THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2003 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
                                ____

The Council met at 14:05.

The Deputy Chairperson 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

Mr K D S DURR: Chairman, I give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of the House:

That the Council -

(1) noting that South Africa is a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and is committed to multi-lateralism, democracy, peace and justice in Africa -

   (a)  calls upon the Government  to  instruct  our  representative  in
       Geneva to support the  vote  to  continue  the  mandate  of  the
       Special Rapporteur on Human  Rights  for  the  Sudan,  which  is
       expected to take place in April;


   (b)  acknowledges that this is vital, because armed groups, supported
       by the Khartoum regime, continue to violate the lives,  property
       and safety of villagers in the oil rich areas in particular;

(2) further notes that -

   (a)   the  Sudan  government  and  the  Sudan   Peoples'   Liberation
       Movement/Army SPLM signed a memorandum of understanding  on  the
       cessation of hostilities on 15 October 2002, and  reaffirmed  it
       on 5 February 2003;
   (b)  the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur reported on  12  November
       2002 that torture and harassment remained government  policy  in
       the Sudan; and


   (c)  because the peace process (Machakos Accord)  is  moving  towards
       resolving the conflict, it is  important  that  the  UN  Special
       Rapporteur remain in place.

Mnr A E VAN NIEKERK: Voorsitter, hiermee gee ek kennis dat ek by die volgende sitting van die Raad sal voorstel:

Dat die Raad die optrede van die militante beweging vir grondlose mense (LPM), wat met ‘n uitdagende strategie begin het om boere regstreeks te pak oor die beweerde misbruik van werkers, verdoem, soos hy ook optrede van die regse ekstremiste verdoem wat vuisreg gebruik. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)

[Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of the Council:

That the House condemns the actions of the militant Landless People’s Movement (LPM), which has initiated a defiant strategy to tackle farmers directly about alleged abuse of workers, as it also condemns the actions of the right-wing extremists who take the law into their own hands.]

          TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF ASSASSINATION OF CHRIS HANI

                          (Draf Resolution)

Ms L JACOBUS: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the Council -

(1) acknowledges that today we remember the 10th anniversary of the brutal assassination of our comrade Martin Thembisile Hani, known as Chris Hani; (2) gives due recognition to the courageous efforts of a comrade committed to the liberation of our country, to such an extent that he had to pay the ultimate price;

(3) mourns the fact that he was ripped out of our lives on the eve of the country’s first democratic elections, through the actions of a coward;

(4) realises that he will be fondly remembered by those who knew and worked with him as an ordinary, humble man who always treated all as a good friend; and

(5) acknowledges that his death accelerated the advent of a democratic order and thus fulfilled our dreams of a non-sexist, non-racial democracy.

   We still miss him and always will. Sleep well comrade Chris.

Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.

                CONDEMNATION OF ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE

                         (Draft Resolution)

Rev M CHABAKU: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the Council -

(1) condemns outright all forms of violence against all people, their properties and their future;

(2) while condeming the continued violent invasion of Iraq, also condemns the cruel massacre of hundreds of people in Drodro in the DRC, east of Uganda;

(3) is also shocked by the assault of farmers and farmworkers in Zimbabwe;

(4) calls upon the Government to continue to seek practical ways to show solidarity with all victims, as it strives and helps to turn enemies into friends; and

(5) acknowledges that we all equally belong to one family - that is the human family - with a conscience.

Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

                         (Review of policy)

Vote No 26 - Agriculture, and

Vote No 30 - Land Affairs:

The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Chairperson and hon members, exactly ten years ago today, Comrade Chris Hani was assasinated - a year before we attained our liberation. In his memory, we have worked tirelessly to change the lives of the rural masses and the workers in South Africa.

Our programme of land reform and agriculture is an example of how we have impacted on the rural community, a community which gave birth to this giant. We will continue to ensure that his memory and those of whom struggled with him, will be kept alive by what we do to transform South Africa for the better.

Today we had a memorial service for Comrade Senorita Ntlabati who was also a member of this House. In her memory, we want to say: The work you have done during your lifetime remains as a memory of what all of us as South Africans need to do to change our country for the better.

Once a member of the Young Women Christian Association, you touched and changed the lives of so many young women in the Free State region and elsewhere in the country. We will remember you by ensuring that your hopes and dreams are kept alive by what we will do. A decade later, we stand proudly on the shoulders of giants like Comrade Chris Hani and many of the heroes and heroines of our struggle as we account for the mandate bestowed upon us by the people of South Africa in this sector of agriculture and land.

Only a year ago around this time, we stood here before this very House and declared our resolute and relentless determination to redress the imbalances of the past. Today we once again stand here, more determined than ever, to push back the frontiers of poverty and landlessness in our country.

In 1994 we inherited an agricultural sector that was not inclusive at all, and did not reflect the demography of our society. It was also highly regulated with subsidies and financial concessions available to commercial farmers, often at a high cost to government. Protectionist policies and barriers to entry helped to distort the potential of this sector. Thus, at the outset, we were faced with the enormous challenge of transformation of this sector at all levels by ensuring that it becomes inclusive and competitive, and that its vision is that of ensuring that all South Africans have access to food at all times.

We needed to ensure that the rural communities, whose livelihood is derived from the land, are supported in such a way that they can make an impact on their own development. These are the objectives that have led Government to come up with the Rural Development Strategy, amongst other programmes.

Poverty continues to be a challenge that we must address, mindful that it will take a bit of time, given the legacy of our past. In part, within this Ministry, it will require that we accelerate land reform in order to give people assets that they can put to use for economic livelihood and social stability.

Land reform, on the other hand, will ensure that we change the skewed participation of black people in agriculture, in particular women and youth. The Land and Agricultural Development Programme, known as LRAD, is one such mechanism that we have used to attain this objective.

To this end, we have been able to create a class of new farmers, both young and old, that are a success in our country. The Nkomazi Sugar Project in Mpumalanga, where we launched our LRAD programme in 2001, has, for the first time, had its harvest and realised an income of R100 000, beyond their own expectations.

These are women, young people and men who nobody would have thought could become serious participants in the agricultural sector before. Some of the beneficiaries of restitution have also shown positive results where people who got their land back have been able to produce in such a way that it has impacted positively on their lives and their communities.

The work done so far in restitution has yielded good results. A total of 36 000 claims have been settled. Our validation campaign is almost complete at 95%. We would like to thank the Belgian government for their support in this process. Our validation campaign has enabled us to know exactly which claims are valid and which ones are not, out of those that are remaining.

Out of the total number that have been validated, 400 have not met our criteria and, therefore, have been rejected. The balance that is remaining is the challenge that we’ll have to deal with within the timeframe that our President announced last year.

Restitution is not the only programme of Government. The other programmes are redistribution and tenure reform. It is within these programmes where there is a need for an interface between agriculture and land as well as land and housing. The work we have done so far as these two departments at national level has been to ensure that there is an alignment in our planning as well as the implementation of our projects at local level.

We have also had interactions with provincial departments of agriculture and provincial offices of land affairs to ensure that the members of the executive councils entrusted with agriculture are part and parcel of the approval of projects that have to be implemented for agricultural development arising out of land reform in particular. This has been essential to ensure that there is an alignment at all levels, both in planning and implementation, because it is our view that unless we do so we can never succeed.

We are currently working with Salga at local level to ensure that indeed the majority of these projects form part of the Integrated Development Plans so that all of us, as the three spheres of government, can work towards a common objective so that, indeed, our impact on the work that we do can be realised at local level.

This alignment, however, cannot only be done or expected to be done by Government alone. It would need partnerships at various levels. It would need partnerships from the private sector as well as civil society. It is this knowledge that has necessitated a partnership between farmers and Government, which has been reflected through the agriculture sector plan.

I’m happy to report to this House that my colleagues the provincial MECs of agriculture seated here today have taken this sector plan to their provincial executive councils, and they have been able to debate with their colleagues to solicit support which can make this plan a success. However, they have also been able to ensure that the provincial structures of farmers’ organisations, some of which are not represented by national organisations, also buy into this plan, because indeed, unless all of us can work towards a common objective, we can never succeed.

Important has been the resourcing of agriculture at all levels. We at national level undertook a discussion with Treasury last year for us to ensure that we do a proper analysis of the expenditure trend in the agricultural sector, and of how our provincial and national budgets contribute to agriculture.

This analysis has just been published as Chapter 7 of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Review. We undertook this exercise in order to give effect to the principle of alignment of programmes across all spheres of government in order to increase our gains in moving the sector to unity and prosperity.

The Intergovernmental Fiscal Review reveals that the emergent agricultural sector is constrained by issues of land, access to water and quality farmer support services for them to become productive and viable. The review has also indicated that the expenditure trend in agriculture continues to be skewed towards the financing of personnel costs rather than development priorities in the sector, particularly in the poorer provinces.

This continues to be a matter of concern for us which we must continue to work towards reversing.

I can assure you, hon members and Chairperson, that my MECs and heads of department will indeed look at this report of the intergovernmental review and together find a way in which we can make sure that the spread of agricultural expenditure goes where it is needed most, particularly amongst the poorest of our provinces.

It is important to note that the analysis provides us with a positive view with respect to expenditure on extension, which stands at 41,2% of the total Agricultural budget. I must say that this is an important element, because it is where we interface with our farmers in being able to give them goods, service and advice so that they know what they ought to do, but we are also mindful that this sector is an area in which we need to put more of our efforts in terms of training and ensuring that we build the capacity of those extension officers so that they can make an impact in this competitive environment.

Veterinary services, on the other hand, which we all know are a critical element of our work and serve to provide healthy and safe food, both from animal and plant products, and which are one of the areas of regulatory services that enable us to access our international market, are indicated in this review as one of those areas that still remain underfunded. I think our provincial MECs, together with the executive councils and with the help of the members in this House, would be able to relook at this area, because unless we are able to give enough resources and capacity, we would have serious challenges in ensuring that we have a prosperous agricultural sector in our country.

In addition, research and education and training are also important areas which will enable our sector to achieve competitiveness. It is also another area in terms of the fiscal review that indicates underfunding from a number of provinces. It will require that all of us, together with yourselves as legislators, can influence the manner in which we are able to prepare our budgets in such a way that resources are directed to those areas that are of more concern. These would include extension services and veterinary services, as I’ve indicated, and training and research.

I would like to indicate to you, hon members, that at national Government level we have earmarked about R5,3 million that was put aside towards a bursary scheme which will start in the coming year. This will enable us to target scarce skills that we are short of in our economy, particularly in the agricultural sector. That would be your veterinary sciences, as well as agricultural engineering and economics.

I indicated earlier the importance of the sector plan. We have to this extent put away an amount of about R3,7 million that we will be transferring to almost all the provinces, which will help as a training component to ensure that indeed our comprehensive farmer support package is improved.

We know that provinces on their own have earmarked some resources, but also it is our view that national Government needs to contribute to this level. For the 2003-04 budget we have also allocated about R10 million towards the support of provinces as they do their farmer support work.

The issues of poverty in our society are always reflected by the levels of hunger and malnutrition. At Government level we have agreed that there is a need for an integrated food security and nutrition programme. As I have indicated in the National Assembly, an amount was put aside by Government which will go towards assisting those who are vulnerable amongst our communities to be able to get food parcels as a form of emergency aid, but at the same time they will be followed by the agricultural sector packs that would ensure sustainability.

In our meeting of the 28th of March 2003 when we had a joint Minmec of Health, Agriculture and Social Development, it was clear that provinces themselves have identified food security as one of the challenges that we need to deal with. A majority of provinces, in all three these departments, have put aside resources to ensure that we can meet this challenge. However, what we have all agreed upon is the importance of co-ordination at provincial level and also between provincial and national as well as local government, so that when we deliver this programme, we do so in such a way that we impact positively on those communities.

I am also happy to announce that we are undertaking a pilot project on training our extension officers on weather and climate usage. We have started in Mpumalanga province and we will continue in other provinces, because it is our view that the understanding of the area of weather and climate is important to support our farmers to make choices that are appropriate so that, indeed, they will not find themselves in a difficult situation with regard to risks in the agricultural sector.

We have always indicated that as we are working in the agricultural and land affairs sector, sustainable resource management remains critical. We started a programme which has now become a household name in a number of areas, which we know as LandCare, in partnership with the Australian government. This is about managing our land as well as managing our water resources so that we can preserve them for today’s generation and for the future.

In the Limpopo province, through our watercare programme, we have been able to rehabilitate about 171 irrigation schemes, and out of the 171 there are about 28 schemes that have been completed and are working, which have made it possible for 4 000 ha of land covering a community of about 3 500 farmers in Dinglydale, New Forest - in the Bushbuckridge area - in Metz Madlera, Mopani; in Cape Thorn, Veribe, and in Tabina, Tzaneen to be supported.

Whilst the national department has made a contribution of R4 million, I am pleased to announce that the provincial department of agriculture in Limpopo in particular has put aside about R25 million towards the rehabilitation of the schemes that are remaining. [Interjections.]

Through our collaboration with Public Works, an additional R7 million was made available over the past two years to support community production centres, some in Lambase in the Eastern Cape and others in Limpopo and other provinces. This collaboration has enabled us as Government to find a better way of working in an integrated way so that the little resources that we have can help to improve our situation at local level.

We do have agricultural agencies such as the Agricultural Research Council, the Land Bank and Onderstepoort Biological Products Ltd, together with the National Agricultural Marketing Council and the Perishable Products Export Control Board, or PPECB, which are important elements to assist us to improve the level of our capacity.

I wish to indicate, hon members, that OBP Ltd, which you once knew as an ailing institution, has been able to turn itself around and today is one of those agencies that are making a profit and are able to fund their operations. But also, it is this important institute that enables us to produce vaccines that can deal with animal diseases that exist not only in our country, but also on the rest of the continent.

We have also been able to access international markets such as Italy, from where specific vaccines have been ordered from OBP Ltd, our own company. It is our view that the expansion that OBP Ltd envisages will go a long way in making South Africa an important player in biotechnology in the region.

I also want to indicate that we have done some work with the Land Bank. As you know, we have passed the Land and Agricultural Development Bank Act. It has assisted us to ensure that we put some focus on the development of new farmers. I’m happy to indicate to this House that we have been able to put aside resources and have been able to give about four farms to youth programmes, one of which we launched in the Northern Cape and the others in the Free State area. It is our view that if we start impacting positively on young people in the agricultural sector, we would be able to have a future for food security in our country. Without boring you, I want to indicate that from the little of what I’ve said which indicates progress, it is clear that we are on the path towards transformation of our society. It is our view that we have been able to keep the promise to our people and that indeed we have delivered the land back to its rightful owners. With regard to areas where we may not have come, it is our view that we will be able to do so in the near future.

I wish to thank members of this House, my colleagues the MECs present today, members of the select committee and chairperson Moatshe for the leadership you have always given and for the encouragement and support to make sure that we always amaze ourselves and do better each year. I wish to thank the Deputy Minister who has been a pillar of strength as my support to ensure that indeed, particularly in the areas of the law - I’m not a legal fundi - he’s able to give us good advice that can enable us to deliver better services to all of you. I would also want to thank my director-general, the deputy directors-general and all the staff - both the staff who work in our offices and departments, and in the parastatals - for the commitment that they’ve shown to make us become such a winning team. I thank you. [Applause.]

Moruti P MOATSHE: Mmusakgotla, Tona ya Temothuo le tsa Mafatshe, Seme Segolo sa Ntlu e, maloko a ntlo ya Bosetshaba ya Diprofense, ditona le baemedi go tswa diprofensing, ke le dumedisa ka pula ya medupe, go tsenya tirong tekanyetsokabo ya Lefapha. (Translation of Setawana paragraoh follows.)

[Rev P MOATSHE: Chairperson, the Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, members of the NCOP, premiers and representatives from provinces, I welcome you all to the introduction of the budget for the department.]

Chairperson, allow me to quote from the Book of Books.

Then God said, ``I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food.’’ And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

Further on the Book states and I quote:

Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

This is the authenticity of where agriculture and land issues emanated from.

Mmusakgotla, ammaruri maparego a lehuma a tswa kwa ga Lowe. Bomegagaru ba sebopowa se se bidiwang motho bo tsetswe ka go aga le go atolosa maparego a tlala le tshotlego gore batho ba retelelwe ke go bona mosoko le morogo mabating a bona a bojelo. Tona, Motswana a re tshwaragano ke matla, sedikwa ke ntšwa pedi ga se thata. A re semelleng, re kgatlameletseng morago maparego a bofuma a aparetseng lefatshe la rona la Afrika Borwa. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

[Chairperson, indeed the frontiers of poverty have been here since time immemorial. Greediness of a creature called a human being aggravates poverty and suffering and leads to people failing to have food on their tables. Unity is the power. Let us work hard and push back the frontiers of poverty in South Africa.]

As a result of decades of dispossession and racist land laws, land distribution in South Africa is among the most highly skewed in the world, with large capital intensive farms dominating much of the rural areas. The Government has introduced a market-based land redistribution programme which provides grants and technical assitance to the landless poor. Several mechanisms have been used to date to enable prospective purchasers to acquire land, from direct purchase to a variety of equity schemes. The Government has also introduced a programme of tenure reform which aims to bring all people occupying land under a validated system of landholding. The Government has also initiated a programme of restitution of land which involves returning or otherwise compensating victims of land lost since June 1913 because of racially discriminatory laws.

The Land Affairs White Paper of 1995 sets out the vision and implementation strategy for South Africa’s land policy. The policy intends to build reconciliation and stability, contribute to economic growth and enhance household welfare. Thus the Government’s land reform programme, as depicted in the White Paper, aims to address these past injustices.

When we deal with agriculture in the economy, the challenge is to establish policies which will ensure that agriculture constitutes the national economic policy objectives articulated in the RDP and now encapsulated in the Gear strategy. These objectives are firstly, economic growth, reducing income inequalities, especially along racial lines and eliminating poverty. The purpose of agricultural policy reforms articulated in the foreword is to ensure that agriculture contributes to these national objectives through the following: An increase in agricultural productivity and output which will enhance the sector’s contribution to the national economic growth, an increase in the incomes of the poorest groups in society through the creation of opportunities for small and medium scale farmers to raise their production for own consumption and the market, the creation of additional employment opportunities in agriculture and an improvement in household food security through expanded production and a more equitable distribution of resources.

The challenges foreseen by the agricultural sector are part of a broader process of rural development, which includes land reform, investment in water supply and transport infrastructure and an improved social services delivery. These are intended to contribute to achieving the aims of the RDP.

The four major goals for policy reform are: To build an efficient and internationally competitive agricultural sector, to support the emergence of a more a diverse structure of production with a large increase in the numbers of successful smallhold farming enterprise, to conserve agricultural natural resources and to put in place policies and institutions for sustainable resource use.

The Cabinet identified agriculture as a key sector that requires special attention because of its potential to contribute to the objectives of higher economic growth. Within this framework, the specific challenges for the agricultural sector are to implement a farmer settlement programme including joint ventures in high value and exploitable agricultural products, to design a comprehensive support package for new entrants to ensure improved agricultural productivity and, through investment in research, to facilitate the development of new products, to facilitate and co-ordinate infrastructure support to agriculture, and to enhance the national regulatory systems.

This is agriculture and land without which nobody can survive. Working together with provincial departments of agriculture and other stakeholders, the Department of Agriculture developed a integrated food security framework. This calls for a multi-disciplinary approach acknowledging the problems of food security which go beyond production concerns.

Linked to the issue of food security at national level, is an initiative that practically addresses food insecurity problems, both in South Africa and the rest of Africa. The Food and Agricultural Organisations of the United Nations launched the Telefood Campaign in 1997. It is an annual campaign of broadcasts, concerts and other events. The money raised through the Telefood campaigns pays for small sustainable projects that help small- scale farmers produce more food for their families and communities. The campaign incorporates fund-raising and awareness of food security. Funds raised at these campaigns will be donated to FAO projects in Africa, South Africa included.

At the moment there are many programmes and projects running in South Africa in which poor and hungry people in urban and rural communities are taught the simplest, grass-roots, virtually-no-cost method of restoring life and fertility to poor soil for producing food. Another important component of the food gardens project is the encouragement of micro farmers who are most often unemployed persons who have turned to organic micro farming as a way of supporting their families. Micro farmers grow vegetables on very small areas of land from as little as 10 square meters to 500 square meters in backyards, under power lines, on school grounds and in the bush.

The initial phase of the project comprises survival gardens where vegetables are planted for people’s basic needs. Thereafter, with technical support and skills, substistence gardens emerge that produce excess food to sell. It would be wise if the Deputy Minister could advise people in his response on how to access seeds on the ground as a way of encouraging these gardens that will sustain our nation.

The extent to which aquaculture can help to reduce poverty is a major policy question. Aquaculture can contribute to the livelihood of the poor through improved food supply, employment and income. Many small-scale farmers have small land holdings in areas of complex, diverse and risk- prone agriculture in mainly rain-fed and undulating land on the fringes of lowlands or in uplands. Construction of a pond on these frequently environmentally degraded farms may also provide a focal point for agricultural diversification and increased sustainability by providing a resource of water.

The poor in well-endowed lowlands are often landless or nearly landless. Here fish farming in common water bodies may reduce poverty, provided that the poor can access them. Inland and coastal fishers are usually landless and amongst the most impoverished. Their opportunities lie mainly with water-based culture systems.

Therefore aquaculture may simply be defined as farming fish and other aquatic organisms.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M J Mahlangu): Order! Hon member, your speaking time has expired.

Rev P MOATSHE: Thank you, Chairperson. I wish to thank the Minister, the department for co-operating, the MECs’ we interact with in the provinces, my committee and everyone in this House. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M J Mahlangu): Order! Hon members, when the Rev Moatshe started speaking, he quoted from the Book of Life. But he deliberately did not mention the chapter or verse he was quoting. He has sent me a note asking me to check whether members knew from which chapter he had quoted. My reply is that I know that we all go to church very often and we do read the Bible. Therefore, I am not going to ask this question.

Mr P NKAYI (Eastern Cape): Thank you, hon Chairperson, Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister, the MECs, my colleagues, members of the House and guests, I greet you this afternoon. It is a pleasure for me to contribute to this important debate on behalf of my province.

The dynamic economic and food security approach to agrarian transformation must be led and informed by an aggressive campaign to prevent environmental degradation which is leading to massive depletion of essential natural resources and the destruction of natural processes that ultimately sustain life on earth. If this is allowed to continue, it will have catastrophic consequences for future generations. It is therefore imperative for our province to take both land and soil erosion seriously.

The Department of Agriculture in the Eastern Cape has invested over R50 million in resource-management and wide-ranging activities to make sure that this programme becomes a community-based natural-resource-management project. In the area of Lady Frere we have effectively controlled the Nasela shrubs. Major soil erosion work is being implemented in the Cofimvaba, Tsolo and Tsomo districts. In the Lusikisiki district sustainable minimum tillage practices have been demonstrated, resulting in an improved crop-management system.

A major land reclamation system is being implemented in the Middledrift district and the acclaimed integrated livestock and crop development programme, managed in conjunction with National Wool Growers’ Association, continue to demonstrate the benefit of sustainable management of grazing and the improvement of wool quality and value in due course. Our communal farmers are going to be the leaders, not only in our province, but also in the country, in the production of wool to support food security.

Very expensive projects were implemented at a cost of R35 million, including the erection of over 2 300 km of fencing. More than 50 local contractors and subcontractors were engaged in these projects, employing over 5 000 unskilled workers. These projects facilitate both crop and lifestock, and companies are owned predominantly by women.

In the revitalisation of agricultural schemes in Qamata, over 500 hectares of maize were planted, using modern commercial methods and centre pivot irrigation systems. The province has a capacity of producing 600 000 tons of maize, but at the moment we are producing less.

Now I come to livestock improvement. The department has embarked on a drive to improve the genetic herds. Genetically improved rams and bulls are selectively being introduced in communal areas, under controlled and improved management. The partnership between the National Wool Growers’ Association and the Agricultural Research Council, together with the department, has been injected with R4,2 million for the same project. From January this year, 3 200 rams are being distributed in the communities. Farmers are now getting R45,69 per kilogram for wool that has been transformed from a poor quality to a far better quality. Therefore, the increase in the price of wool has helped the farmers a great deal and has created an environment where a better life for farmers can be sustained. The whole industry is likely to be rejuvenated because of this, at a glance, seemingly insignificant step.

In the case of primary animal health, sheep scab in our province is under control. A total of 3,2 million sheep were innoculated in 2002. The wool clip has gone up, the lamb crop has improved by 20% and there is more mutton per carcass.

Our total budget for 2003-04 is R735 million, of which R444 million will be spent on personnel-related costs. A total of R190 million is still required to support additional staff to the department’s requirements. Our nonpersonnel expenditure amounts to R291 million of the total budget, with the major focus on service delivery in this financial year. Sevent million rand is allocated to massive food production, including a once-off allocation to turn around the Magwa Tea Estate. This massive project has as its primary objectives an increase in food production particularly in maize and other staple food; the establishment of rural entrepreneurs through mechanisation and tractor schemes; ensuring food security for approximately 2 000 rural agricultural centres and the planting of suitable crops in both the maize triangle in the province and other high value crops elsewhere. An estimate of 1,2 million people, through the food security programme, over a period of five years, will be engaged.

Livestock improvement and animal health is the foundation of agricultural business development in this province. A budget of R28 million has been allocated to this area. This includes dip and vaccines, and the improvement of genetic herds.

In order to fast-track the success achieved by the National Wool Growers’ Association and its alliance, we have ensured that the Eastern Cape makes its mark in the wool market. A further R4,5 million has been allocated to this programme in this financial year.

Protection of the environment is the cornerstone of the development of a vibrant agriculture in our province. It is for this reason that R22,5 million has been allocated to land care, production and soil conservation this year.

In the financial years 2001-02 and 2002-03 we have taken the national Female Farmer of the Year award. [Interjections.] We are now challenging the provinces of our country to prepare much better than they have in the past two years, because we are on the course to take this award for the third time.

HON MEMBERS: No ways! No ways!

Mr P NKAYI (Eastern Cape): In the agricultural sector the tide has turned. We are not only ambitious of our projects, but we are also confident that we will continue to yield.

In conclusion, in this financial year there are areas of significant focus, namely development of land administration, designated agricultural areas and natural resource conservation.

It is my pleasure to support not only this budget, but also the endeavours of the national Minister in the creation of a better life for all South Africans. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mev A M VERSFELD: Voorsitter en Minister, dit is vir my ‘n voorreg om vandag aan hierdie begrotingsposbespreking deel te neem, en ek wil graag konsentreer op landbounavorsing.

So twee jaar gelede het ek ook in dié Raad gepraat oor landbounavorsing, en spesifiek verwys na die Direktoraat: Veeartsenykunde, en ook na die feit dat die meeste van ons veeartse deesdae verkies om in Kenia te gaan werk omdat die werkomstandighede daar vir hulle beter is. Die situasie het die afgelope paar jaar dramaties verswak, en alhoewel daar in dié begroting ‘n toename in finansiering is, is dit maar slegs 60% van wat dit sewe jaar gelede was.

President Mbeki het baie duidelik gestel dat ondersteuning aan landbounavorsing verhoog moet word tot 3% van die bruto nasionale landbouproduk, pleks van die huidige onderbesteding van slegs 1% van die bruto nasionale landbouproduk. As die staat landbounavorsing met 300% verhoog, sal die Regering die huidige navorsers kan behou, sal hulle kan uitbrei, én sal daar nog nuwe navorsing en navorsingtelers kan bykom - byvoorbeeld om genoeg geld beskikbaar te stel vir navorsing by universiteite om vir ons navorsers op te lei, spesifiek in voedselproduksie. Dit sou goed wees indien dit kon geskied in samewerking en in wisselwerking met die Landbounavorsingsraad, en nie ten koste van die Landbounavorsingsraad nie. Voedselsekerheid moet geleidelik begin plek maak vir voedselselfvoorsiening, veral in die Afrikakonteks.

Terwyl ons byna die helfte minder navorsers het as sewe tot nege jaar gelede - daar was in daardie stadium omtrent 400 doktore in die Landbounavorsingsraad, waar daar nou slegs 100 oor is - is die hoofkantoor en die hoofstrukture besig om in getalle te groei. Die finansies vir navorsing daal, terwyl dié vir administrasie en personeel styg. Dit laat vir my nogal ernstige vrae hieroor ontstaan, byvoorbeeld, hoekom daar nog nie ‘n nuwe Landbounavorsingsraad aangestel is wat in die nuwe boekjaar op dreef gaan wees nie? By ‘n vorige geleentheid het die Minister verwys na ‘n tussentydse raad, en ‘n tussentydse voorsitter.

Ek verstaan ook dat die navorsers van die Landbounavorsingsraad twee jaar gelede laas ‘n verhoging gehad het. Dit is nie net dít nie: hulle word ook ‘n skaal laer betaal as elke ander navorsingsraad in Suid-Afrika. As dit waar is en as dit so is, sou ek graag van die Minister wil weet waarom.

Dit is ontstellend om te dink dat navorsing, wat onontbeerlik is in die proses van voedselsekuriteit en selfvoorsiening, hierdie behandeling kry. Is dit dalk omdat die persepsie bestaan dat die Landbounavorsingsraad hoofsaaklik betrokke is by kommersiële boere? Sou dit so wees, sou die Landbounavorsingsraad nie vandag kon spog met die twee Mpumelelo- toekennings vir landbouontwikkeling, sowel as die opleiding van kleinskaalse boere én die toekenning vir Vroulike Boer van die Jaar nie. Minister, al die sektore in die Suid-Afrikaanse landbou het die Landbounavorsingsraad nodig.

Wintergraan, en dit is die streek waar ek hoofsaaklik vandaan kom, se navorsing is in dié stadium betreklik op dreef, in teenstelling met baie van die ander navorsingsbene. Die rede hiervoor is dat die bron van geld die statutêre heffing is wat direk na die Wintergraannavorsingstrust toe gaan. Dit is ‘n uitstekende struktuur wat bestaan uit 12 lede, waarvan u ses aangewys het, en ses deur die bedryf aangewys is. Hierdie bedryf is ook baie dankbaar teenoor die Minister dat die heffing op koring goedgekeur is, en dat dit nou gestyg het van R4,50 tot R7,50 per ton, en dit sal nou so wees vir die volgende vier jaar.

Voorsitter, die Wintergraannavorsingstrust het ‘n onafhanklike ondersoek laat doen deur ene mnr Ian Edwards. Hy is ‘n Australiër, wat ‘n kundige is in graannavorsing en ook in Australië se navorsingsraad dien. Mnr Edwards het bevind dat ons in Suid-Afrika genoodsaak sal wees om ons eie koringsaad te teel, en om saad te teel, is nie sommer iets wat elke ou kan doen nie, en telers word nie sommer agter elke bos uitgeskop nie. U sien, daar is nie geld te maak uit koringsaad in die vrye handel nie, omdat koring ‘n selfbestuiwende gewas is. Daarom moet daar dus ‘n goed gefinansierde navorsingteelprogram bestaan, want die opkomende sektor vind baie baat by die totale aanwending van die finansies in die wintergraanopset, juis as gevolg van die samestelling van die trust. Daar is ook spesifieke projekte wat wel finansiering ontvang vir navorsing en tegnologie-oordrag aan bestaansboere.

Die Suid-Afrikaanse landbou, beide in die geval van kommersiële en bestaansboere, se voortbestaan hang af van goeie navorsing. Die DA doen vandag ‘n beroep op die Minister, en vra dat die Minister dit asseblief nie moet verwaarloos of vervang nie. Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

[Mrs A M VERSFELD: Chairperson and Minister, it is a privilege for me to participate in the discussion of this Vote today, and I would like to concentrate on agricultural research.

About two years ago I also addressed this Council about agricultural research, and specifically referred to the Directorate: Veterinary Science and also to the fact that these days most of the veterinary surgeons prefer to go and work in Kenya because over there the working conditions are better for them. Over the past few years the situation has deteriorated dramatically, and although in this budget there is an increase in funding, it is merely 60% of what it was seven years ago.

President Mbeki made it clear that support for agricultural research should be increased to 3% of the agricultural gross national product instead of the current underspending of just 1% of the gross national product. If the state increased agricultural research by 300%, the Government will be able to maintain the current researchers, expand, and include even more new research and research cultivators - for example to make enough money available for research at universities to train our researchers, particularly in food production. It would be good if this could happen with the co-operation of, and interaction, with the Agricultural Research Council, and not at the expense of the Agricultural Research Council. Gradually food security should start making way for food self-sufficiency, especially in the African context.

While we have almost less than half of the researchers than seven to nine years ago - at that stage there were about 400 doctors in the Agricultural Research Council, of which only 100 are now left - the head office and main structures are still growing in numbers. The funding for research is decreasing while the funding for administration and staff are increasing. In my view this raises rather serious concerns. For example, why has a new Agricultural Research Council not been appointed as yet for the new financial year? On a previous occassion the Minister referred to an interim council, and an interim chairperson.

I also understand that the researchers of the Agricultural Research Council have not received an increase in the last two years. It is not only this, they are also paid on a scale lower than any other research council in South Africa. If this is true, and if it is the case, I would like to know from the Minister why.

It is alarming to think that such research, which is indispensable to the process of food security and self-sufficiency, receives this kind of treatment. Is it perhaps because the perception exists that the Agricultural Research Council is mainly involved with commercial farmers? If that were the case the Agricultural Research Council would not today have been able to show off its two Mpumelelo awards for agricultural development, as well as the training of small farmers, and the female award for the Farmer of the Year. Minister, all the sectors in agriculture in South Africa need the Agricultural Research Council.

Research on winter wheat, and this is mainly the region where I come from, is at this stage reasonably in place, in contrast to many of the other areas of research. The reason for this is that the source of income is the statutory levy which is going directly to the Winter Wheat Research Trust. This is an excellent structure comprising of 12 members, of which six were appointed by you, and six were appointed by the industry. This industry is also very grateful to the Minister for approving the levy on wheat, and that it has now increased from R4,50 to R7,50 per tonne, and this is how it is now going to be for the next four years.

Chairperson, the Winter Wheat Research Trust has commissioned an independent investigation by a certain Mr Ian Edwards. He is an Australian who is a specialist in wheat research and also serves on Australia’s research council. Mr Edwards has found that here in South Africa we will be compelled to cultivate our own wheat seeds, and to cultivate seed is not something that anyone can do, and cultivators cannot be found just everywhere. You see, on the free market money cannot be generated through wheat seed, because wheat is a self-pollinating crop. There should therefore be a well-financed research cultivating programme, because the emerging sector benefits a great deal from the overall employment of the funds in the winter wheat set-up precisely as a result of the composition of the trust. There are also specific projects which indeed receive funds for transferring research and technology to subsistence farmers.

The survival of agriculture in South Africa, in the case of both commercial and subsistence farmers, depends on good research. The DA appeals to the Minister today, and requests that the Minister should please not neglect or replace it. I thank you.]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Hon Minister, I stand here before this House, not as Chief Whip of the National Council of Provinces, but as a duly mandated delegate from the North West province, and I convey to you the apologies of our very energetic MEC, Edna Molewa, who is today delivering the budget speech in the North West legislature. So I am conveying apologies to both you and the Deputy Minister for her absence here.

I’ve heard the MEC from the Eastern Cape boast about the Farmer of the Year, but I think in the North West we have produced a most significant farmer, the best Female Farmer of the Year in the category National Markets, and that is none other than Nancy Rakotoa. We challenge other provinces to ensure that they develop the appropriate strategies to empower women within strategic schemes within the provinces.

Chairperson, I’m glad the hon Minister quoted from the Intergovernmental Fiscal Review. It’s a very important document, and Chapter 7, in particular, would have relevance to the work of the Select Committee that is dealing with this matter, and to this Council as a whole. We would like to convey to both the Minister and the Deputy Minister that we have dedicated the next provincial week to land and agriculture. Amongst the issues that we are going to deal with when we visit the nine provinces will be land restitution and redistribution, and agricultural development from the perspective of black economic empowerment, in terms of food security and other issues such as capacity development. We will be informed by the strategic plans of the national Department, and enquire and ascertain whether, in fact, the provinces and local goverment’s plan are in alignment with that of National Government, and I think we have a responsibility in this regard. So, the relevant document will form part and parcel of the briefing documents which we will take to the various provinces for further consideration.

From the North West, we are also concerned about the fact that a large sum of money, or a large percentage of the budget that has been allocated to the provinces, is utilised for personnel expenditure. The North West, for example, spends about 68,6% of its budget on personnel. This is largely owing to the bloated public service that it inherited from the former homeland Bophuthatswana, and corrective measures are being taken in order to reduce the personnel budget and ensure that more funds are allocated to the appropriate strategic requirements. Quite interestingly, 80% of the budget is allocated to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the North West and Limpopo. All these provinces have a history of bloated public services which they had inherited from the homeland system, and it is important that we give urgent attention to this matter. As we go to the provinces we will have to enquire what positive steps are being initiated within the provinces to rationalise or correct the situation in relation to personnel costs.

As a spokesperson for the North West, it is important for me to understand the profile of our province. We all know that it is predominantly rural, but 58% of our land is being used for grazing, as we speak right now, and the mainstay of our crops is in fact maize 28% is for cropping, 6% for nature conservation and 8% is used for other purposes. Obviously, agriculture becomes a very, very important sector in economic development that affects the lives of our people. Therefore a particular focus has been given to this very important area, and it would appear as if the MEC that we now have for agriculture is imbued with the same energy and spirit that we have in our hon Minister.

In relation to enhancing equitable access and participation we recognise that there has been a skewed distribution of produce in terms of agricultural resources, and that the provincial government has had to take corrective steps in order to rectify that. To this end, they have established land reform offices and of the 15 farms that are in possession of Government, 11 have been leased with the necessary capacity-building initiatives being provided to emerging farmers to ensure that we not only provide them with land, but that we provide emerging farmers with the appropriate skills and capacity to ensure that the arable land that is provided to them, or leased to them, is utilised meaningfully. This ties up with integrated sustainable rural development which was launched, in fact, in this House by the Minister some two years ago, and forms the cornerstone of the structure of the rural development nodes announced by the President last year.

Co-operatives, have also been established, and this has been raised, also in terms of what the Minister had spoken about on more than one occasion in this House. In fact, Taung, which is a very rural and poor area in the North West province, had an irrigation scheme that had really collapsed, but as a result of these initiatives 85% of it is now back in production, and in fact, in effective production. Members will recollect that when we visited the North West province, this was conveyed to us by the MEC for agriculture.

In terms of black economic empowerment, members of the delegation of the North West will recall that when we visited Galagadi we were quite impressed by the enormous strides that have been taken in terms of farming with goats. We learnt about the Afrikaner goat there. But what was more interesting was … [Interjections.] An HON MEMBER: Die boerbok! [The Boer goat!]

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Die boerbok, nie die Afrikaner? Ek is jammer. Adjunkminister, ek is baie jammer, die ou Afrikaner was tog ‘n boer, né? [The Boer goat, not the Afrikaner? I am sorry. Deputy Minister, I am sorry, but the old Afrikaner was a farmer, not so?]

In any event, what was very impressive about this, was that all the farmers, in terms of farming with goats, were women. Not only were they successful in what they were undertaking, but they were very excited by this enterprise. Whilst there were rumours and allegations that this process has not taken off, we have, in fact, seen the successful implementation of this progress.

There’s also been particular attention paid to ensuring that there is sustainable development. We have discovered in the province that there is degradation of land, and the Minister has referred to land care projects, and we can say that 31 land cases have been identified and there has been an enhancement of beet production within the province, which largely contributes to the economic growth and the agricultural growth of the province. These initiatives have resulted in 2300 jobs.

In terms of the integrated sustainable rural development initiatives, we can announce with a great deal of pride that there are now 38 participants in the Kudumane and Ganyesa areas in the North West province.

The hon Minister has also alluded to a very important aspect, because as we are engaged in pushing back the frontiers of poverty, we have to pay particular attention to food and food security and the nutritional needs of our people. The province has embarked on a provincial food mountain project. Pardon my Setswana: Letsema la mantshatlala. [Through communal effort we fight hunger.] That is the project that has been initiated in the province. Fifty three villages have been targeted in 11 municipalities, and it will convert into food relief for hundreds of our people; hundreds of households, in fact. The province has also recognised that one cannot determine a strategy in a vacuum. One has to be mindful of the initiatives of the national Government, and also of the particular responsibility of local government. To this end, we have liaised with the North West Local Government Association and the municipalities to ensure that when we develop plans for food security and initiatives for capacity-building, we do so in consultation with local government, because that is where the people live, that is where initiatives should be undertaken in developing emerging and micro farmers and developing the appropriate skills, and ensuring that food security is achieved.

The province also believes that the youth, disabled people, and women have to receive special attention. To this end, various projects have been developed and are going to be initiated to ensure that they form part and parcel of the initiatives undertaken by the North West province. Another concern that has arisen in the context of the North West province is the fact that we have a fast-growing city like Rustenburg - because of its mining resources - which impacts negatively on farming and food security. Particular initiatives have been taken in this regard.

As I round up, Chairperson, because of the limited time that I have, may I commend the hon Minister and the Land Claims Commissioner, and the commissioners that assist them, by saying, firstly, that the appointment of commissioners in the various provinces, excluding mine - and I don’t begrudge you for that - has been very successful. There isn’t one in North West, because we’re sharing one with Gauteng. But I could share with you, hon Minister, an experience: Through the hon chairperson of the select committee, we were able to facilitate a meeting with Mr Blessing Mphela, whom I would like to commend - he was a blessing to the Mojanala district - to enquire about the progress of land. I can say quite proudly as I stand here, that the process of prioritisation has taken place; the validation and verification is now taking place. There is a great deal of excitement and jubilation in the communities to say that there is a positive response. I think, for the past two years, you, hon Minister, the Deputy Minister and your partners in the office of the Land Claims Commissioner should be commended for this particular initiative.

And as I close up, I have to mention a very important development that has to be paid attention to. We have proposed communal land. I think it would release vast tracks of land to our people, and it is something that this Council will take very, very seriously as it embarks on its provincial week. I take this opportunity of thanking you as chairperson, Rev Moatshe. I do not belong to this select committee, but perhaps I should pay more attention to the select committee in future.

Mong H H M OELRICH (Freistata): Motlatsi wa motsamaisi wa mosebetsi, Tonakgolo ya Lefapha la Temo Afrika Borwa, Motlatsi wa Tonakgolo, basebetsi- mmoho le nna mona, ba hlahang iprofensing tse ding, Ditonakgolo ts teng le ditho tsa Ntlo e ena e phahameng ya naha ya rona ka kakaretso, ke lebohile.

Selemo sena ke selemo sa ho fokotsa bofuma Afrika Borwa. [Malahlelwa.] Re tsebisitswe ha selemo se qala, hore re tlamehile re shebe hore na, re le Mmuso, re tshehetsa jwang hore bofuma, ha eba re sa bo fedise, re bo kgutlisetse morao.

Jwale, re le Lefapha la Temo Freistata, re ile ra shebisana mmoho hore na re ka etsa eng hore re tsebe ho fokotsa bofuma bona bo Afrika Borwa. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)

[Mr H H M OELRICH (Free State): Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs in South Africa, Deputy Minister, colleagues, delegates from other provinces, hon Ministers present in this House, hon members of this House, I would like to thank you.

This is a year of combating poverty in South Africa. [Interjections.] We were told at the beginning of this year that we should find ways, as a Government, to either eradicate poverty or push back the frontiers of poverty.

As the Department of Agriculture in the Free State, we worked together to find ways of pushing back the frontiers of poverty in South Africa.]

It is in recognition of the plight of the poor and of the poverty amongst our communities that the Free State department of agriculture has identified four areas of critical importance in order to revive and restructure the rural economy of the Free State, over the medium to the long term.

Prioritising these objectives meant that the focus had to be aligned to these areas: Firstly, agricultural, technical support and training to land redistribution projects; secondly, ensuring household food security for the poor in the province; thirdly, technical support to the development of agri- businesses in the province, and, fourthly, ensuring that commonage land is better untilised for the intensification of agricultural production. Coming to land redistribution for agricultural development, the department supports and guides the design of LRAD projects at district level. Strong institutional ties exist between the Department of Agriculture and the provincial office of the Department of Land Affairs at all levels in the province.

Successful models exist, where projects with the necessary technical support, training and aftercare have managed to create new jobs as well as sustainable livelihoods for farm families. Since the LRAD programme was launched in August 2001, until March 2003, the Free State has approved 312 projects benefiting 2047 of our people with a grant of R76,4 million. Landbank loans contributed to the value of R13,2 million.

Let me congratulate Minister Thoko Didiza for having the foresight that LRAD would produce. Ours is a Government that is determined to produce. Of these approved projects, 50% of farmers received their title deeds within six months after approval date. This timeframe has, with new initiaives, been shortened to four months.

The impact of the programme is evident in these successful projects and many more. I’m going to quote two or three. In the Seketekete project, six members, previously unemployed, bought a 199 ha of farm near Lindley. The farm was 100% funded through the LRAD grant. These farmers grow maize, sunflowers, wheat, cattle and sheep on a commercial basis. Their first harvest of wheat in November 2002 was a great success, to the extent that they bought another 15 ha of land with the income, as well as an additional 26 head of cattle.

The project shows all the attributes of sustainability and the natural resources have been improved through the implementation of good management practices.

About the Monateng project, in addition to extensive support and training provided by the Department of Agriculture, valuable mentorship support is also given by the neighbouring commercial farmer Mr Koot Pienaar, who assists them with practical farming and marketing of their produce. This project has been making a net profit for the past two years.

About the Thakamahoa Farmers project, the five beneficiaries of this project bought a 214 ha farm near Ventersburg by making use of LRAD grants. The farm was transferred to them early in 2002. They run a successful dairy and pig farm on land which was out of production for over a year. Their profit from milk sales is in the order of R2 000 per month, and from the sale of pigs, an average of R2 500 per month.

These examples continue to reveal that, with the necessary support from all stakeholders, emerging farmers have the drive and the ability to make land redistribution, and the LRAD programme in particular, a success story.

About the empowerment and support to newly established farmers, a further R1 million was spent on farmer training at the Glen College of Agriculture, over and above the normal extension and technical support. A total of 835 farmers benefited from this directly. These are all emerging farmers.

About youth development, the department regards youth in agriculture as an important aspect, and has vistited 208 schools and formed 108 youth clubs in rural areas, over the 2002-03 financial year. At this stage, 3 800 learners are involved in this programme. A total of 49 training sessions were also presented to youth clubs. A number of bursaries were also awarded, both to part-time and full-time students.

About disaster management, emerging farmers who lost most of their grazing as a result of veld fires, were assisted with 800 round bales from various Government departments and commercial farmers. The number of livestock that received fodder was 5 098 cattle, 1 974 sheep, 94 horses, 113 goats and 12 donkeys.

To date, R333 108 has been received from the national Department of Agriculture to support farmers who lost animals in the fire disaster areas of the Northern Free State. The funds will be distributed during the month of April.

About farmer to farmer exchange, two groups, namely the Ditlhake Irrigation and the Oppermansgronde study groups, were formed and are functioning well. Additional study groups were formed in Bothaville and Kroonstad. Study groups serve as platforms on which farmers exchange ideas and practices on how to improve their farming businesses. Financial and diagnostic information is analysed. It is anticipated that more study groups will be established among our emergent farmers in the 2003-04 financial year.

About food security and nutritional programmes, the Department of Agriculture, together with the Departments of Social Development, Health and Education, participates in the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme at provincial level. A food security forum exists in the province with participation from different Government departments, community-based organisations and NGOs to ensure that the former school feeding scheme changes and becomes more of a community initiative. The Department of Agriculture also participates in these initiatives at local level.

The Department of Agriculture in the Free State has introduced the standard food security starter packs to the value of R4 500 per household, for the needy groups, which includes gardening tools, winter and summer seeds, manure, fertiliser, water hoses, 20 one-month-old chickens, feed for the chickens and a small poultry house.

Two hundred and two households were also trained in food security coping strategies. I must say this programme only started in late December of the previous year.

In concurrence with the objectives of the IFSNP, the Department of Agriculture has adopted the concept of feeding minds and fighting hunger, which is a programme that exposes children from primary, intermediary and secondary schools to food security.

About the Community Project Fund Support Programme, this European Commission-funded initiative managed by our department has supported 6 131 individuals, which is 2 647 beneficiaries and 3 484 dependants, by the end of March 2003, to the total grant of R18,3 million.

About commonage development, the department’s main aim is, firstly, to formalise relationships between commonage users and municipalities, secondly, to maximise access to commmonage land for people from previously disadvantaged communities and, thirdly, to intensify agricultural production on commonages.

To give effect to this objective, the department has contracted intermediary organisations which are currently working on commonages in the Lejweleputswa district. A similar project is about to kick off in the Xhariep district.

In intensifying agricultural production, agroprocessing and value-adding processes will be strongly considered, given the high unemployment rate in and around rural Free State towns.

About agroprocessing and diversification, the department has embarked on a definite and asserted drive to encourage farmers to add value to their primary produce. The two main agricultural industries, namely grain and livestock production, is targeted.

When considering that the Free State produces close to 40% of the grain in South Africa, 23% of the wool and 21% of the red meat, the fact that we at this stage have the second highest unemployment rate, just does not make sense. It’s time that we created jobs for our people. [Time expired] [Applause.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE COUNCIL (Mr M J Mahlangu): Re go kwele samma; o boletse gabotse. E ke ka moka re ka leka bjalo gobane ke nako ya gore re ithute maleme ka moka. [Deputy Chairperson, we have heard you, Comrade. You have spoken very well. I wish we could all do that, because it is about time that we learn other languages.]

Mnr A E VAN NIEKERK: Voorsitter, die agb Oelrich het my nou baie jaloers gemaak met die mooi Sotho wat hy praat, want ál Sotho wat ek uit my kinderdae kan onthou, is dié van die swart vrou wat my grootgemaak het, wat altyd net vir my gesê het: ``Suka, tsamaya!’’ [Skoert! Weg is jy!] [Gelag.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, the hon Oelrich has just made me very jealous by speaking Sotho so beautifully, because the only Sotho I can remember from my childhood days is that spoken by the black woman who brought me up, who always said to me: ``Suka, tsamaya!’’ [Scram! Go away!] [Laughter.]]

But Chairperson, if South Africa wants to succeed with land reform, we need to succeed with agriculture as a whole. Natural disasters cause agriculture in South Africa to be a high-risk sector. And except for the subsidies our global competitors receive from their governments, which put us in a negative position, we also have local factors that impact negatively on this industry.

These are the proposed land tax - the confusion in application causes negativity - and maybe the hon Minister can give us some clarity on this; the increased road tax; toll roads; increased diesel prices; the decrease in the real contribution to agricultural research; the uncertainty caused by the Modderklip court case, and the section 28 certificates that transfer national property to provinces are moving so slowly. An amendment to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act that has been in the pipeline for two years is needed now to solve the problems in this regard.

The Strategic Plan for Agriculture - and we applaud the plan - places the proposed Agriculture Risk Insurance Bill on the backburner until 2004, and risk management is so important in this industry. The Bill provides, inter alia, for a system of agricultural insurance in order to improve the economic stability of agriculture and enhance the income of those farmers and producers most vulnerable to losses. We should not wait too long with this.

The Chief Whip also referred to this - and I am not referring to the Afrikanerbokke'' [Afrikaner bucks’’]. According to the 2003 Intergovernmental Fiscal Review personnel budgets absorb a very high share of the budgets in the provinces, especially those that inherited homelands. Many of the personnel are not the skilled personnel required to provide support services to farmers, and that is exactly what we need! Many other legacies of the past were successfully addressed in the last nine years in South Africa and maybe the MECs should tell us why we are not succeeding in this respect.

Land reform must succeed, and we have been saying that for the ninth time now. But the goal of 30% of agricultural land going to the previously disadvantaged communities, within the next so many years, needs more thought. I want to suggest that we push the percentage up, but that we make it a percentage, not of the area of land, but of the production in agriculture. This approach will result in sustainable practices and in successful people on agricultural land. Land reform should be measured by how many people were made part of the output, the profits and the success of agriculture. I urge the hon Minister to rethink the formula.

Chairperson, the hon Moatshe and I are comrades in religion, but now also comrades in the belief we have in aquaculture and I will carry on where you stopped him earlier. Aquaculture was moved from Sea Fisheries to the Department of Agriculture about five or six years ago. And this is a sector with untapped possibilites for South Africa and Africa as a whole, a sector where South Africa can take the lead.

Aquaculture refers to the controlled production of aquatic species for human consumption and industrial use. Currently, aquaculture contributes 27% to world fisheries. Aquaculture has realised a cumulative growth rate of - and listen to this - 14,5% over the period 1992 to 2000, compared to the 3,5% for animal production and the 1,8% for fisheries.

In spite of its vast natural and human resources, the participation of Africa in this growing global food and trade sector is disconcertingly lacking. The African continent contributes only 1,2% to the global aquaculture production and South Africa contributes only 1% of the 1,2% in Africa. This lack of participation from the African continent is mainly attributable to socio-economic and socio-political factors, and that can be changed overnight.

I would have preferred to deliver the rest of the next input in Zulu, so that the Minister can really grab and understand what I want to say, but I will do it in the language that I know best and that is Afrikaans, so please use your earpiece. [Interjections.]

Die beplanning vir akwakultuurprojekte, kommersieel en in vennootskappe, is reeds ver gevorder in provinsies soos die Wes-Kaap, KwaZulu-Natal en Mpumalanga. Twee groot projekte word beplan by Kosibaai en op en langs die Pongola-dam. Die projek op die Makhatini-vlakte word, in samewerking met die gemeenskap, die privaatsektor en nasionale en internasionale universiteite onderneem. Hierdie projekte gaan werk verskaf aan ongeveer 700 mense, en 1 000 mense gaan direk voordeel trek uit dividende. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[The planning for acqua-culture projects, commercially and in partnerships, has made considerable progress in provinces such as the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Two large projects are being planned at Kosi Bay and on and along the Pongola Dam. The project on the Makhatini Flats is being undertaken in co-operation with the community, the private sector and local and international universities. And this project is going to provide work to approximately 700 people, and 1 000 people are going to profit from dividends.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M J Mahlangu): Your speaking time has expired, hon member.

Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, you are discriminating against the reverend and me, but we accept it. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Ms K C MASHEGO-DLAMINI (Mpumalanga): Thank you, Chairperson. I would like to take this moment to extend a word of condolence to this House and the family of Ntlabati for the passing away of Comrade Senorita, and also a word of thanks for this golden opportunity to partake in this debate on the Budget Vote on Agriculture and Land Affairs. I feel moved by the content of the Budget Vote, especially when it touches the wonderful stories about how people, individually and collectively, have responded to the call to work together for a better life for all.

Over the weekend and the past three days, I was reviewing the content of the Minister’s speech, so as to be more objective in this debate. The idea of supporting people who have acquired land to become commercial farmers is indeed the way to practicalise the call by our President that this is the year of unity to push back the frontiers of poverty. The only way of pushing back the frontiers of poverty is not to allow farmers to remain in the subsistence mode, but for them to develop the confidence to face the domestic and international markets with good quality products.

The level of improved Government support to farmers in Mpumalanga has already started on a training programme. It is also supporting an NGO-led and donor-funded mentorship pilot project which aims at sharing experience and expertise.

Mpumalanga has also started to implement public-private partnerships. An agreement with SASEX was concluded to implement a joint extension venture for small-scale sugarcane growers. We also have an agreement with Cotton SA on the training of emergent cotton farmers. Eighty-two farmers have received their certificates of competence. Twenty-four wool farmers were funded by the National Wool Growers’ Association. Mpumalanga also completed a rural household survey in different pilot areas in the province as part of its rural development programme and this will serve as basis and a learning experience for a participatory approach by our extension officers.

We are now actively involved in a food security programme particularly addressing household food security in poor communities. Many women are safe- trained, not only to produce food, but also to prepare nutritious dishes and to preserve food in different ways. The food parcel distribution programme is also running well in our province.

The Sanganer Breeders’ Association introduced their programme in co- operation with our department to provide breeding stock to selected farmers as part of a livestock improvement scheme.

As a province bordering two countries, we are also playing a role in the SADC region. The province has a memorandum of understanding with Maputo province in Mozambique, and a technical committee for agriculture has been formed. This committee has identified areas of co-operation between the two provinces. Food security is at the top of the agenda there.

The foot-and-mouth outbreak in Mozambique is still contained in Mozambique. Mpumalanga is still maintaining its foot-and-mouth-free status as a province. We just want to reassure this House that we will keep the status for ever.

I would like to commend the Minister for the restructuring of the ARC. Most of the ARC restructuring has started to bear some good fruit in our province. We have recently attended their horticulture imbizo and participated for three days.

In our efforts to develop the skills of our people and to realise the human development strategy of Government so that it meets the needs of our province, the department has introduced a bursary scheme to train veterinarians. As I am speaking here five students funded by us are at the University of Pretoria.

When the Minister raised the challenge of putting into practice the sharing of experience and expertise between black and white farmers, the words of one of the greatest scholars, Olive Schreiner, became clear:

The ultimate chant of the human race on earth is not to be conceived of as a monotone, chanted on one note by one form of humanity alone. But rather as a choral symphony chanted by all races and all nations in one grand complex harmony.

I just want to challenge this House, all of us here, to turn our thumbs up and we must do so in order to honour the good work which is done by this department and the Minister who is leading this department.

Yikho ngisho ngithi malibongwe igama lamakhosikazi malibongwe! [That is why I am saying the women’s name should be praised! It must be praised!] HON MEMBERS: Malibongwe!

Ms K C MASHEGO-DLAMINI (Mpumalanga): Thank you. [Applause.]

Mr K D S DURR: Chairperson, the ACDP is in support of the Department of Land Affairs in its endeavours to find fair and reasonable solutions to issues surrounding spatial ownership and development, and of the way the Minister has approached the subject. We also congratulate the Minister and her department on the achievement of transferring 295 024 ha to 140 227 beneficiaries in the past year alone. It is a great achievement. We in the Western Cape are also pleased to see that the growth in agricultural spending has increased to about 14,3% against the 9,3% national average.

However, problems, Minister, do remain. Not the least is the new land tax. According to the Cane Growers’ Association, the value of the land could fall by 20% for every 1% property tax levied. According to them -

One of our main concerns is that rates will undermine the collateral value of land …

Which is what happened in Zimbabwe -

… increasing the debt to asset value of farmers and thus their ability to repay loans.

Less capital value, Minister, you know, equates to less potential working capital. We all support the transformation process, but we must see that the transformation process underpins land values and not that it erodes land values.

You know, Minister, 30% of farms are for sale in South Africa today anyway. So acquisition of land is not difficult. Everywhere there are farms for sale.

The cane growers’ findings were confirmed by a survey of a range of agricultural commodities such as timber, beef and sugar, undertaken by the University of Natal. And tribal land is also affected by this process. The new tax is going to influence land use decisions and can radically affect the status of most remaining natural veld, which is mostly in private hands, and could have a disastrous impact on biodiversity and on private conservation efforts. By far the greatest percentage of our rich plant and animal biodiversity is in private hands, mostly held, not for profit, but because of a deeply held conservation ethic which exists.

The land tax will also penalise those that have safeguarded and protected their land and cleared it of alien vegetation, whilst benefiting those that have allowed their land to become degraded and infested by alien plants.

The impact of the land tax upon biodiversity and upon rural economies should therefore not be underestimated, according to Dr Mark Botha, an authority with the Botanical Society.

The Minister should use every effort with the tax authorities to gain tax relief from the profit in taxes for landowners that have invested millions in protecting our natural heritage, with major spin-off benefits to our country in terms of rural and ecotourism, particularly while, in return for the land tax, no services are provided to these farmers or benefits are received by these landowners. There must be delivery involved if you are paying tax.

These could be properties in designated and specified conservation areas like biosphere reserves or could be properties that have a conservation status, such as those designated private nature reserves and conservancies. If not, conservation can suffer in South Africa.

When we look at farming - of course I know the Minister is not guilty of this, because she makes very good speeches - we must not see it in isolation. We need to understand that farming is only one activity in a virtuous circle with many spin-off benefits upstream and downstream of primary agriculture, for example the village-based rural economy with its agricultural service industries and suppliers; bulk storage, buildings, the chemical and fertiliser industry, financial services, vehicles and implements, and repairs. There is also the whole agri-industrial sector which is reliant on agriculture with its processing, packaging, distribution, marketing, transport by land, sea and air, and storage and so on. In short a major employer. [Time expired.]

Mr M A SULLIMAN: Motlatsa Modulasetilo, Tona ya Lefapha la Temothuo le Merero ya Mafatshe le Motlatsa Tona, Ditona tsa diporfense ka go le farologana ga tsona, maloko a Ntlo eno e tlotlegang … (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

[Mr M A SULLIMAN: Deputy Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, provincial premiers, members of this august House …]

… and ladies and gentlemen … [Laughter.] … a key objective of the Northern Cape department of agriculture and land reform is to unlock the agricultural potential of the province to promote economic growth and social development. The province has a vision of contributing towards Africa’s economic recovery plan, Nepad, through its agricultural sector that has to date achieved commendable success in changing thousands of lives for the better, empowering many of our poor communities. High on the list of priorities is the acceleration of the province’s land reform programme to ensure equitable access to land by new emerging farmers and the rendering of effective support services to enable these emerging farmers and communities to become self- sufficient in terms of food security.

As part of its black economic empowerment strategy, our department managed to distribute more than 14 000 ha of identified agricultural state land to previously disadvantaged individuals during the previous financial year. In the Siyanda region 17 ha of land at the Eiland research station had been allocated to two emerging farmers, while 3 121 ha of grazing land at Carter Blok had gone to two other emerging farmers. In the Kgalagadi District 8,700 ha of grazing land of the Boland farms have been leased to emerging farmers in the district, while in the Francis Baard area three female farmers have benefited from the allocation of 60 ha of land.

It is surprising to know that the Griqualand West Co-operative Ltd will on this coming Tuesday allocate shares to these three women who are interested in agriculture, and I think we need to commend them … [Applause] … To crown it all this is an Afrikaner agribusiness that is taking our people on board as well and we want to congratulate them on these efforts. Collectively, the allocation of cultivated land and grazing state land constitutes about 50% of all identified agricultural state land. Although this is still far from our target of 30 000 ha, it proves that the province is serious about making land available and economically empowering emerging farmers as well as women.

In a further drive to broaden access to agriculture in the province by previously disadvantaged individuals, the Goodhouse Paprika Project has been established. A total of 55 benefited from this project. In addition the construction of a processing plant for spice and oil from paprika has been completed. Twenty hectares of paprika has already been planted and we envisage the planting of more hactares, creating more opportunities for our emerging farmers. A rooibos tea project in the Suid-Bokkeveld is another initiative that presents exciting opportunities for black economic empowerment. Five emerging farmers are currently benefiting from the processing and packaging of the rooibos tea for the export market.

During this financial year our department will continue with its Orange River Farm Settlement Programme which aims to broaden access to agriculture by previously disadvantaged individuals and communities. Under this programme, the following projects will be implemented.

Rev M CHABAKU: Chairperson, with all due respect, I just wanted to know if the hon member can just take one small question. That will be very helpful, then I can be more attentive. A simple one!

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Are you prepared to take a question?

Mr M A SULLIMAN: I am prepared to take a question when I am finished with my speech, Deputy Chairperson.

Rev M CHABAKU: I did not understand. What is the response?

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: He is prepared to take a question when he is finished with his speech.

Rev M CHABAKU: I will not be able to focus! It is just a small thing, man.

Mr M A SULLIMAN: Deputy Chair, 282 ha of Congregational Church land were identified and in the Pella area 745 ha were identified as well as 450 ha in the Sanddrift area. The department also has a livestock improvement programme for beneficiaries of land reform. It is envisaged that this programme will eventually be linked to the presidential bull and heifer project. The department’s aim is also to have two emerging stud farmers. The province is aware that it is not enough to merely allocate land to previously disadvantaged communities to become farmers. It has to provide ongoing support to these communities to use their new land productively.

To this end, the department has developed a comprehensive strategy in terms of which regular training is offered to our emerging farmers through study groups and farmers’ days etc.

The province is also in the process of developing training manuals and a training programme that will be implemented at the research stations at Vaalharts and at the Eiland. In addition the emerging farmers are also given an opportunity to undergo training on the management of animals before they are offered breeding material at a subsidised tariff. Holographic Property CC in Upington is an excellent example of the kind of support that is provided for the emerging farmers in our province. Three farm workers with more than 60 years of farming experience between them decided that it was about time for them to own their own farm after years of being farm labourers. With the help of the Land Bank, they purchased a farm from their employer. Through negotiations between the Land Bank and the former employer the new farmers are being mentored and trained. The Upington branch of the Land Bank and the Department of the Land Affairs have been providing them with the necessary support, support guidance and information to ensure that they are sustainable and can become successful farmers. The branch also visits them on a weekly basis to assist them with marketing options as well as best farming practices.

Their operation is so successful that they have been able to hire some of their former colleagues as their workers and this has also improved their lives. This project has not only given them the opportunity to own land, but also to create jobs in the area and to alleviate poverty.

Another significant development has been the launch of the food security programme in April last year targeting women, youth, unemployed and the disabled. In terms of this programme, starter packs including seeds and garden tools to the value of R47 282 were donated to give people the opportunity to establish their own food gardens in the Francis Baard region, Siyanda region as well as in the Karoo region. All together more than 16 000 household members have benefited from this particular programme.

As part of its food security strategy, the province is promoting stock farming in terms of which farmers are provided with an opportunity to purchase breeding animals from the various research stations in the province. Closely linked to this is the implementation of various animal disease control measures in order to protect the animal population and secure livelihoods. The province will also, through vet services, facilitate the establishment of food safety control committees at each and every local municipality. The purpose of these committees is to protect and educate consumers on food safety aspects. These initiatives will be strengthened through an extensive food safety campaign which will be implemented in the province from May until October this year.

In conclusion, through our agricultural development initiatives we are slowly transforming our barren land into productive assets. While doing so we are mindful of the enormous challenges that still lie ahead. Some of these challenges include increasing the participation of women in commercial agriculture, increasing the provision of support services to the emerging farmer community and increasing entrepreneurial skills training for emerging farmers. Given the level of inequality we have inherited, these challenges will not be easy to overcome. However, they remain firmly in our focus as we plan for the years ahead. The success in dealing with these challenges will to a large extent be determined by how effective we are in raising public awareness opportunities in the agricultural sector and creating partnerships with all those involved in the agricultural sector. Thank you, Deputy Chair. [Applause.] Nkk J N VILAKAZI: Mphathisihlalo ohloniphekileyo, mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe womnyango nabasizi bakho, abafowethu nodadewethu emKhandlwini kaZwelonke weziFundazwe, kuyintokozo kimi ukubeka uvo lwami kule nkulumo yosuku emaqondana nezolimo nezwe. Nxa sibuka isabelomali somhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe kanye nomnyango wakhe namhlanje, umhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe ubhekene nomsebenzi omkhulu wezwe, umhlaba nezolimo. Siyambona ehla enyuka kubuyiselwa umhlaba kubaniniwo. Lowo umhlaba owawudwengulwe uhulumeni wobandlululo kubantu ababehlezi bakhile benethezekile nemindeni yabo, kanti kuyohamba kuhambe kube nje.

Umhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe nomnyango wakhe udinga imali eningi yokugcina lo msebenzi. Siyawubona futhi siyawutusa umsebenzi wakhe ngoba kuthi noma abantu bengasenakubuyiselwa izwe loyisemkhulu kodwa banikwe omunye umhlaba ozobagculisa. Isabelo sakho mhlonishwa kulo mkhakha sengathi singathi xaxa, ukufeza lo msebenzi ukuze kungabibikho abakhonondayo ngezwe nomhlaba.

Imisebenzi ayikho; umhlabathi unenzuzo kwabawusebenzisayo. Kukhona abalimi, ikakhulu emakhaya, abakwaziyo ukusebenzisa inhlabathi bese begajwa izinkinga zemali. Isifundazwe ngasinye sinomsebenzi omkhulu wokubazi laba balimi abafufusayo, nabancane nabakhulu ngoba bayaludinga uxhaso emalini yomnyango kaNgqongqoshe.

Kukhona abanye abanazo izindawo kodwa beswele ulwazi olwanele lokulima ukuze bathole inzuzo. Usizo olumileyo ikakhulu emakhaya luyadingeka. Kuqala bekubakhona abalimisi abahlala emphakathini bafundise umphakathi izindlela zokulima. Usizo olunje luyadingeka ukuze kuthuthukiswe umphakathi uthole amakhono anhlobonhlobo okusebenzisa inhlabathi. Inhlabathi kudingeka ikhiqize izitshalo ukuze umlimi adle nomndeni wakhe aphinde athengise athole inzuzo. Isabelomali esikhulu sibhekela amaholo ezisebenzi, lokhu kusho ukuthi izisebenzi azilolongwe. Ngithokozile ngesikhathi ngizwa enkulumeni kaNgqongqoshe ukuthi kukhona imali ebekelwe lokho. Izisebenzi zidinga ukulolongwa ukuze zibe namakhono ahlukahlukene ukuze kuthuthukiswe izinga lezolimo kulo mnyango kaNgqongqoshe. Abacijwe kakhulu abacwaningi bamabhuku ukuze imali ingaze iphele kodwa umsebenzi owenziwe ungekho.

Sidinga amakhono ezifundazweni okuba neso lokhozi emsebenzini kahulumeni ukuze kuphele ukuxhashazwa kwemali ngokungemthetho. Siyalibonga iqhaza likaMongameli wezwe lokuthuthukisa izindawo ezithile emakhaya ukukhulisa umnotho. Sicela mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe imali yalo mbhidlango ikhishwe masinyane ngoba kulezi zindawo ezaziwa njengezindawo ezaqokwa nguMongameli ayikho imali esebeyitholile abanye yokwenza lo msebenzi njengaKwaZulu-Natal nje sasithola leso sikhalo. Egameni le-IFP siyavumelana nesabelomali esethuliwe phakathi kwethu. Kumhlonishwa uNgqongqoshe womnyango siyasincoma isabelomali esiyizigidi ezingu-R5,3 sokubhekela imifundaze edingekayo kulo mnyango. Lokhu kuzoba yinselelo kubantwana bethu yokuba bafunde ngokuzimisela ukuze bathole lo mfundaze.

Angisho ngingananazi mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe, umnyango wakho ukhombisa ikhono elithile elincomekayo. Sesike sawuncoma kakhulu ngenkathi bezokwethula uhlelo lomnyango wakho. Sengathi ningaqhubeka nalolu nyawo enilukhombisayo ningashintshi. Egameni leqembu lami i-IFP ngithi phambili nomsebenzi womnyango wakho Ngqongqoshe phambili! (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)

[Mrs J N VILAKAZI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister of the department and your assistants, brothers and sisters in the National Council of Provinces, it is a pleasure for me to voice my opinion on today’s debate, which deals with agriculture and land. If we look at the budget of the hon Minister and her department today, we realise that she is faced with a big responsibility involving the country, land and agriculture. We can visualise her going up and down, engaged in land restitution activities. This land was confiscated by the apartheid government from people who lived comfortably in their own homes with their families, unsuspecting that one day things would turn out to be like this.

The hon Minister and her department need more money to sustain this undertaking. We acknowledge and commend her work because even in cases where people can no longer recover the land of their forefathers, they are allocated alternative land that will appease them. I wish that your budget allocation for this undertaking could be increased, hon Minister, to enable you to accomplish this task so that no one complains about land any more. There are no jobs; the soil yields profit to people who use it. There are farmers, especially in the rural areas, who have the skills to make use of the soil, but they are disadvantaged by financial problems. Each and every province has a responsibility to identify these emerging farmers. Whether they are small-scale or large-scale, they need financial assistance from the Minister’s department.

There are also people who have land for farming, but lack the expertise to farm profitably. There is a need for permanent support, especially in rural areas. In the past there used to be agricultural advisers who resided in the community and taught the people farming skills. This kind of support is essential for the development of the community, so that the people can acquire different types of skills in using the soil. The soil must be able to produce crops so that the farmers and their families can consume the produce and also sell it at a profit. The main budget provides for salaries and wages for the workers and this means that the employees must receive training. I was happy to learn from the Minister’s speech that there is money that has been set aside specifically for this purpose. Employees need to be trained in order to acquire different types of skills so that the standard of agriculture can be improved in the department.

In the provinces we need the capacity to scrutinise and detect quickly the activities taking place in the Public Service so that we can put an end to the abuse of funds. We are grateful to the President for his role in developing certain rural areas with a view to improving the economy.

Hon Minister, we request that funds for this operation be made available quickly because some of these places that have been targeted by the President have not received the money to perform those tasks. KwaZulu- Natal, for instance, is one of the places where we received such complaints. On behalf of the IFP, I support the budget as presented, which is before us. To the hon Minister, let me say that we applaud the allocation of R5,3 million as provision for bursaries that are needed in this department. This will be a challenge to our children to take their studies seriously so that they can get this bursary.

Hon Minister, let me say without any reservation that your department displays a very special, commendable skill. We praised them very much when they were here to present the department’s programme. Keep up the good work and do not change. On behalf of my party, the IFP, I say: Forward with your department’s work, hon Minister!]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: I just want to make members aware that our system is not functioning properly here, so members should not be disturbed when the light comes on whilst members are still on the floor. There is something faulty here but we will deal with it.

Dr P A MOTSOWALEDI (Northern Province): Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, fellow MECs from the Free State and Mpumalanga, and representatives from other provinces, let me start by congratulating the Minister for her successful budget speech she delivered in the National Assembly last week and to this House earlier this afternoon.

Minister, I know it’s not my duty to defend you because I heard you doing that very ably when there was an attack on the Agricultural Research Council. I don’t intend doing it today, because I know you are going to do it very ably. But I just want to mention that what people do not know is that in the past the research council did not recognise the fact that there were black people and black farmers in this country. When we make changes so that they can be recognised, some people start crying foul. It’s not only the research council at the higher level. We do have other smaller research stations in our provinces. When you find out how they are helping the people, you will find that there is only one group who have been benefiting from research. And it is illegal in this country for that to continue. So, Minister don’t be intimidated by anybody. Please carry on with the good work of restructuring in the research council.

Let me touch on the issues of the land because obviously there would be no agriculture and no agricultural development without land. We are very happy about the accelerating pace of land restitution in Limpopo since the Minister amended some of the regulations and also brought on a very able commissioner in the name of Mr Mashile Mokono. Sometimes last year, you and the former Chief Land Claims Commissioner Dr Wallace Mgoqi became common sights in successive weekends in the rural villages of Limpopo. We are very grateful for this because lots of land have been delivered to our people in Reboile, Makotopong, Kranspoort, Munghezi, Ximanga, Mavhungeni, Manavhela, Pheeha, etc.

We reciprocated your actions, because towards the end of March we bought these communities some tractors, barrows, ploughs, discs and planters. In some communities, where necessary, we also bought them spray carts and herbicides. We spent a sum of R5 million in this process. We are hoping that the Minister, together with the new Acting Chief Land Claim Commissioner Mr Thozi Gwanya, who honoured us by attending this sector’s presentation ceremony this year, will once again become the normal flora of Limpopo during weekends, coming to deliver land to our people. [Laughter.]

We have heard through grapevine - we could not confirm this - that the Ministry is discussing the possibility of increasing the discretionary funds given to land claimants. We from Limpopo will urge the Minister very strongly that this be done as soon as possible. We urge for that increment because we are scared that the majority of land that has been gazetted in Limpopo is very high-functioning commercial farms for which we need a lot of financial support, if they are not to collapse. We wish to thank you for raising in your speech the issue of partnerships between emerging farmers. We believe that this will include the land claimants, emerging farmers and commercial farmers. We in Limpopo have already realised that this is the most effective way to go and we wish to follow it religiously, and of course with your guidance and help, because we believe there is a lot of commercially viable land that has been gazetted which will need to be run commercially.

On the issue of human resource development, we welcome the announcement of the R3,5 million, if I am not mistaken, of bursaries which has been announced in this House for scarce skills. In Limpopo we have discovered that we are the only province which is paying much more for personnel than any other. I checked with my colleagues in Gauteng and here in the Western Cape. I found that in the Gauteng department they have a total of 500 employees and in the Western Cape they have 650 employees. In Limpopo we have a total of 13 700 employees. When we took an audit, we found that only 5% of them are at management level and only 8% are skilled. The rest are the people who have been put there by the homeland governments to survive, with no skills at all. For this reason, we have started on intensive skills campaign and decided deliberately to have a programme as part of our strategic plan to send students to the universities. I wish to announce that we will be the first province who will come and claim that money because this year in January we have already sent 22 students to the University of Natal to study agriculture and engineering; we have 10 students at the University of Pretoria who are studying veterinary medicine; we have 6 students at the University of Natal who are studying hydrology and we have 4 students who are studying Bsc in soil science. And their families have just received land from you in the land restitution. [Applause.] We thought it was in order for them to have skills to come and utilise that land. Next year, we are intending to send 10 students to Rhodes University to study agricultural entomology, particularly from those families who are going to receive land which is already functioning farms. Negotiations in this regard are far advanced. Next year, we will send 10 students to the University of Stellenbosch to study viticulture and oenology because we want to transpose the grape and the wine industry from the coast to inland. We will only do so if we have students who know.

On food security, we congratulate you, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Social Development on the very successful meeting we held on 28 March 2003 about food security, because there was already confusion about who should be in charge. We are happy that it has been made very clear that we in agriculture are in charge of food security for the nation. [Laughter.] We wish to state that this is a very, very serious and heavy responsibility, but we will carry it out with distinction in support of this noble task of providing the people with food. We have already discovered that a lot of money is being paid by Welfare, Agriculture, Public Works, Environmental Affairs, Water Affairs and many other departments in trying to push back the frontiers of poverty through the poverty relief projects. But the biggest problem is that people have been using only common sense in running these projects. That is why many of them are not doing well. So, in this case we add skills.

What have we already started in Limpopo? We have asked our agricultural colleges to stop taking students from Matric, but to implement three courses - a 6-week full-time course in poultry production, a 12-week full- time course in vegetable production and an ongoing course in maize production, because we believe that if people in a rural area can produce their own poultry, vegetables and maize, they will not starve. To this end, these programmes are doing so well that the lists of people who want to attend them are unending. People are already booking their spaces. Even the private sector which has started projects which are not functioning are booking their spaces, and we are urging the Ministry to help us with enough money in this regard.

But more than anything, we urge the Minister in the House to help us stop the Minister of Education from using the Constitution to annexe agricultural colleges as institutions of higher education, because graduates will simply go to universities and teach academic education and not practical education, as we are imparting to our people and rural farmers. This is not a fight with the Department of Education, but we are just fearful that the programmes we have already started, which include specifically poverty relief, land restitution and land redistribution for agricultural development are going to loose those colleges.

As far as irrigation schemes are concerned, the reason why in our province R25 million has been put aside is the call by the President that we must start establishing co-operatives, and we hope that the agricultural irrigation schemes will work like that. We are urging. In the past years we have received money from the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs and the Department of Water Affairs to finance these irrigation schemes. The fact that this year our province has provided its own R25 million does not mean that the Ministry should stop. We urge you to please continue helping us. I thank you. [Applause.] Mnr S E BYNEVELDT (Wes-Kaap): Mnr die Voorsitter, ons geskiedenis in Suid- Afrika is ‘n geskiedenis van veronregting, van swaarkry, van bakhand staan, van hotnot'' genoem word, en waarin onskaffer’’ as titel en naam gekry het. Ons geskiedenis is dié van uitsluiting en van diskriminasie.

Ongelykheid op grond van ras en geslag was destyds sterk kenmerke van die landbou. Die landbou is beslis nie onaangeraak deur ons erfenis nie. As ons kyk na grondbesit en na die toegang tot grond, asook na die destydse posisie van kommersiële boere, wat hoofsaaklik wit was, en die groot subsidies wat in ontvangs geneem is, kan ons agterkom dat ons geskiedenis inderdaad dié van veronregting is.

Dit is belangrik om ons by die geskiedenis aan te sluit, want dan verstaan ons die toekoms en die pad vorentoe. Op die landbou se skouers rus die swaar verantwoordelikheid van hierdie nalatenskap waarna ek verwys het, te beredder van dit om te draai en terug te stuur. Wat ter sprake is, is die herverspreiding van welvaart, rykdom en geleenthede, met die klem veral op geleenthede vir ons almal, en veral vir die mees verontregtes. Die sukses van Suid-Afrika en van Afrika is hier aan die orde. Die landbou moet ‘n lewendige werktuig wees vir die verwesenliking van hierdie strewes en van hierdie drang.

Dit alles gesê, moet ek sê ek kom ná die Minister aan die woord, met ‘n goeie gevoel in die hart en met baie vreugde. Ek het na u geluister en verskeie stukke onder oë gehad. Ek weet die landbou, asook die toekoms van die landbou, is in goeie hande. Ek wil u daarvoor bedank. Die manier waarop u die kritieke kwessies in u begrotingsrede insluit en die manier waarop u dit in u uitgawevoornemens inpas, is lewende getuienis daarvan. Ek is dankbaar vir die klem wat u plaas op die kapasiteitsbou van grondgebruikers, die oordra van kennis en inligting, die opvoeding en bemagtiging van ons mense en, uiteraard, op ons almal se aanvaarding van verantwoordelikheid vir die omgewing.

Ons moet almal die visie van ‘n verenigde landbou, wat voorspoed vir almal saam verseker, teen die bors druk en doelbewus bevorder. Baie dankie vir die manier waarop u dit doen en ‘n omgewing skep wat bemagtig, wat geleenthede uitgebou sien en wat van ons verlede werk maak. Ons moet ons vaardighede uitbou en in ons mense belê. Ons moet infrastruktuur sinvol vestig. Ons moet ongelykheid laat sneuwel en armoede terugstoot. Volhoubare plattelandse ontwikkeling op ‘n geïntegreerde wyse moet verseker word. Baie dankie vir die manier waarop u vir ons die pad in hierdie onderskeie opsigte uitstippel. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr S E BYNEVELDT (Western Cape): Mr Chairman, our history in South Africa is a history of injustice, suffering, begging, being called hotnot'' and one in which we got the title and name ofkaffir’’. Our history is one of ostracism and discrimination.

In those days inequality on the basis of race and gender were strong characteristics of agriculture. The agricultural sector was definitely not free of our legacy. When we look at ownership of land, as well as the position then of commercial farmers at the time, who were mostly white, and the huge subsidies which were received, then we realise that our history was indeed one of injustice.

It is important to link with history, because then we understand the future and the road ahead a little better. The burden to address this legacy, turn it around and send it back, rests heavily upon the shoulders of agriculture. What we are talking about is the redistribution of prosperity, wealth and opportunities, with the emphasis especially on opportunities for all of us and especially those who suffered the most injustice. The success of South Africa and Africa is at stake here. Agriculture should become a living tool for the fulfilment of these aspirations and this urge. After all this is said, I must add that I follow after the Minister with a good feeling in my heart and much joy. I have listened to you and read various documents. I know that agriculture, as well as the future of agriculture, is in good hands. I wish to thank you for that. The way in which you included crucial issues in your budget speech and the way you fitted it into your planned expenditure are living testimony to this. I am grateful for the capacity-building of land users, the transfer of knowledge and information, the education and empowerment of our people and, naturally, everybody’s acceptance of responsibility for the environment.

We must all embrace the vision of a unified agricultural sector, that will ensure prosperity for all, embrace it and promote it purposefully. Thank you very much for the way in which you are doing this because it creates an environment that empowers, builds opportunities and addresses our past. We must develop our skills and invest in our people. We must establish infrastructure sensibly. We must let inequality die and push back poverty. Sustainable rural development in an integrated way must be ensured. Thank you very much for the way in which you point out the road ahead in these various respects.]

The Western Cape is one of the most sophisticated agricultural regions in Africa and therefore its department of agriculture realises and accepts its responsibility towards the general growth and development of agriculture in the province, as well as towards that of the country and the rest of Africa. In support of this statement, I mention a few statistics according to which the Western Cape produces the following: 90% of the country’s fruit for export; 62% of the country’s fruit for canning; 26% of all vegetables; 41% of South Africa’s wheat; and, not surprisingly, no less than 90% of South Africa’s wine. We also contribute between 55% and 60% of the country’s total agricultural exports.

Om ons visie te verwesenlik, om kliënte te help om mededingend te wees, om globale sukses te kan behaal, om ten volle inklusief te kan wees en om in harmonie met die natuur te produseer, is die Wes-Kaapse departement van landbou strategies geposisioneer om die volgende voorrange te verwesenlik: om gelyke toegang tot deelname aan die landbou te verseker en om volhoubare landelike ontwikkeling te stimuleer, om die mededingendheid van alle landbouprodusente op die plaaslike, sowel as op nasionale en internasionale vlak te verbeter, en om die natuurlike hulpbronne wat aan ons beskikbaar is, te bewaar om sodoende te sorg dat toekomstige geslagte daaruit voordeel kan trek.

Voortvloeiend uit hierdie voorrange, gaan die departement hom toespits op die volgende inisiatiewe: om landelike ontwikkeling te bevorder, om dienste aan opkomende boere uit te brei, om die ontwikkeling van waterbronne te bevorder, om navorsing en voorligtingsdienste aan die landbougemeenskap uit te brei, om voedselveiligheid en -sekuriteit te bevorder, om op verdere onderwys en opleiding te konsentreer en om vennootskappe met ander provinsies te versterk, veral met die Oos- en die Noord-Kaap. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

To realise our vision to assist our clients to be competitive, to achieve global success, to be fully inclusive and to produce in harmony with nature, the Western Cape’s department of agriculture is strategically placed to achieve the following priorities: to ensure equal access to participation in agriculture and to stimulate sustainable rural development; to increase the competitiveness of all agricultural producers at local level, as well as at national and international levels and to protect the natural resources available to us and to ensure in so doing that future generations can benefit from it.

Flowing from these priorities the department would like to concentrate on the following initiatives; to promote rural development, to expand services to emerging farmers, to promote the development of water resources, to expand research and extension services to the agricultural community, to promote food safety and -security; to concentrate on further education and training, and to strenghthen partnerships with other provinces, especially the Eastern and Northern Cape.]

We see the process of Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development - also known as the LRAD process - as a way to create opportunities for our historically disadvantaged citizens to combat food insecurity, to create jobs and to make a contribution to the economy. It is our aim to settle a total of 7 000 land reform beneficiaries by the year 2005.

I would now like to refer to the progress made in this process so far. A total of 3 944 land reform beneficiaries are participating in 57 LRAD projects that were approved from 2001 to the present. Remember that these 3 944 land reform beneficiaries are not necessarily all farmers. The LRAD projects are structured according to the business model and as such the individuals within the projects are beneficiaries, each one of them playing a specific role in the business. Approximately 29 000 ha have been transferred during the period August 2001 to March 2003.

The current list of registered applicants indicates that at least 100 additional LRAD projects are outstanding in terms of business plans, meaning that there are at least another 6 000 to 7 000 people who wish to have access to land through this process. From 1994 to 2002 at least 97 land reform projects for agricultural purposes were approved, including the above-mentioned 57 LRAD projects. The total cost of these projects amounts to R132 240 976. The Western Cape province has 7 000 white commercial farmers and we would like to settle at least the same number of emerging farmers in agriculture - not necessarily in farming itself, but in the wider agricultural chain.

Needless to say, the department is committed to continued world-class service to the commercial component of agriculture. I have already mentioned the important role that commercial agriculture plays in the economy of the province and of the country, and we will continue to serve our commercial producers with state-of-the-art research, extension and training.

Die departement sal hom beywer vir die ontwikkeling van die gepaste tegnologie om die mededingendheid van produsente te ontwikkel deur sowat 205 dier- en gewasnavorsingsprojekte. Navorsing sonder voorligting is soos om ‘n boek te kryf, maar niemand toetelaat om dit te lees nie. Om hierdie rede beplan die departement om sowat 10 000 produsente by groepsessies en plaasbesoeke te betrek.

Dit is noodsaaklik vir die produsering van voedsel vir die volk om in balans en in harmonie met ons natuurlike omgewing en hulpbronne te wees. Verskeie projekte, soos die skep van kontoere, dwarsmure, dreinering and waterkanale word beoog om te bewaar en die landbougrond van die provinsie te verbeter. Die Wes-Kaap is ‘n waterskaars provinsie en die departement is toegewy om vordering te bemiddel tot die optimale gebruik van water in die landbousektor. Om hierdie rede hou die departement in Mei ‘n waterberaad, waartydens alle tersaaklike belanghebbendes bymekaar sal kom om die situasie te bespreek en oplossings te vind. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[The department will endeavour to develop suitable technology to develop competitiveness by about 205 animal and crop research projects. Research without counselling is like writing a book, but no one is allowed to read it. Therefore the department plans to involve 10 000 producers in group sessions and visits to farms.

It is imperative for the production of food that the nation should be in balance and harmony with our natural environment and resources. Various projects, like the creation of contours, retaining walls, drainage and water canals are envisaged to save and improve the agricultural land of the province. The Western Cape is a water-scarce province and the department is committed to facilitating the optimal usage of water in the agricultural sector. For this reason, the department will have a water summit in May, where all the relevant role-players will meet to discuss the situation and find solutions.]

The Western Cape being a strong exporter of agricultural and specifically animal products, the department accepts the challenge as custodian for the safety of food from animal origin. To this end, the Directorate of Veterinary Services will, during the next year, inspect and monitor about 642 ostrich and dairy export farms throughout the province. A programme has also been initiated to declare the province free from bovine tuberculosis and bovine brucellosis. To achieve this goal, the department will have to test more than 150 000 dairy cattle and almost 145 000 beef cattle.

Relevant and need-driven training remains one of the cornerstones of the promotion of sustainable agriculture. It also serves as one of the most potent instruments to ensure equal access to agriculture. I am therefore happy to report that approximately 52% of the training budget goes to the development and training of people from previously disadvantaged communities.

The Elsenburg College of Agriculture provides higher certificate and diploma training to approximately 260 students annually. Through a renewed focus on the provision of further education and training, the aim is to reach some 1 100 students, including practising and prospective farmers and farmworkers from previously disadvantaged communities. Decentralised training centres will also be developed at George and along the West Coast to give people increased access to agricultural training facilities.

Die Wes-Kaapse departement van landbou is voornemens om sy rol as voorloper, gids, beskermer en ondersteuner van die landbougemeenskap in die provinsie te speel deur voortgesette dienslewering en toewyding aan die skep van ekonomiese groei en voedselsekuriteit vir almal, tot voordeel van ons provinsie, tot voordeel van ons land en tot voordeel van Afrika. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[The Western Cape Department of Agriculture intends to play its role as forerunner, guide, patron and supporter of the agricultural community in the province through sustained service delivery and commitment to the creation of economic growth and food security for all, to the benefit of our province, to the benefit of our country and to the benefit of Africa. [Applause.]]

Mr R M NYAKANE: Chairperson, up until now, I am still convinced that agriculture is the backbone of the nation. The Managing Director of the Land Bank affirms this argument as follows:

Farmers and their workers do the most sacred work of all feeding South Africa. And after all, the economy of the country is predominatly agricultural and half of its economically active population work as labourers on commercial farms or as small-scale producers in communal areas.

The major part of my speech, will focus on programme 2 vis farmers’ support and development. It is true that skewed participation and inequity exist in the agricultural sector and have become critical millstones; critical millstones in the sense that whites, representing merely 6% of the population, still control 70% of the fertile agricultural land, and that 55 000 white commercial farmers appear to have applied pressure on our Government as it is manifested by the snail’s pace at which land redistribution takes place.

A survey indicates that the land redistribution programme has managed to redistribute 2% of the designated farming land to emerging black farmers, which is far below the targeted 30% of land. However, I wish to commend the department for the progress made in respect of land restitution. What could be the reason for this slow pace in respect of land redistribution?

The fundamental issue is that the white commercial farming sector is unwilling, although it has already been alluded to by our hon Minister, to enter into partnership with the Government and other stakeholders to redress the skewed participation and inequities in the agricultural sector.

This is demonstrated by the tendency of white farmers pitching purchase prices of farms under claim above the market-related price in order to frustrate the land redistribution process, let alone the prolonging of the time period, which will culminate in even more impossible prices.

Partnership is critical in order to avoid frustrations which might culminate in land ownership hostilities in future. Prevention, in other words, is better than cure. Once more, the Managing Director of the Land Bank asserts that white farmers need to do more to help emerging black farmers acquire land and learn modern agricultural skills and techniques. We fail to realise this, given that the other partner is neither willing nor committed to the cause.

Willingness and commitment can’t be successfully realised without the elements of compromise and sacrifice coming into play. Compromise in this sense refers to making a settlement by each side giving up part of its demand, and of course, sacrifice refers to giving up something valued for the sake of something else more important or worthy. More important or worthy in this sense refers to peace and stability.

After all, we have overcome insurmountable milestones in our country precisely through the willingness of all parties to compromise and sacrifice, and not through the US or Bush style. Given this presentation supra, I therefore appeal to all stakeholders, especially the white commercial farming community, to heed our plea to enter into meaningful partnership with our Government.

In the event of a failure to do so - I don’t know - the Government will have to adopt a confrontational or head-on approach to the land reform programme by imposing harsh policies like, among others, one farm to one farmer to prevent ownership of chains of farms by one person. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

uMnu V V Z WINDVOЁL: Mgcinisihlalo, Ndvuna lehlon Didiza kanye neLisekela leNdvuna, Adv Du Toit, nemalunga lahlon, kuyinjabulo kimi kuba yincenye yalenkhulumomphikiswano lebaluleke nakangaka. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)

[Mr V V Z WINDVOЁL: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister and the Deputy Minister, Adv Du Toit, hon members, it is a pleasure for me to be part of such an important debate.]

It is a bit unfortunate that as we are in this important debate there are members who are still using cowardly tactics of ``shoot-and-run,’’ like the hon member Versfeld, who raised an issue and then left with the entire white contingent of the DA, leaving the poor black Raju behind. [Laughter.] And, they went to the white laager. It is a pity, because I wanted to hand over this leaflet to him so that he could read, just a paragraph, where it says:

The South African Government has shown its intent to keep South Africa on track with biotechnological research and development by allocating R400 million over the next three years towards its biggest ever single research support for biotechnology.

This was said by Prof Eugene Cloete of the University of Pretoria.

Ngisachubeka nenkhulumo yami, ngitsandza kusho kutsi leliTiko leTekulima neMhlaba lingumhlahlandlela ekucedzeni buphuya kanye nelubhubhane lwendlala. Ngulona tiko lelidlala indzima lendze ekubuyiseni sitfunti sesive lesimnyama ngekubuyisela imihlaba emiphakatsini leyacoshwa ngendlovuyangena etindzaleni tabogogomkhulu. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)

[Continuing with my speech, I would like to say that the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs is leading in pushing back the frontiers of poverty and overcoming the scourge of drought. It is one department that plays a vital role in bringing back the dignity and land to the black communities that were forcefully removed from the land of their forefathers.]

On 20 April 1964, in the Rivonia Trial, Comrade Nelson Mandela said:

The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy.

This has reference to the 1913 and 1936 Land Acts which saw blacks forcefully removed from arable land to barren lands, the so-called ``homelands’’. Those who remained were to be exploited as cheap labour working in squalid conditions.

Today, 10 April, as we commemorate 10 years after the assasination of Comrade Cris Hani, we are not apologetic in our resolve to ensure that the dispossessed and landless have access to land.

In keeping with the UN Decade on the Rights of Indigenous Populations, the Ministry, through The Land Claims Commission, has settled claims for the historically marginalised Khoisan communities including the Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari, the Mier community and the San people of Schmidtsdrift.

Many communities, covering thousands and thousands of the previously disadvantaged households, have benefited from LRAD, the Land Restitution and Land Tenure Reform Programmes. LRAD launched at Nkomazi in Mpumalanga in the year 2001, has a more developmental approach, which emphasises the delivery of land for productive and income-generating purposes.

The department has in its Budget Vote allocated a significant amount for the mentoring programmes which serves as support structures to these emerging farmers. This will build the necessary capacity for viable and sustainable farming, thus enhancing socioeconomic development in this emerging sector. It plays a significant role in pushing back the frontiers of poverty.

It is in this context that we support the Government’s target to redistribute 30% of agricultural land among the previously disadvantaged citizens of this country. My colleague the hon Van Niekerk said it can even be more than 30% - how we wish that he, together with his other colleague farmers, can contribute more to this. This will at the end translate to about 25 million ha at a minimum target of 1,2 million ha per year.

As the fundamental changes occur, new challenges emerge, hence the need to harmonise land ownership and disposal between all spheres of Government. It also calls for those who had benefited for so long to be responsive and partriotic in lending a helping hand to the previously marginalised.

In the spirit of the OAU Anthem, ``let all of us unite and toil together to give the best we have to Africa, the cradle to humankind and fount of culture.’’

Siyatigcabha ngebalimi betfu labaphatsa tisebenti tabo kahle batakhele tindlu, batiholele ngalokufanelekile baphindze bahloniphe nemalungelo eluntfu.

Kodvwa ngitsandza kugceka balimi labafana na Abraham Swart wase Spitzkop edvute naseNaspoti. Swart kanye nendvuna yakhe baphume ngebheyili ya R5 000 emva kwekushaya tisebenti letintsatfu kwatsi sinye Swart wasidubula esifubeni kanye naselunyaweni ngesikhatsi setama kubalekela lesimo.

Laba bekunene babhanyulwa kangaka nje ngobe bacela umholo wabo wemalanga lamatsatfu labebawasente kulelipulazi. Tinyenti letinye tigameko letishacisako letikhombisa kutsi lamanye emapulazi asaphila kuleya minyaka yabo 1936. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[We are very proud of our farmers who treat their employees like human beings, those who build houses for their workers and pay them reasonable living wages and respect their human rights.

However, I am strongly against farmers who are like Abraham Swart of Spitzkop, near Nelspruit. Swart and his workers’ leader are out on R5000 bail, after beating three workers, one of which was shot in the chest and foot by Mr Swart while he was trying to run away from that situation.

These workers were suffering terrible hardship only because they had requested their pay for the three days’ work which they had done on that farm. There are many other outrageous things that are happening on the farms, which show that some farmers still live in 1936.]

Generally, there is a gross violation of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act on the farms. Most of the workers are not registered, hence they cannot benefit from the UIF. There are elements of child labour, gender discrimination, and people are subjected to subhuman living conditions. In essence, it’s where the poorest of the poor have their human rights grossly violated.

It is in this context that we stand by our hon Ministers - Minister Didiza and Minister Mdladlana on the sectoral determination - key, amongst others, being the minimum wage and improved working conditions.

Let me also take this opportunity to commend hon Minister Didiza and her colleagues in the Cabinet on the sterling work they are doing. They rose to the occasion when disaster struck, namely through veld fires, floods, etc. We have seen them moving up and down those communities who were in dire need. This signifies a caring and responsive Government of the people.

This Ministry has ably dealt with animal disease outbreaks like the foot- and-mouth … [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Wena wekunene, uyevakala kutsi uliSwati mbamba mbamba, awusilo liSwati leliphepha. [Luhleko.] [Honourable member, it is clear that you are a pure Swati, you are not a Swati by mere certification. [Laughter.]]

The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Thank you, Chairperson, for the opportunity to speak again in the NCOP, reacting to the debate.

The Minister sent me a note a while ago, and I am going to read it to you - she’s writing my speeches! [Laughter.] She says: ``You know, the NCOP debate is always substantive, informative and enriching.’’ How true. [Applause.] And, you know, the reason for that is that - other than perhaps what we have in the National Assembly in our debates, especially on agriculture; it’s not the same in all sectors - here we have persons and delegates and representatives, all of whom have direct contact with what is happening on ground level. They know the project, they’ve seen the people, they’ve seen the land and that’s what’s making the difference and that’s why I think that this has got a big role, especially with regard to agriculture. Let’s remain with what we have, and co-operative governance is and can be more of a success every day.

You know, I had a plan for a speech, but the Minister hasn’t completed writing my speech. She’s also very busy! So I think I will spend most of my time reacting to some of the observations some people have made. But let me just, by way of introduction, refer to a few matters.

There has been reference to agricultural colleges, amongst others, by the Free State MEC. You know, this is a very important matter and we must take it forward. I must say, at the moment the Ministry is not satisfied with the progress that we are making with regard to agricultural colleges. We’ve got task teams, and we’ve got meetings and discussions, but somewhere I think a political intervention has to be made to really get this thing going.

There are, for example, joint teams between education and agriculture. There was a time that we said at the highest level we should not go ahead with this matter of the agricultural colleges before we’ve talked to the provincial MECs and the provincial heads of departments. And that’s happening, but I must also say that we’re getting slow responses from the provincial heads of departments to move this matter forward. So I think we must ask the politicians please to create some heat in the provinces so that we can move this matter. From the side of the national Government we will do what we can, because I think the right approach has been suggested by the hon Motsoaledi. With regard to intergovernmental relations, I’ve thought about this for many years and what we can do to make it really successful. And I think it’s actually very simple. Much of intergovernmental relations is conducted on a day-to-day basis by officials on the phone to each other, in meetings; by politicians talking to each other and by Ministers talking to each other. I think the most important matter is that you must have good information on what the other governments are doing. The provincial governments must know what the national Government is doing, the national Government must know what the provincial governments are doing and on all levels, whether it’s on a bureaucratic level or whether it’s on a political level, good information is number one, because that will lead to what I regard as the biggest requirement for success in intergovernmental relations. And that is to be respected by the others. You need respect because if you don’t have that basis of respect, apart from what political party is running what province, it must be based on respect because the respect again is a factor of good human resource administrative practices, good human relations and an overall approach of excellence to public management.

When will you get this respect? You will draw respect if there is competence, if people are doing their work, if there is technical competence in the province, if there is technical competence at national level, then we will have that respect. And so we need a high-quality Public Service for this very difficult task of intergovernmental relations. One can so easily fall into smallness, into empire-building, into keeping my information for myself and putting gates on the information flow. I think that is just going to work to your own disadvantage.

Then the informal contacts can take off, when you have this respect. Because intergovernmental relations are built, to a very large extent, on these informal contacts. And I would like to ask the full-time members of the NCOP, as well as the delegates, as well as the MECs and whoever is a politician in the intergovernmental game, to please help this country to get this right; to get this level of respect and to get mature in our intergovernmental relations. Keep the lines of communication open and have transparency. Let it flow. I think that’s really important.

From the side of the Ministry and the national department we are intiating a memorandum of understanding on agricultural intergovernmental relations. It’s very difficult work, I must say, because sometimes we still distrust each other and that must just go out of the system.

What did we see in this debate? And I’ll touch on what some people have said. We’ve seen an openness, a flow of information on this project and that project. Provinces are proud to come and tell what’s happening in their provinces and the national Government must know that to be able to keep the money flowing in, to keep the frameworks flowing and to do what we should do in this regard.

Let me just thank the Rev Moatshe. He also referred to the garden matters and the starter packs. I think with regard to these starter packs we need more information coming in. Does it really work and are we really getting a national vibration through this country about producing food in gardens? I think that’s the type of roll-out that we want. We want a roll-out and a national kind of feeling that this is our culture, to make gardens. And I appreciate everyone who has referred to that matter.

The hon Nkayi is not here now. He was making a lot about these many female farmers that they have there in the Eastern Cape. I am very happy to announce that we are going to stop them. The Minister has informed me that the title of this competition is going to change. It’s now going to be the male farmer of the year. [Laughter.] [Applause.] This is so that the Free State also has a chance to win that competition. Did I misunderstand you, Minister? [Laughter.]

No, of course we know exactly what is happening there and we also congratulate the North West that also has one female farmer of the year, I believe.

Unfortunately, as has been said earlier, Mrs Versfeld has left us, presumably to go fishing. [Laughter.] But I think this matter on the ARC has been answered sufficiently in the National Assembly by the Minister. It is a question of restructuring and sometimes it’s a bit hard when you restructure, but you know you are moving to a better position. And I think that is what we are asking support for now and I think we’re getting it. We shouldn’t get into a fight-back type of mood. That is not contributing anything at all in this regard. I think a positive attitude is going to help a lot more.

I must say that we have some concern over the way the trust deeds were drafted for all these different trusts, the mayor’s trust and whatever. For example, we’re trying to save the potato trust and Potato SA at the moment. But if you start looking at the drafting that went into those deeds, Mr Chief Whip, please, it’s unbelievable the level of ignorance that was used, because it can’t work. We have now got one trust for which, because of poor drafting of a section, we actually can’t legally appoint new trustees. It was really sloppy work that went into that and the instruction is already out that we’re going to look at all the trust deeds through the NAMC and see what must be done. But we should not use the existing trust to undermine the ARC. I must warn against that. We shouldn’t use that because then we’re on a conflictual road which I think is not going to be good for anyone.

The hon Chief Whip of the Council has referred to the provincial staffing position as have other members like the hon provincial minister from Limpopo. In the intergovernmental relations report just out, that is shown to be the single biggest problem for provincial agriculture. It must be addressed successfully. I think it is being addressed successfully at a lot of places, but if you just take - I am also talking from memory - Limpopo has about 3 000 supernumeraries in agriculture. It is a legacy of apartheid. We know that. It comes from the way in the old bantustans in which agriculture was run. It’s a legacy we have, but we must solve it. And my personal opinion is that the provinces must get assistance to solve this problem. In the Western Cape there is only one supernumerary. So it’s far easier for the Western Cape to be effective, and they are effective and we congratulate them on that. But you must remember you didn’t have one of those TBVC areas in the Western Cape. It makes a difference and you can see it. That’s exactly what apartheid meant. You get this type of problem.

So, Mr Surty, I thank you for mentioning that matter and also I’m so glad about Taung getting up. It was the area next door to where I grew up and I think it’s got great promise and we’re going to drive that matter.

MEC Oelrich of the Free State just briefly made mention of municipal relations. I really think that in agriculture we must take the local level of government far more seriously. You know, the rates Bill is coming in and that must be a functional type of system. Where does the extension officer really sit? If you go into the deep rural areas you will see he’s got an office there in the municipal offices. I’ve seen it so often. He’s in direct contact. If a road is a problem in a rural area it’s related to the municipality and this extension officer picks it up when he’s doing agriculture work in the district. There must be a relationship there and it’s something which the provinces must work out and bring to us so that we can talk about that matter.

The hon Van Niekerk had a very interesting point of the 30% of production that he argued here. I do think that’s the wrong word; it’s not the 30% of production that’s really at stake. You see, the land as such - as has been argued by the hon Windvoël, correctly, that is the correct position - has got a deeper meaning than just the pure production value of it. It is this history of your dignity being taken away by access to land having been denied.

So access to land is not merely production value. But what is true of your argument, and I think that we must consider this matter carefully, is that the value of the land in this country is not the same everywhere. There are huge disparities in the value of land. So perhaps we must start talking about the value of land, because in the deep Northern Cape the value of land can’t be what it is in the high-rainfall areas along the coastal areas, obviously. It can’t be that. But I also want to say, just sending up a flyer, that we should also think of redistribution in urban areas, where the business and the money is. But let me leave it at that.

Oh, yes, and thank you for the mention of aquaculture by more than one speaker here. I’ve got some notes on aquaculture. I don’t know whether I can really go into the matter. I can only say this: It is by far the most efficient protein-production method. What you put in and what you get out. It’s the most effective method. And I must say that the department is looking into this matter.

Could I then just thank you for the opportunity for me and the Minister to have been here. My time is gone. Thank you, Sir.

Debate concluded.

                   DEEDS REGISTRIES AMENDMENT BILL
            (Consideration of Bill and of Report thereon)

Rev P MOATSHE: Chairperson, I have a statement on the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill.

The purpose of the amendment is twofold. It seeks, firstly, to bring the Deeds Registries Act in line with new legislative changes that have occurred in respect of customary marriages, and, secondly, to confer juristic personality on trusts to enable compliance with the legislation governing trust property in South Africa.

The Deeds Registry is a statutory instrument that records information about the ownership, description, size and date of acquisition of immovable properties. Section 17 of the Deeds Registries Act regulates the registration of fixed properties in the name of married persons.

Because of the discrimination that took place against black South Africans, customary marriages were not put on the same legal footing as so-called western marriages. This discriminatory practice was ended with the enactment of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act of 1998, which gives customary marriages the same legal protection. However, the new matrimonial property system which was introduced by the 1998 Act was not accommodated in the Deeds Registries Act.

The amendment inserts a new paragraph (d) to make sure that where fixed property is registered in the name of a person who on the date of the registration was a party to a marriage governed by the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, the Registrar of Deeds must endorse the change in status or make a note to the effect that the person is a party to a marriage in community of property, as the case may be.

The second reason why this amending Bill is necessary is to provide for the registration of immovable property in the name of a trust. The common law does not recognise trusts as juristic persons and does not permit registration of rights in land in the name of any body other than a natural or juristic person.

A consequence of our colonial history has been the practice of immigrants from Britain to form trusts and register rights in land in the name of trustees. This has resulted in rights in land being registered in the name of trustees without mentioning the name of the beneficiary of the trust in the deeds concerned.

This is not in line with the Trust Property Control Act which provides that trust property must be registered in such a manner that it is clear from the registration that it is trust property. Furthermore the Trust Property Control Act states that trust property does not, on insolvency, form part of the Trustee’s insolvent estate.

It is necessary therefore to amend the Deeds Registries Act so as to confer juristic personality on trusts to ensure compliance with the Trust Property Control Act.

Therefore the House supports the amending Bill. I thank you.

[Applause.]

Debate concluded.

Declaration of vote:

Dr E A CONROY: Dankie, Voorsitter. Ek het ‘n jaar gelede, namens die Nuwe NP, deur middel van ‘n privaatlidwetgewingvoorstel aan die hand gedoen dat ernstige oorweging aan die hersiening van Wet 95 van 1986 geskenk word.

Ek het in dié voorlegging genoem dat dringende aandag aan die swak openbare beeld van deeltiteleienaarskap geskenk moet word deur onder meer swak boustandaarde in deeltitelskemas te voorkom, deur eienaars teen swak en, in sommige gevalle, gewetenlose administrateurs te beskerm, en in die proses ‘n unieke Suid-Afrikaanse deeltitelmodel op die been te bring. Ek het ook reeds in daardie stadium betoog vir die skep van ‘n kantoor van ‘n deeltitel-ombudsman, wat dispute vinnig, goedkoop en doeltreffend kan besleg.

Dit is daarom verblydend dat die Minister verlede week in haar begrotingsrede in die ander Huis aangedui het, en ek wil haar daarvoor bedank, dat sy die skep van ‘n kantoor van ‘n ombudsman oorweeg en, deur gereelde wysigings aan die betrokke wet, aandag aan die problematiek van deeltiteleienaarskap sal skenk. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Dr E A CONROY: Thank you, Chairperson. A year ago I proposed, on behalf of the New NP, by way of a private member’s legislative proposal that serious consideration be given to the revision of Act 95 of 1986.

In this submission I mentioned that urgent attention should be given to the poor public image of sectional title ownership by, inter alia, preventing poor building standards in sectional title schemes, by protecting owners against incompetent and, in some cases, unscrupulous administrators, and thus creating a unique South African sectional title model. Moreover, at that stage I also advocated the creation of an office of a sectional title ombudsman who can settle disputes swiftly, cheaply and efficiently.

It is therefore heartening that the Minister indicated last week in her budget speech in the other House, and I want to thank her for this, that she is considering the creation of an office of an ombudsman and will devote attention to the problematics of sectional title ownership by regular amendments of the Act concerned.]

Chairperson, I bring this matter to bear as it is closely linked to the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill which is being discussed today. It strengthens the New NP’s belief and bolsters our confidence that active and responsible attention is being given to all aspects of private ownership of fixed property.

The New NP strongly supports the Deeds Registries Amendment Bill. I thank you. [Applause.] Bill agreed to in accordance with section 75 of the Constitution.

Ms J KGOALI: Chairperson, on a point of order: I just wanted to find out from you whether it is parliamentary that the hon Versveld raises issues and runs away, and when the Minister has responded, she comes back. [Interjections.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you. It is not parliamentary, but I wonder whether she can actually respond to that within this short space of time. She’s got no response. [Interjections.] Thank you. Do you want to say something, Mrs Versveld? No. That concludes the business of the day.

The Council adjourned at 16:56. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

                       WEDNESDAY, 9 APRIL 2003

ANNOUNCEMENTS: National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

1. Bills passed by Houses - to be submitted to President for assent:

 (1)    Bill passed by National Assembly on 9 April 2003:


     (i)     Division of Revenue Bill [B 9D - 2003]  (National  Assembly
          - sec 76).

1. Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism:

 (1)    The Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) on 7 April 2003  in  terms  of
     Joint Rule 160(3), classified the following Bill as  a  section  75
     Bill:
     (i)     National Small  Business  Amendment  Bill  [B  20  -  2003]
          (National Assembly - sec 75).

National Council of Provinces:

1. Membership of Select and House Committees:

 (1)    The following changes  have  been  made  to  the  membership  of
     Committees, viz:


     Education and Recreation:


     Appointed: Mashangoane, R P.
     Discharged: Nkuna, C.


     Social Services:


     Appointed: Mashangoane, R P.
     Discharged: Nkuna, C.

1. Messages from National Assembly to National Council of Provinces in respect of Bills passed by Assembly and transmitted to Council: (1) Bills passed by National Assembly on 9 April 2003 and transmitted for concurrence:

   (i) Bophuthatswana National Provident Fund Act Repeal Bill [B 13 - 2003] (National Assembly - sec 75). (ii) Sefalana Employee Benefits Organisation Act Repeal Bill [B 14 - 2003] (National Assembly - sec 75).

   The Bills have been referred to the Select Committee on Finance of the National Council of Provinces.

   (iii) Judicial Matters Amendment Bill [B 2B - 2003] (National Assembly - sec 75).

   The Bill has been referred to the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs of the National Council of Provinces.

2. Referrals to committees of tabled papers:

 (1)    The following papers are referred to  the  Select  Committee  on
     Labour and Public Enterprises:


     (a)     Report and Financial Statements of Eskom Limited for 2002.


     (b)     Strategic Plan of the Department of Public Enterprises  for
          2003-2006.


 (2)    The following papers are referred to  the  Select  Committee  on
     Social Services:


     (a)     Government Notice No R 460 published in Government  Gazette
          No  24630  dated  31  March  2003:  Amendment  to  Regulations
          regarding grants and financial awards to welfare organisations
          and to persons in need of social relief of distress,  made  in
          terms of section 19 of the Social Assistance Act, 1992 (Act No
          59 of 1992).


     (b)     Government Notice No R 461 published in Government  Gazette
          No 24631 dated 31 March 2003: Increase in  respect  of  social
          grants, made in terms of the Social Assistance Act, 1992  (Act
          No 59 of 1992).


 (3)    The following paper is  referred  to  the  Select  Committee  on
     Finance:


     The Intergovernmental Fiscal Review for 2003 [RP 27-2003].

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

National Council of Provinces:

1. Report of the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs on the Geoscience Amendment Bill [B 7 - 2003] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 9 April 2003:

   The Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs, having considered the subject of the Geoscience Amendment Bill [B 7 - 2003] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it, reports that it has agreed to the Bill. THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2003

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

1. Assent by President in respect of Bills:

 (a)    Local Government: Municipal Structures Second Amendment Bill  [B
     68B - 2002] -  Act  No  1  of  2003  (assented  to  and  signed  by
     President on 4 April 2003).


     NOTE: The name of  the  Act  is  the  Local  Government:  Municipal
     Structures Amendment Act, 2003.


 (b)    Constitution of the Republic of  South  Africa  Third  Amendment
     Bill [B 33B - 2002] - Act No 3 of 2003 (assented to and  signed  by
     President on 9 April 2003).


     NOTE: The name of the Act is the Constitution of  the  Republic  of
     South Africa Second Amendment Act, 2003.


 (c)    National Development Agency Amendment Bill [B 70B - 2002] -  Act
     No 6 of 2003 (assented to  and  signed  by  President  on  9  April
     2003).

1. Bills passed by Houses - to be submitted to President for assent:

 (1)    Bill passed by National Council of Provinces on 10 April 2003:


     (i)     Deeds Registries Amendment Bill [B 65B  -  2002]  (National
          Assembly - sec 75).

1. Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism:

 (1)    The Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) on 10 April 2003 in  terms  of
     Joint Rule 160(4), classified the following Bill as  a  section  76
     Bill:


     (i)     Financial and Fiscal Commission  Amendment  Bill  [B  21  -
          2003] (National Assembly - sec 76).

National Council of Provinces:

1. Membership of Select, Joint, Standing and House Committees:

 (1)    The following changes  have  been  made  to  the  membership  of
     Committees, viz:


     Ethics and Members' Interests:


     Appointed: Mashangoane, R P.

1. Messages from National Assembly to National Council of Provinces in respect of Bills passed by Assembly and transmitted to Council:

 (1)     Bill  passed  by  National  Assembly  on  10  April  2003   and
     transmitted for concurrence:


     (i)     Banks Amendment Bill [B 15B - 2003]  (National  Assembly  -
          sec 75).


     The Bill has been referred to the Select Committee  on  Finance  of
     the National Council of Provinces.

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

Papers:

1. The Minister of Home Affairs:

 Agreement between the Government of the Republic of  South  Africa  and
 the Government of the Republic of Angola on Waiving of the  Requirement
 of Visas on Diplomatic and Official  Passports,  in  terms  of  section
 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.