programme of action post the 2 land summits that is aimed at speeding up land and housing delivery in the province.

During the summit Delegates attended one of three Commissions:

* Land for Human Settlement, including land for housing, shelter and related services as well as land for human well-being
* Land for Economic Development, which included growth, trade, tourism strategies, household income and welfare, and wealth generation
* Land for Sustainable Development, including sustainable water and waste management, effective bio-diversity, effective natural resource management, energy use and climate change, and sustainable land use and management.

Each of the Commissions were tasked with identifying the political and policy issues facing that strategic focus area, identifying obvious gaps, particularly in relation to land, and to making recommendations in terms of policy and process.

The issues identified by each of the 3 commissions are summarized into 4 main themes, namely (i) budget, (ii) policy issues, (iii) implementation issues and (iv) support issues

Allow me now to give a summary of main issues and concerns of the summit as pertains to the Western Cape

1. Land Reform Budget

1.1 A substantial and adequate land reform budget is needed

2. Land Reform Policy Issues

2.1 The willing-buyer, willing-seller market based approach to land reform should be reviewed as this impacts negatively on land prices and the affordability of the land reform programme.
2.2 The market-based approach to land reform and the manner in which valuations and market prices are determined should be reviewed.
2.3 The approach to land reform would be reviewed, even if this requires constitutional changes.
2.4 A moratorium must be placed on the sale of public and state land and a comprehensive audit of state land must be conducted.
2.5 A moratorium should be placed on the development of golf courses, polo fields, and on game farms.
2.6 A policy on absentee landlords should be developed.
2.7 A policy on the foreign ownership of land should be developed.
2.8 The cut-off-date for the lodgement of restitution claims should be reviewed.
2.9 A uniform commonage policy should be developed and applied.
2.10 Inherent problems exist with the CASP and LRAD programmes (The criteria is not clear; the variable application of the programmes and lack of alignment).
2.11 The Agri-BEE policy should be reviewed to ensure that black people are not used as fronts.
2.12 Equity Schemes should be reviewed.
2.13 Esta and LTA Reviews are overdue.
2.14 Expropriation and subletting of land should be used as options.
2.15 Inheritance tax and other measures designed to limit excessive land holdings should be considered.

3. Land Reform Implementation Issues

3.1 The LRAD and CASP programmes should be aligned.
3.2 The pace of land reform delivery is too slow and should be speeded up.
3.3 There should be better integration and co-ordination between spheres of government.
3.4 Municipalities should be transformed and challenged to provide greater support to land reform.
3.5 Too many people are settled on land that previously used to support one white farmer. The size of groups should be limited to ensure the sustainability and economic viability of projects.
3.6 New farmers should not be placed on sewerage or gas pipeline outlets.
3.7 Greater attention should be paid to safety net/food security projects.
3.8 Land Reform should be well planned and based on needs of beneficiaries.
3.9 Land Reform should be integrated into broader strategic planning processes of the province and municipalities.
3.10 The lack of integrated planning between government departments resulting in project failures and a silo approach to land and service delivery should be corrected.
3.11 Urban agriculture and food production requirements should be addressed.
3.12 The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry should be more involved in land reform processes.
3.13 Land for housing should be prioritized for farm women.
3.14 Title deeds should be registered in the names of both qualifying adults in a household.
3.15 Communities, and particularly women, should be used as lead agents and contractors.

4. Support to Land Reform Beneficiaries/New Farmers

4.1 Assistance to access markets.
4.2 Assistance to fishing villages.
4.3 Access to clean water and sanitation.
4.4 Access to water rights and water allocations.
4.5 Development and start-up capital.
4.6 Access to finance and credit.
4.7 Coherent support and extension services for emerging farmers.
4.8 Co-operatives should play a greater support role to emerging farmers.
4.9 Access to basic services in rural areas.
4.10 Access to electricity (a requirement for pumping borehole water).
4.11 Land reform beneficiaries need to be made aware of existing policies, laws and regulations affecting them.
4.12 Information centres at a local level (e.g. at municipalities).
4.13 Training, capacity building and empowerment programmes.
4.14 Empowerment should focus on women.

After tabling the report-backs from the 3 Commissions, the Provincial Land Reform Director, Mr Terance Fife, and the members of the Summit Steering Committee committed to the following:

* Producing a report from the provincial summit that can be tabled at the national summit
* Expanding the Steering Committee to be inclusive of all stakeholder sectors
* Formulating an action plan within 3 months after the national summit to address both immediate actions as well as longer term strategies
* A commitment to do things simpler, better and faster. Simpler through a "One Stop Shop" for land reform and agricultural applications and support. Better through addressing the issues of quality and sustainability, and faster through speeding up delivery and reducing unnecessary bureaucracy.

In closing the summit I responded to questions raised earlier in the plenary discussion:

These included:

* That more than 70 000 hectares of land have been approved for transfer in the Western Cape since the beginning of the land reform programme in 1994.
* I acknowledged that accurate figures are not available on the number of illegal evictions that have taken place since the introduction of ESTA, as many such evictions are either not reported or the affected parties simply vanish before investigations take place. I also appealed to stakeholders to report any allegations of illegal evictions to my office or the Department of Land Affairs.
* That the budget available for land reform in the Western Cape is R70 million in the 2005/6 financial year, which increases to R90 million in the following year. Although this figure falls far short of the required budget, I noted that the budget available for redistribution and tenure reform should increase once the restitution process comes to a close.

Written Submissions

With the Western Cape land summit the provincial government of the Western Cape reaffirmed its commitment to land reform in this province. This is a challenge facing all three spheres of government and the Western Cape provincial government has accepted this challenge.

I thank you.

Enquiries:
Alie van Jaarsveld
Cell: 084 604 6701

Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Western Cape Provincial Government
26 July 2005