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17 September 2008

The Department of Land Affairs has streamlined its policies and programmes to ensure that land reform programme makes direct and positive impact on the lives of the land reform beneficiaries reduce poverty and contribute towards our collective war against poverty.

To ensure that our land reform policies and programmes make such an impact, the department embarked on a review process to determine the impact these measures are having in the lives of the beneficiaries. The review has revealed that at least 42 638 households have benefited from the 773 106 hectares of land the department has transferred through land reform over the past year. Furthermore, the review indicated that since the advent of democracy, the department has delivered at least 4.8 million hectares of land of which 2.7 million hectares was through redistribution, whilst at least 2.1 million hectares was through restitution and 165 774 hectares through tenure reform.

About 2 million hectares of state land is available for land reform, of which 857 645 hectares has already been redistributed, the rest of the state land is encumbered by traditional communities in the ex-homeland areas and by other government departments for domestic use such as hospitals, schools, correctional services, and the army and for many other structural developments.

In terms of legislation the Provision of Land and Assistance Amendment Bill we would like to ensure sustainable use of land, where we are able to buy not only land but also relevant movable property such as agricultural equipment, tractors, shares in related business (value add). The bill was formally introduced to Parliament in June 2008 and has already been considered and submitted by the portfolio committee to the National Assembly for its second reading. It will be debated in the National Assembly on the 22nd of September 2008.

The exorbitant and forever increasing land prices in South Africa continue to be the biggest challenge and impediment for both land redistribution and restitution. We have bought agricultural land at an average cost of R4000 per hectare and that average is increasing rapidly.

The average sugar cane land costs about R55 000 per hectare, macadamia about R60 000 per hectare and vine yards about R100 000 per hectare. Ongoing discussions are ensuing between the department and the National Treasury regarding amongst others, options to be pursued to make sure the country is able to meet its land reform mandate against these escalating prices, which are making land reform to be an expensive undertaking for government while those who deliberately inflate their land prices hold the country's land reform programme to ransom.

To align land reform to the increasing land prices and ensure that the increasing land prices do not continue to be a barrier for our primary land reform target beneficiaries access to use and ownership of land in line with our strategic objectives, the department reviewed our Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD). To this end, the minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs approved the increase in minimum LRAD grant for qualifying applicants from R20 000 per individual to R111 125 and the increase of the maximum grant from R100 000 to R 430 085 per qualifying individuals.

The Settlement and Production Land Acquisition Grant (SPLAG) has also been increased, from R16 000 to R111 125 per individual. These reviews of grants will certainly catapult farm dwellers and farm workers to mobilise their resources to acquire land for sustainable development.

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights has settled over 95% of the 79 696 total land claims lodged before the 31st December 1998 cut off date, effectively restoring over 2.1 million ha of land to victims of apartheid land policies. Of all the land claims, the commission is left with about 4 900 very complex, rural claims, which are in different phase of settlement.

In this first quarter of the 2008/9 financial year, over 44 408 ha were approved for restoration at a cost of about R408,11,733, benefiting 4 616 households and 22 342 beneficiaries. Importantly, more than 500 settled projects are currently being implemented and an analysis of these projects has been undertaken to identify any potential sustainability challenges they may face, in line with our settlement support strategy. This is to ensure that land reform projects are sustainable and contribute towards our government’s war on poverty campaign.

To meet its settlement targets, the commission has developed a strategic and implementation plan, which includes an intent to finalise 2 585 claims in the 2008/9 financial year. This strategy aims to address some of the challenges the commission has encountered in the finalisation of the outstanding land claims.

These include conflicts with traditional leaders on matters of jurisdiction and boundaries, untraceable claimants, disputes within claimant communities, and, deadlocks over price negotiations with land owners.

The strategy for the finalisation of the remaining claims has been closely linked to government strategy on poverty alleviation, and in particular, with the prioritisation of food security. As such, the strategy has been incorporated into the Land and Agrarian Reform Programme (LARP). LARP is indeed a shining example of what the implementation of intergovernmental relations strategy can do, as its consolidates the efforts of the three tiers of government as well as across different government departments, including role players outside the state.

Access to agricultural production espouses the following principles.

* Access to service delivery (synergies) between Department of land Affairs (DLA), Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Agribusiness and support.
* Comprehensive support (multi-sectoral, sustainable agricultural production)
* Corporative governance
* Decentralisation of decision making and implementation
* Utilization of partnerships.

On 29 July 2008 to 1 August 2008 we had a multi stakeholder agri consultation in Polokwane where it was resolved, amongst others to accelerate sustainable land reform, increase black entrepreneurs in the agribusiness, Increase agricultural production, increase agricultural trade, and provide universal access to support services to target groups.

Great strides have, in this quarter, also been made in respect of policy issues identified for accelerating the pace of land reform. Worth noting amongst others, is the finalisation and approval of the discussion document on the willing buyer willing seller principle. An economic study will soon be undertaken on the four options proposed in the willing buyer willing seller discussion document and following that, it will be taken through interdepartmental consultation processes.

We are currently rolling out the Illema Letsema campaign through which we would like to increase agricultural production to address the challenge of increasing food prices and food security. Our focus is the former homeland areas as well as the land reform beneficiaries where we would like to revitalise agricultural production on communal land.

Issued by: Department of Land Affairs
17 September 2008