National Assembly - 31 May 2002
FRIDAY, 31 MAY 2002 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 09:05.
The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mrs R R JOEMAT: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the Western Cape Premier, Peter Marais, and veterans of uMkhonto weSizwe will launch a R1 million pilot project food scheme for the poor in the rural areas of the province;
(2) further notes that the scheme will feed about 7 980 individuals three times a week and that state land will be available to emerging farmers to produce vegetables;
(3) believes that the launch of this project will be practical expression of the commitment of the ANC/New NP government of provincial unity to move back the frontiers of poverty in the province; and
(4) welcomes the plans of the veterans of uMkhonto weSizwe to launch this historic project.
[Applause.]
Mr J SELFE: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move:
That this House -
(1) notes the decision by the DA to open its books to a forensic audit;
(2) demands of the ANC that it discloses in full the donations it received from foreign governments or heads of state;
(3) invites the ANC to open its accounts to forensic audit to establish whether it received any anonymous donations from any source, including Mr Jürgen Harksen;
(4) invites other parties in Parliament, particularly the New NP, to do the same; and
(5) supports in principle the introduction of legislation aimed at regulating foreign donations to political parties.
[Applause.]
Mr M S M SIBIYA: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House, I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) applauds Anneline Malebu of ``Joy’’ fame for breaking the silence and disclosing her HIV status;
(2) acknowledges this as a worthy stand, being mindful of the fact that large numbers choose to die without disclosing their HIV status; and
(3) trusts that Anneline will, as she was able to influence thousands of people with her music, be equally blessed to influence thousands of persons affected by HIV/Aids to disclose their status so that this country can offer voluntary counselling and testing to all people of the country without restraint.
Mr I M CACHALIA: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House
(1) notes that -
(a) the multibillion Global Fund for Aids, tuberculosis and malaria
has donated the princely sum of R1,8 billion to South Africa,
which is the biggest donation to any country; and
(b) the bold steps taken during April 2002 by the ANC to extend
antiretroviral drugs to pregnant women and rape survivors,
coupled with this grant should kick-start turning the tide
against HIV and tuberculosis in South Africa; and
(2) congratulates the Minister of Health, the hon Manto Tshabalala- Msimang, for these important initiatives as they will contribute to fighting communicable and opportunistic diseases.
[Applause.]
Mrs ANNA VAN WYK: Madam Speaker, I give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the war waged upon the Boer republics by the British a century
ago resulted in the suffering and death of many thousands of
people in South Africa;
(b) the scorched earth policy reduced the Transvaal and Orange Free
State to utter ruin and emptiness; and
(c) the signing of the Peace of Vereeniging today a century ago,
sealed the loss of freedom for the Boers; (2) mourns the women and children who suffered untold hardship during the
war and who died in their thousands in British concentration camps;
(3) lauds them for their faith, steadfastness and courage throughout;
(4) applauds them for their immeasurable share in rebuilding, immediately after the war, their homes, farms, schools, churches, towns, civic and political institutions; and
(5) determines to follow their example of indomitably taking charge of their own lives and lot, and to carve out for the Republic of South Africa a place among nations and a fine future for all our people.
[Applause.]
Mr S ABRAM: Madam Speaker, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes -
(a) the failing policies and political conflicts which are human-
made contributory elements to Southern Africa's worsening food
crisis; and
(b) with alarm the warnings by the international aid agencies that
at least 10 million people in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho and
Swaziland could starve this year unless massive amounts of grain
are imported;
(2) acknowledges that the problem is diverse and complex in nature and includes government-backed seizure of commercial farms in Zimbabwe, Malawi’s decision to sell off its entire maize reserves in 2000-01, and the devastation caused by the Angolan war; and
(3) calls on Government to put these political aspects of the problem on the agenda at next week’s SADC summit on the regional crisis, thereby addressing their political bungling which is the cause of millions starving.
Mr F BHENGU: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that the SA Revenue Service has declared its intention to prosecute buyers of property who fraudulently cancelled or substituted contracts of sale concluded before 1 March 2002 in order to take advantage of the reduced transfer fee;
(2) believes that under the ANC Government, this country now has a fair tax regime with ongoing reductions in personal taxes, accompanied by efficient revenue collection, resulting in billions of additional revenue to bring about transformation and development;
(3) deplores the attempts of affluent taxpayers to defraud the public purse at the expense of those who this Government is dedicated to serving, that is, the poor, the disadvantaged and the dispossessed; and
(4) commends SARS for its ongoing commitment to and great success in effecting efficient revenue collection.
[Applause.]
Mrs R M SOUTHGATE: Madam Speaker, I will move on behalf of the ACDP:
That the House -
(1) notes with concern the alarming food crisis in Southern Africa, especially in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe;
(2) expresses further concern of a possible threat of famine in Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland; and that the region needs 3,2 million tons of food aid at a cost of $1,8 million until the next harvest;
(3) calls on the Government to convene an urgent meeting with all relevant stakeholders and aid agencies to address ways to contain the crisis;
(4) calls on the Government to request SADC’s participation to assist in tackling the problems of famine and hunger in the region;
(5) calls on the international community for immediate relief support to help Southern Africa in its greatest food crisis in decades; and
(6) prays that God will spare the region from a crippling food crisis, and open up the heavens to bless our continent.
Dr M S MOGOBA: Madam Speaker, I give notice that aI shall move at the next sitting of the House:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) sustainable development and peace should begin at home;
(b) members of the ANC attacked members of the Pan Africanist
Congress of Azania in Itsoseng, Pretoria, in politically
motivated violence allegedly on 22 May, 27 May and 28 May
respectively;
(c) Emily Nkosi had her windows broken and was attacked at 2 am with
her one-month-old baby;
(d) Johannes Nkwali, a musician, had his house burnt down and lost
all the tools of his trade with which to make a living;
(e) the police were approached several times without response until
PAC leaders arrived; and
(f) political violence does not contribute to sustainable
development, nor does it consolidate democracy; and
(2) calls on the Minister of Safety and Security to investigate why police officers are not willing to investigate serious crimes of violence committed by ANC members against the PAC.
Ms S K MNUMZANA: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes, that the Health Department announced that it has reached agreement on protocols for the provision of antiretroviral drugs to rape survivors;
(2) further notes that the department will also acquire drugs in a syrup form to make it easier to treat children who are victims of sexual assault;
(3) believes that this reflects the commitment of the ANC-led Government to fight HIV/Aids; and
(4) commends the Minister and the department for the development of appropriate infrastructure in public hospitals to dispense antiretroviral drugs.
[Applause.]
Mr M L DA CAMARA: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move
That the House -
(1) notes that a key aim of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development is the restoration of the dignity of Africa’s people;
(2) questions the contradictory policy being pursued by President Mbeki with his continued backing of President Mugabe in the light of serious human rights abuses being perpetrated against opposition supporters in Zimbabwe; and
(3) calls on President Mbeki to demonstrate his Government’s commitment to the ideals of Nepad through the delivery of services to South Africa’s poor instead of offering hollow sentiments to fellow world leaders.
[Interjections.] [Applause.]
Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) service delivery is an integral requirement for the creation of
a better life; and
(b) regrettably many provinces have lagged behind in meeting their
priorities in the levels of service delivery;
(2) therefore calls on the Minister for Public Service and Administration to -
(a) ensure infrastructural collaboration and capacity building in
all provinces;
(b) ensure that citizens' juries are replicated in every province so
as to gauge public opinion and perception of service delivery;
and
(c) foster a resurgence and reinvigoration of ``Batho Pele''; and
(3) calls on all members of Parliament to ensure that service delivery is a potent philosophy and practice of every department.
Mr B A MNGUNI: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that Bosal Africa has signed a deal to export 1,2 million catalytic converters to General Motors in Czechoslovakia;
(2) believes that such deals are critical for the growth of our economy and is a reflection of our growing industrial competitiveness and the business-friendly policies of this Government; and
(3) congratulates Bosal Africa on this achievement.
Mnr A S VAN DER MERWE: Mev die Speaker, hiermee stel ek voor: Dat die Huis -
(1) met kommer kennis neem dat daar van tyd tot tyd berigte verskyn in die Europese Unie, wat Suid-Afrikaanse landbouprodukte in ‘n slegte lig stel en dat Brittanje onlangs berig het dat Suid-Afrikaanse beesvleis ‘n risiko van besmetting met malbeessiekte inhou;
(2) verder kennis neem dat -
(a) Suid-Afrika nie formeel beeste na Brittanje uitvoer nie; en
(b) beperkte uitvoer uit beheerde voerkrale plaasvind en dat beeste
nooit ouer as 18 maande word voor hulle geslag word nie, terwyl
die gerugte aanvoer dat beeste ouer as 30 maande uit Suid-Afrika
'n ``effe hoër'' risiko inhou;
(3) voorts kennis neem dat die Nuwe NP glo dat hierdie gerugte ongegrond en kwaadwillig is omdat - (a) geen gevalle van malbeessiekte al ooit in Suid-Afrika aangemeld is nie;
(b) die instansie wat die gerugte versprei het, nog geen
wetenskaplike studie oor malbeessiekte in Suid-Afrika gedoen het
nie; en
c) Suid-Afrika 'n internasionale leier in die beheer van
dieresiektes is. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Mr A S VAN DER MERWE: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice:
That the House -
(1) notes with concern that from time to time reports appear in the European Union which place South African agricultural products in a bad light and that Britain recently reported that there is a risk that South African beef might be contaminated with mad cow disease;
(2) further notes that -
(a) South Africa does not formally export cattle to Britain; and
(b) limited exports from controlled feedlots take place and that
cattle never become older than 18 months before they are
slaughtered, while the rumours contend that cattle older than 30
months from South Africa have a ``slightly higher'' risk; and
(3) further notes that the New NP believes that these rumours are unfounded and malicious because -
(a) no cases of mad cow disease have ever been reported in South
Africa;
(b) the institution that spread the rumours has not done any
scientific study on mad cow disease in South Africa; and
(c) South Africa is an international leader in the control of animal
diseases.]
Mr D G MKONO: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the UDM at the next sitting of this House:
That the House -
(1) notes that nearly a third of all South African children are working, mostly on farms and in family businesses;
(2) further notes that the survey of activities of young people finds a direct link between child labour and poverty;
(3) also notes that the growing number of child-led households, due to HIV/Aids, is contributing to an escalation in the number of children that are forced to work; and (4) calls on the national Departments of Labour and of Social Development and the SAPS to ensure that the antichild labour programme is implemented before the end of the year.
COMPLETION OF TASK OF AD HOC COMMITTEE ON POWERS AND PRIVILEGES OF
PARLIAMENT
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I move the draft resolution printed in my name on the Order Paper, as follows:
That, with reference to the resolution adopted by the House on 20 March 2002, the Ad Hoc Committee on Powers and Privileges of Parliament is to complete its task by no later than 20 June 2002.
Agreed to.
ORDER OF PRECEDENCE: QUESTIONS
(Draft Resolution) USOSWEBHU OMKHULU WEQEMBU ELIBUSIYO: Somlomo, siphakamisa ukuthi ngaphandle kokuyalela kweNdlu NgokomThetho isigaba 29(8), imibuzo ngoLwesithathu ngomhlaka 5 Juni 2002 nangomhlaka 19 Juni 2002 angeke kube yiyo eqalayo. (Translation of Zulu draft resolution follows.)
[The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I move:
That, notwithstanding the provisions of Rule 28(8), Questions shall not have precedence on Wednesday, 5 June 2002, and on Wednesday, 19 June 2002.]
Agreed to.
HOURS OF SITTING OF HOUSE
(Draft Resolution)
USOSWEBHU WEQEMBU ELIBUSAYO: Somlomo, siphakamisa ukuthi ngaphandle kokuyalela komThetho isigaba 23, ukuhlangana kwaleNdlu ukuze iqale umsebenzi wayo ngoLwesibili ngomhlaka 11 Juni 2002 kuyoba ngehora lesishiyagalolunye ekuseni size siqede ukusebenza. (Translation of Zulu draft resolution follows.)
[The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I move:
That, notwithstanding Rule 23, the hours of sitting of the House shall be as follows on Tuesday, 11 June 2002: 9:00 to adjournment.]
Agreed to.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 25 - Agriculture:
The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Madam Speaker, my colleagues, members of the executive councils from various provinces, responsible for agriculture present here, MECs from the Western Cape and Mpumalanga, members of organised agriculture from AgriSA and Nafu, chairpersons and board members of the agricultural parastatals present here, the CEOs and managing directors and senior officials from both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Affairs, representatives of other agricultural industries who are also here with us, members of the communities, ladies and gentlemen, today we are all proud to be South Africans because of the positive changes that our country and its leadership continue to make.
We are proud of ourselves in many ways because of what we have done to make a difference in the lives of our people. Our strength lies in the fact that we can define who we want to be. As we rejoined the community of nations after 1994, we made a choice that we would also participate and share our experience in building a better tomorrow for all the children of the world.
We are proud because we are a product of a people who, in the midst of adversities, have always been resilient and fought hard in order to succeed.
We have done what many people would not believe was possible. This is a story of success that characterises in many ways what it is to be South African. We might belong to different political parties or persuasions, or be part of various ethnic groups or races, but all of us pride ourselves on being South African.
Yesterday in Paris, the OIE, an organisation responsible for standard- setting on animal health in the world, declared South Africa an FMD-free zone. [Applause.]
This, members would recall, is a status we lost one and a half years ago. We can proudly say we have regained it without any conditionality, and that it is good news. This is a story of hope and pride that we as this Parliament need to share with all South Africans. Today South African farmers can resume their exporting of meat and other animal products anywhere in the world. Yes, we have a cause to laugh and celebrate.
The story of the management of foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa, in the midst of all adversity, indicates that we have a capacity to succeed. It shows the ability that we have in our leadership, scientific knowledge and technological advancement. It is the strength that we have and need to continuously enhance in order to become a bigger player in the world economy.
Some of the members of the agricultural industry could not be here with us today, particularly KWV, because of the important meeting they are having with the second largest brewery in the world, SAB. This South African company, through its acquisition of one of the American breweries, has become the number two brewery in the world. In its commitment it has chosen to remain a truly South African company as a world player.
This news for the South African farmers brings hope. It brings new possibilities on how they can take advantage and become producers of barley and hops for the South African world player.
SAB has been one of the players in the empowerment of women in the rural areas and in the field of agriculture. This year in April it decided to hand over some of those projects to the Department of Agriculture and the Government. We have made a commitment that we will continue to support those women in the rural areas who have made a success through the intervention that was made by SAB. We therefore, as a Ministry and Government, would like to congratulate and pledge our support to this important corporate citizen of South Africa. We want to urge more South African corporate citizens to do the same and make us proud, as SAB has done.
As we review the performance of the sector in the past year, we can say that there has been some improvement in the performance of other commodities such as livestock and horticulture. We do, however, continue to experience some difficulties in the grain sector as a result of the increased cost of inputs related to machinery. However, the situation is not that gloomy. Gross income from all agricultural products amounted to R52 754 million for the year ended 31 March 2002, which is 15% higher than the previous year. This increase can be attributed to an increase of 17,9% in the gross income from field crops, 15% from animal products and 11% from horticulture products.
Animal products contributed 43,1%, field crops 31,5% and horticulture 25,4% to gross farm income. On average, prices received by farmers for agricultural products increased by 14,2%. Farmers’ income, one can say, has been better in the past year. However, some of these changes in the economy
- I explained earlier about the increase in farm inputs as well as the fluctuations of our currency - have resulted in higher prices for imported products. We are concerned that the impact of this situation on the consumers, in particular regarding maize meal, will impact negatively on food security.
The investigation undertaken by Government on the matter of food prices will be concluded in the middle of June and we will report to this House. Our view as a Ministry is that it might be necessary for our food security policy to take into account the volatility that sometimes happens in the market and how this can be managed through risk management tools so that the end consumer is not exposed.
We meet here today as an agricultural family, having worked together in this current year under review to shape the vision of the agricultural sector of our country.
We have done so because we understand that the success of all our farmers lies in their collaboration among themselves as well as with the Government.
As an outcome of the Presidential Working Group on Agriculture, we were able to develop a sector strategy that is now owned by all in the agricultural family. It is our hope that, in time, all South Africans will embrace this sector plan. I wish to thank, therefore, the members of AgriSA and Nafu as well as the academics who worked with us, as a department, to ensure that we can produce this output that will make South Africa a better place. What this sector plan shows is the interrelationship that needs to exist among our many arms of government and spheres, if we are to succeed. It will also require us to change the way we work as a department, both nationally and provincially, in order to effectively support those elements that require Government participation. To this extent our strategic plan, which was presented to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, indicates our expression of what we will do in order to make this plan a success.
Organised agriculture, on the other hand, have also identified some of the critical issues that we, together, need to continuously address. Some of these relate to the debt question that is there in the sector, even though in varying degrees amongst farmers, the security in farms, the land reform aspects, particularly increased participation by black farmers as well as the impacts of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, Esta, on the existing farming enterprises.
In moving forward we agreed that frequent dialogue in finding solutions to these matters will have to continue. The Department of Land Affairs will hold discussions with organised agriculture and representatives of the labour tenants committees as well as the landless movement to ensure that we can find an amicable solution that takes into consideration the interests of the landless as well as the interests of our farming community. The Land Bank, on the other hand, is working with the provinces and farmers on the debt management programme. This study, in our view, indicates to us what it is that we need to do to address the debt problem in the agricultural sector in South Africa.
The budget under review offers us an opportunity to reflect on how our policies have made a difference amongst our people. Clearly, it may not be possible to touch on every area of spending, but we can share a few of those programmes which indicate where the money has gone and what impact has been felt.
Assessing an agricultural budget in this Parliament is just one element, as we know that some of the implementation occurs at the provincial level. One can say that the Department of Agriculture was able to spend 98% of the budget allocated to it last year. A lot of these resources were directed towards strengthening our regulatory services, land and water management, trade and development as well as business promotion. Because of the challenge that we have had in animal disease, particularly in 2000 and 2001, it was inevitable that this matter needed to be addressed speedily. Some specific allocations were sent to agricultural research as well as Orderstepoort Biological Products, OBP, to finalise the transfer of the personnel.
It is important for us to share with this House that one of the challenges that we continue to face is around the issue of human resource development, particularly attracting the requisite skills to work for Government. One of these problems will be reflected as we assess our budget and note that there was some underspending, particularly with regard to filling the vacancies that had been identified. We are, as part of our human resource strategy development, trying to address this matter in part by ensuring that we attract people through giving support for training and education as well as being able to effectively deploy people across the sector in the provinces and nationally so that indeed we can build this core of skills that is required.
This year’s budget will go towards further strengthening our regulatory services. It will also go towards the rehabilitation of the infrastructure lost during the 2000 floods in various provinces. Another amount will go towards agricultural trade, particularly in the phase of the trade negotiations. It is also necessary for us to share with the House that the issue of economic analysis and statistics seemed a very important one, and therefore some of the resources will go towards that end.
On other new areas that we have identified, another resource will go towards agricultural production. This year, we will work with stakeholders, in that area, to develop the policy on aquaculture, animal and production systems as well as the empowerment policy. We will also develop policy on how to manage game farming in South Africa.
We indicated last year, in this Parliament, that we were going to do everything possible to regain our foot-and-mouth disease-free status. We undertook surveillance work nationally. An amount of R4 million was spent on this exercise. Three tests were done on the type O virus and SA types 1 and 2, all of which came back negative, indicating that we had successfully dealt with the disease.
We have also improved our control mechanisms on imports and exports in order to be able to deal with the increasing demands from our clients. The implementation of our Genetically Modified Organisms Act has allowed us proper monitoring of the use and application of GMOs in our environment. The testing of BT Cotton in Makhathini Flats, in KwaZulu-Natal, has shown that this scientific measure can assist in improving product quality and farmers’ income. The farmers have been trained on the regulations that have to be enforced in order to ensure that there is no contamination of other cotton which is not genetically modified.
The GMO council has been put in place to oversee the application of this new science and the adherence to regulations by those who use GMOs. Our council is currently looking at the concerns that have been raised by our consumers around the issues of labelling of our foodstuffs and other products that are GMO-related. This matter is being considered, and we will come back to this Parliament and indicate to the House how far we have gone.
This millennium is an important one for agriculture. A number of developments taking place around the globe indicate that the agricultural sector is the engine for economic growth and social development. Some of these developments include the recognition, by all those who will be participating in the World Summit on Sustainable Development, of the importance of food security and agriculture if we are to succeed in sustainable development in the world.
For us South Africans, the issue of food security lies at the heart of fighting poverty and underdevelopment. We cannot claim to have succeeded if this matter is not addressed. As a response to this challenge we initiated a food security campaign in a number of urban and rural areas, working with the Food Gardens Foundation and other NGOs in order to address the issue of household food security.
Twenty-seven groups participated in basic training on vegetable production. They were given a start-up kit that included seed and basic implements like forks, spades, rakes and garden hoes. Various provinces and municipalities, on their own, have also taken into consideration the importance of promoting food gardens in their locality.
As part of this campaign we have also developed messages that indicate the importance of food and nutrition in our health as citizens of this country. It is for that reason that, as Government, we held a health month focusing on food security, nutrition and health.
South Africa is a member of the OAU and/or the AU. It is also one of the countries that have developed Nepad and will continue to ensure that it is a success. Agriculture, as members know, is one of the programmes around which Nepad is based. During the meeting of African Ministers of agriculture held in Cairo in February this year, there was a consensus that the platform of action on agriculture should be food security. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation has pledged its support to this initiative.
We have also had consultations, in this country and elsewhere, with the members of the agricultural core team representing the 15 member countries, to look at issues of research, water, market access and infrastructure.
Within the department we have also set up a Nepad contact point in order to better co-ordinate our participation in this area. To this end, we have also held meetings in South Africa with other stakeholders, some of whom are present here today, to popularise Nepad and see what role each one of us can play.
I must say that one of our achievements has been to stabilise the work of the Land Bank, ensuring that while it continues to maintain the commercial side of things, it also responds to the development needs.
As a follow-up to the Strauss Commission, the Land Bank had to take on the mandate of the Agricultural Credit Board by ensuring that the clients who would have otherwise been ACB clients become clients of their branches. This meant the bank had to go back to its original mandate of the 30s, while continuing to meet the needs and challenges of today’s commercial farmers.
It is my pleasure to inform hon members that the Land Bank not only understood its new role, but has also met the challenges of transforming its client base from a racial one to a more diverse range. Today it boasts a R16 billion loan book, made up of resource-poor farmers and their commercial counterparts. The bank understands that the development of emerging farmers is holistic. While we strive to provide access to finance to emerging farmers, we also make sure that these people receive training to ensure that they are not only developed but also become successful and remain sustainable.
It would not be correct if I did not mention our disappointment at the announcement by the US administration of its Farm Bill, particularly after the negotiations last year in Doha. It came as a shock and disappointment to us. The substantial increase in the level of US budgetary support and its increased focus on recognisably distorting mechanisms are bound to further depress already low commodity prices, and will lead to hardship for developing countries who have comparative advantages in agriculture.
The direction being taken by the US does not correspond with its liberalising approach which they took in Doha. As South Africa we will continue to fight, but we will never be discouraged or disappointed on this move. We are going to use our participation in the Cairns group of countries to ensure that we put maximum pressure on the US administration to reverse the negative provisions that seek to distort the trading arrangement on agricultural goods.
As I close, we can look with pride at what we can achieve, and say that part of the work that we have been able to do has been because of the encouragement, first and foremost, from these members of Parliament who serve on our portfolio committee, who have been able critically to raise questions for their constituencies, so that, indeed, we are alive to the needs of our electorate. But also, with the support of the farmers, their organisation and the industry, we have always made sure that we are on the cutting edge of things.
I also want to thank the Deputy Minister and members of the executive council for the continuous support that they have given to both the Departments of Land Affairs and Agriculture, so that we can, indeed, become a winning nation. [Applause.]
Mr N H MASITHELA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members of the House …
… ke batla ho qala ka hore ho molemo hore Letona, Motlatsa Letona, basebetsimmoho lefapheng ba be le tshebedisanommoho le komiti ya Palamente. Hobane ha ho sa be jwalo ditaba tseo Letona a buileng ka tsona di ke ke tsa etsahala, le maemo a mmuso a ke ke a etsahala ka mokgwa oo re batlang a etsahale ka teng. (Translation of Sotho paragraph follows.)
[… I would like to begin by pointing out that it is crucial that the hon the Minister, Deputy Minister and colleagues in the department should co- operate with the parliamentary committee. Otherwise whatever the Minister has talked about will never be implemented. And the Government will never be what we envisage it to be.]
I would like to inform the Minister and Deputy Minister that I did not sleep last night. I stayed awake … [Interjections.] … not because of the invitation they handed to us yesterday to attend that activity, but because I was thinking about the past year, looking at what this department has done. What can we say today?
I thought that I would not have anything to say, but there is something I can say. My difficulty is that these proceedings are watched by children. What I want to say may have a negative impact on the Ministry and the department.
Anyway, because I am an ANC member and on the speakers’ list, I have to say it. [Interjections.] Also, the children should know that the Minister and Deputy Minister get allocated marks for their performance in the department. Out of ten, I give the Minister nine for work well done. [Applause.]
As a nation worthy of our country, the heritage of South Africa shall be restored to the poor. Our Government has made poverty alleviation funds available through different departments. These departments have centred the allocation of these funds around departments’ priorities and the departments’ aims and objectives, with the ultimate view of contributing to sustainable development in a manner that will be to the advantage of our poor people, thus contributing to making a better life for our people.
Agriculture in South Africa is currently playing a pivotal role in the eradication of poverty, in food security and in development. It is most gratifying to learn that this Department of Agriculture, in its central activity, supports the call to reduce poverty at least by half in 15 years’ time.
Through a sound policy like the agricultural sector plan giving structured delivery on the promises of a better life for our people, the department has, most importantly, created a link in the social skills upliftment for subsistence farmers on the ground, and continues to provide quality service as well as securing trade partners and opportunities for the emerging farmers to strive towards becoming exporters, thus creating a better life for themselves.
Labour relations in agriculture and in South Africa and the stakeholders committed themselves to ensuring that agriculture has a skilled workforce, working in a safe and secure environment under good working and living conditions to ensure the existence of a competitive agricultural sector.
Many things have happened, and the road we have travelled is a long one. I want to tell the hon the Minister that the time for a stakeholders’ meeting has arrived. In my view, it is important that this kind of meeting gets convened where all stakeholders, including the department, portfolio committee members and other stakeholders, have this kind of meeting where assessment of what has happened and of where we are going takes place. I am convinced not many of us understand what good work has been done in this department. We are extremely proud that the legislation which re-established the Land Bank as an agent for the Government development agency is in its final stages in this House. This piece of legislation, amongst other things, will definitely assist in pushing back the frontiers of poverty and most closely in liberating farmers from the scourge of poverty and underdevelopment, as it is encompasses the Integrated Rural Development Strategy and enables renewal programmes, as articulated by the President in his state of the nation address.
The same Bill or law is expected to assist the emerging farmers in their farming activities and to enable them to eventually become commercial farmers. This will, at the end of the day, prove our determination to ensure that all our people benefit in the economy of our country.
We must work steadfastly in the struggle for a better life for all our people. Last year I raised a matter and I remarked about a small elite group of white farmers owning the major chunk of farmland in the best and most productive areas, while the majority of our people are still situated on land unsuitable for meaningful agricultural activities. I hope that this strategic plan for South African agriculture that is in place accelerates and enhances equitable access to land and participation in agricultural opportunities, and deracialises the land and enterprise and ensures that black people and poor people participate in effective economic development.
The President, in his state of the nation address, highlighted the global challenges of poverty alleviation and the promotion of skills development. The Department of Agriculture is committed to ensuring that developing countries are able to make their input in the direction of global trading and argue for the reduction of tariffs by the developed countries to ensure the opening of trade markets and opportunities for developing countries.
The success of Nepad rests on the central pillar, which is agriculture. As we all know, charity begins at home. We have already started looking deeper into our agricultural development models that support small-scale farmers. The needs for our rural small farmers have to be researched. Therefore I think this is a challenge for AgriSA, the Minister and her department to ensure that the research capacity for the agricultural sector is increased to meet the challenges of both commercial and emerging farmers.
In closing, my understanding of the central role of agriculture in the South African economy is to reduce inequalities by increasing income and employment opportunities for poor people, thus alleviating poverty. At the same time it also ensures the sustainable use of national resources. This therefore translates into the fact that the department’s aims and objectives, as part of the Government led by the ANC, are to establish an environment within which there is an opportunity to create a resource for poor farmers, whilst the commercial farming sector continues to thrive.
It is with this view that I think that if we do not adhere to these challenges facing our emerging farmers and agricultural family in general, the economy of this country will not thrive. The ANC supports the Vote. [Applause.]
Mr A J BOTHA: Mev die Speaker, ek dink ek wil graag begin om die Minister en haar span van voorosse en agterosse baie te bedank vir gisteraand se funksie. Dit het ‘n baie landboukundige kleur gehad. Gelukkig dat hierdie debat op ‘n Vrydag plaasvind, anders kon die afleiding gemaak word, dat daardie funksie gisteraand ‘n mate van beïnvloeding wou bereik voor die debat van vandag - veral in hierdie huidige klimaat van storme en drange in die politiek. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr A J BOTHA: Madam Speaker, I would like to start by wholeheartedly thanking the Minister and her team of front and hindmost oxen for last night’s function. It had a very agricultural flavour. Luckily this debate is taking place on a Friday, otherwise the assumption could have been made that last night’s function intended to achieve a form of influencing before today’s debate - especially in this current climate of storms and urgency in politics.]
We assure the Minister, however, that we need not regard it as such and therefore accept her appearance this morning as representing agriculture and not combat gear.
When the hon Minister Didiza accepted this portfolio, she made a very important policy announcement. She recognised that agriculture is a commercial undertaking and that land reform and all reforms must be informed by this reality. Such a major departure from a previous position needs time to gel and to be implemented. Part of that process is the realisation of the public-private partnerships that the Minister also announced at that time. That time is now almost three years ago and the time for action is now.
The budget briefing that we had from the department indicates the same sentiments that the budget allocation simply does not. We need to remind ourselves - and talk is cheap - that it is money that buys the liquor which, incidentally, is a product of agriculture.
Agriculture in South Africa is a minor contributor to the GDP, unlike the rest of our continent where it is a major contributor - if one discounts those countries that are lucky enough to be rich in oil and minerals. It is therefore correct that the importance of agriculture should be stressed, also in Nepad. Nepad, in its turn, depends on two main assumptions, namely good governance and capital. These two elements, which are necessary for growth and poverty alleviation, are as indivisible as the chicken and egg. The one cannot be without the other. But the question: ``Which one comes first?’’, is a very old riddle indeed.
This debate regarding which of those comes first will undoubtedly rage on in Nepad, but it is unnecessary in the agriculture budget debate. The reason is that the basic framework for good governance already exists. The Minister and the department meet regularly with organised agriculture and the President through consultation, which lends credence to the importance allocated to agriculture and bodes well for future co-operation.
The President has also emphasised the impossible situation created by the USA and the European Union with their massive subsidies to their agricultural sectors, and how that undermines developing countries. He has also placed that issue high on the agenda for negotiations with these powers. Agriculture salutes him for that, especially in this period when the window of opportunity has opened for South African agriculture. The weakness of the rand and other factors have given us a temporary advantage in world markets. Not only is the local market more profitable than it has been for years, but exports also compete very favourably at present.
We must, however, recognise that this is but a temporary advantage because the accompanying cost escalations will wipe out these advantages as sure as night follows day. While the advantage is therefore of a temporary nature we can, if we grasp it, turn it into a permanent advantage. We must immediately implement strategies that will strengthen the infrastructural requirements of agriculture. Public-private partnerships are of critical importance in that respect.
This week we had a briefing by Agri Inspect - a section 21 company that is doing sterling work to enforce compliance with trade agreements. Such compliance is necessary to ensure the correct flow of import duties to the state coffers, the competitiveness of local enterprise, the retention of jobs and economic growth, as well as the enforcement of tighter sanitary regulations that are necessary for animal and human health.
Many more such public-private partnerships must be welcomed and encouraged right now because the role of the state is to regulate and enable. But it is only in the private domain that real growth and prosperity are generated. The role of the state is to create a climate in which individual enterprise can flourish. South Africa is mainly a semiarid country that has developed unique cultural practices to overcome unique problems in order to enable sustainable food security and production on dry land.
Forty years ago, farmers were generally satisfied to harvest 80 seeds for every one seed planted. Today, a farmer would struggle to make a profit with less than 500 seeds harvested from every seed planted. These advances were made possible by home-grown geneticists, soil scientists and plant breeders who did their work in the local environment. This type of basic research is now even more necessary than ever, as we are no longer at the threshold of a new wave of science but indeed already knee-deep in it. That wave is genetic engineering, as the Minister herself has also pointed out.
This debate is not the place nor is it the time for me to elaborate on the desirability or safety of this technology. But members must rest assured that if we fall behind on basic research in this field, it will take decades to catch up, if ever we do. At present, we have some of the leading scientists in this field in this country and we must do whatever is necessary to retain these valuable citizens, who must in turn generate new ones. If we do not achieve this, then the best-laid plans will come to nothing. The tragedy is that with the budget allocation before us, we will simply not succeed in this.
The budgetary committee of Cabinet must realise that the very substantial reallocation of priorities is necessary. Otherwise, we will reap a whirlwind of food insecurity in the future. Surely, it is time to take the budget for the ARC away from the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and give it to Agriculture, where it belongs.
In addition, there is a very serious budgetary oversight in this budget, in relation to risk management. The high-risk profile of agriculture was once again demonstrated last year through the severe stock losses in three provinces during a freak cold weather period. The loss was sustained by all levels of farmers, from the smallest to the largest, and it reached into hundreds of millions of rands. In making the provision for disaster in this Vote, it seems that that event has been forgotten. [Applause.]
Mr G B BHENGU: Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister of Agriculture, and colleagues, the IFP would like to contribute to this debate on agriculture by dealing, firstly, with agriculture. The IFP appreciates the attempts to ensure equitable access to agricultural resources and the promotion of black farmer participation.
Agriculture sustains families, communities and even states. It is therefore imperative to allow all owners of arable land to utilise it to the maximum benefit so that poverty can be eliminated.
I will now deal, secondly, with Programme 2: Farmer Support and Development programme. We commend the Farmer Support and Development programme for giving technical and professional support to farmers, especially those who are emergent. We also compliment the early warning system because this serves to alert farmers to possible or potential disasters. The early warning system can alert farmers to take out insurance on their production in order to minimise risk.
The IFP notes the relief that has been given to farmers reeling from the floods of 2000. We realise that the department’s allocation to this disaster has increased from R914 000 in 2000-01 to R85 million in 2001-02. We wish to encourage the department to teach emergent farmers the intercropping method as some crops, like legumes, are able to change nitrogen to nitrate and therefore cannot destabilise other crops.
The department, we believe, should also encourage organic farming since one of the experimenters of this farming method was started by the late Dr Robert Mazibuko, the founder of the Lay Ecumenical Centre in Pietermaritzburg and also the founder of organic farming throughout the world. He visited the United States and other countries of the world before this method was even fashionable and now it appears as if it is an imported idea. This method reduces the burning of grass, which is a means of subsistence for many African communities who use it to make crafts and for shelter.
The IFP also welcomes the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development
- LRAD - programme as it does not only cater for farmer settlement but also for farmer capacitation, especially that of rural farmers.
With regard to Programme 3: Agricultural Trade and Business Development, we appreciate this programme, but we sincerely need to see it assisting rural farmers to make the shift from being subsistence farmers to market-oriented farmers.
Regarding Programme 4: Agricultural Research and Economic Analysis, the IFP supports the production of quarterly forecasts and reports on sector trends. This information will help in determining whether there will be a shortage or surplus of certain products and might help with relief requests from some SADC countries who are facing famine and starvation.
The information may also call for a shift in the type of farming used by certain communities in certain areas, creating chances for the effective employment of working method and farming trends. The department must sharpen the strategy of food security so that hawkers who buy directly from abattoirs and sell it as street vendors, handle meat hygienically to prevent disaster.
Programme 5 deals with agricultural production. We note that this is a new programme, and we appreciate the introduction of this semi-intensive and intensive livestock production from veld and forage. Aligning it with animal health is highly appreciated. It is going to be imperative to devise methods of fighting soil erosion and make greater repairs in order to realise the shift of emphasis to intensive livestock farming. This new approach calls for the serious resuscitation of the dipping tank and for register-keeping by individual stock owners for stock theft purposes.
We also note that the department is promoting game farming. We wish to appeal to the department to introduce game farming among black farmers in order to promote agritourism, which is not given attention among many farming communities.
Programme 6, the last programme, covers sustainable resource management and use. We highly appreciate the provision of water and irrigation development in areas previously excluded from commercial farming. We realise that the department has a land care programme, but it is our belief that this programme has not filtered down to strengthen emerging farmers to understand that the type of farming followed should depend on a number of factors like soil type and climate that will allow farmers to get a return on their agricultural investment.
The IFP believes that the activities of the Agricultural Research Council should spread to all areas, as this council consumes about 68,7% of the funds allocated to this programme.
Okokugcina, ngithi ngithanda ukukhuthaza umNyango ukuba usungule uphiko oluzolandela ukudla komdabu. Lokho ngukudla okwathi ngenkathi kufika ababevela phesheya bafica abantu beziphilela, bekudla. Lokho ukudla okufana nezindlubu - okuqhamuka kuzo umkhwili, izigabe - eziqhamuka ezintangeni, ombondwe namadata konke okungukudla okwakwenza ukuthi abantu baphile kahle. Ngalokho asikezwa kuthiwa kukhona ababephathwa yizifo eziqeda abantu namuhla ezifana nomdlavuza kanye nezinhlobo ezehlukene zezifo.
Ngithanda futhi ukukhuthaza umNyango ukuba uxoxisane nozakwabo beminye imiNyango, ikakhulukazi umNyango wezeMfundo, ngoba ukusebenzisa umhlabathi ngokulima kubonakala sengathi kungumsebenzi wabantu abangathanga chi kahle lapha ekhanda. Ngisho nasezikoleni, ngenkathi kusenziwa izingadi, lowo msebenzi wokwenza ingadi kwakuba yindlela yokujezisa ingane egangile bese kwakha umqondo wokuthi ukusebenza umhlabathi kungumsebenzi wabantu abangalungile kahle emakhanda. Kungakuhle uma kungaqalwa futhi ezikoleni ukuthi kube khona izingadi, nakho konke okwenza ukuba impilo ibe yimpilo ekhombisayo ukuthi umuntu angaziphilisa njengoba kwakwenzeka endulo. Okunye okudingeka kwenziwe ukuba kuhlelwe kahle indaba yezolimo ngoba kuyakhomba ukuthi nathi lapha ePhalamende kukhona okudingeka sikwenze, njengoba kubonakala ukuthi izinkulumo-mpikiswano zalo mNyango zivamise ukuhlelelwa ukuba ngoLwezihlanu lapho amalungu wonke esuke esenjengoba ebonakala enje. Kusho khona ukuthi awukanikezwa indawo ewufanele kanye nesabiwomali esiwufanele ukuze ukwazi ukuhlonipheka. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[Lastly, I would like to encourage the department to form a unit that would cater for traditional food. That would be the kind of food that was eaten by indigenous people before the arrival of the whites. That would be food like traditional groundnuts, out of which comes izikhwili, another type of traditional groundnut, young pumpkins, mixed with sweet potatoes, and all the food that makes people live well. Eating that food, we did not hear people suffering from incurable diseases such as cancer and other different kinds of diseases.
I would also like to encourage the department to talk to its colleagues in other departments, especially the Department of Education, because working with soil, for instances, ploughing, looks as if it is the job of people who are mentally disturbed. Even at school, during gardening periods, the gardening work was a way of punishing a naughty child, and that created the idea that working with soil is the job for people who are mentally ill. It would be better if gardening were re-introduced at schools, as well as other things that make life worth living, as in the past.
Another thing that must be done, is to manage agricultural affairs well, because it shows that even we, here at Parliament, have a task to do since it looks as if debates of this department are always arranged for Fridays, when all members look like they look today. This means that it is not given a proper place and budget so that it would be respected. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, today is International Children’s Day. No doubt we need to observe this day and recognise that our children constitute our future, and that we should do all in our power to create the best environment for them to grow up in as healthy individuals with the best possible start in life.
In the gallery we have children from all nine provinces, who have come to Parliament for a meeting to deliberate on a South Africa fit for children. On behalf of all the members of Parliament here, I would like to welcome them to Parliament, and I hope that their deliberations will be very fruitful. [Applause.] The meeting is hosted by the Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth and Disabled People. I am quite certain that the good wishes of the Parliament of South Africa are with our children.
I believe that there might also be some children from Noluthando School in Khayelitsha. If they are here, we welcome them also. [Applause.]
Mme O R KASIENYANE: Modulasetilo, motlotlegi Tona Thoko Didiza, Motlatsatona motlotlegi du Toit, le badirikanna, ntetleleleng gore ke bue ka lefapha le le gaufi le pelo ya me. Lefapha le gompieno ke leng fano ka lona e bile ke agegile bontle jaana ka ntlha ya lona, ka gonne ke jele maungo le merogo e e neng e dirwa ke mosadi yo o neng a sa itsholela, e leng motsadi wa me yo a iketseng badimong a ise a nne le bolwetse bope ka a ne a ja merogo e metala le maungo a a neng a a jala ka diatla tsa gagwe. O tsamaile a le dingwaga di le 86 mme a ise a bo a tsene ka kgoro ya bookelo. [Legofi.] Ke ka jalo ke akgolang lefapha le.
Ke rata Tona ya rona a itse gore bomme ka kwa ntle ba a solofetsa. Ba re ba itumelela tirisan ommogo ya bona le lefapha, e bile ba tlile go le ema nokeng ka gonne ba itse gore sedikwa ke ntshwa pedi ga se thata. Ba semeletse go dira gore ba tle ba bone tse di tswang mmung. (Translation of Tswana paragraphs follows.)
[Ms O R KASIENYANE: Chairperson, hon Minister Thoko Didiza, hon Deputy Minister Du Toit and my colleagues, allow me to speak about a department that is close to my heart. It is because of this department that I am here today, and it has made me have this well-built body because I have eaten fruit and vegetables that were planted by a woman who was poor, that is, my parent who passed away without ever being ill for she ate green vegetables and fruit that she planted with her hands. She passed away at the age of 86 without ever entering a hospital. [Applause.] That is why I am congratulating this department.
I would like our Minister to know that women out there are promising. They say that they are happy about their co-operation with the department, and that they will stand by it because they know that two hands are better than one. They are hard at work so as to reap from the ground.]
Agriculture is the lifeblood of any country in the world today. It is a generator of wealth and constitutes one of the key industries in the country’s economy.
The proper management of the agricultural sector determines the food security or famine of any country. The agricultural sector is more challenging in South Africa, where the Ministry has to address commercial farming and subsistence farming and redress past imbalances.
The ANC Government has succeeded in making the Department of Agriculture world-class in the past five years, against all odds. This does not come from me, but from the commercial farmers, who have seen consistent growth in productivity and the export trade during the past five years.
This is said by the 90 families in Kuruman who have become stock farmers through the land reform programmes and the 60 women of Rustenburg who are exporting pork as a result of the piggery project supported by the department. [Applause.] It is the 120 farmworkers who were evicted from Lilies Farm in the North West province and resettled by the department through the land reform programme at a cost of R3 million and the 400 families in the North West province who have benefited from the family food security programme who say this, and many more other people who tell us that the ANC-led Government has made a mark in their lives. We can only improve from here.
One of the programmes that are going to be supported by this budget is farmer support and development, which the hon Bhengu referred to. This programme is crucial to both established and emerging farmers. We have recently seen developed countries, especially the USA, increasing the support that they give to farmers.
The support that the department will give to farmers will ensure that our farmers are able to compete equitably with foreign farmers. It is important for the department to raise issues of developed countries, such as reducing subsidies to their farmers in line with the WTO treaty at the forthcoming World Trade Organisation conference. We no longer want to see countries such as Australia dumping their cheap frozen chicken in our country.
This budget will support the implementation of the Land and Agricultural Development Bank established by the Land and Agricultural Development Bank Bill, which was approved two weeks ago. We all know the importance of this bank to the objectives of the Department of Agriculture. It is crucial for the emerging farmers who benefit from the land reform programme to be further assisted with development funding from the bank, as they might not succeed if burdened by loans at their infancy stage.
The strategic intent of the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy is to transform rural South Africa into an economically viable and harmonious sector. Special attention must be given to the promotion of income generation and livelihood activities by women, the youth and the disabled that are primarily geared to meeting the needs of poor families and local market demands.
Most rural women in South Africa are agricultural producers who cultivate mainly subsistence crops. Apartheid policies forced many women to take over the running of rural property when their husbands and sons were forced into wage labour on the mines and in the cities. Women worked in agricultural production in addition to being heads of households, caring for children and maintaining the households.
Customary laws also prevented women from owning land. Today we have programmes in place by which the department is transforming itself to ensure that it collaborates with Government departments and the agricultural industry. The Minister has referred to this as well.
Since 1994 several processes have reversed the impact of discriminatory legislation, while other initiatives have been implemented to deregulate and liberalise the sector. One of the main policy shifts is the implementation of land reform policy and programmes. This budget does two things, amongst others: it consolidates the position of commercial farmers, and it capacitates emerging farmers. It is, however, important for the department to reduce the period between application for and approving of funds in the land reform programme.
This budget will also come as a relief for prospective farmers. [Time expired.]
Mnr A S VAN DER MERWE: Mnr die Voorsitter, agb Minister, agb Adjunkminister en kollegas, daar is so baie positiewe goed wat deur die Minister genoem is, dat mens eintlik daarby sou wou aansluit. My tyd is te kort en ek sal slegs ‘n paar probleme vanuit my invalshoek gesien, aanraak.
Die strategiese plan vir die landbou in Suid-Afrika is een van die belangrikste gebeurtenisse vir die landbou. Die president van Suid-Afrika is direk hierby betrokke en daarvoor is ons baie dankbaar. Dit meen dat hy die landbou in Suid-Afrika baie hoog aanskryf en dit sal ook verseker dat hierdie plan sal slaag - en dit moet slaag. Indien hierdie plan slaag, sal dit Suid-Afrika tot sy reg laat kom en dit beteken genoeg kos en genoeg werk.
AgriSA en Nafu is betrek. Hulle kan groot bydraes maak om die Minister te help met hierdie projek. Die plan is op papier en nou moet dit in werking kom op grondvlak. Hieromtrent het ek bekommernis. Ek sou graag wou sien dat daar geld beskikbaar gestel was in vandag se begroting onder bespreking. Ek pleit dat daar vir 2003-04 genoeg voorsiening gemaak sal word. Ons wat in die landbou staan, moet ook waak dat ons nie onrealistiese verwagtinge vir onsself skep omdat hierdie plan op die tafel is nie.
Ons mag ook nie toelaat dat skakeling en koördinering met provinsies ons doelwitte in die wiele ry nie. Provinsies moet asseblief volledig inkoop op die plan. Die direkteur-generaal van Landbou sê dat hulle R400 miljoen nodig het om die Landbounavorsingsraad reg te stel. Daar is nie geld nie. Dit is mos nie moontlik nie. Die LNR is so krities belangrik vir die landbou en vir baie doelwitte wat die regering vooropstel, dat ons wil pleit dat daar geld beskikbaar gestel moet word. Ons moet die agb President om hulp vra. Navorsing wat verlore is, kan nie terug gekry word nie. Die agb President moet asseblief die LNR onder die beheer van die Minister vir Landbou en Grondsake plaas. Dit kan nie werk by kultuursake nie, al is die landbou deel van kultuur.
Die LNR moet nou geld kry. Ons het die laaste jare sleutelnavorsers verloor. Hoe gaan ons hulle terug kry? Hoe gaan ons die skade herstel? Navorsing moet ook gekoördineer word. Elke instansie kan nie maar net besluit wat hy wil doen nie. Iemand moet hieroor toesig hou. Ons benodig ‘n nasionale sisteem met ‘n nasionale forum.
Nege maande gelede het ek gepleit vir die afplatting van transformasie, wat ongevulde poste van staatsveeartse betref. Na my mening het nog niks op grondvlak gebeur nie. Nou word veeartse in die buiteland gesoek. Plaaslike advertensies sê dat net vir een jaar is blanke mans aangestel. Dit maak mos nie sin nie. Mense wat werk en wil werk in Suid-Afrika en die land eerste stel, moet terugstaan vir mense van oorsee. Die ideale reënboognasie kan nie tot stand kom, as sekere kleure van die reënboog nie belangrik is nie. Transformasie is uiters belangrik, maar nie ten koste van Suid-Afrika nie. Wanneer gaan ons weer sê en leef: Suid-Afrika Eerste! Slegs drie uit ‘n totaal van sestig navorsers is nog oor. Hoe gaan ons ‘n entstof ontwikkel vir snotsiekte wat vanjaar skade gemaak het onder beesboere? Ons huidige Minister weet dat voedselsekuriteit van die uiterste belang is. Ons dank haar daarvoor.
Ons leef in ‘n landbouarm land. Vyf-en-sewentig persent van landbougrond het ‘n reënval van laer as 500mm. Suid-Afrika is bekend dat daar van tyd tot tyd rampdroogtes ons land teister. Vloede het egter rampe tot gevolg gehad drie jaar terug. Die rampbestuursplan is gekelder, want blykbaar wil ons die wiel weer ontdek. Ek gee nie om as die regering iets nuuts daar wil stel nie, maar dit moet dringend in plek kom. Dit sal boere met meer vertroue laat produseer en dit sal help vir voedselsekuriteit. Ons weet daar sal weer rampe wees. Met die vloed drie jaar gelede is na ‘n lang tyd besluit dat boere kan kwalifiseer vir hulp. Die Departement van Landbou reik toe ‘n verklaring uit dat kommersiële boere nie kwalifiseer nie. Nou wat is die reëling presies en weet die boere wat die reëling is? Maande gelede was daar enorme koue skade in die Vrystaat en KwaZulu-Natal. Die boere weet nog nie waar hulle staan nie.
Ek het tydens vraetyd na gesondheidsmaatreëls verwys wat nie toegepas word nie. Ek dink die staat moet verantwoordelikheid aanvaar vir toetse op produkte op die rak, soos byvoorbeeld melk. Strawwe hierop moet streng wees. Laat melkkopers verantwoordelik wees vir gehaltebeheer op plase. Hulle behoort dit baie goed te kan doen.
Dit is van die uiterste belang dat daar voldoende toesig in die vleisbedryf moet wees, sodat daar geen twyfel oor die gehalte kan bestaan nie. Daar bestaan baie moontlikhede vir vleisuitvoere. Ons moet egter sorg dat ons vleis aan die wêreldstandaarde voldoen. Ons mag nie toelaat dat ons standaarde onder verdenking kom, omdat ons binnelands verskillende standaarde het nie. Ek wil ‘n beroep doen dat provinsies die landbouketting meer suksesvol sal maak. Die landboubedryf kan nie remskoene bekostig nie. Hier sal die Minister die leisels stewig moet vasmaak.
‘n Jaar gelede het ek in dieselfde begrotingspos melding gemaak van Agri Inspect. Ek wag nog op die Minister se antwoord. Intussen het hulle geweldige suksesse behaal, onder andere in die stop van onwettige bedrywighede wat die landbou in Suid-Afrika baie skade berokken. Hierdie week het Agri Inspect ‘n baie insiggewende voorlegging gedoen en waarna die agb Botha alreeds verwys het. Dit het ‘n klein perspektief gebring van die enorme mafia-agtige bedrywighede wat floreer in ons land. Vanoggend verskyn ‘n persoon in die hof vanweë hierdie bedrywighede. Agri Inspect het honderde miljoene …
Die NNP ondersteun hierdie begrotingspos. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr A S VAN DER MERWE: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and colleagues, there are so many positive things which were mentioned by the Minister that one would actually want to link up with those. My time is too short and I will only touch on a few problems as viewed from my perspective.
The strategic plan for agriculture in South Africa is one of the most important events for agriculture. The President of South Africa is directly involved in this and we are very grateful for that. This means that he considers agriculture in South Africa to be very important and it will also ensure that this plan succeeds - and it must succeed. If this plan succeeds, it will allow South Africa to come into its own and that means enough food and enough work.
AgriSA and Nafu are involved. They can make significant contributions to help the Minister with this project. The plan is on paper and it must now come into operation on the ground. I have concerns about this. I would have liked to see money made available in today’s budget under discussion. I appeal that sufficient provision be made for 2003-04. Those of us who are involved in agriculture should also guard against creating unrealistic expectations for ourselves because this plan is on the table.
We must also not allow liaison and co-ordination with provinces to frustrate our objectives. Provinces must please buy into the plan comprehensively. The Director-General of Agriculture says that they need R400 million to put the Agricultural Research Council right. There is no money. Surely this is not possible. The ARC is so critically important to agriculture and to many objectives posited by the Government, that we want to appeal that money be made available. We must ask the hon the President for help. Research which has been lost cannot be regained. The hon the President must please place the ARC under the control of the Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs. It cannot work under the portfolio for culture, although agriculture is part of culture.
The ARC must now receive money. Over the past few years we have lost key researchers. How are we going to get them back? How are we going to repair the damage? Research must also be co-ordinated. Each institution cannot simply decide what it wants to do. Someone must supervise this. We need a national system with a natural forum.
Nine months ago I appealed for the levelling off of transformation as far as vacant posts for state veterinarians was concerned. In my opinion nothing has yet happened on the ground. Now veterinarians are sought abroad. Local advertisements say that white men are only appointed for one year. Surely this does not makes sense. People who work and who want to work in South Africa and put the country first, have to stand back for people from overseas. The ideal rainbow nation cannot come into existence if certain colours of the rainbow are not important.
Transformation is extremely important, but not at the expense of South Africa. When are we once again going to say and live: South Africa first! Only three out of a total of 60 researchers are left. How are we going to develop a vaccine against snotsiekte which caused losses amongst cattle farmers this year? Our current Minister knows that food security is of the outmost importance. We thank her for that.
We live in an agriculturally poor country. Seventy-five percent of agricultural land has a rainfall rate of less than 500mm. South Africa is well known for the fact that disastrous droughts ravage our country from time to time. However, flooding led to disasters three years ago. The disaster management plan has failed, because we apparently want to reinvent the wheel. I do not mind if the Government wants to establish something new, but it must be put in place urgently. This will allow farmers to produce with more confidence and it will assist in food security. We know that there will be disasters again. With the food three years ago, it was decided after a long time that farmers could qualify for help. The Department of Agriculture then issued a statement to the effect that commercial farmers did not qualify. What precisely is the ruling and do the farmers know what the ruling is? Months ago there was extensive cold damage in the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. The farmers still do not know where they stand.
During question time I referred to health measures which are not being implemented. I think that the state must accept the responsibility for tests on products on the shelf, such as milk, for example. Penalties in this regard must be heavy. Let the milk buyers be responsible for quality control on farms. They should be able to do this very well.
It is of the utmost importance that there should be sufficient supervision in the meat industry, so that no doubt exists about the quality. Many possibilities exist for meat exports. However, we must see to it that our meat meets world standards. We must not allow our standards to come under suspicion because we have different standards domestically. I want to appeal to provinces to make the agricultural chain more successful. The agricultural industry cannot afford to be held back. Here the Minister will have to take control firmly.
A year ago I referred to Agri Inspect in the same Vote. I am still awaiting the Minister’s reply. In the meantime they have achieved enormous successes, inter alia in stopping illegal activities which are doing a great deal of damage to agriculture in South Africa. This week Agri Inspect made a very informative submission to which the hon Botha has already referred. This offered a small perspective of the enormous mafia-type activities which are flourishing in our country. This morning someone will appear in court as a result of these activities. Agri Inspect has hundreds of millions …
The NNP supports this Vote. [Time expired.]]
Mr S ABRAM: Chairperson, before I start I note that my time has already been reduced over here. I wish to pay tribute to the hon the Minister, the Deputy Minister, all the dedicated officials of the department, the entire agricultural sector, all our researchers, and our commercial, subsistence and emerging farmers, including the thousands of women farmers, who are all serving agriculture with passion and dedication. I also thank the outgoing chairperson of the portfolio committee, Nkosi Holomisa, for the manner in which he led us over the years, and the incoming chairperson who seems to be following in his footsteps.
Ons dank ook ons Almagtige Skepper, want elke persoon wat met landbou te doen het, is uiters dankbaar vir wat Hy vir ons geskep het en vir die feit dat Hy van tyd tot tyd vir ons goeie weer besorg. Sonder Sy seënende hand op ons almal sal landbou nie kan vorder nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[We also thank our Almighty Creator, because everyone who has anything to do with agriculture is very grateful for what He created for us and for the fact that from time to time He has given us good weather. Without His blessing hand on us all agriculture will not be able to make any headway.]
According to the report of the Department of Agriculture, agriculture contributed R14,6 billion or 7% of our total export earnings in the year 2000, whilst our gross income from all agricultural products for the year ending December 2001 amounted to R52 billion, of which animal products contributed 41,4%, field crops 31,7% and horticultural products 26,9%. In monetary terms, the gross income from animal products was R21,2 billion, a significant figure indeed.
Ownership of farm animals has traditionally been like a savings bank to rural folk, where the proceeds of the sale thereof has contributed towards the payment of school fees, lobola, funeral costs and a host of other matters, including food security.
It is this sector which needs to be developed and further promoted.
According to figures made available, over 40% of our cattle are owned by historically disadvantaged individuals, yet the bulk of our slaughter stock comes from commercial farmers. A national effort must be made to promote the rounding off and marketing of slaughter stock in our impoverished areas, by, for example, creating feedlots through joint ventures between locals, through co-ops and the Land Bank. In this way, value can be added to stock produced by HDIs and the resultant creation of job opportunities.
The value of stokvels, a variety of savings and credit societies operating basically as a common bond, cannot be overemphasised. It is general knowledge that there are thousands of stokvels, involving hundreds of thousands of people, operating in South Africa, and their total savings are in excess of R2 billion. Stokvels assist their members to save and borrow money for a variety of events, for example funeral costs, weddings, paying off debts and fees for tertiary education. Some stokvels have entered the business world, investment groupings, etc.
Rural stokvels, which abound in numerous areas, are amongst the most homogeneous, with higher savings rates than urban ones. They play a pivotal role in financing SMMEs, and the Strauss Commission has recognised their role. Stokvels must be encouraged to play a larger role in the promotion of emerging farmers, agritourism related enterprises and SMMEs.
With regard to research, the report of the department states quite clearly that there is a dearth of research and analytical people within the department, and hence the department is unable to make accurate analyses and predictions. In response to a question in the Assembly, the hon the Minister responded with regard to the number of researchers in the service of the Agricultural Research Council that over a three-year period, in 1999- 2000 there were 492 …
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, even though I have given you a few extra seconds to compensate you for the running of the clock, your time has expired.
Mr S ABRAM: Thank you, Chairperson. You took away and gave back, and I appreciate that. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: The Chair ensures that there is total equity.
I now call upon the hon the Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs to address the House. I believe a cry of ``Vrystaat!’’ would be appropriate. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Mr Chairman, that would be quite appropriate, I must say.
If we look at the whole global scene and the role of Africa, and its position agriculturally in the world, I think we can observe a few things, and I just want to concentrate on what is the priority for me. We all know the numbing statistics or what we could almost the murderous lag between the world’s exploding populations, the growth of populations, and our food supply, the lag between our understanding of diseases and their toll on human life. This is not an abstraction. It is a reality.
The question over the next decade at least, and even the next three decades, is, as those of us who are active in agriculture all know, whether our fields will produce enough maize, sorghum, rice and forage to feed the world, or whether, at the end of the day, those same fields will be mere graveyards of hope. I am an optimist and I do not think that the gloomy pictures will really work out like that.
But we have to do something, at this stage, the beginning of this century, for example to look at the breeding of productive, disease-free cattle which will be able to catapult smallholders out of the cycles of poverty in which they find themselves.
What is the heart of the strategies that we must look at to cope with these problems? I have no doubt whatsoever that the strategy in Africa, including South Africa, should be for improved food crops. To see development there, there is only one thing: we should have the necessary research capacity in place. How do we get those resources, that knowledge and that technology? Should we spend time and resources trying to nudge the seed or drug companies in our direction and the direction of Africa, or is there a potential for a shift in the paradigm?
We heard a lot this morning about research and agricultural research. I would not be part of whoever is advising the ARC that the best approach to procure funds is to buy lottery tickets. There must be another way and I think there is a way. The point is that if we want to ensure that adequate resources are devoted to agricultural research needs, and medical research needs, I believe we have to take the bull by the horns. We must become real players and remain real players in the fields of advanced scientific research and technology applications, for example in the field of biotechnology. We must be real players.
We are not always talking rocket science when we are talking about this. Sometimes a relatively small investment in secure rapid access to the Internet can guarantee one free data from GenBank, for example, and other universal sources. If one adds some DNA sequencing equipment, some bioinformatics training and software we can create in our country like South Africa - we have them to a large extent already, we must just maintain and develop them - the diagnostic tools to create efficient economical vaccines, for example, that can conquer the plagues of the developing world.
It has been done. Brazil has done it, for example. There was a bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa that was active in oranges, causing serious diseases of orange trees. They committed a relatively small amount of $13 million to research in Brazil on this and today they have conquered that scourge. The Americans are asking for the assistance of Brazil now in this type of research. They are actually paying Brazil to investigate these strains.
What I am saying is this: We must turn this stream around, so that the young scientists who are so often lured by research opportunities to the northern part of the world stay here. We must create the action here, in a country like South Africa, so that they decide to stay at home because the action is here. It can be done. But then we must make a few changes. We must start delivering on our mandates and, for example, the ARC must get more. I would suggest that the present 1% of agriculture’s contribution to the GDP must be increased to 3% at least. Then we can overcome the constraints which we are experiencing at present - the environmental constraints, the poor infrastructure and the weak markets - and then the dwindling resources can be built up. And then young scientists will stay here, if we create the action here.
We are producing. For example, with regard to the veterinary field, at the veterinary faculty at Onderstepoort, 81 students qualified last year. Fifty of them were female and 31 were male. At least 10% of them leave South Africa permanently and then it is a bit vague how many leave the country on a temporary basis and come back later. But too many leave South Africa and we are struggling to fill the posts.
At least, this transformation, though it is not complete or near what we want, is progress. However, students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds are almost completely absent …
An HON MEMBER: They can make more money elsewhere.
The DEPUTY MINISTER: … and they can make more money elsewhere. The state is not paying enough for professionals like these. Let me put it straight to members. One cannot start luring people to the state service for a career when one starts them on the present salary scale.
We do have a plan for the filling of posts in the veterinary directorates and in the provinces. We are making progress. Let me put it in those terms. I asked for and I got a plan that indicates that by 31 July we will have a well-advanced position on the appointment and strengthening of our veterinary positions. At least 90% of what is planned will be in place by 31 July.
However, at the present moment the state vets are overworked. They just cannot cope with everything. Let me give members an example of what the position is, as referred to by Mr Van Der Merwe. With regard to the three permanent posts of state veterinarian, interviews were conducted and appointments were made. We have four other permanent positions. They were advertised and appointments were made.
The main problem with some of them is that there are 16 partly funded permanent posts which have to be created within the new restructuring of the department. The moment that is finished this will become final, and we can fund them, create the posts and advertise accordingly.
My information is that by 31 July we will have 90% of this plan in place. Part of it will be completed a bit later, perhaps by August. What I am saying is that we are getting there. It is a bit slow, I agree. But we are getting there and we must get there because this is the road out of poverty, starting with science. The plan will be in place by that time. A lot of other things are taking place too slowly, and we are trying to improve our performance. With the new management structures that are being put in place, I am promised that by this time next year one will not be worrying about implementation so much any more. The same goes for the agricultural sector plan. Everyone is asking about implementation, ie will we be able to handle implementation? Restructuring has taken place in the department. We expect that restructuring to yield the result that is needed in this respect.
Let me move on to a few matters which the Minister did not have time in her speech to relate here.
With regard to exports, we now have no fewer than eight agricultural export councils or joint action groups operational, most of which have come into place only in the past two years. The work that has been done there is giving excellent results. For example, we can refer to the Red Meat Export Council, which is doing very well in developing our Middle Eastern market that is going to be worth billions. Reference has been made to information. Firstly, we are using our missions abroad and secondly, we are posting agricultural attachès in specific regions of the world where we already have market shares and where there are opportunities for growth.
With respect to domestic markets, the department is focusing more and more on developing accessible market information that will serve the needs of all farmers, particularly those of developing farmers because they are the most in need of that information.
Hon members will notice in the programme, under the item Agricultural Trade and Business Development, that with these new challenges we will have a huge growth from R18,2 million in the year 2001-02 to R36,4 million in the year 2004-05. Most of this growth will be concentrated on Domestic Marketing and Agri-Business Promotion and Industry Relations. That is the direction we are going in and in which we are going to perform and implement.
Mr Bhengu referred to the National Land Care Programme, and quite rightly so. He always gives excellent speeches. Through the National Land Care Programme we have invested a total of R100 million over the past four years. This has resulted in the creation of over 8 000 jobs, which is almost 30 000 metres or 222 boreholes for stockwater that have been driven in Sekhukhuneland, Kgalagadi, the Eastern District Council and Moreletta, where conservation structures were built.
What I am saying is that the benefits of this programme, as he rightly said, in managing our land and water resources spin off as benefits for the farming and rural communities. Also the conservation and environmental results of this programme in the longer term have a beneficial effect. I do agree that this has to be built up and developed. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Mr Chairperson, South Africa faces a plethora of ills that have to be overcome in order for stability to be achieved in the country. Poverty, disease, and crime are some of the ills that can be overcome by the provision of food. Such food has to be produced by commercial farmers. We laud the Government for a strategic plan put in place to bring together ideas from various stakeholders such as Nepad, the Black Economic Empowerment Commission and the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy to have an informed situation regarding agriculture in the country.
The strategic partners will jointly be able to fast-track the programme of land redistribution for agricultural development and processes for the empowerment of the targeted groups.
It is the same partnership that will spearhead the New Africa Initiative in agriculture. This bodes well fot the future of this country in agriculture. While the strategic plan is good on paper, it does not spell out the financial contribution of strategic partners such as AgriSA and Nafu, and the timeframes for priority programmes. These are but some of the issues that have to be clearly defined.
The farmer settlement subprogramme caters for the needs of commercially viable farmers from previously disadvantaged communities, and attention is also given to agricultural risks such as natural disasters. A question on this matter is: how much of the 11,4% increase is allocated to flood relief? Our experience in the past shows that it took long to lend a hand to farmers who were hit by the floods. We hope that the working group that has to devise a draft policy will table their report soon so that farmers will know what to do when drought strikes.
There are concerns that transfers to the Agricultural Research Council subprogramme are insufficient, and the result is that morale amongst council researchers is at an all-time low. The result is that some researchers, amongst whom is an authority on foot-and-mouth disease, have moved on in quest of greener pastures. An improvement in this situation will be appreciated. However, we welcome the sentiment expressed by the Deputy Minister that this may be considered in due course.
We welcome the 3,9% increase in the allocation for sustainable resource management programmes. This will help provide access to water resources, providing boreholes and irrigation infrastructure to those previously excluded commercial farmers. The UCDP supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.]
Dr A I VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues …
… te midde van die woelinge en onsekerhede oor bevoegdhede en die klimaat in die politiek in Suid-Afrika, slaag die Suid-Afrikaanse boere- en landbougemeenskap steeds daarin om jaar na jaar genoeg voedsel te lewer vir Suid-Afrika en selfs vir uitvoer.
Ek wil my dank en waardering uitspreek teenoor al die rolspelers in die landbou, en ook die verwante bedrywe en die finansieringsbedryf, wat dit tot dusver moontlik gemaak het. Dit is ‘n bewys dat die boer, en landbou in die algemeen, hom baie vinnig en goed aangepas het by die vryemarkomstandighede en die gebrek aan bemarkingsbeheer in Suid-Afrika nadat dit uit die Wetboek verwyder is. Dit ten spyte daarvan dat landbou in die res van die wêreld al hoe meer gesubsidieer word. Ons sal vorentoe die sukses hiervan ervaar. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[… amidst the troubles and uncertainty regarding competencies and the political climate in South Africa, the South African farmers and agricultural community are still succeeding, year after year, to deliver enough food for South Africa and even for export.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation towards all the roleplayers in agriculture as well as the related industries and the finance industry which, has made this possible thus far. This is proof that the farmer, and agriculture in general, have adapted very quickly and well to the free market circumstances and the lack of marketing control in South Africa after this was removed from the Statute Book. This despite the fact that agriculture in the rest of the world is being subsidised more and more. We will reap the success of this in the future.]
We will reap the success in the future, but the proviso is that South Africa must maintain the measures to keep highly subsidised food from outside our borders from coming into South Africa and distorting the markets.
Die sektorplan van president Mbeki wat deur die Departement van Landbou, AgriSA en Nafu op die tafel geplaas is, is ‘n baie groot stap vorentoe. [The sector plan of President Mbeki which was tabled by the Department of Agriculture, AgriSA and Nafu is a very big step ahead.]
At last the state has recognised the importance of agriculture and we look with anxious eyes forward to the implementation of this plan.
Papier is geduldig! [Paper is patient!]
It is a very good plan on paper. But I would like to see it implemented as soon as possible. Paper is patient, farmers are not, and we need it. They are grappling with problems and this plan can solve some of the most important problems. One of these is safety and security on farms.
Behalwe vir baie simpatie en begrip, word min gedoen om plaasaanvalle te voorkom, en mense op plase word steeds aangeval en vermoor. Die amnestie van plaasmoordenaars op grond van politieke besluite stem my en die landbou tot onrus. Was daar dan ‘n politieke motief by plaasmoorde betrokke? Hoekom is amnestie dan daarvoor verleen? Al afleiding wat ek kan maak, is dat ``one farmer, one bullet!’’ iewers stil beleid was en dalk nog steeds stil beleid is. Ek is jammer, maar dit is die indruk wat in die landbou geskep word. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Op ‘n meer positiewe trant wil ek vra of die Minister vir Landbou en Grondsake nie asseblief met die Minister van Veiligheid en Sekuriteit in gesprek wil tree om dié stappe wat iets aan die saak kan doen te steun nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [Apart from the sympathy and understanding very little is being done to prevent farm attacks and people on farms are still being attacked and murdered. The amnesty of farm murderers on the basis of political decisions is disquieting to me and agriculture. Was there a political motive connected to the farm murders? Why has amnesty been granted for that? The only conclusion I can make is that ``One farmer, one bullet’’ was a quiet policy somewhere and that perhaps it is still a quiet policy. I am sorry, but that is the impression being created in agriculture. [Interjections.]
On a more positive note I would like to ask whether the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs could enter into a discussion with the Minister of Safety and Security to support those measures which could to do something about the matter.]
I think community involvement and the leadership of the local police commandment is one of the ways in which we can do that, but at the moment there are problems in this area.
Landbou maak 3,8% van die BBP van Suid-Afrika uit. Die landboubegroting van ongeveer R800 miljoen is nie genoeg om die sektor te bedien nie. Daar is verval. Daar is hopeloos te min geld om ons min en skaars hulpbronne te beskerm. Dienste van veral veeartsenykundige aard het meer aandag en bystand nodig. Doeltreffende voorligtingsdienste, veral vir opkomende boere, bestaan net op papier. Ek dink nie die departement het die vermoë om al die nuwe boere sinvol te begelei in ‘n nuwe Suid-Afrika nie.
Dit sal op ‘n georganiseerde manier uitgekontrakteer moet word aan georganiseerde landbou. Navorsing is in ‘n krisis. Dit kom daarop neer dat Suid-Afrika se landbounavorsing nie meer in Suid-Afrika se behoeftes kan voorsien nie. Dit beteken weer dat Afrika nie meer na Suid-Afrika kan kyk om in sy behoefte te voorsien nie, en dit beteken dat Afrika weer eens uitgelewer word aan ander lande se navorsing soos Europa, Amerika en Australië. Ons sal weer van hulle afhanklik wees vir kennis en die oplossing van ons probleme. Dis ernstige sake hierdie.
Grondhervorming en restitusie vorder. Ons is nie daarteen gekant nie, maar dit moet goed begelei word en vinnig afgehandel word. Myns insiens is daar ruimte vir heelwat verbetering.
Ten opsigte van risikobestuur: Wat gebeur as ‘n El Niño ons tref? Sal daar geld beskikbaar wees om die probleem te hanteer? Wat gebeur as ‘n La Niña ons tref en weer alles in ‘n groot storm verwoes? As ek kyk na die afgelope maatreëls met die episode van vloedhulp aan boere wat nou nog nie eens afgehandel is nie en vol beloftes heen en weer was, dan is daar ook probleme. Ons sal daaroor sekerheid wil hê.
Wat betref arbeidswetgewing, het die departement kennis geneem wat in die landbou gebeur as gevolg van die bestaande arbeidswette? Daar is minder werksgeleenthede en daar is minder arbeiders wat permanent in diens geneem word. Geen nuwe arbeidershuise word gebou of verbeter nie. Die leë huise word gesloop. Met klein veranderings en aanpassings kan daar dinge gebeur om dit te laat vlot verloop. Die landbou is nie teen die beskerming van arbeidersbelange nie, maar as die gevolge dít tot gevolg het, dan moet ons daarna kyk.
Ons is bly dat wat vleishigiëne betref, die kwessie van die status van bek- en-klouseervleis afgehandel is. Vleis vir menslike gebruik in Suid-Afrika is nog nie onderwerp aan die volle beheer van higiënemaatreëls nie. Verlede jaar het ons daaroor gepraat en ons praat weer daarvan: Wie is verantwoordelik? Wie is verantwoordelik om dit in te stel? Iemand moet daarvoor verantwoordelikheid neem en dit so gou as moontlik in werking stel.
Ons wil graag van die Minister weet wat haar rol was in die onteiening van mineraalregte van die staat wat die boere hard tref, om dit sodoende in perspektief te stel en minstens te kyk dat die prospekteerregte landbouvriendelik moet wees. Sodoende sal daar nie, soos in die geval van die mynbou, dinge gebeur wat op die ou end weer op die boer se rekening kom, nadat die mense geprospekteer het nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [Agriculture comprises 3,8% of the GDP of South Africa. The agriculture budget of approximately R800 million is not enough to serve the sector. There is a decline. There is hopelessly too little money to protect the scarce and little resources that we have. Services of especially a veterinary nature deserve more attention and assistance. Effective extension services especially for upcoming farmers exist only on paper. I do not think the department has the ability to meaningfully guide all the new farmers in the new South Africa.
This will have to be contracted out in an organised manner to organised agriculture. Research is in a crisis. This comes down to the fact that South Africa’s agricultural research can no longer fulfil South Africa’s needs. This in turn means that Africa can no longer look to South Africa to fulfil its needs, and this means that Africa once again will have to surrender to the research of other countries such as Europe, America and Australia. We will once again be dependent on them for knowledge and the solution of our problems. These are serious matters.
Land reform and restitution are progressing. We are not opposed to that, but this should be conducted properly and should be finalised quickly. In my view there is still a lot of room for much improvement.
With regard to risk management: What happens when an El Niño hits us? Will there be money available to deal with the problem? What happens when a La Niña hits us and destroys everything in a big storm? When I look at the past measures with the episode of flood help to farmers, which still has not been completed and which were full of promises this way and that way, then there are also problems. We want to have certainty about this.
With regard to labour legislation, did the department take note of what is happening in agriculture as a result of the existing labour laws? There are fewer job opportunities and there are fewer labourers who are permanently employed. No new labourers houses are being built or improved upon. The empty houses are being demolished. With small changes and adjustments things can happen to make this run smoothly. Agriculture is not opposed to the protection of workers’ interests, but if the consequences have this as a result, then we should look at this.
With regard to meat hygiene, we are glad that the question of the status of foot-and-mouth disease meat has been dealt with. Meat for human consumption in South Africa has not been subjected to the full control of hygiene measures. We talked about this last year and we are talking about it yet again: Who is responsible? Who is responsible for introducing this? Someone has to take responsibility for that and introduce it as quickly as possible.
We would like to know what the Minister’s role was in the expropriation of the state’s mineral rights which are hitting the farmers hard, to by so doing put this into perspective and at least see that the prospector’s rights are more agriculturally friendly. By so doing things will not happen, as in the case of mining, which eventually will end up on the farmer’s bill, after people have been prospecting.]
I would like to say that it is a difficult task to be Minister of Agriculture. She is doing this job well. She is keeping politics out of it, and we are grappling with the real problem. When we mention this, we are not really trying to bring politics into the picture, but to get the farmers’ point on the table so that we can solve this. This applies to all farmers: old farmers, young farmers, new farmers and upcoming farmers who are all part of the spectrum of the new South Africa.
We have tried and we will support the Minister, but we feel that there is a lack in certain areas, and especially in terms of funding. Government should seriously consider increasing the amount of money which is to go to this all-important industry. [Applause.]
Dr E A SCHOEMAN: Deputy Chairperson, the hon the Minister, the hon the Deputy Minister, comrades and colleagues, I would like to place agriculture and all its facets and this budget allocation in the context of Africa and its development.
Not only has South Africa become a source of food for countries to the north of us, ravaged by famine and drought, but these countries are also increasingly relying on us for research and the importation of vaccines, pesticides and herbicides. The role of Onderstepoort Biological Products in this regard is particularly significant and laudable.
The new millennium has been identified as the African millennium. For us as members of Parliament at the start of this century, it is a daunting but exciting challenge. We are laying the foundations which will either ensure success or result in failure. Nepad, the AU and other structures yet to be created simply have to succeed. It will require the resourcefulness, the inventiveness, the foresightedness, the dreams of each of us, individually and combined.
Maybe it is no coincidence that Africa can be seen as a gigantic tree, with the base of the trunk and the roots in the far south. It is here where the roots will have to be nurtured and water and fertiliser correctly and frequently applied in order to ensure a bumper harvest. If South Africa succeeds, it is no guarantee that Africa will succeed. But if South Africa fails, Africa will fail.
Nepad is a pledge by African leaders to place their countries, both collectively and individually, on the path of sustainable growth and development. In order to achieve this, Africa and its constituting countries must become active world players. The importance of internal trade should not be underestimated, but Africa will have to become attractive for vast sums of investment capital from the developed world and an indisputable and a reliable source of manufactured goods, as well as a growing market in world trade. An average economic growth rate of over 7% per annum for the next 15 years constitutes the overarching goal of Nepad. Agriculture is and will remain the backbone of most African countries and is identified as a sectoral priority.
In order to improve the performance of the agricultural sector, various priorities have been proposed, namely: the improvement of land tenure security, the improvement of agricultural credit and financing schemes, the redirection of Government spending and an increase in the stability of water supplies.
These priorities may as well be applied to our domestic agriculture in general and to agriculture in our previously disadvantaged areas.
Because of its potential to contribute to the objectives of higher growth rates and job creation, agriculture has been identified by Government as a key roleplayer in its economic development. A new era in this sector began when the President initiated a working group to establish an agricultural sector plan. The Department of Agriculture, AgriSA and Nafu were actively involved. This resulted in our strategic plan for agriculture, which was accepted by the hon the President on 27 November 2001.
This plan and the subsequent plan of implementation will serve as a blueprint for agriculture in South Africa for many decades to come. The negotiations at the World Trade Centre were often referred to as a miracle. Similarly, these plans should be regarded as our own miracle for agriculture. The roleplayers who produced these plans are to be congratulated.
It has become a platitude to say that the success of agriculture or its failure in our young democracy is determined by our ability to create a just society through agricultural development and equitable land redistribution. The implementation of the sector plan is the watershed in this regard.
Die betrokkenheid van die President en die daarstelling van die plan het ‘n positiewe ingesteldheid teenoor die landbou tot gevolg gehad. Daarmee saam is die Suid-Afrikaanse landbousektor se internasionale mededingendheid deurlopend verhoog. Landbou speel gevolglik steeds ‘n sleutelrol binne die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie en daar word bereken dat as die voorwaartse en terugwaartse bindinge in berekening gebring word, dit ongeveer 25% tot die land se BBP bydra.
Die omgewing waarbinne die landbou moet optree, verander ook gedurig. Die voedselvoorkeure van die stedeling hou tred met die tempo van sy lewe. So ook het modevoorkeure tred gehou met ‘n veranderende lewenstyl. Die vrye mark bied die geleentheid aan die produsent om aan hierdie behoeftes te voldoen. Benewens aspekte soos produkkwaliteit en omgewingsvriendelike produksieprosesse, is die hedendaagse verbruiker ook toenemend ingestel op tydsbenutting, sekuriteit en gerief.
Winsgewendheid kan slegs verseker word deur ‘n verbruikersgerigte bemarkingstrategie en ‘n kostebesparende produksiestrategie. Om hierdie doelwitte te realiseer, stel nie alleen besondere eise aan die moderne landbouprodusent nie, maar ook aan daardie instansies wat hom met die nodige deskundige advies, gerugsteun deur navorsing, moet bedien. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The involvement of the President and the establishment of the plan have resulted in a positive attitude towards agriculture. Together with this, the South African agricultural sector’s international competitiveness has increased continuously. Consequently, agriculture still plays a key role within the South African economy and it is calculated that, if the forward and backward linkages are taken into account, it contributes approximately 25% to the country’s GDP.
The environment within which agriculture must perform is ever changing. The food preferences of the city dweller keep in step with the pace of his life. So, too, have fashion preferences remained in step with a changing lifestyle. The free market provides the opportunity to the producer to meet these needs. Apart from aspects such as product quality and environmentally friendly production processes, the present-day consumer shows an increasing propensity towards time management, security and convenience.
Profitability can only be ensured with a consumer-oriented marketing strategy and a cost-saving production strategy. The achievement of these goals does not only make specific demands on the modern agricultural producer, but also on those institutions that have to provide him with the necessary expert advice, supported by research.]
The question, therefore, is whether the national Department of Agriculture and its subsidiary provincial departments of agriculture are geared for and are rising to the challenge of modern agriculture. Is the national Department of Agriculture, in its restructured form, equipped and capacitated to meet these challenges? Harder and smarter work can compensate up to a point for an ever-diminishing budget, in real terms. But, eventually, the wheels start to come off as is increasingly visible with the ARC. An admission by our director-general, Bongi Njobe, that R400 million is needed to salvage the Agricultural Research Council emphasises the gravity of the situation. All avenues should be explored to resolve this untenable situation.
Similarly, the increasingly unlevelled playing fields regarding access to markets in the developed world and the continuation and increase of subsidies to farmers in the USA and EU will have to be addressed. Regarding the World Trade Organisation, formal and informal discussions with the European Union and G8 countries are all forums which can be used. The Cairnes group of countries, Nepad, the Nonaligned Movement and the African Union are pressure groups which can be used to our advantage.
In the globalised markets, we will have to fight for our piece of cake. A former Minister of Agriculture, Hendrik Schoeman, said that if one is bound to the soil, one is also bound to one’s Creator. To be involved with agriculture is a wonderful privilege. We are the trustees of the land, the soil and what it produces. Those who lead the way in deciding how, where and when, deserve our support. Every cent of this Budget Vote should be spent with that in mind. [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, Minister, Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, although the speakers’ list indicates that I have been given six minutes, unfortunately it is in fact three minutes.
Agriculture is important to our daily lives and survival. It also contributes to revenue, thus contributing to both economic growth and social development. The MF supports the department’s aims to work towards agriculture development, food security, growth and the sustainable use of natural resources. The MF applauds the department’s strategies of, and I quote:
… support for the growth and deracialisation of the agricultural sector, poverty eradication and rural development, and for establishing farmer support programmes.
Having viewed the department’s objectives and programmes, the MF is confident that the allocated budget, if utilised effectively and efficiently in line with the objectives and programmes, will deliver in due course. It is felt that agriculture has been neglected and stereotyped as a behind-times industry, with technology being at the forefront of advancement.
Agriculture is an important contributor to our economy and deserves the co- operation and attention of all sectors. The agriculture sector constitutes much more than agricultural products. It has a workforce, thus its advancement stimulates job creation which, in turn, will assist in bringing the escalating levels of unemployment down.
The MF acknowledges the importance of the agriculture sector and the important task the department of agriculture is challenged with. However, having viewed its objectives and programmes, the MF is confident that the estimated budget for the department will be utilised effectively and efficiently. The MF supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, allow me to start by quoting one of the most respected thinkers of Africa, Dr ``Mwalimu’’ Julius Nyerere, who wrote as follows:
The reality of neocolonialism quickly becomes obvious to a new African government which tries to act in economic matters and in the interests of national development and for the betterment of its own masses. For such a government immediately discovers that it inherited the power to make laws, to direct the civil service, to treat with foreign governments and so on, but it did not inherit effective power over economic development in its own country. Indeed, it often discovers that there is no such thing as a national economy.
Neocolonialism is real. This statement by Dr Nyerere helps us to understand the motives and the reason why the US’s Bush administration boosted crop and dairy subsidies by 67%, a move that will prove a major hurdle for South African farmers and farmers in poor countries in their quest to find overseas markets. These subsidies are likely to drive down prices for agricultural products, making it harder to export our own produce.
Secondly, the statement reminds us that we have to protect our own; it reminds us that the rich countries do not want to be poor; and it must remind us that we also must not allow ourselves to be made poor by the rich countries. The emerging farmers in South Africa are even worse off. Not only do they compete with large-scale commercial farmers in the country, but they also lack the resources, skills and advanced technology to be competitive.
It is now common knowledge that emerging farmers need ongoing, support, backup and finance. At the same time, the extension support services are not good enough. Since the productive output of many small-scale farmers is very low, Azapo urges the Government to introduce a programme of input- output so that the output capacity of small-scale farmers can be increased.
Available agricultural information should be organised in a manner that is understandable and accessible to emerging farmers through appropriate media. The identification of emerging farmer needs has to be approached as an ongoing programme, established with a long lease of existence.
Government, in partnership with NGOs and other farmer organisations should commission technical scientists to develop appropriate technology relevant to the conditions under which emerging farmers operate.
We all know that there is a lot of technology, but this technology is not accessible to the poor farmers in rural areas. The promotion of human resource development, necessary for agricultural research, and a technology transfer system to respond to the needs and demands of emerging farmers is of paramount importance.
As members are aware, in the rural communities women are in the forefront of agricultural development. It is therefore necessary to promote and to bring about a programme that specifically targets women in rural areas. Women are the backbone of agricultural activities in our rural areas. [Applause.]
Mr D M DLALI: Chairperson, perhaps I must take this opportunity to congratulate the former chairperson of this committee for work well done, and also the new chairperson, Comrade Neo Masithela, as I have not been able to do that.
Agriculture is one of the most important sectors in the economy of this country. All of us, in all sectors of our community, whites and blacks, men and women of this country, need to join hands and build this sector. What is also important, in order to build this sector of the economy, is the good relationship which needs to be built between the farmers and the farmworkers - a good relationship that is often lacking.
Farmworkers still work under very difficult conditions and situations, which need to be improved. All labour-related legislation must be observed by the white farmers at all costs. The ill-treatment, abuse and killing of farmworkers and farmers must stop now, in order for the agricultural sector of our country to grow. [Interjections.] Mr Van Niekerk raised this issue, but in another context. I also want to call upon him and his constituency to make sure that our agriculture grows at all cost.
We all need meat and food. All sectors of our community need to join hands for one purpose only: to build and transform this sector of our country. The transformation of this sector is very critical and it needs urgent attention.
I want to congratulate the Ministry on the manner in which it has handled the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Securing long-term tenure security is hard for farmworkers, and even more so for women farmworkers, or farmdwellers. Housing contracts are normally entered into with male farmworkers only. There is difficulty to provide farmworkers with alternative forms of accommodation. Housing and land for farmworkers are major problems. The farmworker families are still being evicted from some of these farms by white farmers.
We still have some cases of farmers who resort to physical and verbal abuse of workers. Violence against women on farms and child labour are still with us, and these are problems which need to be addressed. The land shall be shared among those who work on it, and there shall be houses, security and comfort for all. That is what we have to strive for. All of this requires that we wage a sustained struggle on many fronts.
We have to ensure that our economy grows and develops. It must provide the material base that will enable us to defeat the challenges of poverty and underdevelopment, which are priorities of the ANC Government. It must also create the jobs without which it will be impossible to defeat the scourge of poverty. We have to overcome the enormous racial, gender and geographical disparities that continue to exist in the distribution of wealth, income and opportunities.
These disparities are themselves a fetter on the growth and expansion of the economy and wealth in our society.
Their eradication would therefore benefit all sectors of our society. We must, therefore, take on the task of mobilising all our people to contribute to the struggle to overcome these disparities. This would then contribute to rural, urban and economic development within the Letsima project - the mobilisation of all our people, all sectors of civil society, in the spirit of Vukuzenzele.
Critical in this regard is the matter of human resources development. We have to exert maximum effort to train the required numbers of our people in all fields necessary for the development, running and management of a modern economy. This, again, must be a national effort in terms of which we should view the necessary expenditure not as expenditure as such but as an investment in our future, in our economy and in our people.
We have to fight and overcome the attitude among some of our people that they are entitled to free goods and services without any effort on their part in the creation of these goods and services. Therefore, the people’s campaign, Vukuzenzele, is critical in this regard. Without the production of wealth there can be no redistribution of wealth.
The President, in his state of the nation address this year, said, and I quote:
This year, the Government will work further to reduce the level of poverty in our society. This will be expressed in concrete, time-specific programmes.
This year, the Government will work further to develop our greatest resource, our people, including the working people, the women, the youth and the disabled …
This year, the Government will initiate additional programmes to improve the quality of life of all our people …
The ANC declared this month a month of rural and urban community development, for a better life for all.
Within the time at my disposal I want to deal with some issues that were raised here. Firstly, I think Mr Botha raised the issue of research. I am sure the Deputy Minister will respond to that.
I also want to touch on the issue of the strategic plan, which has been raised by Mr Van der Merwe. Unfortunately, he is not here. However, I think this Ministry is one of the Ministries that have never had funds rolled over to date. It has spent its funds as allocated. I can assure the hon member, therefore, that the strategic plan is going to be implemented and the funds expended accordingly. [Applause.]
The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Madam Speaker, I would like to thank members of the portfolio committee who participated in this debate. They raised some of the critical matters that we need to address as a department, particularly the mobilisation of more resources to invest in agricultural development. Issues such as research, which is a concern for all of us, have been raised as important matters by a number of speakers in the debate. The issue of our human resource development has also been highlighted, and this is a matter that we are concerned about ourselves. Another matter of concern is the issue of risk management and ensuring our ability to avert disasters and other risks that befall the agricultural sector. Matters of product quality have also been raised.
On all of these issues, I take it that members raised them because they are concerned and want to see a prosperous agricultural sector in our country. We will, as a department, improve in those areas and strive to do better each year. It is our hope that our engagement with the portfolio committee and other stakeholders will continuously sharpen us on those areas that we might have overlooked.
On the issue of the implementation of the strategic plan, members will recall that last week, in preparation for this budget, a presentation was made to the portfolio committee. That strategic plan is actually a result of the reorientation that came about in the department, taking into consideration the strategic plan.
Therefore the way in which the budget is structured this year and going forward fully addresses those elements of the strategic plan.
We do appreciate the fact that there might not be enough resources. However, we must understand that agriculture is but one important sector in our economy. Therefore the limited resources that we have as Government collectively have to be shared amongst other line functions. Clearly, it does not mean that we must not be selfish about this sector - we have to be, because it is our responsibility.
In that spirit, we will continuously strive to ensure that the Agriculture budget, not only that of the national department, but also that of the provinces, is continuously enhanced.
I think it is also necessary for me to just share with members that, indeed, some work has been done on some of the issues they raised.
Ubaba uBhengu ukhulume ngendaba yoxhaso kubalimi, ikakhulukazi labo abasafufusayo, mayelana nocwaningo nokwelekelelwa ngezinhlangano zokubafundisa ukuze bakwazi ukwenza umsebenzi okufanele bawenze. [Father Bhengu talked about the issue of sponsoring farmers, especially small farmers, and also about research and that they should be supported by offering them organisations that will teach them, so that they will be able to do the job efficiently.]
As part of the critical support to farmers, extension services continue to be a critical element for us as Government. Various pilot programmes have been designed to improve this capacity, and these have had positive results. In the Limpopo province, for example, the link between extension support and research has enabled small-scale farmers to take relevant decisions on what to produce and how to produce in order to expect better incomes.
Mrs Pauline Netshisaulu from the Thsiombo Irrigation Scheme, who operates on a one-hectare plot, has been able, out of the plantation of the sweet potatoes variety that she chose, to make a better income than she has been able to do before. She has been able, at that small-scale level, to access our national market. For us this shows that the work that we can do in merging information systems research and extension services can be put together to create better development.
I also want to say that on the issues of animal health and veterinary services, while we still face some challenges, particularly in attracting veterinarians into our system, we have been able - and I must say successfully - to corporatise the Onderstepoort Biological Products factory. Today, it is a wholly state-owned company. It has produced a number of vaccines. This year, it has actually launched two of those vaccines which will further assist our farmers, both commercial and those who are developing. I must say that this is one of the issues which we as Parliament can be proud of, because of the decision we took around OBP.
The company has reported an R8 million profit during its first year of operation, and there are prospects for growth. [Applause.] We as a Ministry want to position this company as a biotech company for South Africa, which can actually go beyond producing animal vaccines to producing human vaccines which would be relevant for our health. The NAMC continues to ensure that the marketing of our products domestically happens in the manner in which it has to happen. It also monitors how we are faring after the liberalisation of the sector and how the impact of this is affecting our farmers. On the issue of land care, which again was raised by Baba uBhengu, I must say that I agree with him that this is one of the programmes we need to popularise. It is a programme on which we have spent about R100 million over the past four years. We have created jobs amounting to a total of 8 000 through this programme. We have been able to turn some of the land, which was seen as marginal, back to being in use.
In the areas of Mlondolozi in Mpumalanga, through the land care programme, we were able to increase the production of maize from 1,6 tons per ha to 6 tons per ha. It therefore shows that this programme is one of the success stories that we have.
I must say to hon members that I was a bit disappointed at the manner in which the hon Mr Van Niekerk intervened in this debate. While he raised some of the pertinent issues that we need to deal with, there was a little bit of negativity in the way in which he approached his contribution to the debate.
The farmers we have today are not the farmers who are hostile to Government. They understand that we need to engage with each other because their success and our success is dependent on each other. Therefore, during the period we have worked with them, we have never sensed that we were in a situation where we were being threatened about voting on their feet or tractors, and we have not been threatened that things cannot happen or about gloom and doom. We have actually found partners who are willing to grapple, with us, the challenges that the agricultural sector faces in this country. I hope that in the next budget debate next year, the hon van Niekerk will be at least positive about some of the achievements that have been made.
There are also certain questions that the hon Van Niekerk has raised around the issue of veterinary services and animal health. Perhaps it is opportune for me to remind him and this House that, in 1994, when he was then Minister of Agriculture, he was responsible for actually delegating or, rather, assigning and not even delegating, some of those key elements of veterinary services to provinces, even though some of us warned against it because we understood that veterinary services are important to manage a national agricultural economy.
At that time, in my view, he was still playing a political card, which lately has actually backfired. It therefore is not correct that he can stand on this platform and ask me and the Deputy Minister that somebody must take responsibility. Surely he should understand that he was part of that decision, which today we have to work at, to ensure that we make the best of it in turning the situation around. [Interjections.]
Mr G B D McINTOSH: Except in KwaZulu-Natal!
The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Well, McIntosh, I will not respond to that.
The reality is that all of us, if we are to succeed, need to be able to raise critical questions, but at the same time be able to propose solutions to those problems. I must say that I thank hon members such as A J Botha, Bhengu, and others who were able to participate in this debate in a spirit that helps us build and become a prosperous country going forward. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 29 - Land Affairs:
The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Madam Speaker, in front of me here I have a report of the National Land Commission, on the outside of which there is poem by Don Matera. It reads thus:
When the first sun rose, It found us awake waiting, Long before they came to this hill Our footsteps shaped the landscape. Tamed the gemsbok, We rode the wind, Silenced the hurricane. Look at us, we have been here before.
As we celebrate the 90th birthday of the ANC, the majority party in this Parliament and a leader in Government, we cannot but pride ourselves on the legacy that our forefathers and mothers created, the values of freedom, dignity, and ubuntu.
The history of the ANC is a very important one for land reform. Its formation in 1912 was in part a response to the imminent law that was to be passed in 1913, the Land Act.
The gains we continue to make as a society in building a better life for all our people can never be undermined by the little setbacks that we encounter in the process of making a difference. South Africa today can be proud that, as it deals with the very sensitive matter of land restoration, we have done so in a manner that recognises the rights of every citizen to a secure tenure. In addressing the legacy of land dispossession, we have had men and women all willing to make a positive change. I am thinking of the old man of Reboile community, who was able to appeal to his community for calm in the face of impatience, and said with certainty and conviction that the road we had chosen, was to follow the legal framework that our Government had put in place.
The role played by iSilo samaBandla, umNtwana kaPhindangene, Minister Buthelezi of Home Affairs, as well as the members of the executive council of KwaZulu-Natal in helping us to deal with the KwaMangethe claim, is an indication of how, as South Africans, we are willing to make a difference for ourselves and our children. As Wallace Mgoqi would say, and I quote:
We can shape our destiny.
Indeed, the story of lending a helping hand to resolve our land rights is an indication of how, as South Africans, we are shaping our destiny. From us, others will know it is possible. In the face of adversity, our story can bring hope. This Parliament, through its elected representatives, can be part of making this good story.
As we engage once more in the review of last year’s budget of the Department of Land Affairs, we do so against one of the core messages of the President’s state of the nation address: ``Lend a hand, push back the frontiers of poverty.’’
President Mbeki, in February this year, when he opened this House, challenged all of us, Ministers, departments, every member of society and the members of this legislature, with regard to what it is that we have to do in order to push away underdevelopment and poverty. Vukuzenzele, as a campaign, has been one of the responses that we need to give. What is it that we can do, individually and collectively, to change the quality of life of our people?
We, as the Ministry, the Department of Land Affairs and the commission, thought that in order to meet the challenges that we face, it was necessary to allocate resources to specific target groups. One of those was labour tenants. Our labour tenants campaign ensured that at the end of the process we had been able to raise the level of awareness amongst landowners, labour tenants and farm workers in particular. Also, we received 16 364 claims which we need to address. We are currently engaged in a process of investigation and validation of these claims.
To date in Mpumalanga, 2 500 out of 12 971 claims have been settled. These include claims from areas such as the East Vaal region, Wakkerstroom, Ermelo and Piet Retief, where a total of 2 348 beneficiaries were settled on their own land. Mr Kotwal must be happy today. [Applause.] In KwaZulu- Natal, in the area of Vryheid, we were able to settle about 472 claims last year.
This is one of the challenging programmes, I must say, because of the competing rights that are inherent in the land where the claims are. Continuous discussions between AgriSA, the Land People’s Movement, the National Land Commission and Government are taking place in order to find a better solution to this problem.
With regard to the issues of farm workers, as we address their security of tenure we have continuously put resources aside to ensure that we can respond to the challenges that they face. We have been able to assist some of them with the acquisition of land, so that they can be the owners of their land as well.
We are happy to say that the continuous engagement between organised agriculture, the Ministry of Labour and the department has produced a protocol in terms of which we will be able to manage labour conditions on farms, which sometimes tend to cloud some of the tenure questions that we have to deal with.
On the issue of land redistribution for agricultural development, on 13 August 2001 we launched this programme in Nkomazi in Mpumalanga, where 241 title deeds were handed over to the LRAD grant recipients.
I must say, to this extent, I wish to thank Inkosi Shongwe, who was very instrumental in assisting the farmers in that area to get access to this grant. I would also like to thank the MEC as well as Khombisa, one of the farmers who was very brave, who did not tire, who picked up a phone, whatever time it was, and said, ``Minister, you have to answer our questions.’’
It is these citizens, who are a conscience for us as Government, that we have to serve. Despite having started very late last year with this programme, we have improved our successes. As many as 4 823 beneficiaries have received grants to date, which total about 100 000 hectares of land being delivered, amounting to 164 farms that have been given to groups and individuals. We have also given land to 36 beneficiaries on the grant component, mixed with the loan from the Land Bank, which has delivered about 2 203 hectares of land. The land redistribution for settlement has also continued to address the needs of those who are vulnerable amongst our midst. To date, 20 154 hectares have been delivered to these communities and individuals.
We have also been able to respond to the challenges of urban renewal. In Alexandra, as part of the renewal programme, we purchased a farm totalling R4 million, to give the 1 000 hectares needed to resettle those members of the Alexandra community. In the Western Cape, in this year’s budget, we have committed R8 million to those people who were affected by the Cape floods, which will actually ensure that we acquire land which they can settle properly as their own. [Applause.]
In the true spirit of pushing back the frontiers of poverty, we have been able to ensure that amongst our products, 61 women have become beneficiaries of the land. We have also targeted some of the young groups who would like to go into agriculture. For us gender equity is as central as any other Government programme. [Applause.]
Last year, one of the concerns of the members of the portfolio committee in this House was the slow spending of the resources for redistribution. I can stand here proudly as a Minister with my colleague, the Deputy Minister, and state that we have actually turned the corner in this regard. We have been able to spend 97% as at 31 March 2002 on this programme. [Applause.] This has been through proper financial management by our department as well as by shortening our project cycle, so that, indeed, we can be of service to our clients.
The 669 000 hectares of state land under the powers of attorney that were administered by the MECs have also been disposed of. About 450 000 hectares have been given out either as leases or in outright sale. The Department of Land Affairs also administers some of the state agricultural land, which amounts to 500 000 hectares. To this end, out of that we have disposed of about 37%. We will continue to improve in this regard.
Last year in November, we were able to congregate in Durban with portfolio committee members, traditional leaders, farmworkers, landless people, labour tenants and organised agriculture to discuss the tenure security situation in our country. I must say that this meeting enabled us to come up with pointers to what the legislative framework is supposed to be to deal with communal land in our society. We have set up a cross-national review team to examine the communal property associations that have been set up.
Land restitution gives all South Africans, black and white, the historic opportunity to share our land and all its resources. This is more sustainable development. South Africans can learn from others that it is foolhardy to have a few people arrogating to themselves the right to live in opulence, whilst their compatriots wallow in abject poverty. The land is liveable when it is shared.
This is an approach which I believe guided South Africans during the negotiation process, when they acknowledged the need for restitution and land reform in general, while at the same time protecting the right to individual property ownership. We can therefore all claim the glory of what we have achieved thus far in a short space of time, compared to other countries in the world that have followed this route. The period April 2001 to March 2002 has seen heightened activity in the delivery of land restitution, as never before. During this period there have been handover ceremonies in all provinces, practically every week in certain instances. We now stand at 29 877 claims settled as at March 2002. [Applause.] Regarding the Limpopo province, I must say that one has to congratulate Commissioner Mashile Mokono. Being one of the last born as a member of the commission, he has made tremendous strides. In very short space of time he was able to settle about eight large community claims in the rural areas of the Limpopo province. In this province, in the true spirit of South Africa, a great-grandson of Mr Cooksley, Mr P F Menne, assisted the Mavhungeni community in gathering evidence to support their restitution case. He understood the imperative of restitution.
The Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal have also distinguished themselves by settling claims with the largest numbers of hectares to date, involving high-quality land. The hon Hanekom must be happy that at last the Majeng case in the Northern Cape was finalised. [Applause.] It is all not that bad, and we are making a difference.
Through the validation case I must say that we have been able to date to validate 8 816 claims out of the remaining ones that we still have. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done. At least we can say with certainty that these ones are valid. There are 300 that we have rejected from the process because they do not meet the criteria.
This process has shown that indeed there are some issues that we need to deal with, as we work with our service providers in this regard. The enormity of work, however, indicates to us already that we may not be able to meet our deadline of finishing this work by June this year as we had hoped. We will strive to make sure that at least by December we have completed about 90% of the work that needs to be done in that validation. In this regard I also wish to thank the Belgian government for the support it has given us financially to this campaign. An amount of R10 million was given as at April this year, to assist us in the costs related to the validation campaign.
Sustainable and quality settlements are critical for sustainable development. The challenge that faces all of us as Government, as well as the communities, is that after the settlement of those claims we must be able to go back and make liveable communities. The postsettlement challenge therefore requires us to do even more as civil society, Government and the private sector. If we are able to turn around this process we could see monumental success, which will encourage local economic development and growth in the gross national domestic product. It also means we need to strengthen our local government capacity. If I may share this with hon members, the Louis Trichardt municipality alone has about 600 claims that need to be settled in that area, and all of the communities want to go back.
The challenge is: How will that municipality be assisted to provide bulk infrastructure to those communities that go back? The other challenge is: How will the provincial department of agriculture in the Northern Province be able to support those communities in keeping that land as agriculturally viable as it is today?
This is a challenge not only for Government but for all of us. In trying to deal with this challenge the commission has signed a trilateral co- operation agreement between itself, the Land Bank and the National Development Agency to bring their resources and expertise to bear on the development needs of those communities.
With all this work that has been done, I must say that in preparation for the WSSD summit the commission will produce a catalogue of all the claims that we have finished thus far, a success story that we can share with those who visit this country as participants in the summit. I now commend the report to Parliament and the South African nation as a record of the contribution that Government is making to improving, for the better, the lives of all our people.
All this good work would not have happened if we did not have a civil service core that is committed in ensuring that we indeed manage our financial resources effectively and that we put to use our human resources where they are needed. The areas of financial and human resource management, in particular expenditure management and the decentralisation programme, have seen great improvement in the past year.
During the past financial year the departmental human resource development policy was finalised and the workplace skills plan was submitted to the Public Sector Education Training Authority. A total number of 3 001 officials were trained by the department in the following disciplines: labour relations, financial management, service delivery and customer care, policy and knowledge management, strategy into action, the Promotion of Access to Information Act and computer literacy.
All of these things will require a healthy nation. We have taken it upon ourselves, as the department, to improve awareness of HIV and Aids. The department has established nine Aids committees and 86 of these members have received peer education training. A total of 600 staff members in the department attended the Introduction to Aids training course.
The challenge that we face now is: How can we strengthen our own capacity in-house as well as the capacity of the service providers and the organisations that we have to work with so that indeed we can become better tomorrow than we are today? [Applause.]
Mr N H MASITHELA: Madam Speaker, I stand here again full of gratitude and praise for the excellent work well done by my predecessor, Comrade Adv Holomisa, as well as the Minister and the Deputy Minister in the department in ensuring that the policies and activities as determined by the Government of the day are fully carried.
We would not be talking about land today were it not for what happened in 1912 and before that time, which resulted in the formation of the ANC. Amongst other things, the ANC was formed because of the land question, as it was taken legally from our people by the Act of 1913. This is a legacy which should not divide us but unite us. Everybody in South Africa should now contribute to nation-building and creating conditions for a better life for our people.
One other concern I have is that the budget allocation for this department shows a minimal decrease of 0,33% of the total national Budget. This shows that this department has a little less funding than previous years, a situation, in my view, which can hamper the roll-out of the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme, which was launched in August last year.
However, be that as it may, with the expertise in the department, I have no doubt that ways and means will be devised to avert any problem that may arise when the development of service delivery is taking place.
As stated in the Freedom Charter adopted in 1955: Restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and all the land redivided amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger.
As clearly articulated by the President of this country, the finalisation of the strategic plan for South African agriculture will also address equitable land distribution. This indicates that land restoration is the defining feature of our liberation.
Our restoration programme is fast giving us the desired results. We have the Minister, the Deputy Minister and the land claims commissioner visiting far-flung corners of our land, bringing the good news of land delivery to our people who were maliciously dispossessed of their land because of the past apartheid government policies.
We are now reaping the fruits of the successful integration of the Land Claims Commission into the Department of Land Affairs. The departure from a legalistic judicial process to a more administrative one appears to have influenced the rapid and expedient resolution of the land claims.
It is pleasing to note that up to the end of March this year, 29 877 land claims had been settled, totalling 427 337 hectares of land, with financial compensation of R951 442 392,16 at a cost of R1 494 342 976,35. [Interjections.]
The commission, in a meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs, gave an assurance that the deadline for finishing the claims, directed by the President in his state of the nation address, will be met.
The committee will therefore - this is not a warning but a reality - strictly monitor the work of the commission to ensure that the timeframe, as directed by the head of the state, is met. Next Tuesday, 4 June, will be the first day to deal with that situation.
On 27 May in my constituency, Palmietfontein, the Fanyane family received their land back. I am not raising this because it is in my constituency, but it does address what the land commission is doing.
There was also jubilation in Kroonstad at Marabastad, when people of Marabastad farm had their land restored to them. In that case 404 individual claims and the settlement agreement were signed at Kroonstad on 18 March 2001
The dispossessions occurred between 1956 and 1986 when municipalities implemented the removal of the residents of Marabastad in terms of the Slums Act, Act 34 of 1934, the Slums Amendment Act, Act 22 of 1978 and the Housing Amendment Act, Act 21 of 1978. This action affected 1 144 properties. These residents were relocated to newly established locations, called Gelukswag and Constantia.
Marabastad is a cluster claimant, submitted by individual farming units, and was settled as follows: restoration of rights on the original land for 272 claimants and financial compensation for 91 claimants, while the claimants opted for alternative land and 32 claimants could either not be traced or did not indicate their preferred options.
With regard to the role that municipalities play, they had undertaken to revamp and redevelop the neglected Marabastad through the provision of bulk infrastructure. An agreement was reached to accommodate the claims and allocate free sites to those claimants who opted for land restoration. This is a major achievement, even by world standards, that in seven years we have achieved so much and in 10 years we would have finalised the major responsibility for which this commission was established.
It is a credit to this commission that sensible prior registration has resulted in a real and dramatic increase in the settlement of land claims. A speedy resolution is of major importance to claimants, while uncertainty also impacts very negatively on farming activities on the land. The department is requested to do all it can to ensure that all support is given to the National Land Commission to prevent the shutdown of the good work currently being done.
May I take this opportunity to make a specific appeal to the local and provincial governments to make the necessary budget allocations to meet the post-settlement support needs of the people settled in their areas. As we all know, this Government is committed to the Constitution as it embarks on the programme of ensuring a better life for our people.
Land tenants and farmworkers should not be evicted merely because they do not own land of their own. They are human beings and cannot be thrown out onto the street when they have outlived their usefulness to the landowners. It is hoped that the public awareness campaign conducted by the Department of Land Affairs on these laws has resulted in a reduction of incidents of hostility between landowners and farmworkers, and that there will henceforth be greater co-operation within the entire farming community.
We applaud the trilateral co-operation agreement entered into by the Land Claims Commission, the Land Bank and the National Development Agency. These three institutions will pool together their resources and expertise to assist with the development needs of these communities who have the land restored to them and want to use the land productively and profitably for the benefit of the broader South African society.
This will ensure quality settlement and sustainable development, as well as encourage local economic development and rapid growth in the national gross domestic product. This will also assist emerging farmers eventually to graduate to become commercial farmers.
We look also to the division of surveys and mapping and to this registry to continue to lend its expertise on the land reform programmes. It has come to my attention, and it was also reported in the newspapers, that examiners in these registry offices are on a go-slow because of not being given overtime pay. I am making an earnest appeal to the Minister to personally intervene in the matter to resolve this situation as speedily as possible.
However, I would also like to take the opportunity to call upon all officials in the registry offices nationwide to participate in Vukuzenzele people’s campaign, as called upon by the President in his state of the nation address, because we are working towards making life better for all our people. The delay caused by the go-slow in this office impacts negatively on a commercial bank financing properties to make the transfer. It also places a financial strain on sellers and buyers.
We are grateful for the concession made by the Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel, for the scrapping of transfer costs on properties costing less than R100 000. This is also testimony to the fact that we are making the lives of our people better. This will facilitate a better life for our people who will enjoy the benefit of having the property without being charged additional money in the form of transfer costs.
Our interaction with the department shows that the officials in both the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Affairs have contributed and ensured that the needs and aspirations of our people are adhered to. I want to thank them for the co-operation that they have displayed towards the portfolio committee, and in the relationships amongst themselves.
Swaranang jwalo, le tiise! [They should continue to co-operate in this fashion.]
The Departments of Agriculture and Land Affairs would not be able to succeed without their support.
Mr D K MALULEKE: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members, what kind of society do we South Africans want for ourselves and our children? It would not be remiss to surmise that a society based on the rule of law, fundamental freedoms such as freedom of conscience and free political association, individual rights, the rights of property and security, fairness and equality of opportunity would be cherished by all South Africans, regardless of colour, creed, race or gender.
I would like straight away to give credit to the Minister for her vision and leadership in her Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs. In February 2002, in the state of the nation address, the President said that he would like to see the land restitution programme completed within the next three years. I must congratulate the Director-General of Land Affairs for spending about 94% of the budget in that regard on the said problem. However, we need to ask how such an objective can be met if the budget is not increased by at least 300% and the department does not have a full staff complement.
Swi fanerile leswaku xivutiso lexi xi vutisiwa eka Hubyankulu leswaku i mapurasi mangani lama nga eka mfumo lawa nga averiwa vantima lava a va ri na mpfumelelo wo xava mapurisi hi nkarhi wa mfumo lowu nga hundza wa xihlawuhlawu? Hi yihi ndlela leyi nga tirhisiwa ku hlawula lava nga fanela ku averiwa mapurasi hikuva a swi nga pfuni nchumu ku nyika vanhu mapurasi loko Mfumo wu nga seketeli hi varimisi no xava swikomu, tirekitere na timbewu leswaku mapurasi lawa ya tirhisiwa leswaku swi komba nhluvuko eka ta vurimi.
Ntsengo wo hlawula lava rhurhisiweke hi nkarhi wa mfumo wa xihlawuhlawu wa sorisa, hikuva Mupresidente u vurile leswaku vuthleriselo bya matiko lama nga tekiwa eka vanhu va Afrika Dzonga ya fanele ku va ya thlerisiwile eka vanhu lava nga hlongoriwa hi nkarhi wa mfumo wa xihlawuhlawu, hi nkarhi wa malembe manharhu ku sukela lembe leri. Kutani, xivutiso xa mina eka Hubyankulu hi lexi, xana Hubyankulu va komberile ntsengo wo engetelela nkwama leswaku ntirho wo thlerisela mapurasi no hakelela lava va lavaka chuma wu ta kota ku hetiseka hi nkarhi lowu nga pimiwa hi Mupresidente ke?
Ku na mhaka ya xikanganyiso swinene, hikuva vakhomixinara lava va tirhisanaka na ta ku thlerisela mapurasi loko vanhu va hi vutisa leswaku timhaka ta vona to londza mapurasi ti yimile kwihi xana hikuva van’wanyana hi mpfhuka wa 1996 a va kumi nhlamulo, ngopfu-ngopfu a vupela-dyambu bya koloni(Western Cape). Ndzi tsalerile vakhomixinara mapapila yo hlaya kambe va tsandzeka no hlamula ku ndzi tivisa leswaku swivutiso swa mina va swi kumile. Mhaka yo kota leyi yi tikomba leswaku vatirhi va ntirho lowu va kayivela. Xikombelo xa mina hi lexi, ndzi nga tsaka loko Hubyankulu a ndzi tshembisa leswaku u ta yi hluta mhaka leyi leswaku swi olova ku hlamula swivutiso swa valondzi.
Hubyankulu, a ndzi ri etikweni ra ka Bungeni laha ku nga luverisiwa kona vanhu va ka Mtsetweni loko va hlongoriwile etikweni ra vakokwa wa vakokwana va vona. Vahlongoriwile ku kota timbyana va tekeriwa na vuhosi bya vona. Va siya magandzelo ya vona. Va lahlekeriwa na hi swifuwo. Va ka Mtsetweni va le xirilweni xikulu. Va londzile tiko ra vona hi nkarhi lowu nga vekiwa hi nawu lowu nga vekiwa leswaku vanhu va fanele va va va londzile. Va komberile hi ku titsongahata leswaku ndzi va vutisela eka Holobye leswaku va ta thlelela rini emarhumbini ya vakokwana wa vona? Va ta swi tivisa leswaku ku tshama na vanhu lava va nga tshama kona lava a va ri entsungeni wa Rivubye, a hi xivutiso xa Mun’wanati kambe i xa nthsungu wa ka Mtsetweni. Mhaka leyi Holobye yi fanele ku tshameriwa ehansi ku landzeleriwa matimu ya yona hinkwawo. Yi na vumbhoni byo tala. I xikombelo xa va ka Mtsetweni, tiko a ri vuyi! [Swandla.] (Translation of Tsonga paragraphs follows.)
[It is proper to put this question to the hon the Minister because we want to know how many farms were allocated to blacks who had permission to buy farms during the previous apartheid government’s regime? Which yardstick was used to select people who qualified for buying farms, because it would have been hopeless to allocate farms to people while the government did not get support from the farmers, and the Government subsidised them by means of buying them ploughing equipment, tractors and seeds so that by so doing these farms could be utilised in order to show that there was progress in agriculture.
The number of people who were removed from one area to another during the apartheid era is doubtful. The President stated that land in respect of people who were affected by forced removals in South Africa during the apartheid government’s era must be given back to them, and that this should take place within a period of three years from this year. My question to the Minister is this: Did the Minister request any additional money to add to the existing fund in order to be able to comply with land restitution requirements and to pay those who need money so that this process could be completed within the timeframe set by the President?
There is an alarming factor, because commissions responsible for land restitution do not reply to requests by people in regard to land restitution. Some people have been waiting for replies since 1996, especially in the Western Cape. I have written several letters to Commissioners, but they even fail to acknowledge receipt of my questions. This state of affairs shows that the people responsible for this type of work do not perform properly. My request is this. It would be gratifying to me if the Minister could promise me that she was going to follow up on this matter so that it would be easy to reply to the demands made by people.
Hon Minister, I have been to the Bungeni area, where temporary accommodation for people from Mtsetweni had been established. These people were chased away from the land of their forefathers. They were chased away like dogs and their chieftainship was taken away from them. They left their places of ancestral worship. They lost their domestic animals. The Mtsetweni community is in great turmoil. They applied for land restitution timeously, in accordance with the Act and timeframe. They have in great humility requested me to ask the hon Minister when they will be allowed to go back to the ruins on the land of their great-grandfathers? It should be announced. To stay with people who previously stayed on the other side of the Rivubye River is not a question to be posed to Mun’wanati, but should be put to the community of Mtsetweni. This matter, hon Minister, should be looked at very seriously and she must follow up on the whole history of the matter. There is a lot of evidence in this case. This is a request from the Mtsetweni community, that land restitution should take place! [Applause.]]
Mr G B BHENGU: Madam Speaker, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, the IFP would like to comment and make an input on the following programmes. Firstly, there is the administration programme. We support the programme with an attempt to pilot the decentralisation of support services to the provincial land reform offices. We believe that such decentralisation will speed up the land reform process and thus dispose of the land that has been utilised by desperate communities, either for settlement or for agricultural purposes.
The following programme relates to cadastral surveys. The IFP welcomes the generation of spatial data on informal settlements, because such settlements might result in the utilisation of land for wrong use. We believe this policy should be co-ordinated with the housing or settlement policy of both the district and local municipalities as well as those in the Department of Housing.
Since the Government has engaged in the drive to fight poverty, we believe that the mushrooming of informal settlements in most towns and district municipalities defeats this campaign when communities should use arable land for self-help projects.
Regarding restitution, the IFP wishes to register its support of the Minister, in particular, and her department, in general, for the manner in which the land restitution process has been executed. The restitution process has seen many desperate communities getting their land back after they were dispossessed through apartheid policies. We note that in 1998-99, 17 land claims were settled, and that the number of settlements increased to 12 094 in 2000-01, and 9 536 in 2001-02. The IFP understands that there are still claims to be processed and we hope that that will take place. But what has been done so far has done much to restore the dignity of many families. It has rebonded the fabric and nucleus of communities who were ripped apart and left destitute to fend for themselves in arid settlements. The land claims validation process has been expedited with due efficacy such that it leaves very nominal chances for disputes. The IFP welcomes the compensation option safety valve in the restitution claims, as in some cases it is not feasible to give the land back, but because there is an option for fair and suitable compensation, our communities derive a huge social reprieve.
I believe that it is everyone’s concern that the treatment of farmworkers and tenants is far from humanistic and social justice. We plead with the Minister to look into the plight of these people who randomly have to contend with being chucked out of farms in which they have stayed for generations and then have to seek refuge by the roadside in desperation. They also fall victim when the farm is sold to a new owner and have no recourse at all to alternative land until the department engages in interdicts and long-drawn-out cases that follow.
Regarding the land reform programme, the securing of registration of tenure rights needs to be strengthened and improved, specifically because of the reason that I have stated above in relation to the plight of farm tenants. We commend Khula Enterprise Finance Ltd for providing guarantees so that farmers and communities buying land can access loans from the banks.
The inculcation of project ownership in communities, through selling their free labour to their equity scheme projects, is a very good policy directive that reduces loan costs to the poor but able business communities. We appreciate the retention of the Land and Agricultural Development Bank to deal with land acquisition and agricultural loans. This bank is in a better position than mainstream banks to assess the feasibility and viability of agricultural production for which loans are required.
On spatial planning and information, I would like to say that the comprehensive nature of the programme is highly appreciated as it forges a clustering of activities, which is a vision of the Government. We have noted that the IEC and Statistics SA also use the data generated through this programme for their own purposes.
Ekugcineni, ngithi mangincome njengoba eshilo uNgqongqoshe ukuthi mkhulu umsebenzi osewenziwe wokubuyisela abantu emhlabeni ababesuswe kuwona. Siyazi ukuthi labo abafika beqhamuka phesheya bafica abantu benomhlaba, bephila futhi benganqibi. Ngakho-ke, uma abantu bebuyela emhlabeni wabo, kusho ukuthi kusuke kubuya lokho uNkulunkulu ayebaphe khona.
Manginxuse-ke ukuthi kufuneka kube nokusebenzisana okukhulu nabalimi bomoba ngoba ukuxoxisana sekwenze kwaba khona abalimi abangama-commercial farmers abavumayo ukuba kube khona izingxenye zomhlaba ezinikezelwayo ukuze kudaleke abalimi abancane abangaba ngabalimi bangempela. Abakhala ngakho ukuthi sengathi kukhona lapho kubuye kuhambe kancane khona ngoba phela sebelindele ukuba kube khona ukuxhaswa ngezimali ukuze bawucoshe lowo mhlaba, nalabo abasuke benikezela ngomhlaba bakwazi nabo ukucosha okuncane.
I-IFP iyasesekela lesi sabiwomali. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[In conclusion, I would like to convey my appreciation, as the Minister has said, for a great job that has been done to return people to the land from which they were evicted. We know that those who came from overseas found people with land on which they lived well and they did not beg. Therefore, if people return to the land of their origin, it means that they are getting back what God originally gave them.
I would like to ask that there should be great co-operation with sugar cane farmers, because negotiations have resulted in commercial farmers coming forward, who agree that some parts of land should be donated in order to allow small farmers to emerge, who can end up being real farmers. They complain that there seems to be some backlog somewhere, because they are waiting for sponsorships so that they can take that land, and also allow those who are donating land to earn some money. The IFP supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]]
Nkszn A N SIGCAWU: Mhlalingaphambili namalungu ahloniphekileyo, amaqobokazana angalala endleleni yazini kunyembelekile. Ndivula ngelitshoyo namhlanje, xa ndiqwalasela imitsi egabadeleyo etsalwe nguRhulumente lo, ngokuphathelele kubonelelo ngobunini mhlaba kwimimandla yasemaphandleni, ukutsho oko, emakhaya.
Kuluchulumanco ukuba ngoku phantsi kwesikhokelo sikaRhulumente we-ANC, siyakwazi ukuziqenya sime sithi, ``Phambili ngenguqu yenkqubo yezomhlaba’’ [Kuyaxokozela.] Sisekhondweni ukulungisa ubume bezilonda namanxeba kaRhulumente odlulileyo. Sime bume similisela ukhulo kuqoqosho. Iyaphucuka ngoku intlalo emakhaya nendlala ibalekela eMbo. Uzinzo sisonka sethu semihla ngemihla, njengoko sonke sisazi ukuba umhlaba yimfuno elizinyo eliqaqambayo kubantu basemakhaya. Ikwayimfuno, amasiko nezithethe zethu asekelwe kuyo. Kumnandi kuluvuyo ke ngoku phaya emaphandleni ngenxa yalo Rhulumente uphetheyo kuba uluntu luyabonelelwa ngobunini-mhlaba ukuze uphuhliso lwalo luqinisekiswe. Kuyavuyisa kwakhona, ukuqwalasela intsebenziswano ekhoyo phakathi kwamasebe aseburhulumenteni, nemibutho ngemibutho kwakunye nabantu ekulungiselelwa ukunikezelwa imihlaba kubo kwiindawo ngeendawo. Le nguqu kwimihlaba yenze igalelo elikhulu kubantu bakuthi, ekugxotheni ikati ingalali eziko, njengoko isiza nozinzo kubonelelo lwemimandla, lokufuya, lokulima kunye noshishino lwasemakhaya. Kwakho, ubonelelo ngomhlaba nobunini bawo obukhuselekileyo kunye nobonelelo ngeenkonzo ngeenkonzo zemihlaba leyo, yinto ethintela ukuba kubekho ukugxalathelana kwabantu kwimihlaba engeyoyabo. Kuhle kakhulu ukuba sibubone ubulumko bentetho ethi, umhlaba uhlaleka ngcono kakhulu, xa kusabelwana ngawo.
Sijonge ngothakazelelo kuMthetho osayilwayo wobonelelo ngomhlaba kuluntu. Sibamba ngazibini kwiSebe eli ngokuthi lithi tanci ngalinye lidlane iindlebe neenkosi ukuze kubekho iimvumelwano ngale nyewe. Uya kuba nefuthe elikhulu kakhulu njengoko uya kumisela nezithethe zethu zamalima, kulandele ukulima norhwebo, iphele nya indlala.
Ibingu ``ye ye ye’’ wochulumanco entloko kulo nyaka eMonti ngethuba abantu abangama-4 679 benikwa ingqinisekiso yokuba baza kubuyiselwa umhlaba wabo. Aba bantu basuswa kumhlaba wabo ngo-1962, waza wanikwa amaNdiya nabeBala. Isigaba sokuqala seli bango sesigqityiwe kuba abantu abangama-2 948 bafuna ukunikwa izindlu nomhlaba, ngexa abali-1 731 befuna imbuyekezo yemali.
Umasipala waseMonti nguye oza kujongana nokwakhiwa kwezi zindlu kwanomsebenzi oya kuxabisa ama-R97,9 ezigidi. Eli bango lenza igalelo elimandla kwinkqubo yohlenga-hlengiso kwimimandla yedolophu kaMongameli wethu, njengoko uMdantsane uyenye yeendawo ezichongelwe oko. Luninzi kakhulu uchulumanco kuluntu lwethu ngokwenziwa ngulo Rhulumente, kwaye ikamva liyaqhelezela njengoko imbewu yophuhliso, eyempucuko neyokugxotha indlala ifakwe emgqubeni intshula ngokuntshula.
Ngoku ayisithi koko ngabantu phaya emakhaya abakhombayo. Ukususela ngo-1994 sasiphaya, ngoku, ngo-2002, silapha, kanti kwixesha elizayo siya kuba phaya. Lukhomba phambili lonke uluntu. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)
[Ms A N SIGCAWU: Chairperson and hon members, if young women slept alongside the road, you should know that there is trouble. That is my opening statement today when I look at the strides, which have been made by this Government with regard to land ownership in rural areas.
It is with pleasure that through the guidance of the ANC-led Government we can proudly say, ``Forward with land redistribution.’’ [Interjection.] As far as healing the wounds that were caused by the previous government, we are on the right track. We are doing all we can to try and stabilise the economy of the country. The life of people in rural areas is developing and hunger and starvation are running away. Sustainability is our daily bread, as we all know that land ownership is a sensitive issue to people in rural areas. It is one of the necessities on which our culture, traditions and customs are based. Rural communities are satisfied with the fact that Government is providing them with land to ensure their development.
It is also pleasing to notice that there is so much co-operation between Government departments, different organisations and communities on whom the land redistribution programme is focused. This programme has had so much effect on our people in that it is bringing stability and sustainability in regions, in farming and agriculture by alleviating away hunger and starvation. Furthermore, secure land ownership and services appropriate for producing from it prevent people from taking over one another’s land. We should appreciate the fact that it is good to share the land we live in.
We are looking forward with interest to the provisions of the Land Rights Bill. We appreciate the fact that the Department met with traditional leaders and could reach an agreement with regard to this matter. This Bill will promote agriculture and trade, and there will be no more starvation and hunger. In East London at the beginning of this year, 4679 people were overjoyed when they were assured their land would be given back to them. They were removed from this land in 1962 and their land was given to Indian and Coloured communities. The first phase of this claim has been completed as 2 948 people chose to be given houses and land, while 1 731 want money.
The East London Municipality is going to oversee the process of building these houses and will be in control of an amount of R97,9 million. This claim is contributing to the process of restructuring of one of the areas that have been declared the President’s nodal points. There is general satisfaction among our people about this Government, and the future looks bright as the seeds of development, civilisation and alleviation of poverty have been planted. We are no longer giving orders and direction, but people are doing that themselves. In 1994 we were over there, in 2002, we are here and in future we will be there. People are all pointing forward. [Applause.]]
Dr W A ODENDAAL: Mr Chairman, every time I looked at the Minister this morning, she was wearing a different hat. [Laughter.]
Progress with land reform programmes, with which we in the New NP, in broad terms, agree in full, should be judged on the three pillars of land reform policy. On the restitution part of it, many congratulations to the Minister and her department. Unlike the chairperson of the portfolio committee, I am going to take shortcuts on the statistics. More than 300 000 have people benefited from this programme so far. Almost R1,5 billion has been spent on the programme, and only a few claims are still to be settled. What an achievement!
The only grave mistake that has been made, is that too many people have been dumped onto small areas of land. Let us not repeat this mistake. Tenure reform now needs urgent attention. Small-scale and subsistence farmers, especially those in the traditional rural areas, urgently need upgraded property and land use rights. The Government, and specifically President Thabo Mbeki, brought stability in the property market of the commercial farming sector by ensuring property rights.
The redistribution of agricultural land as a third leg started off well, but much more work lies ahead. The necessary goodwill in the commercial farming sector to make land reform work has been in place and has been reflected in the joint fundamentally acceptable strategic agricultural plan for South Africa, compiled by the Government and Agri South Africa.
The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs needs to be congratulated on this great accomplishment, but we all need to note that, once again, it was President Thabo who played a personal major role in establishing a climate of goodwill between Government and the commercial farming sector. The commitment of experienced farmers to serve as mentors to beginner farmers in their communities provides the foundation for the successful absorption of more and more emerging farmers into the commercial sector.
One problem we will never be able to escape, however, is that of tenure rights in the traditional rural areas. By implementing land reform strategies focused on transforming land tenure into variations of freehold or leasehold and on appropriate land use systems, emerging farmers, with the full support systems for finance, extension, research and marketing, can dramatically increase the socioeconomic status of the different rural communities. But traditional rural areas of South Africa, together with other suitable farming areas, lend themselves perfectly to the establishment of successful, extensive small-scale farming projects. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr S ABRAM: Chairperson, in the field of land the effects of apartheid-era laws and policies continue to haunt us even in the postapartheid South Africa. However, with our transition to a democratic order in 1994, the Government set about redistributing state-owned land to landless people.
The creation of a legislative framework to give effect to land reform saw the passage of some 20-odd laws and amendments, which included the Restitution of Land Rights Act, the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act. The Government became a custodian of some 24 million hectares of land, much of which cannot be disposed of. Only a small percentage of this land is suitable for redistribution for housing and agriculture.
According to a presentation by the department, only 7% of land held in terms of a power of attorney by provincial MECs and 37% of land held by the department has thus far been disposed of. This is a worrying factor and points to a possible lack of capacity. The Minister will have to act to ensure removal of administrative backlogs by redesigning the department to ensure that the process of equitable land distribution can be accelerated.
The Department of Land Affairs and its offices throughout the country must be overhauled to achieve increased capacity and efficiency so as to focus on the core functions of land distribution and restitution. There are numerous Land Affairs offices throughout the country operating independently. Resources of the Surveyor-General, deeds, land reform, land restitution and national Department of Agriculture offices should be pooled together, shared and realigned to increase public access.
Legislative changes must be made, where it becomes necessary, to remove cumbersome administrative requirements which delay processes. There are hopefuls in our communities who are becoming increasingly restless, and some who are even politically exploited.
Government grants to emerging farmers, farmworkers, labour tenants and the landless communities contribute somewhat to the problem of land redistribution. Beneficiaries of LRAD grants must contribute in cash or kind. The grant and own contribution are calculated on an individual basis. For example, the R3 600 per annum earned by farmworkers in the Limpopo province discourages the rural poor from applying for consideration in this programme. We need to revisit this programme with a view to easing requirements for accessibility.
The success of South Africa’s land redistribution programme depends on the efficiency of Government and on the positive role that must be played by all South Africans.
This will ensure that Government redistributes and restores land on a larger scale without producing poverty traps. However, a study has to be undertaken to determine how much of the 87% of the land owned by others has been distributed or transferred to the majority in South Africa.
This determination should consider state-owned land that has been distributed to communities, farmworkers and labour tenants. The number of black people who hold sectional and freehold title deeds should also be considered when determining racially skewed land ownership. This does not imply that class-skewed membership should be ignored.
Elke nou en dan vra blanke boere of dié land nie dalk dieselfde weg as Zimbabwe kan volg nie. Ek wil net graag vir ons boere sê: die Afrikaner in Suid-Afrika is ‘n aanpasbare spesie. Kyk nou net hoe het die Schoemans, die Nels, die Du Toits en die Oosthuizens hulle aangepas. So, as hulle net kan aanpas by veranderende omstandighede behoort ons nie ‘n Zimbabwe-styl grondterugname te hê nie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Every now and again white farmers ask whether this country will not perhaps follow the same path as Zimbabwe. I would just like to say to our farmers: the Afrikaner in South Africa is an adaptable species. Just look at how the Schoemans, the Nels, the Du Toits and the Oosthuizens have adapted. Therefore, if only they can adapt to the changing circumstances we should not experience Zimbabwean-style land repossession. [Applause.]]
The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Mnr die Voorsitter, ek wil aansluit by wat Mnr Abram nou net hier gesê het oor aanpasbaarheid. Die Minister het verwys na die restitusie-eis by Majeng. [Mr Chairman, I want to associate myself with Mr Abram in what he just said about adaptability. The Minister referred to the restitution claim at Majen.]
Majeng is near Winterton in the North West. I was there - because the Minister could not go there. Land reform and restitution has not been assigned to me, but I am in a fortunate position for I started days ago going with the Chief Land Claims Commissioner to where these ceremonies of handing over the land were taking place. Some of the best experiences in my life have been during those handovers of restitution claims.
I went there to Majeng. The hon members must picture Majeng. Their claim has been going on for years. It went to the Land Claims Court in an extremely difficult legal setup and resistance from the farmers whose farms were at stake. Then exactly what Mr Abram has been talking about happened. Why this process? People’s attitudes started to change.
Op die ou end is Majeng by wyse van ‘n skikking beslis. Die boere het hul houding teenoor hierdie eis verander. Die eis is natuurlik ook gedryf deur ‘n mev Seperepere. Agb lede onthou haar dalk. Sy was in die eerste vier jaar hier by ons gewees, en sy is ‘n persoon wat ‘n ding kan dryf.
Dit is wonderlik om na so ‘n geleentheid te gaan. Die regter van die Grondeisehof het sy finale uitspraak daar in die veld kom gee. Hy het daar gesit met sy toga en die skikking, wat toe ‘n finale bevel van die Grondeisehof geword het, daar in die veld, tussen die mense, gegee.
Ons herdenk vandag, ek herdenk dit nie graag nie, die sluiting van die Vrede van Vereeniging. Die prokureursfirma wat vir daardie gemeenskap opgetree het, dra die naam van Denys Reitz van Johannesburg. Die van ons wat weet, weet dat Denys Reitz die seun was van Pres F W Reitz van die Vrystaatse modelrepubliek. Hy het die beroemde boek Op Kommando geskryf oor die gevegte in die Engelse oorlog van 1899 tot 1902.
Denys Reitz het nie ‘n sent gevra vir hulle koste nie. Ek het met die prokureur van die firma, wat die dag daar was, gepraat. Die berekening is dat hulle ongeveer R200 000 se koste afgeskryf het ter wille van die Majeng gemeenskap. Dit is die soort aanpassing waarvan ons praat: mense wat in hierdie land bly, wat bereid is om uit hul eie sak te gee om hier ‘n toekoms te verseker. Dan het ‘n mens hoop. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In the end Majeng was decided by means of a settlement. The farmers changed their attitude towards this claim. The claim was, of course, also driven by a certain Mrs Seperepere. Hon members most probably remember her. She was here with us during the first four years and she is a person who can drive a cause.
It is wonderful to attend such an occasion. The judge of the Land Claims Court came and delivered his final decision there in the veld. He sat there in his robe and delivered the settlement that had become the final decision of the Land Claims Court, there in the veld, amongst the people.
Today we celebrate, I do not like celebrating it, the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. The law firm that acted on behalf of that community is named Denys Reitz of Johannesburg. Those of us who are informed, will know that Denys Reitz was the son of Pres F W Reitz of the model republic of the Free State. The famous book about the clashes during the English War of 1899 - 1902, Op Kommando, was written by him.
Denys Reitz did not charge a single cent in costs. I spoke to the lawyer of the firm who was present that day. The estimate was that they had written off more or less R200 000 in legal costs for the sake of the community of Majeng. This is the kind of adaptability that we talk about; people who live in this country, who are prepared to pay out of their own pockets to ensure a future in this country. This gives us hope.]
I went up to near Louis Trichardt where a claim settled deep emotions in
the restitution claims. One Saturday in Louis Trichardt there was this
emotional settlement where people who had been removed were resettled on
the land. While we were standing there I saw a big Mercedes coming, driving
towards Louis Trichardt, far away from Johannesburg. I looked to see who
was sitting inside the Mercedes and saw Cyril Ramaphosa. I asked him:
Cyril, what are you doing here?'' He said:Listen, man, I drove up from
Johannesburg this morning. My mother was a beneficiary on this land and it
means so much to me.’’ Cyril is a rich man, he can go and buy property
wherever he wants, but that piece of land, that benefit lying there in
Louis Trichardt which belonged to his mother, means to him more than what
he can buy with the best money in this country.
Hierdie ding lê diep in ons land. Die grondprobleem is die fundamentele probleem in ons land. Ons moet dit regkry. Ons sal dit regkry. Ek dink die leiding wat uitgaan van die Minister moet waardeer word. Sy doen dit op ‘n wonderlike manier. Sy het daarin geslaag om die houdings onder die boere te verander. Ons gesindhede kom reg in die land, en dít is ‘n prestasie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[This thing is deeply rooted in our country. The problem with land is the fundamental problem in our country. We have to get it right. We shall get it right. I think the leadership of the Minister should be appreciated. She is doing it in a wonderful way. She succeeded in changing the attitude of the farmers. Our attitudes are changing for the better in the country and that is an achievement. [Applause.]
While I am talking about it, let me just say one thing. A lot of criticism has been raised against land reform and land restitution, but I must say that I have the greatest respect for the department which is tackling this extremely difficult task. All over the world land reform, agrarian reform and restitution is considered to be one of the most difficult tasks a state can undertake. This department is really doing a heroic job on the restitution side, the reform side, the tenure side and all sides. I think they must be applauded. [Applause.]
There is still a long way to go, to get it really rolling, to get it really moving, but I believe we have got the personalities. We must give them our support.
Ons moet ophou met hierdie afbrekende kritiek op mense wat dit nie verdien nie, op mense wat dag en nag swoeg om hierdie taak te volvoer. [We should stop levelling this criticism that breaks down people who do not deserve it, people who struggle night and day to bring this task to fruition.]
Actually, my speech is supposed to be restricted to other areas, and to report on those to Parliament. I have now wasted my own time I think. I hope not. [Laughter.]
Let me just talk quickly about those areas. It is going well with deeds registration. No, we will not go slow, my friend. We have a system of great sophistication. But now, with the new challenges in this country, we have to beef up our capacity there, and the only way we can achieve our broader governmental targets, is to go the way of electronic deeds registration, or EDRS.
An HON MEMBER: Have you stopped the go-slow?
The DEPUTY MINISTER: This computer system, which is now being developed, is of immense importance for the broadening of registration security to the masses of our people. We know that at the moment, as it is, it is a system which will mainly, in an excellent way, address the needs of the previous white areas in this country. We have to develop it to be stronger in handling also the communal areas.
With the advent of the internet, e-commerce and global commercialisation, there has been an increased need for electronic deeds service delivery. At the moment the system handles about 6,4 million parcels of land, but we must make it possible to accommodate at least 20 million parcels of land. That is the capacity that we have to create.
An HON MEMBER: At lower cost!
The DEPUTY MINISTER: Yes, at lower cost. I am going to promise the member that as well, if the promise is made to me that I am correct.
There is a need to link these electronic systems of the Cadaster together to improve the efficiency as well as the accuracy of South Africa’s land information management. The challenge is that the new system should deliver the following benefits.
Access to deeds registration should be available everywhere in the country. If one can access a computer and the internet, one should be able to access the deeds registration system. Secondly, the registration process will be and must be speeded up. Thirdly, accuracy will be enhanced, of both the examination of deeds as well as the registration. Fourthly, larger volumes can be handled and transaction costs will be greatly reduced. They must be reduced. It is an economic factor which should be reduced in order to drive the economy in this way.
At the same time I can announce that we are starting to revise the laws relating to land registration. The present Deeds Registration Act dates back to 1937, and has been amended numerous times. Some people over 50, like me, have an emotional attachment to the 1937 Act, but we will have to get over that, because it cannot work with the new electronic system. In a nutshell, the benefits that we are seeking to achieve are, number one, the simplification of the nature of rights or interests that are registrable, so that the majority of the people can have a better, easier understanding of the system and thus their access can be improved.
Secondly, we must simplify the cumbersome aspects of land registration and conveyancing processes, including the examination by professional intermediaries such as conveyancers and the costs involved. Decentralisation of operations to local communities, to local service centres, must be offered and will be possible in the development of this system, so that we can take better advantage of the technology. Information and electronic technology is becoming available in this very important business.
An HON MEMBER: What about diagrams?
The DEPUTY MINISTER: Chairperson, the same goes for that. It is quite a long story. I would not be able to finish it, unfortunately. On 4 December last year, I launched the DeedsWeb internet-based registration information system at Sita in Pretoria. This so-called DeedsWeb is already on the web. One can just enter the web and get access. It will play a major role as the connectivity backbone for the proposed EDRS and will support our initiatives for the centralisation of land registration.
Another system that has been developed during 2001-02 financial year is the implementation of the so-called Deeds Office Tracking System or DOTS, which was completed in respect of the deeds registries. This makes provision for barcoding to identify deeds and documents which are lodged with deeds registries, and is a valuable tool for the control of work flow in the office, as it provides registrars of deeds with essential information.
This is a huge system that is under development at the moment. We expect a lot from it. It is going to be very difficult to develop and implement, and for that purpose we have stepped up our training in the Deeds Chief Directorate. It is very successful. For example, in the past financial year, approximately 570 students benefited from our system of decentralised training in the Deeds Directorate. Apparently, it has been effective, in that 16 members of the designated groups have been appointed as assistant registrars of deeds. With this training systems our employment equity has been improved. A significant event was the appointment of the first black registrar of deeds, at our Pretoria office, which is actually the largest deeds office in the country.
Also for the first time in history, female registrars of deeds were appointed, notably in Kimberley and Bloemfontein deeds registries, where females are now running the show.
The spatial planning aspects of the department are becoming of increased significance. We have had the Planning Profession Bill here before the House and already it is being developed further in the committee. The main other pieces of legislation that we hope to introduce later this year before Parliament are the Land Use Management Bill and the Spatial Information Bill. Unfortunately, that is the point that was asked about here. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Chairperson, hon members, access to and the acquisition of land have been a thorny question through the ages. The discovery of new continents from the days of Columbus, the setting up of a halfway station in the Cape by the Dutch and the incessant wars between AmaXhosa and the English in the Eastern Cape were all around access to and the occupation of land. In order to address poverty and ensure a more equitable distribution of landownership, Government has introduced land reform, but the budget allocation to the DLA does not reflect this as an urgent matter, because this year’s allocation is 0,4% less than last year’s. The DLA will thus receive less funds than last year and experience problems in rolling out the LRAD, or Land Redistribution Agricultural Development Programme.
The LRAD programme is one not to be missed by emerging farmers, women and young children in the rural areas. It is unfortunate that the good work that the department is doing to ensure that people have access to land, for both settlement and production, is one of their best kept secrets. The department will have to hone their public relations techniques on this one. We appreciate that REDWEB is in place, but it has to noted that most of the people for whom this facility is meant have no access to information technology, just as they are not literate in IT.
The LRAD programme also aims to transfer 30% of agricultural land to the target groups over a period of 15 years. This is a challenge to young South Africans to prepare and arm themselves for the great future of acquiring and owning land in a well-structured manner. This will put paid to the illegal land invasions that are becoming a common feature this days. I thank the department for being proactive and alert in intervening in such unfortunate circumstances.
A question arises as to why less than 50% was spent on land reform in the past financial year. Could it mean that there is a lack of capacity or is it simply inertia on the part of the officials of the department? A tendency like this could result in fewer funds being committed to this programme in future. We look forward to the Communal Land Rights Bill, to be tabled later this year, as this will help consolidate legislation on tenure reform. It is hoped that in doing so, close attention will be given to all those tribes that have title to the land they occupy.
While we appreciate the statistics as given by the hon the Minister today, we feel that there is room for improvement in processing claims on restitution. Our people believe that ``maropeng go a boelwa, go sa boelweng ke teng’’. They are concerned about where their umbilical cords lie.
Finally, I would like to thank and congratulate the director-general of the department for presenting part 1 of his annual report in all 11 official languages. This is all about user-friendliness of the document. The UCDP supports the Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr M S MOGOBA: Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, commissioner, DG and all the people who are working hard in this very important department, the PAC of Azania will support these Votes, that is the Land Affairs and Agriculture Votes, but we must, at the same time qualify our support.
Nearly seven years after uhuru, there is still no land for the majority of the people. This is a large country with vast expanses of land, but it has a colonial legacy which is an embarrassment. The Government and Parliament have the primary responsibility of solving this problem by being proactive. We cannot leave it to our poor, hungry, landless, houseless, jobless and sometimes even waterless masses to come up with a solution.
We urgently need a land summit of all political leaders, agricultural unions and other stakeholders. The land belongs to all Africans, all citizens who are born in South Africa and owe loyalty to it and have no other fatherland to go to. This is a generous definition which is not based on colour or ancestry. For being so generous we expect that Africans will not just sit down and, in a state of helplessness, be guilty of doing nothing to ensure that their children and all posterity have a place in the proverbial sun.
It is against this prospect that we fully appreciate the department’s stated mission in their report. I quote:
To provide access to land, to extend rights in land with particular emphasis on the previously disadvantaged communities within a well- planned environment.
We would, of course, put it strongly by suggesting that the previously disadvantaged are actually the dispossessed indigenous Africans, who, if ignored can wreak havoc on our flagging democracy. The powerful countries in the world do not support land reform for the dispossessed, in fact they blame them for demanding equity and justice. The Palestinians and Zimbabweans are the current victims. In the case of Zimbabwe the Mugabe- bashers are currently seen in full array, throwing everything they have at their victim. Lately they have even blamed Mugabe for the drought in the region.
Of course land is dynamite, a time bomb that is ticking away. For a water scarce country like ours, food production and food security are the utmost priorities. We appreciate the progress the department is making with the programme known as land redistribution for agricultural development. We hope this programme will increase the number of boere, new farmers, particularly from the sector that has been excluded from extensive agriculture.
The revamping and repositioning of the Land Bank will also go a long way in
helping the emerging farmers. Many African farmers have a flare for land
and farming. It may not be widely known that whereas the Western European
languages may have developed extensive vocabularies in the scientific
field, the African languages are far superior in the area of land and
agriculture. A good example is a comparison between English and Afrikaans
and Sesotho and Sepedi in the vocabulary describing milk or a variety of
dairy products. For instance, instead of saying milk'', ormaswi’’,
they have maswi'',lebese’’, dikataka'',hloa’’, kgatsele'',
mothemišo’’, lefehlo'',legala’’, seredi'' andlešokotšo’’. I
could go on and on. This, in our view, shows that many indigenous Africans
have a propensity for farming, which can be developed to good effect.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Hon member, your time has expired.
Dr M S MOGOBA: We support this Vote and we hope that more will come out of it. [Applause.]
Mrs B M NTULI: Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and hon members, redistribution, restitution and tenure reform have been such buzz words in the land reform lexicon that they have been etched into the psyches of all those who are interested in the project of reversing over three centuries of colonial dispossession of the people’s land. Just as the loss of freedom has been concomitant with the people’s loss of their land, so does restitution of such land become a defining feature of true liberation.
The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights and the Land Claim Court came into being in December 1994 as directed by the interim Constitution of 1993 and established in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act. When it started its operation in March 1995, it took off at a slow pace as the commission had no power to finalise claims but had to refer them to the Land Claims Court.
It was not until the end of 1998, when amendments were made by Parliament and implemented which resulted in a shift from a court-driven process to an administrative process, that the pace of delivery changed for the better. Up to the end of March this year 32 389 claims had been settled, benefiting 385 891 beneficiaries and involving land totalling 583 048 hectares.
Sithi halala kuwe ANC. Nakubaba uMgoqi sithi halala kuye nethimba lakhe. Uma bengizazi izithakazelo zakhe bengizomusho, kodwa-ke angizazi. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[We say to the ANC: Congratulations! We also say to father Mgoqi and his team: Congratulations! If I knew his clan praises, I would praise him, but I do not know them.]
Land is a sensitive and complex issue. It is one of the reasons that led to the formation of the ANC in 1912. The Native Land Act of 1913 caused a lot of damage which resulted in our people being grossly deprived of their land, as it prohibited African families from occupying land inside schedules of reserved areas, while the Development Trust and Land Act determined where and under what circumstances blacks could hold and occupy land in the schedules and reserved black areas. A plethora of other Acts and regulations specifically prohibited blacks from staying and owning land in certain areas in South Africa, namely the so-called white areas.
This exercise resulted in the forced removal of black people, in their being relocated onto land which could not sustain them economically. This resulted in their going back to white farmers, begging for employment and survival.
Ngithi basuke benqiba lapho umuntu aye abone khona indoda ikhothamela enye indoda ngoba ifuna nje ukuthi ithole ucezwana lwesinkwa oluwe etafuleni lenye indoda. Umuntu uye abone indoda ikhothamela enye indoda ngoba nje ifuna indawana yokuthi abantwana bayo babe nendawo lapho bezofihla khona ikhanda. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[I say they beg, especially where a person would kneel before another man because he wants a piece that has dropped from the table of that man. One finds a man kneeling before another man just because he needs a place where his children could have a roof over their heads.]
It is gratifying to note that, due to the pace of land restitution in our country, the commission exceeded its budget last year by R106 million. Hurrah! At least, we have one institution of Government which has no roll- overs of funds. Instead, funds had to be acquired from other programmes run by the Department of Land Affairs.
This commission has done a lot for us to be proud of. Let me cite a few success stories. At Kameelkop in KwaZulu-Natal a resettlement agreement of approximately 282 beneficiaries, whose land was declared a black spot in the late 1960s, was finalised in December last year. The claimants were given final offers of compensation and notices to move from their land for houses at Ekuvuken Township or for other places. As a result of the dispossession, the claimants lost their rights to freehold title of the land and suffered a further diminution of rights as they had to pay rents as tenants in the townships.
This restoration settlement was packaged for housing development.
Ayikho-ke into esusa isithunzi sendoda njengokuthi ubaba wezingane angabi nayo indawo lapho izingane zakhe zingafihla khona ikhanda. Ayikho into emehlisayo nemenza afane neze leze njengaleyo. Ngithi: Nawe Mpumalanga awumncane. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[Nothing destroys man’s dignity more than seeing a father without any land for his children on which to lay their heads. There is nothing like that, something that diminishes his dignity and makes him look like nothing.
I say: Even you, Mpumalanga, are not small.]
In Mpumalanga, at Botshabelo, a claim involving 700 household beneficiaries, in eight farms, has sent of them settled. The said farms form the Botshabelo Mission Station. Their removal was effected in order to eliminate tenancy in the Middleburg Town, which the Native Land Act sought to undermine. The Botshabelo community did not receive any compensation at the time of the dispossession.
Nakuwe-ke Lydenburg ngithi: Sikubonile okwenzeke kuwe - lapho abantu bebethola khona izindawo zabo, bejabula. [And to you, Lydenburg I say: We saw what happened to you - where people got their land, and they were happy.]
There was also jubilation at Mokerong, Reboile and Munzhedzi.
Hi navela ku khensa na va ka Manavela, va-Mukerong, Shimange na Mavungeni na van’wana na van’wana, loko va thlele va nyikiwa tindzhawu ta vona hi Mfumo. Ku dya i ku engeta. (Translation of Tsonga paragraph follows.)
[We wish to thank Manavela, Mukerong, Shimange and Muvumeni communities and others for having succeeded in their land restitution claims and managed to be resettled in their original areas, as allocated to them by the Government. We say thank you very much.]
The old saying, ``He who laughs last, laughs longest,’’ remains true today. The restitution claimants, as witnessed in the very few success stories, are having the last laugh. It was very wise of this Government and the best way to go to conduct land reform under the rule of law as it could be seen. The restitution commission is leaving a legacy of a job well done.
Siyabonga kubaba uMgoqi. Siyawubonga umsebenzi omuhle abawenzayo. Siyaziqhenya ngabo futhi siyaziqhenya ngoNgqongqoshe. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[We would like to say, thank you father Mgoqi: We appreciate the good work that they did. We are proud of them and we are also proud of the Minister.]
I want to take this opportunity to appeal to the Minister and the officials of the Department of Land Affairs to render all support necessary to the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights in order for it to continue with the good and important work it is doing and to ensure that the timeframes set by the President in his state of the nation address are met without fear or favour.
Land restitution offers excellent opportunities for local economic development, and it contributes to the growth of the national economy. Black economic empowerment, as articulated by its commission, must form the basis for doing business with communities in time to come. Gone are the days when the owners of land were relegated to positions of begging for employment, and others for crumbs that may fall from their master’s table.
Siyalesekela leli Voti leSabiwomali. [We support this Budget Vote.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Mr Chairperson, I just want to remind the Minister that she can change her hat but she must remember that the crossing-of-the-floor Bill has not yet been passed. [Laughter.] So if she decides to change her hat and come to the MF she is welcome. [Laughter.]
South Africa has a history of issues with land. The MF is, however, confident that the current Department of Land Affairs is competent at attending to current matters concerning the land. The department aims to create an equitable and sustainable land dispensation that promotes social and economic development and is supported by the MF
One does not want to constantly pick on the past, as our aim is to work towards a better future.
But on the subject of land it is necessary. Group areas and ill division of land by the apartheid government have left transformation in the land affairs sector as a major problem. We have passed our second election of the new South Africa and the Department of Land Affairs is still hard at work trying to correct, give back and provide for the wrongs of then. The MF is aware that this is not because of incompetence, but rather because of the vast challenge and the enormity of the situation regarding issues such as restitution of land rights, redistribution of land and reforming tenure.
The MF understands that the department’s tasks are legion, having to manage land surveying, mapping and the deeds registration system. This certainly appears to be quite a load, but the MF is confident that the department will effectively utilise the budget, and notes the increase in the contribution by the department to the Kwazulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Board. Though appreciated, we would prefer a larger contribution so as to be able to deliver.
The MF supports the Budget Vote 29. [Applause.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Chairperson, hon Minister - I no longer see the Deputy Minister - and members of the Minister’s department, including the commissioner for land restitution, the sharp historical polarisation in the conception of the land use capabilities of white commercial farmers on the one hand, in comparison to black people, continues to determine the ownership pattern of land in South Africa.
In this regard, large and more fertile tracts of land are still in white hands. That is why Azapo supports the hon the Minister in trying to redress this particular problem. Successive apartheid governments developed and maintained the machinery to provide systematic technical, financial and infrastructural support to white farmers, and this was not available to black farmers. For this reason, white farmers were able to achieve advanced levels of productivity and competitiveness and, as a result, made a major contribution to the total value of produced goods and services in the country.
Black people were forced into more marginal land which, under growing population, could not sustain their farming systems, and this led to further land deterioration. That is why, at the beginning of this land distribution process, many families as large as 200 and more, were put on a few hectares of land and the process could not be sustained. When the hon the Minister came in, she decided to change that, so that a large group of people would not be placed on a few hectares of land, which is unsustainable.
Azapo supports the Minister in getting rid of that debacle. AZAPO has always held the view that the alienation of black people from their land was without compensation or compassion but that it was by force and legislation. That is why Azapo supports the Minister in her legislative process, because land was taken away by legislation and we must legislate that land must be returned. We support the hon the Minister. [Applause.]
It is for this reason that Azapo advocates for and support a legislative process that will make it possible for black people to own land permanently; not just to own it, but to own it permanently. [Applause.]
The current land policy, which we understand the hon the Minister is trying to grapple with, where we have willing seller and willing buyer, limits the quantity, the quality and the location of land to be redistributed to the needy. We are encouraged by the Minister’s statement in regard to this matter, because it limits land that should be distributed to other people. In some instances, the willing seller put high prices on pieces of land that are to be sold.
Azapo supports the current restitution programme that focuses more on supporting sustainable rural development and intervention. The only snag is that some regional offices which are charged with negotiating restitution agreements are very slow and, in some cases, they hire consultants. Some of the consultants have very poor facilitation skills. The result is that the land restitution process is slowed down. Azapo would like to see an acceleration of this process. We would like the department to look also at landowners who own land for speculative purposes. This is an area which we would like the department to look at, because there is no purpose in owning land for the sake of owning it when it cannot be used by other citizens.
Azapo supports the Budget Vote. [Applause.]
Mnr A J BOTHA: Mnr die Voorsitter, na aanleiding van ‘n vroeëre tussenwerpsel deur die adjunkvoorsitter, wil ek graag spog met my provinsie, die Vrystaat, se toewyding tot landbou. Nie minder nie as 10 van die 30 sprekers vandag kom uit die Vrystaat. As ons nog vir Salie Manie, Salie Abram en Kraai van Niekerk wat daar boer en daar skoolgegaan het, byvoeg, dan is dit sommer 12 uit die 30.
Dit is net jammer dat die een Vrystater, die Adjunkminister, wat nou nie hier teenwoordig is nie, so ‘n bietjie te rof tekere gegaan het met die heuningkwas. Welkom terug! Alles staan darem nie so wit in blom in die departement nie. Onder andere wag ons byvoorbeeld nou nog vir die resolusies van daardie baie glansryke Land Summit in Durban verlede jaar. Die Adjunkminister kan gerus vir ons iets daaromtrent doen. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr A J BOTHA: Mr Chairperson, in consequence of an earlier interjection by the Deputy Chairperson, I would like to boast with the dedication of my province, the Free State, to agriculture. No fewer than 10 of the 30 speakers today hail from the Free State. If we include Salie Manie, Salie Abram and Kraai van Niekerk who farmed and went to school there then the number would be 12 out of the 30.
It is a pity that the one Free Stater, the Deputy Minister, who is not present here now, flattered a bit too excessively. Welcome back! All is not what it seems in the department. Amongst other things we are still for example waiting for the resolutions of that very glorious Land Summit held in Durban last year. The Deputy Minister could perhaps do something about this for us.] It is the declared policy of this department and this hon Minister to promote public-private partnerships in order to achieve land reform. In my opinion, this opens the gate for a significant privatisation of land distribution and for the training and mentoring of new entrants to commercial farming. During the budget briefing, it was claimed by the department that the principle of willing seller, willing buyer was taking too long, as we have just heard. This created considerable commotion in the committee as, understandably, such a statement is open to wide interpretation. Since a negative interpretation is too ghastly to contemplate, I will accept the innocent meaning that the principle remains, but the process must be speeded up.
If the process is too slow, then we should examine why it is so. Certainly, it is not because too little land is coming onto the market. At least 10 000 agricultural land transactions take place every year. Can it then be that there is not enough money in the budget for this purpose?
While it is common cause that the present allocation for land acquisition falls far short of what is needed in order to meet the stated targets, the fact of the matter is that the present allocation is not being fully spent. In addition to this, there are at present commercial farmers who are committed to land reform, but who often encounter difficulties in finalising projects.
Since land is available, money is available, and the role-players are willing, where is the problem? I believe a thorough examination will reveal a lack of expertise and skills in the department for this purpose. This must not be seen as a criticism of the people involved, because trading in property is not the primary job of civil servants. There is a very large body of property dealers competing with each other in this team, and they should be used as agents in exactly the same way that the commercial purchasers of agricultural and other land do. In other words, privatise land reform.
What to do once the land is acquired poses an even greater challenge. The wisdom and the skills to farm successfully are built over generations, and the new generation always needs to stand on the shoulders of the elders in order to climb higher. This is as true for communal farming as it is for commercial farming.
Since we are dealing with the establishment of commercial farmers it is imperative to harness the skills of existing commercial agriculture on whose shoulders new farmers can stand to climb higher. It can well be asked how this is to be achieved in practice. The answer lies in various bodies in organised agriculture that are, in fact, very eager to do so. The largest agricultural commodities organisation in South Africa has established a special foundation whose purpose is to liaise and co-ordinate with all roleplayers involved in agriculture to ensure efficient project management for land reform. While they obviously also do not have a perfect recipe for implementation, positive co-operation between such bodies in the department will surely achieve significant success and very quickly as the Minister also mentioned. I want to say to the hon the Minister: Throw out the challenge to them and open the gate for them and let them compete with each other for the benefit of all.
Lately Zimbabwe is often referred to - and mainly to relate to disaster. I would now like to focus on Zimbabwe, but in order to illustrate the feasibility of public-private co-operation. During the first decade after independence Zimbabwe embarked on a highly successful land reform programme during which 2,7 million hectares were redistributed to new farmers. If political will and the necessary funding had prevailed, the present anarchy and accompanying food shortage would not have occurred and the land settlement plan would have normalised - but the gate was closed. Likewise, our land settlement pattern can be normalised, provided we engage everybody involved in agriculture.
This brings us to the object and purpose of land reform. In the first instance, it is to correct a socioeconomic wrong which was committed and it is very necessary in order to normalise our society to do so. It is not, as many wrongly believe, an opportunity for general poverty alleviation or new wealth creation. Those who do believe this must answer for themselves the question of how a mere 3,8% of the GDP must address the needs of the majority of the population. Ours is an industrial economy and new economic growth will take place mainly outside agriculture. As it is, a far too large percentage, estimated as one quarter of the population, depends on this fraction of 3,8% of the GDP. Whatever approaches we take, the message is clear. Far too little money is allocated for the purpose in the budget. The Minister knows this, the department knows this and the targeted roleplayers know this. Why then does the Cabinet not seem to understand this?
It is time that the gate was opened so that willing sellers and willing buyers can walk through it. If that is not done, we will come back year after year to this debate and be disappointed. I will attempt to say, as the hon Muleleke taught me: Mpulele heke, mme. Tsamaya ka kgotso. [Open the gate, hon Minister. Thank you.] [Applause.] Mnr J J DOWRY: Mnr die Voorsitter, agb Minister, dit is een van die regering se veelbevestigde voornemens om groot getalle kleinboere te vestig en daarom is loodsprojekte in al nege provinsies reeds van stapel gestuur. Die Nuwe NP is van mening dat die hoofdoel van kleinboerontwikkeling behoort te wees om die landbou te dien en daarom moet grond so verdeel word, dat landbou daardeur baat vind en nie net bloot om woonplek te verskaf nie. Goeie landbougrond in Suid-Afrika is skaars en daarom uiters kosbaar.
Die Nuwe NP is van mening dat staatsgrond wat tans nie gebruik word nie, onmiddellik aan kleinboere beskikbaar gestel moet word. Dit is egter belangrik dat staatsgrond nie op ‘n ad hoc-basis gegee word nie, maar dat daar ‘n duidelike vraag daarna moet bestaan. Dit help ook niemand, insluitende die kleinboer, om hom net op ‘n stuk grond te gaan neersit en te hoop vir die beste nie. Vestiging van kleinboere moet gepaard gaan met die daarstel van ‘n infrastruktuur. Om te boer is duur en toegang tot geld teen ‘n laer rentekoers is die enigste manier om kleinboere te help op die been te kom. Implemente is duur en daarsonder kan nie behoorlik geboer word nie, veral wanneer dit gaan om akkerbou.
Wanneer ons met kleinboerontwikkeling besig is, wil ek graag pleit dat daar finansiering sal wees, al sou dit in die eerste jare teen ‘n nulrentekoers geskied - en verkieslik so. Daar is reeds te veel voorbeelde van kleinboere wat met groot verwagtinge grond gaan beset het, wat nou daar geen vordering maak nie, omdat hulle nie oor die nodige geld of infrastruktuur beskik nie. Verder is dit uiters noodsaaklik dat ondersteunende dienste, soos byvoorbeeld voorligting en opleiding, gereeld beskikbaar gestel moet word, deur instansies soos onder andere die Elsenburg Landboukollege. Bestaande boere kan ook hul welwillendheid bewys deur kleinboere onder hulle vlerk te neem, ten opsigte van raadgee. As dit so is dat die wêreld tien miljard bestaansboere in 2050 verwag, dan is dit ‘n voldonge feit dat Suid-Afrika dit nie sal vryspring nie en daarom moet ons die verwagte toename onder boere van die begin af so bestuur dat ons meer sukses as verliese toon. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr J J DOWRY: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister, it is one of the Government’s often confirmed intentions to establish large numbers of small farmers, which is why pilot projects have already been launched in all nine provinces. The New NP is of the opinion that the main aim for developing small farmers ought to be their service to agriculture and that the land therefore ought to be divided in such a way that agriculture stands to benefit from it instead of merely providing living space. Good agricultural land is scarce in South Africa and hence it is extremely costly.
The New NP is of the opinion that currently unused state land must immediately be made available to small farmers. It is, however, important that state land not be given on an ad hoc basis, but that there be a definite demand for it. It is also of no use to anyone, including the small farmer, just to place him on a piece of land and to hope for the best. The establishment of small farmers must coincide with the establishment of an infrastructure. Farming is costly and access to money at a low interest rate is the only way to help small farmers make a start. Implements are expensive and without them one cannot farm properly, in particular when harvesting crops.
On the subject of small farmer development, I would like to plead for financing, even if for the first few years it is against a zero rate of interest - and preferably so. Already there are too many examples of small farmers who took possession of their land with great expectations, but who are now making no progress there because they do not have the necessary money or infrastructure at their disposal. Furthermore it is also extremely essential that supportive services, such as for instance education and training, be made available regularly by bodies such as, among others, the Elsenburg Agricultural College. Existing farmers can also prove their goodwill by taking small farmers under their wings in respect of advice. If it is true that they expect ten billion subsistence farmers on the planet by the year 2050, then it is a fait accompli that South Africa will not escape this and we should therefore manage the expected increase among farmers in such a way from the word go, that we show more successes than failures. [Applause.]]
Mr Z KOTWAL: Chairperson, landownership is the basis for nationhood. Land is the foundation for wealth. Land is the source of minerals, agricultural products and all kinds of raw materials for human use and development. Land is the source of food, houses, employment, means of education, pastures and graveyards. A landless nation is no nation.
I want to tell the House and the nation that, looking back at how land was distributed in this country when the ANC came into power in 1994, one sees that an average amount of land held per person in South Africa was 1,3 hectares in the case of blacks compared to 1 570 hectares per person in the case of whites. We cannot say that land redistribution is a matter which we can leave to the people of the ANC. Land reform, for the sake of stability in this country, is a national matter which very closely affects everyone.
As a first step, it is important to deal efficiently with land reform to ensure rural stability and prosperity. The process of economic empowerment in South African agriculture starts with improved access to land, and the vesting of secure rights in people and areas where these do not exist. To deal effectively with land reform, it is important that all avenues of land access such as restitution, redistribution and tenure reform should be given adequate attention.
Allow me to share a recent experience of mine with members. I was visiting an old friend - a certain mkhulu Mabhokwe Cilo - in front of whom I grew up and who lives on a farm called Vroegeveld, on the outskirts of Piet Retief. Mkhulu was complaining and I would like to use his exact words and I quote:
Mfana wami, kulo nyaka ngizolamba. Angilimanga ngoba umnikazi wepulazi ubengihlukumeza ngoba ngabhalisela umhlaba. [My son, this year I am going to starve. I did not plough, because the farm owner was harassing me for having applied for the land.]
What he said was that, this year, he will starve. The reason being that he had not planted enough because the owner of the farm was intimidating him, because he had applied for the land that he lived on and paid for by virtue of the fact that he was a labour tenant.
I immediately contacted the landowner to enquire about the state of affairs and to get his side of the story. Mr Reinstoff’s complaint was that his timber plantations were always burning and he had a strong feeling that the people who were living on his farm were responsible - a charge which the people denied. What I intended to tell him was that, on my observation of the matter, the relationship between him and the people living on his farm was strained as a result of their applications for the land. I then volunteered to mediate. I am busy, together with his legal counsel and the Department of Land Affairs, trying to find a win-win solution for all concerned where the ideal would be that Mr Reinstoff assists the residents on his farm with things such as ploughing and water, and the residents, in turn, would assist the farm owner in looking after his plantations and with general security on the farm as he is not resident on the farm. He owns three or four farms.
The ANC wants a united and prosperous agricultural sector. The example that I have just cited to members stresses the very fact that farm owners and farm labourers need each other to coexist. Our Constitution states that:
The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.
The Government’s land redistribution programme seeks to comply with this order by providing land to the poor, especially black people, for residential and productive purposes. The programme is largely based on a willing-buyer-willing-seller arrangement, with the price of land reflecting a reasonable market value.
At the National Land Tenure Conference held in November 2001, our Minister, Ms Didiza stated that 87 000 households had benefited from the redistribution programme since 1994, by accessing land for both settlement and farming. We take this opportunity to congratulate the Minister and her department. I say ``Well done! Keep it up and do better’’.
As land has been inevitably costly, driven by market prices and unavailable in small grant-sized parcels, people wishing to acquire land to farm are forced to form large groups to acquire land on the open market. This led to the failure of some of these projects, often rendering them unsustainable and leaving our beneficiaries no better off than when they applied.
This was one of the reasons for the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development - LRAD grant focusing on individuals rather than on groups and demanding a minimum own contribution of R5 000 per applicant in order to access a range of grants from R20 000 to R100 000. The LRAD programme is designed to provide grants to black South African citizens to access land specifically for agricultural purposes.
The strategic objectives of the subprogrammes include contributing to the redistribution of 30% of the country’s land over 15 years, improving nutrition and incomes of the rural poor who want to farm on any scale; decongesting overcrowded former homeland areas, and expending opportunities for women and young people who live in rural areas.
Although land redistribution has targeted the poor and the rate of delivery has increased, there is a definite need to increase the flexibility of the programme to allow for larger grants. This will allow beneficiaries to maximise their economic potential by ensuring that their livelihoods are supported in a sustainable manner.
In terms of the LRAD programme, there should also be linkages between agricultural and other economic and social sectors so that job-creation opportunities are enhanced and to force the conditions for the development of more commercial farmers.
Salomo in die Bybel sê: Dit is die een vlieg wat die apteker se salf laat stink. So is dit ook met daardie boere wat nog hulle werkers swak behandel, wat alle boere so blootstel aan kritiek. Graag wil ek vandag hulde bring aan daardie boere wat met groot deernis omsien na hul plaasmense. Daardie boere tree op as mentors vir die nuwe boere in hul omgewing. Met hulle hulp en bystand verseker hulle sukses en voortbestaan. ‘n Laaste gedagte: AgriSA en Nafu het so ‘n sleutelrol gespeel in die daarstelling van die sektorplan en daar is groot waardering daarvoor. [Applous.]
Is dit wenslik dat hierdie organisasies nog losstaan van mekaar? Daarom wil ek ‘n beroep doen dat ernstig besin moet word oor moontlike eenwording. Dit sal nie net in die belang van landbou wees nie, maar ook in belang van die hele Suid-Afrika. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Solomon says in the Bible that it is the one fly that putrefies the perfumer’s ointment. And so is it with those farmers who still treat their workers badly, who expose all farmers to criticism. Today, I would dearly like to pay tribute to those farmers who compassionately see to the needs of their people. Those farmers act as mentors to new farmers in their vicinity. With their help and support, success and survival are ensured. A last thought: AgriSA en Nafu played such a key role in the creation of the sector plan and there is great appreciation for that. [Applause.]
Is it desirable that these organisations are still existing as separate entities? That is why I would like to urge that serious thought be given to possible unification. It would not only be in the interest of agriculture, but also in the interest of the whole of South Africa. [Applause.]]
UNGQONGQOSHE WEZOLIMO NEZEMIHLABA: Sihlalo, malungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu, bozakwethu abakhona, baba uMotsoaledi no-Nksz Mashego Dlamini nabasihambele kule Ndlu, ngabe impela anginaluzwelo uma ngingaqhubeka nginihlalise lapha ngiphendule ezinye zezinkulumo ezenziwe. Isikhathi nokho asibambekanga kahle, bekufuneka ngabe sesiphumile kule Ndlu ngehora lokuqala.
Engingakusho manje ngukunibonga ngendlela enikhulume ngayo kule nkulumompikiswano yanamhlanje mayelana nesabiwomali somNyango wezemiHlaba.
Ngibonga kubo bonke abasixhasile ngokuza bazolalela kanti futhi nabasixhasayo emsebenzini esiwenzayo, njalonjalo, ngiyababonga.
Ngibonga kumalunga akule Ndlu ngomsebenzi awenzayo nangezinto abazilethayo ziphuma emphakathini ezidinga ukuthi sizibheke njengoHulumeni. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of Zulu speech follows.)
[The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Chairperson, hon members of this House, colleagues who are here, father Motsoaledi and Ms Mashego Dlamini and guests who are in this House, it would mean that I had no mercy if I were to continue keeping you here and replying to some of the speeches that have been delivered. Time was not kept well; we should have left this House at one o’clock.
All I can say now is thank you for the way you spoke in today’s debate regarding the budget of the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs.
I would like to thank all those who supported us by coming to listen and those who support us in the work that we do, and so on and so on, thank you. I would like to thank members of this House for the work that they do and issues that they bring from communities which we need to look at as Government.) Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 13:35. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
(1) Assent by the President of the Republic in respect of the
following Bills:
Animal Identification Bill [B 49B - 2001] - Act No 6 of
2002 (assented to and signed by President on 29 May
2002);
Veterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Amendment Bill
[B 66D - 2001] - Act No 10 of 2002 (assented to and
signed by President on 29 May 2002); and
Immigration Bill [B 79B - 2001] - Act No 13 of 2002
(assented to and signed by President on 30 May 2002).
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Minister of Safety and Security:
Government Notice No R.334 published in Government Gazette No 23245
dated 22 March 2002, Regulations for the South African Police Service,
made in terms of sections 24 and 48 of the South African Police Service
Act, 1995 (Act No 68 of 1995).
- The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs: Annual Report of the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights for 2001- 2002.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
National Assembly:
-
NOTE: The Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Reinstatement of Enrolment of Certain Legal Practitioners Bill [B 6 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), which appeared in the Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports of 27 May 2002 (p 462) contained an error, in that the last sentence of the last paragraph was incomplete. The following is the correct Report:
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Reinstatement of Enrolment of Certain Legal Practitioners Bill [B 6 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 22 May 2002: The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, having considered the subject of the Reinstatement of Enrolment of Certain Legal Practitioners Bill [B 6 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 6A - 2002]. The Committee further resolved that the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development be requested to cause his Department, in conjunction with relevant role- players, including representatives from the legal profession, to revert to this Committee within three months from the date of adoption of this Report by the National Assembly, on possible options available to honour the memory of such reinstated persons. Report to be considered. -
Second Report of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, dated 30 April 2002:
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts, having considered and
examined the:
* Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 22
- Land Affairs and the Registration of Deeds Trading Account for
the year ended 31 March 2001 [RP 180-01]
* Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of
Vote 22 - Land Affairs and the Registration of Deeds Trading
Account for the year ended 31 March 2000 [RP 131-2000]
* Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 23
- Land Affairs and the Registration of Deeds Trading Account for
the year ended 31 March 1999 [RP 147-99]
* Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 22
- Land Affairs and the Registration of Deeds Trading Account for
the year ended 31 March 1998 [RP 193-98], and having heard and
considered evidence, reports as follows:
Introduction
This recommendation is a consolidation of the Audited Reports for the
four financial years from 1998 to 2001. Although they have consistently
been qualified reports, the Committee wishes to recognise that the
Department of Land Affairs (the Department) has done much to improve
internal systems of control and to minimise risk areas. As an example,
the Department has established an Internal Audit Department, a
framework for effective internal controls systems, Internal Audit and
Audit Committee Charters and an annual audit plan. All vacant positions
in the Internal Audit component have been filled, and the Department is
well placed to implement the Public Finance Management Act, Act 29 of
1999.
1. Loans for Industrial Development (par 2.2.1(a), p 171 [RP 180-
01])
Accumulated loans totalling R281 million in respect of Industrial
Development were made between 1972 and 1994 to certain local
authorities in order to attract industrialists to specific areas
identified for economic development. These loans were in line with
the policies at the time and were referred to at the time as
Industrial Growth Point Loans.
For a number of years, the records within the Department could not
be reconciled with those of the relevant local authorities. The
outstanding amount of R281 million in the financial statements
could not be verified because of a lack of information, a shortage
of resources and the accumulation of debt interest. No payments in
respect of the above-mentioned loans were made during the 1999-
2000 financial year. However, certain local authorities had repaid
the loans in full, and the Committee recognises this goodwill.
The Accounting Officer indicated that the Department had engaged
with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) through the
National Treasury in an attempt to transfer these loans to the
DBSA. The DBSA refused because there are no written agreements to
enforce the loans and the affected local authorities are in a poor
financial state. The Department set up an interdepartmental
investigating committee, and the Accounting Officer indicated to
the Committee, during a meeting dated 12 June 2001, that they were
going to approach the Cabinet to write off the loans. The
Accounting Officer furthermore indicated that the loans should
never have been transferred to the Department in the first place.
At the above meeting it was agreed that the provincial auditors in
the Office of the Auditor-General would write to the concerned
local authorities and then report to the Committee on the status
and movement of the loans. During August 2001, the nine provincial
auditors presented a full schedule of the outstanding loan
balances. The Committee has noted that two municipalities, Akasia
and Newcastle, had paid their loans in June 2001. They were not
aware of the Cabinet decision to write off the loans. However, the
vast majority of the loans were not being serviced, and some
attempts have been made for loan alleviation on the basis that
repayments would cause considerable financial burden. In many
cases the local authorities face liquidity problems, as no
provision was made to service debt. If councils were to make
provision to repay these loans, they would have to increase the
service tariffs as well as rates and taxes which would impact
negatively on the affected communities.
The Accounting Officer informed the Committee that a
recommendation was made on 2 August 2001, and approval given by
the Cabinet on 8 August 2001, to write off the outstanding total
of R277 821 916,51 in respect of these loans. This was done even
though the Committee recommended, on 12 June 2001, that an
investigation take place to pursue an avenue where some of the
amounts could be recovered.
The Committee wishes to express its concern with the manner in
which the Department dealt with the Loans for Industrial
Development, and requests that all the municipalities be notified
of the status of their loans. The Committee observes that Cabinet
approval for what occurred would not rectify the matter. After a
meeting with the Accounting Officer on 12 June 2001, the Committee
felt that the matter be further investigated by both the Committee
and the Department before proceeding with the request to the
Cabinet to write off the loans. In particular, the Department
should have investigated methods of recovering outstanding
amounts.
The Committee notes that it is unfortunate that no remedial action
was taken to try and recover some of these outstanding amounts as
this may set a negative precedent in future. However, the
Committee agrees with the Department and concurs with the Cabinet,
and recommends that the loans be written off as an authorised and
irrecoverable amount.
2. Subsidised Transport (par 2.2.1(b), p 171 [RP 180-01])
The Committee notes with concern that for three consecutive years
(1999-2001) an outstanding balance of R1 841 322 could not be
confirmed. The Committee understands that a task team was
appointed to take corrective action, and that they would meet once
a month for this purpose and ultimately resolve the matter by the
end of April 2002.
The Committee recommends that the Accounting Officer report to the
Committee within 30 days of receipt of this resolution on progress
made in resolving this outstanding balance of R1 841 322.
3. Surrender of Surplus Funds: Registration of Deeds Trading
Account (par 3.2, p 172 [RP 180-01])
The Committee notes that the surplus in the Registration of Deeds
Trading Account of the previous year, amounting to R17 136 845,
had not been surrendered to the National Revenue Fund. However,
the Committee notes that this matter was resolved on 25 October
2001, and commends the Accounting Officer for this.
4. Unauthorised Expenditure (par 2.2.2(a), p 3 [RP 131-00])
During the 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 financial years, remuneration
totalling R254 455 was paid to members of the Ingonyama Trust
Board. The payments were made prior to the approval of the
proposed rates by the Minister of Finance, on 22 July 1999. The
matter was referred to the executive head of the Department of
Finance, who indicated that the Minister of Finance could not give
retrospective approval.
The Committee notes the explanation given by the Accounting
Officer regarding this unauthorised expenditure, that the money
was not misappropriated and that the Department received value for
money. The Committee is concerned that the Department disregards
procedures, rules and regulations even where value for money may
have been attained. However, in view of the steps taken by the
Accounting Officer to prevent further contravention or the
recurrence of unauthorised expenditure, the Committee recommends
that these payments be authorised.
5. Unauthorised Expenditure (par 2.2.2(a), p 3 [RP 147-99])
An amount totalling R1 852 035 was identified during the financial
year as unauthorised in terms of section 33(1)(d) of the Exchequer
Act, 1975 (Act No. 66 of 1975). It comprises the following:
(a) An amount of R618 779 was paid to the Independent
Mediation Services of South Africa (IMSSA) for five months,
from 1 April 1998 to 31 August 1998, without a written
contract between the Department and the organisation. Their
services were employed to conduct a mediation facility on
behalf of the Department. The Department requested ex post
facto approval from the State Tender Board.
(b) An amount of R1 203 369 was paid to four consultants who
had been appointed on an ongoing basis, whereas the tender bid
specified that the projects were not supposed to exceed six
working months. The consultants were GIS Regis Consultants. On
18 August 1998, the State Tender Board wrote that the payment
made to these consultants would be unauthorised.
(c) An amount of R29 887 was paid to SGM Development Planning
Consultants to deliver a report on ``recent experience in the
land use management system'' for the Development and Planning
Commission. The appointment of the consultant was made before
it had been approved. Documentation reveals that the service
was completed as early as 17 February 1999, but the
requisition was only made on 16 March 1999. The anomaly is the
time lapse between the issuing of the requisition and the date
of the invoice, which precedes the requisition.
With regard to paragraphs (a) (b) and (c) above, the Committee has
noted that:
* The State suffered no loss
* The above activities were necessary for the activity and
service that was required at the time
* Services were rendered and goods received
* Value for money was received.
In view of this, the Committee recommends that the amounts in
question be authorised by Parliament. However, the Committee
recommends that the Department indicate within 30 days of the
adoption of this Report by the National Assembly whether ex post
facto approval had been obtained with respect to the above, and if
not, what the State Tender Board's reasons were for not granting
such approval.
Report to be considered.