TUESDAY, 12 APRIL 2005

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          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

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The Council met at 10:03.

The 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 A WATSON: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move:

That this House –

1) noting the failure to publish the proper budget for the Mpumalanga visit, as required by section 21 (2)(c) of the Rules of this House;

2) further noting the failure to publish the notice of motion given by the DA on this matter on 22 February 2005; 3) questions whether the ANC is trying to hide the exorbitant costs of this exercise, and

4) calls on the secretariat to immediately make available to all members of this House the full costs to the taxpayer associated with this visit, including accommodation, transport, food and refreshments, venue hire and all other specified items.

Ms D ROBINSON: Chair, I would like to give notice that I shall move on the next sitting day in terms of Rule 74:

That this House –

    1) expresses its sympathy with all the residents who have suffered
       the loss of their homes and possessions during the storms that
       have lashed the Western Cape;

    2) thanks the emergency services and municipal structures for
       sterling services rendered, and

    3) calls on municipalities to be more proactive in preparing for
       winter storms by ensuring that drainage and other services are
       well maintained.

Mr G KRUMBOCK: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that at the next sitting of this House, I shall move:

That this House –

    1) notes the unlamented death of the NNP from self-inflicted
       wounds;

    2) further notes that the members of the party, which created
       apartheid, are very comfortable in the party of neo-apartheid,
       the ANC;

    3) recognises that job reservation, race classification, nepotism
       and corruption are as much a part of the current government as
       they were of the old NP government, and

    4) gives the assurance to the people of South Africa that the DA
       will continue the struggle for true democracy and freedom for
       all the people who call themselves South Africans, irrespective
       of colour, language, culture or political affiliation.

Ms J F TERBLANCHE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move:

That this House –

    1) notes the statement by the Chief Whip, hon V V Z Windvoël, on 17
       February 2005 that the matter of the budget for the planned
       Mpumalanga visit was deliberated upon more than several times in
       the multiparty Whips meetings and in the programme committee
       meetings;

    2) further notes that according to the minutes of the Whips and
       programme meetings the budget was in fact not discussed with the
       representatives of other parties at these meetings before that
       specific date; and

    3) therefore censures hon Windvoël for deliberately misleading this
       House and for insulting hon Watson in an effort to cover up his
       misrepresentation of the facts.


                WELCOMING ALL NNP MEMBERS TO THE ANC


                         (Draft Resolution)

Rev P MOATSHE: Chairperson, I hereby move without notice:

That the Council –

    1) notes that the NNP has over the past weekend finally agreed to
       close shop during the local government elections later this
       year;

    2) agrees that this brings to an end the past division between
       patriotic South Africans;

    3) accepts the admission of gross mistakes on the part of the
       leadership of the NNP in its futile attempts to recycle far-
       right political ideologies under the DA, and

    4) welcomes all past NNP members who agree with the vision of the
       Freedom Charter under the leadership of the movement of the
       people.

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

             PEACE-BROKERING EFFORTS IN THE IVORY COAST


                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr B J TOLO: Chairperson, I hereby move without notice:

That the Council –

    1) notes the peace-brokering efforts of the President of South
       Africa in the Ivory Coast;

    2) expresses collective confidence that it leads to further
       reconciliation and peace in the region and that the stable
       conditions that the President’s efforts at ensuring peace have
       brought about, places the foundation on which free and fair
       elections can be held in the Ivory Coast, and

    3) commends the Presidency and the President for the successes that
       his sterling efforts have had in stabilising our continent so
       that Africa and its people can rise to the challenge of peace,
       development and vibrant democracy in future.

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

                    TRAGIC ACCIDENT NEAR RICHMOND


                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr K SINCLAIR: Chairperson, I hereby move without notice:

That the House –

1) takes note of the tragic accident near Richmond in the Northern Cape, which happened during the Easter Weekend, where six schoolgirls and three teachers were killed;

    2) notes that the school netball team was on their way to a
       tournament in George when the horrific accident occurred, 30 km
       outside Richmond, and

    3) extends its condolences to the school, the families and
       everybody involved in the accident.

Motion agreed to in terms of section 65 of the Constitution.

Mr A WATSON: Chair, may I just please ask you to recognise my objection to the motion read by Rev Moatshe. I was interrupted by the hon Themba so I could not hear what you were saying and therefore my interjection. The motion was objected to by the Whip of the DA in the meeting of the Whips, as was agreed, in that motions of a political nature should have the approval of the House, and we therefore wish our objection to that motion, especially the contents in one paragraph, to be noted.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Mr Watson, you will understand that I did put a question and there was no objection. You say that you were interrupted, but that is not my problem. I am sorry. Ms J F TERBLANCHE: Chairperson, on a point of order: Mr Krumbock raised his hand and you did not note him. I saw him raise his hand and you did not note him.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: I did not see any hand.

Ms J F TERBLANCHE: He tried to raise an objection and you did not take note of him.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Ms Terblanche, please sit down. That motion has been agreed to. We will continue with the work of the House.

                 MOURNING THE LATE POPE JOHN PAUL II


                         (Draft Resolution)

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Chairperson, it is unfortunate that some people sleep during their breakfast and then wake at lunchtime and demand their breakfast again.

Chairperson, on a more serious note, I wish to move without notice:

That the Council –

    1) notes with sadness the death at the age of 84 of Pope John Paul
       II on Saturday, 2 April 2005;

    2) recognises the Pope’s role in the pursuit of global peace,
       development and co-operation among the world’s nations;

    3) recalls that he played an active and leading role in promoting
       human rights and dignity for all;

    4) acknowledges the role he played in the support for Africa’s
       development and renewal, and

    5) joins the Catholic Church and the entire religious community the
       world over in mourning the loss of this great icon.

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

                        DEATH OF TATA MPAHLWA


                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr A T MANYOSI: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the House – 1) notes with deep regret and sympathy the death of Tata Mpahlwa, the father of the Minister of Trade and Industry, and

2) extends its condolences to the Mpahlwa family.

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

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

                           (Policy debate)

Debate on Vote No 25 & 29 – Agriculture and Land Affairs:

NGCONCOSHE WETEKULIMA NETEMHLABA: Mphatsisihlalo, malunga eNdlu lehloniphekile, ngicolise bengingati kutsi kantsi sekukhona lapho kufanele sime khona nasikhuluma. Bengisacabanga kutsi kusenjengobe ngagcina nangikhuluma kulendlu. Ningicolele kakhulu-ke bantfu bakitsi.

Angisho nje, ngisengakacalisi kukhuluma, kutsi kuyintfokoto kimi kutsi Lendlu yente umkhankhaso wekutsatsa iNdlu Yesishayamtsetfo iwuyise ebantfwini. Ngekwenta njalo yelekelela natsi, tsine hulumende kutsi sati kutsi ngabe bantfu kahle-hle bafunani. Ngabe tinhlelo lesitentako tentani emiphakatsini kuphucula timphilo tebantfu? Ngabe bantfu yini labatentela kona kubonisa kutsi lamatfuba lesiwavulako ngekushaya imitsetfo nangetimali lesitihlatiyako nasikhuluma ngekwabiwa kwetimali batisebentisa kanjani.

Ngibonge-ke Sihlalo neNdlu yakho kutsi nami ngiyiNdvuna neNdvuna yaseMphumalanga lephetse tekulima satfokota kakhulu ngemhlangano lowawuKwaMhlanga. Ngiyati-ke kutsi nami sengisika nje emantjontjo ngobe loku akusiyo indzaba yekwabiwa kwetimali. [Kushaya tandla.] (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Chairperson, hon members of the House, I want to apologise, for I was not aware that there is now a podium where we should be standing when giving our speeches. I thought it was the same situation as the last time I spoke in this House. I hope colleagues will pardon me for that.

Before I start with my speech, I would like to say that it was a pleasure for me to see this House in its campaign of taking Parliament to the people. By so doing, it also helps us as government to know exactly what people need. It also helps us to know if the programmes that we put in place do help people, and how it meets their needs. What are people doing to help themselves through the laws that we make, and how does our budgeting work for them in making their lives better? I also wish to thank your House, hon Chairperson. We, the national and the Mpumalanga provincial Ministers for Agriculture and Land Affairs, were very pleased to witness the meeting that was held at KwaMhlanga. I know that I am diverting to another debate because this has got nothing to do with finances.]

Chairperson, hon members, as we make increased progress with the implementation of both agricultural and land reform programmes, one thing has become very clear, and that is that the success of our programme’s implementation depends largely on governmental relations. In other words, co-operation among the three spheres of government, and with other government departments, becomes even more important.

Co-ordination is sometimes severely lacking in this regard. It is our view that the newly proposed legislation of the Department of Provincial and Local Government on intergovernmental relations is of great value to my department, especially since the provisions for protocols between different spheres of government open the way for healthy relations.

I want to thank the members of the executive council responsible for agriculture for the way in which they have understood the importance of such a relationship among the various spheres, and also for the way in which they have undertaken their task; particularly if one recalls what happened to us as a country last year. We were, actually, confronted with animal diseases in areas of the Eastern Cape, with avian influenza, foot- and-mouth disease in the area of Limpopo, and now in the Western Cape the pigs’ disease, as well as the Newcastle disease.

The collaborative way in which they have worked in combating these diseases was enormous. The MECs were willing to share their expertise with other provinces. They shared their people who moved from one province to the other to assist and, indeed, I must say that we worked as a team and that is how we succeeded.

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

At our February Minmec, which is, the meeting of Minister, Deputy Minister and members of the executive council, we agreed that the heads of departments in the provinces responsible for agriculture and the senior management in the Department of Agriculture, as well as that of Land Affairs, will work together to identify what capacity needs we have and make proposals on what we need to do.

It is our view that this process will add value to the work that the President gave to the forum of the directors-general. This work is aimed at undertaking an investigation on the levels of capacity that is there in government and its entire team, and what needs to be done. We therefore hope that the work that we will be doing sectorally, will in some way contribute to this larger work.

Building relations within government is just one element in trying to meet the challenges of the transformation of our country; the other is to build relations with civil society, as well as with the private sector.

The agriculture sector plan, which was approved some years ago, was an outcome of such a working relationship. However, it is true to say that such a relationship continues to be threatened in one way or the other, and therefore we need to put all our effort in ensuring that we sustain it and work at it.

Just yesterday, hon members, in one of our national newspapers, the Business Day, it was reported that farmers do not think that the deadline of producing an AgriBEE Charter will be met; alluding to certain processes which they think are slow, and alleging that there are fundamental issues around which there is no agreement amongst stakeholders.

I must say that it is indeed worrying if these statements are true. The individuals who are cited in the same paper are the very individuals that I, as a Minister, appointed to the steering committee - a steering committee whose responsibility is to drive this consultative process amongst all the stakeholders before a consultative conference is called where such a document will be approved.

It is therefore interesting that some of these members have chosen to go to the media and attack the process and display their differences within the steering committee when they actually have a collective responsibility to report to the Minister and the public about their work. I must say that should any of the deadlines have been met, as they have alleged, they all share a collective blame in this regard.

Secondly, I want to refer tO issues where they say there are differences, as it is alleged in the same newspaper. I must say that I am surprised, because in my view there is not even a reason to raise these matters or even to undertake some kind of a debate. These are the issues on which we agreed as a country, and even as this Parliament, when we adopted the reconstruction and development programme as our policy statement in 1994.

In that document we asserted that we would have to redistribute 30 per cent of agricultural land. We have enunciated this very statement in the AgriBEE framework document. Today, some other members are starting to question the wisdom of this agreement that was reached then. We want to remind those people who somehow feel uncomfortable about these targets that these are the targets we agreed to as a country and these are the targets we will have to meet.

We do appreciate that indeed there might be a challenge on the issue that is raised in the document with regard to the ten per cent access to land for farmworkers. Indeed, this is a new issue, but it’s a new issue which, in our view as government, is a matter that needs deliberation, because the farmworkers in our country are the most vulnerable among our society. The majority of them have no tenure security to the land on which they stay. Therefore, it is a matter that, in my view, we must rather be debating in public to be able to find modalities of how we can resolve to, indeed, put to rest one of the legacies of apartheid in our society where some among us cannot claim a secure tenure to land.

I am raising these matters in the context of the relationships that I referred to earlier that need to be built, because if we are not able to work continuously at such relationships, they don’t bode very well for building a united nonracial and nonsexist society.

As you may be aware, much of the work that we have undertaken in the areas of land reform, in particular with regard to restitution, relies on the networks that we have with civil society organisations which, in most instances, will work with claimant communities in assisting them in various ways. Others were instrumental in mobilising communities to lodge their claims, while others have been there during the processes of research and verification.

We believe, therefore, that the civil society organisations are important elements in the land reform process. It therefore follows that our relationship with these institutions must be worked at and strengthened where they are weak.

At our last Minmec in March this year, we agreed that in the second quarter of the celebration of the Freedom Charter we would mobilise our communities to engage in a dialogue on land and agricultural issues. These will be, among other things, the popularisation of our programmes that relate to agriculture and land, such as restitution, LRAD, commonages, land care, and a comprehensive agricultural support programme. The very discussions will, amongst other things, include assessment of the pace of land reform in the past ten years; the blockages in the implementation of such a programme; the land market in South Africa and how it operates; how we deal with the issues of land that is laying fallow and not having landowners who reside in South Africa, even those who are resident in South Africa and are not using it, and how we can come up with interventions that will help us to improve our delivery mechanism.

I want to announce to this House that we will end this mobilisation campaign by hosting, at the end of June, the land and agricultural summit, which, as you know, has been called by a number of stakeholders for us to be able to assess how far we have gone.

In the 8 January statement of the ANC, we are reminded to focus on the local sphere of government to ensure that local government, including elected representatives, ward councillors and other forms of structures are there to ensure public participation. In so doing, we will be able to genuinely realise the Freedom Charter at local level, that indeed, the people shall govern.

It is through this work of local government, in our view, that the issues of land access and ensuring that land is shared among those who work it can also be best realised.

I must say that we are fortunate that the efforts of the Ministry and the departments of working together with local government over a number of years have proved successful. We want to ensure that we build on these relationships.

Time and again we are realising that a number of local municipalities are faced with the challenge of livestock in urban setting. We want to ensure that these communities who use some of these livestock for their livelihood are actually given an opportunity to work on the urban edge through commonages so that, by so doing, they can supplement what little income they have. Also, some of them can use these commonges as a springboard for becoming fully fledged farmers.

In this regard we want to commend a majority of municipalities. Amongst them is the Lesedi Municipality in Gauteng, which, not so long ago, worked with the farmers in the surrounding area, together with their farmworkers, to ensure that there can be access to land for those people who, for a number of years, were workers and the tillers of the land. Today they are land owners. They have access to land and they can produce food, not just for themselves, but also for the market. [Applause.]

The commendable achievements by restitution cannot go unnoticed, having settled 57 908 claims as at 28 February 2005, benefiting 863 138 individuals. All of these beneficiaries have thus far had access to 854 000 hectares of land.

We are aware that one of the challenges that continues to face us in the area of restitution is to ensure that those who receive land are able to use it productively. I want to say to these hon members in this House that the MECs of agriculture, working together with the national Department of Agriculture, are finding ways through Casp, as one of the programmes, and other programmes in the provinces to lend support to these beneficiaries.

We have settled major claims in some parts of the country last year. One of those was Umkhambathi in the Oliver Tambo District Municipality, where about 5 960 households got 17 400 hectares of land, which is one of the most biodiverse in our country. They will use this land, both for agriculture, as well as tourism, working with the local environment department in the province of the Eastern Cape.

I want to say that some of these claims are very important because, in a way, they respond to the challenge that was laid before us by the President on how we can actually create economic opportunities for people in rural areas. I want to say that some of these claims that we have prioritised are those claims that are in the integrated sustainable rural development nodes. Others are claims such as Hlahlindlela in KwaZulu-Natal, Umsuluzi, Nkaseni, Charlestown, Mazengwenya Forest, as well as Siqakatha, Masilonyane Municipality in the Free State. We want to say that the municipalities that have been impacted by these claims will in some way find better partnerships with the communities to ensure that they can improve the economic viability of those communities who would have received such land.

The replacement of the settlement land acquisition grant programme by LRAD has definitely contributed positively, because of its shift from a household to an individual focus, which has broadened our base to include women and youth. Of the 23 520 beneficiaries who benefited from LRAD, 90 per cent of these were young people, while 34 per cent were women who today are not just workers or supporters of their husbands on land, but they’re farmers in their own right.

The improvement of young people’s involvement in agriculture is also starting to deal with the stereotype that agriculture is for the old, not for the young. Here I want to mention one of our beneficiaries who is a woman, Ms Mpopi Sethlare, who benefited from our land reform for agricultural development programme. She is a co-owner of the Thaba Bosiu Dairy in the Magaliesburg area. The farm has 11 dairy cows and produces 120 litres of milk a day in summer and about 80 litres in winter. From the profits of the sale of milk, Ms Mpopi Sethlare has bought a milking machine and a trailer. She and other beneficiaries have added two Nguni heifers and three ewes to their stock, and after lambing they now have nine sheep. Their farm is progressing very well and they intend venturing into cheese production. The farm, as we speak today, has actually added to the employment challenge by employing two people who otherwise were not employed on a full-time basis. This is not the only success story.

On a larger scale the Mpumalanga provincial land reform office has assisted about 419 former farmworkers through LRAD to buy a Kudu farm which has a vast sugar cane plantation in the district of Barberton. The majority of beneficiaries were people who used to work on these very farms before.

The strength of the project is that it also has a public-private partnership with Transvaal Suiker Beperk, which is known as TSB. It is also funded by the Land Bank.

If one looks at some of these success stories, I think we can say we have turned the tide against poverty, but it is also important for us to indicate that while we do have success stories, we do have certain challenges.

The Inala Farm in Mpumalanga remains to be one of those challenges that, in my view, with the investment that the state has made, we will have to continue to find a way in which we resolve it so that we remove some of the issues and are able to continue to support those who need our land most.

The Communal Land Rights Act, which was enacted on 16 July 2004, has actually been one of the important steps towards ensuring the security of tenure for people living in communal areas. This also created an enabling environment for sustainable economic development in these areas. In our budget for this financial year, as you will see, members, the Communal Land Rights Act has actually been given about R12 million which will assist us in piloting the project in KwaZulu-Natal.

The reason why we’ve selected KwaZulu-Natal, other members may want to know, is because of the experience we have accumulated over the years through the Ngonyama Trust, administering the Ngonyama Trust Land. I want to say that Ngonyama Trust Land, through its tenure, has been able to survey all communal land in KwaZulu-Natal.

They know exactly which land belongs to KwaMasane, which land belongs to EmaChunweni, as well as the extent of hectarage and the inhabitants.

Ehhe, KwaMasane uma uya ngale KwaHlabisa. [Yes, it is towards KwaHlabisa.]

This process will make it easier for us to ensure that we can affirm the ownership to the rightful owners. It is also important that the phase approach is meant to allow us to ensure proper training, as well as communication on the legislation content, and the setting up of the Land Rights Board.

At a provincial level, I want to say it would be necessary to ensure that we have administrative structures that can actually support this process of transformation.

I’d like to thank the University of KwaZulu-Natal which has assisted us in designing a training programme for land administration clerks. It has also allowed us to use that institution to undertake this task.

Our Directorate of Surveys and Mapping will also establish real-time base stations in support of the surveys for the Communal Land Rights Act. Surveying and registration of the outer boundaries of communal areas, in terms of the Communal Land Rights Act, will receive priority. This will enable communities who were previously excluded from the benefits of landownership to take formal title to their land. Maps of aerial photography coverage in the rural areas, particularly within the integrated sustainable rural development nodes, will also be updated.

In KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga about 1 449 labour tenant claims have been finalised in the financial year 2004-05. To date, 10 329 claims out of 21 448 have been settled. We plan to settle all the labour tenant claims by the end of 2006-07.

What, therefore, is our programme in the coming year? As part of the ongoing discussion with national and provincial departments we shall over the next three months embark on the following government programme of action. We will mobilise farmers and land users to commit to the land use and resources management programme.

In Mpumalanga, for instance - I’m sorry to take the thunder from you, colleague, I know you’ll be able to articulate this – they will be launching a programme, the Masibuyele emasimini campaign, to ensure that people in rural areas can again go back to tilling the land, not only for food production, but also for the market.

In Gauteng province, the provincial department of agriculture and environment will mobilise communities around issues of AgriBEE, as well as land reform policies.

In commemorating Workers’ Day in May, all of us, collectively, as the provinces and national government, will focus on the plight of farmworkers, with various problems, such as evictions, issues of minimum wage, as well as issues of safety and security for farmers, farmworkers and farming communities.

We will work, together with our social partners, AgriSA, Nafu, Tau, as well as Fawu, in order to ensure that the protocols that we agreed on regarding labour, particularly by farmworkers, are actually respected and implemented.

We shall also be working with the Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development to ensure that all births on farms, those children are registered and those who qualify for social development grants actually have access to them. [Applause.]

During the month of June, we will be focusing on issues of the youth and women agriculture, as well as start to prepare for the August celebration of women in agriculture. We are mindful of the critical skills shortages that continue to threaten our sector. We shall continue to promote the voluntary mentorship programmes that exist between established farmers and the new entrants. I must say that through this programme we can see the spirit of Vukuzenzele being alive on our farms.

We will continue to issue the title deeds that are remaining to land users who qualify for ownership. Where such title deeds have not been transferred we will actually make those a priority.

It is also important that we must engage the Department of Defence, as well as the municipalities, in auditing and verifying the status of use of the various land passes that they have, because it is our belief that such land that is not used, particularly by the Department of Defence, should be made available for land reform.

Also, for municipality land, we would actually argue that it is important, before such land is sold, to look at whether there are no needs for such land in the various municipalities, either for housing programmes or even for agricultural development, because it is in our view that the long-term investment in this regard surpasses the short-term gains of getting millions of rands from one developer.

I want to say, apart from these things that I have mentioned, we would want to indicate to you that the micro-agricultural finance scheme, Mafisa, would actually be launched this May, and it is our hope that people who otherwise before never had access to land would be able to do so. This work will also enable us to continue to engage with the financial services of our country, particularly our financial sector, to ensure that the commitments that they made in the financial sector, of releasing R 1 billion for land reform, is actually realised.

I want to indicate to you that also we will improve our capacity on the implementation of the agricultural support programme, as well as the land care. To this end, we’ve done extensive work in ensuring that we can support some of the projects of land reform, particularly in these specific areas where these meet the criteria.

I want to make some examples of the work that we’ve done. We’ve repaired and upgraded irrigation infrastructure and created ten temporary jobs in the Kalahari-Kgalagadi nodal point, at a cost of R110 000. We’ve improved livelihoods of the amaHegebe tribe in the area of the Eastern Cape, through the appropriate technologies for solving production problems.

We’ve erected stock watering systems and created 24 food gardens within the Carnavon district, again in the Kgalagadi. There are many other programmes that some of my colleagues, the MECs, will refer to and that will show these members how far we have come. In my view, food security remains a challenge that we as a country have to continue to deal with. It is true that we in South Africa cannot be happy in a country that belongs to all who live in it, black and white, if there are still many at our back door that go without food at the end of the day.

We will therefore work continuously with municipalities, as well as with our departments of agriculture in the provinces, to ensure that as many vulnerable people as is possible are actually captured, and that we are able to assist them in one way or another.

I also want to indicate that we are conscious of the challenges of drought that continue to befall some of our provinces. The Western Cape is one such province where, I think, we, as a country and a government, will have to work together with our farming communities to look at what other ways there are of adapting so that we can plan in the long term, because it’s clear that climatic change is here for us, and here to stay. What is required is to find adaption methods which can enable our farmers to cope in this regard.

Be that as it may, we as a government, have released about R126 million to eight provinces affected by the drought. This year again we have earmarked about R100 million which will be used for fodder, as well as drilling to ensure access to water for stock farmers.

Chairperson and members, as I end, I want to indicate that the work that we do is in part a commitment to our people. We, this government they’ve elected, are not going to leave them in the lurch. We will work continuously to change their lives for the better, and we will continue to be true to the spirit of the Freedom Charter that says that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that, indeed, the wealth of this country shall be shared among everybody. I thank you. [Applause.]

Rev P MOATSHE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, o buile go tlala seatla [you have said a mouthful], officials of the department, MECs, special delegates, hon members, we have closed the chapter on our 10-year celebration, and have moved to face the challenges of the second decade of our democracy. This debate takes place in the year of the 50th celebration of the Freedom Charter. As we celebrate the 50th year of the Freedom Charter, mindful of 10 years of democracy, we need to ask ourselves how far we have come in realising the visions of the Freedom Charter.

Ditekanyetso-kabo tsa lefapha tsa ngwaga wa 2005-06, ke kabo e maikaelelo a yona e leng go tlhasela le go kgatlhameletsa morago maparego a tlala le lehuma go batho ba ba kobo dikhutshwane mo Aforika Borwa. Malapa a ka thuswa ka dipeo ke lefapha “starter packs” go jala merogo e e ka thusang ka dikotla tse di ka ba sireletsang kgatlhanong . . . [Tsenoganong.] (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)

[The 2005-06 budget of the department intends to fight and push back the frontiers of poverty and hunger of poor South Africans. The department can help families by providing them with “starter packs” to plant vegetables that can supply nutrition, which prevents . . . [Laughter.]]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order, hon member. I don’t hear the English interpretation. Are hon members able to hear the interpretation? Can somebody check on the English interpretation, please, so that members can hear? Yes, I am sure there is a problem up there. I am not blaming you, hon member. Please, continue.

Moruti P MOATSHE: Ke ne kere malapa a ka thuswa ka dipeo “starter packs” go jala merogo e e ka thusang ka dikotla tse di ka ba sireletsang kgatlhanong le malwetse a methalethale. Dikolo di tshwanetse go tlhotlhelediwa go simolola ditshingwana tsa merogo go nna le seabe mo lenaneong la phepo ya barutwana ke Lefapha la Katlaatleloloago. Ditshingwana tsa baagi “community gardens” di tlhotlheletswe ke lefapha la naga, diporofense le dipusoselegae go jala merogo go lwantsha tlala. Go dumalanwe gore, “each ward”, nngwe le nngwe e nne le “data” ya gore go na le ditshingwana di le kae mo wardeng ego. Baagi ba ikopanye ba dire ditshingwana. Ba simolole go ela tlhoko gore ke yona tsela e re ka lwantshang tlala ka yona.

“Aquaculture” ke bua ke nnosi jaanong. [Setshego.] Le reeditse? “Aquaculture” . . . [Tsenoganong.] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)

[Rev P MOATSHE: I was suggesting that families be supplied with seed “starter packs” to enable them to plant vegetables that can provide nutrition that protects against various diseases. Schools should be encouraged to start vegetable gardens as a way of participating in the feeding programme for learners by the Department of Social Development. The national departments, provinces and local governments should encourage the cultivation of community gardens as a means to fight hunger. It should be agreed that each ward keeps a record to indicate what quantity of vegetables there are in that ward. Let communities come together to start vegetable gardens. They have to begin to realise that this is the way to fight hunger.

“Aquaculture” . . . I am now talking Greek. [Laughter.] Are you listening? “Aquaculture” . . . [Interjections.]]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: I want to apologise to the members. I am told there is a technical problem in the booth. I would suggest that, hon Moatshe, you give your speech so that it can be translated and circulated to the members. You can continue.

Rev P MOATSHE: “Aquaculture” le go thuthuswa ga ditlhapi “fish breeding” e tsamaelana le ditshingwana tsa merogo. [Aquaculture and fish breeding go hand in hand, like the cultivation of crops.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon member, I am sorry to disturb you so often. The English interpretation of the speech can now be heard on channel eight. Continue, hon Moatshe. I am sorry about that.

Moruti P MOATSHE: “Fish breeding” e tsamaelana le ditshingwana tsa merogo. Metsi a a thuthusang ditlhapi a ka dirisiwa go nosetsa ditshingwana tsa merogo gore batho ba rona ba seke ba lebelelwa ke tlala mo matlhong. Kgetsi ya tsie e kgonwa ke go tshwaraganelwa, go ka fenya tlala le lehuma. Tona ya lefapha, molaotsamaiso “policy” ka ga thuthuso ya ditlhapi o tlhokega jaaka maloba-a-maabane. Re ka itumela fa re ka tsibosiwa gore o tla bona letsatsi leng.

Fa mokgatlo wa batho o tsaya puso ka ngwaga wa 1994, o ile wa tsaya moruo o o neng o le mo tsamaisong ya basweu e le fa matshwititshwiti a baagi ba Aforika Borwa a ilediwa ditšhono tsa go tsaya karolo mo moruong. Ba ne ba ilediwa go tsaya karolo, ditswammung tsa naga tota le go baana le mafatshe. Se mokgatlo wa batho o itlamileng ka sona fa o tsaya puso, e ne e le go busetsa matlotlo a naga le boswa jwa Maaforika Borwa go batho botlhe jaaka go bonwa ka leitlho la Lekwalo la Tokologo “Freedom Charter”.

Ngwaga di le 50 tse di fetileng re rile: Aforika Borwa ke ya batho botlhe ba ba tshelang mo go yona, bantsho le basweu. Se se tshwanetse go fitlhelelwa tswee-tswee. Puso e e tsamaisiwang ke mokgatlo wa batho, e dirisa didiriswa tsotlhe tse e nang le tsona go busetsa serorumo go bao ba neng ba kgothositswe mafatshe le ditshwanelo tsotlhe. Go fetisitswe melaotsamaiso “policies” le manaane go kampana le tlhaelelo ya tekatekano go tsa mafatshe le tse dingwe. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)

[Rev P MOATSHE: Fish breeding is related to the cultivation of vegetable gardens. The water from the fish breeding can be used to water vegetable gardens to alleviate poverty and hunger. Many hands make light work. This should be the case if we want to fight hunger and poverty. Hon Minister, a fish breeding policy is necessary, like there was in the past. We would appreciate being made aware of your availability.

When the people’s movement became the government in 1994, it inherited an economy that was under white leadership which denied the majority of South Africans the opportunity to participate in the economy. They were barred from sharing in the mineral resources of the country, and even from owning land. What the movement committed itself to, when it took over the government, was to return the wealth of the country and heritage to all South Africans, and this is from the perspective of the Freedom Charter.

For the past 50 years we have said: South Africa belongs to all people who live in it, black and white. This must indeed be realised. The government is led by the people’s movement. It uses all the resources at its disposal to restore the dignity of those who were robbed of their lands and denied rights. Policies were passed and programmes put in place to take up challenges brought about by the inequality of land and other issues.]

We have a restitution programme to redress the past atrocities of forced removals and seizure of land. Through restitution 57 527 claims were settled by December 2004, benefiting 164 103 households. With the additional allocation of R6 billion in this year’s budget, we will ensure that all claims can be settled within three years. This shows the commitment of government to close the chapter on restitution. We can then concentrate on other land reform programmes.

However, one of the main challenges for restitution is that farmers are charging high prices for their land. Exceptionally high prices are charged in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Western Cape. From Mpumalanga it was reported that government paid 300 per cent more for properties than the market value. This led to the Minister appointing a team to investigate land prices, which reported that government officials have collaborated with evaluators to ask high prices for land.

I appeal to the Minister to make sure that money allocated for restitution is not to enrich farmers, evaluators and corrupt government officials. These kinds of practices need to be completely uprooted, because they undermine our goal to return land to the people.

Progress has been made with regard to redistributing land to the people under the redistribution subprogramme known as LRAD, Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development. I admit that progress in the beginning was slow, but it has improved since 1999. However, we are to meet government’s vision of redistributing 30 per cent of the land available for agriculture among previously disadvantaged citizens. By 2014 we need to fast-track the process of land delivery.

In terms of land tenure, although government has passed legislation to prevent eviction of farmworkers, we are still lagging behind in making sure those laws become reality, and not just remain on paper. Every day we hear of farmworkers being evicted and maltreated on the farms. We would like to see our justice system really take up this matter to ensure that those who undermine the law are punished. As the ANC, we need to ensure that there shall be work and security for farmworkers.

It is a good thing that this budget will be used to consolidate the Labour Tenants Act and the Extension of Security Act. I believe this will help to tighten up this Act and ensure that there are no loopholes that farmers could take advantage of to undermine the human rights of farmworkers. I appeal to those farmers who still undermine the rights of farmworkers to respect them and to treat them as important, and as co-developers.

While on this issue, let me commend those white farmers who have taken the initiative to ensure that what we declared in 1955 becomes a reality, by sharing their land and expertise with farmworkers and labour tenants. Initiatives by growers and millers in the sugar industry and the ones by wine farmers in Paarl are good examples of this. Through the Bouwland Share Equity Scheme, 60 farmworkers are now the owners of a wine farm.

The Agricultural Black Economic Empowerment, AgriBEE, framework launched in July this year, will take this further. It will increase the participation of black people, women, youth and people living with disabilities in the agricultural sector. It is good that this budget has set out an additional allocation for the implementation of AgriBEE. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Nkk M N OLIPHANT: Sihlalo, Ngqongqoshe woMnyango wezoLimo nezeMihlaba, malungu ahloniphekile ale Ndlu, inkulumo yami izobheka izinto esizenzile siyikomidi ngenkathi sivakashele izifundazwe ezahlukene.

Njengoba sigubha iminyaka engama-50 kaSomqulu weNkululeko, abantu baseNingizimu Afrika bathi, “Bonke abantu baseNingizimu Afrika bayoba nesabelo emnothweni wale lizwe”. Namhlanje uMnyango wezoLimo unohlelo owalusungula ngokusemthethweni ngoJulayi 2004 olubizwa ngokuthi i-AgriBEE. Inhloso yalolu hlelo ukulwa nendlala nokubhekana nokunciphisa ubuhlwempu, bese lwakha usikompilo lokuzimela ngokuthi sibe nezivande ukuze imindeni ikwazi ukuthola ukudla okunomsoco. Kanti futhi lolu hlelo luzokwenza ukuthi bonke abathanda ukusebenza umhlabathi bakwazi ukungena emkhakheni wokuba ngosomabhizinisi.

Lokhu-ke sakubona eMpumalanga njengoba sasihambise iPhalamende ebantwini. Savakashela i-transbridge agricultural project lapho safica kunentsha eyisihlanu nabantu abane abadala, abanye abasebenzayo abafuye izinkukhu. Okwasihlaba umxhwele ukuthi akuthi uma bethola inzuzo ngokomkhiqizo wabo bese beyintshobontshela imali kodwa bayazi ukuthi isisu sibekelwa ngaphandle, futhi bayazi ukuthi ukuze bathuthuke baye phambili kufanele ingxenye yenzuzo yabo bayisebenzise ekutholeni izimbewu ukuze bakwazi ukuqhubekela phambili.

USomqulu weNkululeko-ke ubuye uqhubeke uthi: “Kuyoba nokwabelana ngomhlaba phakathi kwalabo abawusebenzayo”. Uphinde uthi, “Uhulumeni uyosiza ngezinsizangqangi ezifana nembewu, ogandaganda kanye namadamu ukulondoloza umhlabathi kanye nokusiza abawusebenzayo”.

Sibonile futhi-ke siyikomidi ngesikhathi sivakashele eNyakatho-Ntshonalanga endaweni ebizwa ngeModimola lapho sifice khona kunemindeni engama-48 esebenza ohlelweni olubizwa ngokuthi i-household food security programme. Umndeni ngamunye unikezwa amachwane angama-20 nokudla kwawo, imbewu yokutshala nomanyolo, ithange eligcina amanzi angamalitha angama-210, amapayipi enkasa abathi phecelezi i-irrigation system pipes kanye nesigubhu esigingqwayo sokuthutha amanzi.

Sibonile-ke futhi KwaZulu-Natali lapho uMnyango wezoLimo uthengela abantu udedangendlale wepulazi. Lo mphakathi ubuyingxenye yokulisebenza leli pulazi futhi uMnyango ubuye wabanceda ngokuthi bathole imali ukuze bakwazi ukulungisa amapayipi khona bezokwazi ukunisela umoba wabo. Ngokunjalo-ke futhi, umnyango ubuye wasiza umphakathi wakwaNongoma ngokubanikeza imbewu kanye nezinto zokulima. Ngikhuluma nje ikhaba lommbila liyakhephuzela. Zikhona-ke ezinye izinhlelo zokusiza umphakathi owabuyiselwa umhlaba wobabamkhulu bawo ukuze bawusebenze ngempumelelo. Ngikhuluma phela nge- agricultural credit scheme ne-Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme. Lokhu-ke kuyinkomba yokuthi uhulumeni oholwa uKhongolose uyakwazi ukubhekelela abantu bakhe njengoba isinqumo sathathwa abantu baseNingizimu Afrika ngo-1955, noKhongolose wayeyingxenye yalokho.

Ngokohlelo olungaphansi kwe-Expanded Public Works Programme, indawo yaseMoutse engaphansi kweNkosi uMathebe, eMpumalanga, inohlelo lokuhlenga umhlabathi owaguguleka. Inhloso yalolu hlelo, ngokusho komphakathi, ukuthi babuye bakwazi ukuwusebenzisa njengamadlelo emfuyo kanye nezivande.

Thina-ke, singuKhongolose, sithi sisayibambile Ngqongqoshe. Yebo, siyazi singuhulumeni ukuthi kunezinselelo esibhekene nazo. Yize kunjalo kuzomele sisebenze ngokubambisana, ikakhulukazi ohlelweni lokuqeqesha umphakathi. Ngalokho siyobe siqinisekisa ukuthi umphakathi wakithi uthole impilo engcono futhi izinhlelo zisebenze ngempumelelo.

Inkinga esinayo-ke uma sivakashele ezinye izindawo ukuthi sisuke sihambe njengamalungu ekomidi. Kodwa kunamanye-ke amalungu ekomidi asuke eqhamuka mhlawumbe kwelinye iqembu – engicabanga ukuthi wonke umuntu uzozibala izibalo bese iyaphuma impendulo – okuye kutholakale ukuthi ngenkathi sivakashele izifundazwe abawenzi umsebenzi ngendlela efanelekileyo. Kodwa- ke ngiyethemba ukuthi umhlonishwa ozokhulumela i-DA uzokhuluma ngazo zonke izinto ezenzakalayo ngoba sasihambe naye ngenkathi sivakashele izifundazwe. Naye wayeyingxenye yokujabulela ukuthi uhulumeni uyasebenza.

Kodwa-ke futhi kufanele singakukhohlwa ukuthi kwesinye isikhathi kukhona abantu ababanga umsindo ngenxa yokuthi abahambisani nezinhlelo zokuthi uhulumeni enze izimpilo zabantu zibe ngcono. Uma singabheka indlela yokufuna kwabo ukuthi kuthiwe bayi-official opposition, umbuzo uthi: Yini le abayiphikisayo ngoba selokhu babakhona bayaphikisa, ngisho nakuhulumeni wobandlululo babephikisa, nanamhlanje basaphikisa izinhlelo zikahulumeni zokwenza izimpilo zabantu ngcono? Thina-ke esikwaziyo ukuhlupheka kwabantu nokubhuqwabhuqwa yindlala siyasixhasa isabiwomali salo mnyango. Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)

[Mrs M N OLIPHANT: Chairperson, Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, hon members of this House, my speech shall be directed to the things done by the committee when we visited different provinces.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, the people of South Africa said: “All people shall share in the country’s wealth.” Today the Department of Agriculture has a programme that was launched in July 2004, and is called AgriBEE. The aim of the programme is to alleviate poverty and to reduce hunger, to create a culture of independence so that households can have gardens to obtain healthy food. This programme will ensure that those who are interested in agriculture get a chance to become farmers.

We saw this in Mpumalanga when we were taking Parliament to the people. We visited the Transbridge Agricultural Project where we found five youths and four adults. Some were farming with chickens. We were amazed by the manner in which they run their business. When they get a profit from their produce, they don’t spend it.

They are aware that they are supposed to keep it. They know that in order to make progress they should keep part of their profit and use it to buy feed. The Freedom Charter states: “Land shall be shared amongst those who work it.” It states further that the government shall help with infrastructure, like seed, tractors and dams to store water, to conserve the soil and to assist those who work it.

The committee saw something else when we visited North West, at the place called Modimola, where we found 48 families engaged in a project called the Household Security Programme. Each family received 20 chicks and mash, feed and manure, a tank that contains 210 litres of water, irrigation system pipes and a rolling water container.

In KwaZulu-Natal the Department of Agriculture bought a farm for people. The community are the workers on that farm, and the department assisted them by giving them money to repair pipes so that they could irrigate their sugar cane plantation. The department has helped the Nongoma community by giving them seeds and ploughing materials. As we speak, the mealies are in their prime.

There are programmes in place to assist communities with restoring to them the land of their forefathers to be used profitably. I am talking about the credit scheme and the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme. This is an indication that the ANC-led government is able to look after people as South Africans made a decision in 1955 and the ANC took part.

In terms of the Expanded Public Works Programme, the Moutse area under Inkosi Mathebe in Mpumalanga has a programme to deal with soil erosion. The objective of this programme is to enable them to reuse the land as grazing land for livestock and also for gardens. We, the ANC, are saying that everything is on track, Minister. We, the government, know that we face many challenges. Be that as it may, we have to work in partnership, especially on community development programmes. In so doing, we shall ensure that our people get a better life and that programmes are effective.

The problem we have is that sometimes we visit areas as committee members. Some committee members come from other political parties. I hope that everyone will make calculations and find answers. It has transpired sometimes, when we visited other provinces, that work has not been done properly. I do hope that the member of the DA will talk about these issues, because we were with him when visiting these provinces. The member was a party to praising the government as working.

We should not forget that at times there are people who would make noise because they are opposed to programmes made by government to ensure better lives for all. When we look at their attempts to be called official opposition, the question is: what are they opposing? Since their inception they have been opposing, even during the times of the apartheid government. Today they are opposing programmes for the betterment of life for all. We know of the plight of our people and their fight against poverty, and we therefore support this Budget Vote of this department. Thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]]

Ms N P MAGWAZA (Western Cape): Mhlalingaphambini, Mphathiswa wethu wezoLimo nemiHlaba namalungu ale Ndlu, ndiyabulela ukuba ndifumane eli thuba nami ke ndizowuhlahluba kolu hlahlo-lwabiwomali loMphathiswa wethu wezoLimo. [Chairperson, hon Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs and hon members of this House, I would like to thank you for affording me the opportunity to take part in the Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs Budget Vote debate today.]

Minister, once again you have displayed the vision, compassion and understanding of all issues affecting agriculture and land affairs. I want to take this opportunity to apologise for the absence of the MEC Jacobus Dowry. He is leading a Westgro delegation to the Netherlands, together with a group of emerging farmers to open export markets for these farmers. This will be a proud achievement for the Western Cape.

The challenge for the Western Cape department of agriculture is the alignment to national aims and targets, as well as the provincial iKapa Elihlumayo strategy and the provincial growth and development strategy, and to ensure that the issues of and challenges for the emerging farming sector are represented, but also addressed through various departmental processes.

We are aware of and accept the large responsibility we have towards the creation of sustainable rural development. As part of this responsibility, a renewed focus has been placed on the farmworkers of this province. The farmworker community, a special sector of the agricultural sector, has for years been subjected to manipulation, disadvantage and discrimination. These resulted in the farmworker community being enslaved, not only physically, but also psychologically.

Bear in mind that agriculture will grind to a standstill without the more than 200 000 farmworkers. Without their input the large commercial farms that export their goods earning millions of rands of revenue for the province will cease to operate. They are indeed an invaluable cog in the mighty agricultural machine.

The provincial department of agriculture has identified the upliftment and development of our farmworker communities as one of its main priorities and has launched various initiatives to redress the discriminatory situation of the past.

The first line of action involved the establishment of a subprogramme especially for farmworker development, with a specific aim of effectively co-ordinating the delivery of services to farmworker communities.

You will note that I say co-ordinating the delivery of services, and you will agree that successful and sustainable service delivery to farmworkers will only be possible through a holistic integrated government approach. Health, social services, poverty alleviation, education and various other role-players will have to join hands with agriculture in order to achieve the goal of creating better living conditions for the farmworkers.

We have started a process that will culminate in the development of a strategic plan for the farmworker community with clear policies, aims and actions identified for each focus area. We should also make provision for the effective implementation for the reason that the strategic plan will be accompanied by a monitoring and communication plan. With the Farmworker Indaba that took place at Elsenburg on 17 and 18 August and 2 September 2004, we wanted to create an opportunity for farmworker communities to enter into a dialogue with role-players, thus accepting co-ownership of the process of determining their future, hence the theme of the indaba was: “Farmworkers in Dialogue.” Topics such as education, economic empowerment, violence and safety social structures and sports facilities, the value of labour legislation, housing, health issues, women and children and persons with disabilities were discussed during the indaba.

The need articulated by farmworkers at the indaba and the regional conferences presented a clear view of the enormous backlog in the service delivery experienced by farmworkers as South African citizens. The discrepancy with regard to access to the most basic services on the one hand and the citizens in towns and cities on the other hand confirms the widely held view that farmworker communities present some of the most marginalised communities in South African society.

The lack of effective communication of rights and services by the service sector and or farm management was a recurring theme and requires action to ensure transparency. The numerous social problems among the youth on farms to be attributed to various factors, such as lack of healthy recreational facilities; a lack of career pathing for especially the agricultural sector, and poverty could well result in the perpetuation of the vicious cycle of poverty and underdevelopment.

In order to align service delivery for farmworkers within the Western Cape government’s objective to make the Western Cape a home for all, it is essential that steps are taken to address the unique needs of farmworker communities, especially their disadvantaged position.

The farmworker development subprogramme has already funded several projects in 2004-05, including a project by the women on farms - those are NGOs - to assist with the capacity building of seasonal female workers in the Boland. This financial year will see the completion of the strategic plan on farmworker development in the province, roll-out of staff in four regions, the funding of several projects, and the farmworker development challenge.

Allow me to briefly turn to the subject of land reform. We are in the process of appointing more than 60 new agricultural development officers to decentralise our service to the emerging sector and beneficiaries of the land reform process.

Another critical issue is the alignment of working procedures between the Department of Land Affairs which transfers the land, and the Department of Agriculture which assists the newly settled farmers. Together we have to ensure that the target which was set in 2004, of 7 000 land beneficiaries within five years, will be met within 2005.

Much positive progress has been made in this regard. The activity by the provincial department is, however, hampered by the fact that the equitable share of the Department of Agriculture is now on the levels of 1996.

The land reform targets for 2014 are at 30 per cent for transfer of land. In order to achieve this, the department of land affairs in the Western Cape will need approximately R1 billion a year till 2014 to purchase the land. This year their budget is only R70 million. It is the mandate of the provincial department of agriculture to service the newly established farmers or recipients of land.

Once there is new momentum within the Department of Land Affairs, I am afraid that the Western Cape budget will not be sufficient to service the new farmers right now. I can assure you that agriculture and all role- players remain committed to the vision of a home for all and iKapa Elihlumayo strategy. I am confident that everyone is committed to this process, including organised agriculture, commercial and emerging farmers, officials and everyone in the value chain of agriculture. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr A WATSON: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, the House should consider itself lucky, because I don’t feel well and so I am not in a fighting mood today. [Laughter.]

In most developing countries, or developed countries rather, where agriculture is an important component of the economy, and where land as the natural resource for the industry is of major importance, debates are normally dominated by production and marketing, and optimal land use.

These days the government in South Africa seems to have forgotten these important growth indicators, and is hellbent on redistribution at all cost. Having said that, I must again stress what has been emphasised by my colleagues in the NA over and over again. The DA fully supports the objectives of restitution, reform and empowerment. We do, however, differ with the ANC’s objectives of numbers only; numbers of people resettled and the numbers of hectares involved. The DA believes that measurable sustainability should be the first objective, which must be regularly measured and assessed in terms of success rates.

On our recent visit to Mpumalanga, to a number of farms where we visited, emerging farmers were settled in terms of the settlement programme and a lot of things were observed. Let us just analyse the status quo at two of these farms: one at Hereford near Groblersdal, where things were going well for some time, but now those farmers are in dire straits. For more than four years now, Minister, they have been promised, and have been waiting for title deeds to the ground on which they farm, but nothing has transpired yet.

In the meantime, a number of factors have impacted negatively on their venture, most importantly, the repairs to the Loskop Dam irrigation scheme, which all contributed to a total crop failure. They now face total ruin if they are unable to access financing soon. Without the security of title deeds they are, however, unable to get help.

The other example is Lesedi, which I personally know very well, and I can therefore testify as to how successful this farm under the Loskop irrigation scheme near Groblersdal really was.

In 2002, however, the farm was bought lock, stock and barrel for the 32 persons of the Lesedi Trust. Today, I regret to say, the farm, which was an economic success just three years ago and employed 32 full-time workers, is lying barren and no crops are planted anymore.

These are just two examples of rushed resettlement without proper after- sale service. If proper measures of sustainability and success had been in place, things may have been better, but there is also the case of the cake being too small for too many eaters. It is quite evident the many failures across the country can be traced back to some of the following truths: too small land allocations per individual – only 12 per cent of the people who have received land were actually trained to farm; too little, or no working capital available; finance from the state too late or absent and no extension; little after-service care, and no sufficient infrastructure.

Dit wil egter ook vir my voorkom of daar nie genoeg gepraat word met die huidige sowat 46 000 kommersiële boere nie. Ek bespeur ‘n groot mate van welwillendheid onder die boere van die verskeie georganiseerde landbou- organisasies. Hulle beskik oor die kundigheid om die Minister en haar departement by te staan, maar dit word net nie benut nie.

Kom ons staan net weer vir ‘n oomblik stil by ons besoek aan Mpumalanga: ‘n Halfdag van die program is afgestaan aan boere, maar geeneen van die twee georganisseerde landbou-organisasies in Mpumalanga is genooi nie. Die vyf kommersiële boere wat wel teenwoordig was, het ek persoonlik oorreed om van so ver as Machadodorp te kom vir die vergadering nadat ek gehoor het hulle weet nie daarvan nie.

‘n Verhouding van vyf tot etlike honderd kan mos nie bydra tot gesonde gesprekvoering nie. Daar sal ook wyer gekyk moet word om potensiële grond vir opkomende boere te kry om hulle te kan vestig. Ek is bly om te hoor van die Minister dat dele van die talle hektaar grond van die Departement van Verdediging ook nou geoormerk word vir die vestiging van nuwe boere.

Ek het onlangs egter ‘n kaart bestudeer van die verskillende toestande in ons land, en ek het natuurlik my aandag toegespits op my provinsie, Mpumalanga. Wat my die meeste getref het, was die enorme oppervlak van hoë potensiaal landbougrond wat tans net bewoon word en wat as die voormalige tuislande bekendstaan.

Ek besef dat die meeste van hierdie grond kommunaal deur gevestigde stamowerhede beheer word, maar ek aanvaar nie dat dit ‘n probleem is nie. Die mense wat daar woon en die stamhoofde wat in beheer van die grond is, het ook ‘n behoefte aan vooruitgang en ontwikkeling. Ek is oortuig dat ‘n plan gemaak kan word.

Ek is verder oortuig dat my stelling seker weer aangeval gaan word, omdat ek sogenaamd deel van die ou stelsel was. Ek dink egter dit het tyd geword dat ons ophou om die geskiedenis as wegkruipplek te gebruik. Ons leef in die hede en die toekoms lê voor. Kom ons vergeet nou die foute van die verlede en bou op die suksesse van die toekoms. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[However, it also seems to me that there is not enough discussion with the present approximately 46 000 commercial farmers. I perceive a significant measure of good will among the farmers from the various organised agricultural organisations. They have the skills to assist the Minister and her department, but it is not being utilised.

Let us pause once again for a moment at our visit to Mpumalanga: Half a day of the programme was allotted to farmers, but not one of the two organisations for organised agriculture in Mpumalanga was invited. I personally persuaded the five commercial farmers who were, in fact, present to come to the meeting from as far away as Machadodorp when I heard that they did not know about it.

A proportion of five to several hundred cannot contribute to sound discussions. There also will have to be a wider search to find potential land for emerging farmers to settle on, and I am glad to hear from the Minister that sections of the many hectares of land belonging to the Department of Defence are now also being earmarked for the settlement of new farmers.

Recently, however, I studied a map reflecting the different conditions in our country, and naturally I focused on my province, Mpumalanga. What struck me most was the enormous area of high-potential agricultural land that is at present only being inhabited, and these are known as the former homelands.

I realise that most of this land is communally controlled by established tribal authorities, but I do not accept that this is a problem. The people who are living there and the tribal chiefs who are controlling it also have a need progress and development. I am convinced that a plan could be made.

Furthermore, I am convinced that my view will be attacked again because I was ostensibly a part of the old system. However, I think that the time has come for us to stop using history as a hiding place. We live in the present and the future lies ahead. Let us forget the mistakes of the past now and build on the successes of the future.]

The programme launched in Mpumalanga, to get back to tilling the soil, as I call it, is a good start and must be applauded as the one example that could be followed elsewhere in the country.

The commercial face of South African agriculture is not smiling at all, Minister. The debt ratio of farmers has increased. The strong rand has ended income and profits. Drought conditions in some areas and overproduction in others have a serious influence on the survival ability of many farmers.

The commercial agriculture in South Africa operates in a market-related environment without subsidies. However, the South African agricultural market is being distorted by the import of subsidised agricultural products.

It seems as if the Minister and the Department of Agriculture, and other related departments, turn a blind eye to this problem. I hope that’s not true. Why, however, did it take three years for grain farmers to be heard? Only after mass action was instigated, did the relevant departments agree to listen and to investigate the problem.

Minister, did you take note of what happened in Centurion, Gauteng, and in Bellville when thousands of farmers – communal, black, white and coloured - gathered in an orderly way? Did you hear their message?

They asked the Minister to see to it that government complies with its responsibility to prevent the dumping of overseas products on our markets. They asked the Minister to champion their cause as she has the responsibility to maintain the conditions for the free market in which the farmers operate. We can compete with any farmer in any country, they say, but we cannot compete in the market with Uncle Sam and other countries which subsidise their products and undercut the prices on the market.

Please take heed, Minister. Do not lose the trust of the farmers. They have a stubborn nature which can make life very difficult for you. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr M MASUKU (Mpumalanga): Chairperson, Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs Thoko Didiza, fellow members of the NCOP, colleagues, MECs from various provinces and honoured guests, I’m glad to participate in this debate on land and its use for livelihood in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, a programme which guides the development plans of the glorious movement, the ANC, that I am a member of. Last year we celebrated ten years of freedom. However, before I go into this, I want to mention that counter-revolutionary and antiprogress tendencies will not triumph and have never triumphed over progressive ideas.

I also want to indicate that the framework for this freedom was defined in Kliptown some 50 years ago by the people of this country, and over the years that followed. People, young and old, committed themselves to fighting for this freedom side-by-side until it was attained, no matter what it would cost.

Forces of darkness and counter-revolutionary forces have been there in the past, and they continue to exist in a different form. I would like to illustrate that in this format. Firstly, Utata uMadiba, for instance, vowed in the 60s that he was prepared to die for the ideals that are in the Freedom Charter.

Secondly, before Comrade Kalushi Solomon Mahlangu was executed in 1979, he passed a message to the people of South Africa through his mother, that he was prepared for the cause and that he was sacrificing his life so that his blood could nourish the tree that would bear the fruit of freedom for the people of South Africa.

Thirdly, Comrade Chris Hani mentioned in an interview in 1990 that he knew that for years he had been living under a cloud of death throughout his life, and that he wanted a democratic and free South Africa, an ideal he was prepared to lay down his life for.

These heroes that I have quoted above would not have said the things they said if they didn’t know that there are counter-revolutionary forces. I want to say that, even today, as we progress, there will be counter- revolutionary forces trying to counter the progress.

Primary to all the freedoms mentioned in the Freedom Charter is the issue of land, which all development theorists agree is key to all freedoms, because the basic need for livelihood for all creatures is a platform on which stages of livelihood take place: a source of food, a water basin, a platform on which shelter is built, a source of material required for the erection of shelters, and these are a base for a flourishing economy.

This is probably the reason wars were, and still are, fought all over the world, because of the quest to access and control land and its products. In some other places, these wars were passed from generation to generation.

In this case we are blessed, because in South Africa the Freedom Charter prevented the possibility of another civil war by defining ownership of land as belonging to all who work it, which rules out the possibility of racial, ethnic, gender and class domination - if there are people who doubted this - because every day we hear people making noise over this matter. The Freedom Charter has closed that chapter.

This is an ideal that the Minister and us in the provinces are working on, and we shall work side by side until it is realised. We are grateful for the framework that the Minister has set up within which the struggles should be waged. There would never have been any other framework that would have had a mixture of such complementary programmes as the one we are using under your guidance, which seeks to extend land ownership to those previously dispossessed masses and also improve the productivity of land, support farmers through the comprehensive agricultural support programme, research and market access, Mr Watson.

The South African agricultural strategy itself mentions market access as part of the things that are supposed to be worked on. It also includes issues of veterinary service and early-warning systems. This programme, ordinary as it may seem, has benefited many people in my own province.

Minister, we shall recall that the first time you interacted with the people of Mpumalanga, eNkomazi, babe khombisa [at Nkomazi, they were in] a fighting mood over the lack of finance because funding institutions did not finance agricultural production projects in former homeland areas.

You came up with a programme that kick-started these farmers through LRAD and some adjustments in the status of the Land Bank. Today this group of farmers is a symbol of success in the sugar cane industry and more opportunities have opened up for them.

Owing to the level of success among some of these farmers, TSB, a sugar company in Mpumalanga, told me that they intended awarding some of their farms to the best performing farmers to help them realise their full potential. This is a discovery that was made by hon Mr Watson over the years we stayed in Mpumalanga, but he has not realised that the people who lived in homelands didn’t have access to farming. [Applause.]

At Nkangala Region we heard that ubabe uMngomezulu went to a great deal of trouble in 2000 to tell you how black farmers were disadvantaged by being banished to dry-land farming by the apartheid system, while fertile state land just next door was left fallow as it was reserved for white farmers. That was also the case with the Pankop farmers who had no land to put their farming ambitions to practice.

Members of this House will recall that the music that was sung in the NCOP during the campaign Taking Parliament to the People in KwaMhlanga was quite different. uBabe uMgomezulu was heard saying that he was put on the fertile land, he was supported, but now he is crying for ownership. This is also the case with the Pankop farmers: they have found land implements, production grants, pack houses through Carrs, and they are supported professionally by extension officers, research agricultural economists and engineers, and they have access to further markets. They are exporting and are being supported, hon Mr Watson. They now say they want the Minister to get these professionals on a full-time basis, and they want the administrators to buy them fuel.

To us this may sound weird, but it is an expression of appreciation and trust, a communiqué that says, thank you for having brought us to where we are. We are doing well. However, we are now engaged with these new challenges, but we will not mind if you could help us, if you can, because we know that you have resolved difficult problems before, and these ones will just be child’s play to you, Minister.

There are many more people who are celebrating ten years with tangible things in their hands. However, we have raised certain issues and challenges. We are also sharing them. Your concern regarding price hikes, which are slowing down the process of restitution, coupled with corrupt tendencies among officials, farmers and those whom you regard as professionals - the evaluators - are actually a disturbing factor. My province has been hit hard by these tendencies, and I hope we will speedily resolve them so that we can be allowed to roll out the support programmes that the needy need.

We welcome the proposal of a land summit and hope that we will be able to resolve a number of issues that are still remaining behind, and we are planning to hold our own in the province. Together with the acting Provincial Commissioner, ubab’ uThozi, and the land affairs collective in the province, we are holding various meetings to plan how we can collectively project on the challenges ahead and how we can join hands to tackle them. We intend to include the ARC and Land Bank in order to enhance co-ordination. Through this co-operation, we believe that we will come up with a solution on Nala as well, Minister.

This year we are also embarking on the Know Your Land Campaign. Through this campaign we are expecting that extension officers should be allocated sections of where they are supposed to work in terms of hectares, and we are expecting that they would be able to know what is on their land, define who is there, the farmers who are involved there, and the kind of business that they are involved in. In this way, they will be able to identify the different challenges of these farmers and the products that they will need. In this way we will be able to address a number of projects.

Lastly, we want to say the “Masibuyele emasimini” campaign for all is going to benefit a number of people. The province has set aside R15 million, and 62 hectares of land, belonging to survival farmers, will be ploughed throughout the year. We will be assisting them with tractors, implements, seeds and fertilizers to get them moving. We will also be interacting with established farmers so that we can address issues of AgriBEE challenges. Thank you very much, Chairperson. [Applause.]

Mr J O TLHAGALE: Hon Chair, hon Minister and the hon House, agriculture is a significant contributor to the South African economy through its effect on the GDP and employment, as well as rural development and food security.

In the North West province, this sector comprises a dominant commercial farming sector and a large subsistence and emerging farmer segment. This emerging farmer segment is important because of its contribution to poverty reduction and job creation in the rural areas.

In the wetter eastern parts of the province, agriculture comprises largely livestock and crop farming. The central and southern regions are dominated by wheat and maize farming, whilst livestock and wildlife farming occurs in the semi-arid western region of the province. For instance, in the Kgalagadi node and the Moses Kotane Municipality, a programme for improving the production and the quality of goat meat has been rolled out.

There are a number of successes, too many to mention within my time allocation. Suffice it to say that the re-establishment of the agricultural credit scheme within the department, together with the phasing-in of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, is most welcome to the farming community.

However, the maize price management issue is a matter of great concern to the crop farmers. This matter cannot be laid at anybody’s door, but it is the result of overproduction and the accumulation of a huge surplus, which has no available market to absorb it. This type of problem could be avoided by establishing effective early-warning systems to warn farmers in time to take appropriate marketing decisions and to keep them informed of how their actions would affect their future markets.

On the land affairs side, many communities in our province have regained their ancestral land, and state farms are on offer to suitable potential buyers.

Whilst we wish to congratulate the hon Minister on this magnificent achievement, we also wish to raise our concern that up to now, some of this land and farms are not yet being used to their maximum potential. Not withstanding this, the UCDP supports these Budget Votes. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr C J VAN ROOYEN: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, MECs, special delegates, and hon members, “Land is might; land is right; land is water; land is shelter; land is dignity, and land is honour.” These are the words of the women at a recent Women’s Resource Programme Workshop in India.

This debate takes place in the second quarter of 2005, which also marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, a period which, according to the ANC’s statement of 8 January, should focus on the following two clauses of the Freedom Charter: “The people shall share in the country’s wealth”, and “The land shall be shared among those who work it”, both of which are fundamental to the furtherance of our young nation’s democracy and to which the ANC is committed.

In his state of the nation address of 11 February 2005, the President gave a directive that additional resources would be allocated over the next three years to cover claims in the land restitution process. In line with the President’s directive, the Commission on the Restitution of Land Rights committed itself to settling the 12 872 outstanding urban claims in the 2005-06 financial year, and the remaining 4 991 outstanding rural claims by 31 March 2008.

In order to accelerate the settlement of the 17 866 outstanding claims within the three years, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights embarked upon a restitution high drive 2008 process to settle these claims.

The Minister of Finance announced in his Budget Speech of 23 February 2005 that R6 billion has been allocated to complete this land restitution process. This is a clear indication that the ANC-led government is serious in its commitment to the Freedom Charter, and shows the importance it places upon land rights. It also embodies the words of the women at the workshop in India, namely that land is might, right, water, shelter, dignity and honour.

The second decade of democracy is therefore about fast-tracking the implementation of land reform in the context of vision 2014. It is also about eradicating poverty and underdevelopment within the context of a thriving and growing first economy and the successful transformation of the second economy.

To this end, this ANC-led government and the Department of Land Affairs, in particular, have laid a solid foundation for the implementation of land reform programmes. Just over 3 million hectares of land had been delivered by 28 February 2005 through these programmes. These include land delivered through restitution, redistribution and state land. The total number of individuals that have benefited from land reform is 1 028 876. The contribution per programme is as follows: redistribution, 1 780 260 hectares; restitution, 854 444 hectares; tenure reform, 170 555 hectares, and state land, 772 660 hectares.

Government faces serious challenges in reaching its target of redistributing 30 per cent of commercial agricultural land by 2014. Amongst these are: high land prices and unco-operative sellers. As honourable as this government’s intentions may be, I am concerned about the growing danger signs of increasing resistance by the current landowners to participate positively in the process of land redistribution.

The resistance is evident in the high valuation of land offered for sale by some greedy owners, some of whom have also invoked the Constitution to protect their rights.

It is common knowledge that commercial farmers are constantly complaining of their financial plight caused by continually increasing input costs against decreasing market prices for their produce, especially in the maize and dairy production areas. Hon Watson confirmed this. It is therefore difficult to understand how a growth in the value of agricultural land can be justified under these circumstances. This does not conform to generally accepted market forces.

I would therefore urge hon Minister to appoint a further commission of inquiry into the matter to establish, firstly, how landowners justify these prices and, secondly, who and what are the driving forces responsible for this situation.

Whilst expropriation is constitutionally possible, the current use of negotiation is still the preferred option. I therefore call on organized agriculture to participate more positively by demonstrating more concrete commitment to land reform and to instil a culture of respect for land rights of vulnerable groups like labour tenants, occupiers and other farm dwellers amongst its membership.

I also want to refer to the scare tactic used by some opposition parties that South Africa’s land redistribution policy will turn this country into a second Zimbabwe. These remarks are irresponsible and dangerous for the development of our new democracy, and also far removed from the truth. I urge these parties to rather participate positively in nation-building by being more responsible and responsive in their approach towards land reform. [Applause.] Creating a South Africa in which all the inequalities of the past are eradicated is a journey upon which this government has embarked and we have not yet reached our final destination. We have a sound route planned and implemented. What we need to do now is to ensure that we reach the intended goal, namely prosperity for all South Africans. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr G NKWINTI (Eastern Cape): Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister, my colleagues, MECs, hon members of the House, the last time I addressed this House I was pleading, as MEC for housing, local government and traditional affairs, for support for an intervention at Qawukeni Local Municipality. [Laughter.] Now I am here to support the budget statement of the hon Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs on Votes 25 and 29 as MEC for agriculture.

The International Pineapple Symposium is taking place in the Eastern Cape in a small town called Bathurst, along the coast. One of the most notable participants this year is the Peddie Pineapple Trust, a company whose enterprise, the Peddie Pineapple Company, was launched by the hon Minister a few years ago.

The shareholdership of this company is interesting: 40% workers, 40% community and 20 per cent mentors. Now it is contemplating purchasing shares from Summerpride. That is how far people can go with determination and support. The hon Minister must be very pleased with this. I am saying this because I thought we should give her a sweet surprise. She has played a very important role in the forward movement of this company. [Applause.]

Our President, in his state of the nation address, reminded us of the importance of preparing the second economy for participation in the mainstream economy. What I have just described is probably very, very close to what is required of us. To this end, it is our belief and firm conviction that we, the people of the Eastern Cape, must begin with developing agricultural production, agroprocessing and market access mechanisms for this sector. Agrarian transformation and the strengthening of our sole food security programmes are fundamental in the revitalisation of our economy, in creating jobs and fighting poverty in the province.

The Eastern Cape Provincial Growth and Development Plan rests on agriculture. Our hon premier, Mrs Balindlela, also alluded to this during her state of the province address this year when she said that, like anywhere else in the world, the strategic path to industrial development and investment growth in the province lies in agriculture.

It is our further belief that the necessary economic infrastructure should be brought to the masses of the people in the villages where they live, the previously disadvantaged involved in communal farming and subsistence agriculture.

It is unfair that, despite the province’s ability to produce large quantities of maize, its residents have to buy maize meal from other provinces like the Free State. We intend to revive the Butterworth silos and other similar processing plants in the province. An amount of R28 million has been spent on the Kei Fresh Produce Market, but this market gets its produce from outside the province. This must be corrected.

This R28 million was handed over by the provincial department to the O R Tambo District Municipality, which is running the market very, very well. The market structure has been completed, and trading started in February

1. In this short space of time, the market has been making a turnover of R1,5 million per month. This facility provides an essential outlet for projected produce to come from the revitalisation of irrigation schemes and for local upcoming producers.

We need to put more emphasis on local economic development in the province and raise food production in the eastern part of the province so that it can match its counterpart in the western part. The main focus of the service-delivery perspectives is subsistence agriculture because, in our view, it is here that we can produce a massive amount of food, or produce food on a scale that is required to feed our people.

The rolling out of the agrarian transformation of our province is referred to as the green revolution. I don’t know why they say this. I am happy that they do, though, because I hear my colleague in Mpumalanga is talking about masibuyele emasimini. [Let’s go back to working the fields.] I think it means the same thing.

We intend to revolutionise formerly unproductive areas and processes to achieve a staggering increase in crop and animal production in the province. This green revolution will be carried out in a multipronged way with a view to banishing hunger and radically reducing the unemployment ravaging our province.

We have identified, among other things, the national programmes being the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme – Casp - the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme and agricultural black economic empowerment as key strategic programmes in this regard.

The Casp budget was decentralised to districts in the province as from 1 April this year. The intention is to assign staff at head office and districts to the Casp. The tender evaluation committees are now to meet at least twice a month and have already been constituted in all districts. Districts are to submit implementation plans with timeframes by Friday 15 April 2005. The implementation plans are going to be monitored by the head office. For 2004-05 contractors have been employed and projects will be completed in June 2005.

Our Constitution states that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, united in our diversity. In this context, we will continue to support our commercial agricultural sector to ensure that it maintains its national and international competitiveness for the good of the economy of our province and its people.

Severe economic constraints have led to significant structural changes on our farms and in our farming communities. The victims of this economic metamorphosis are the farmworkers who, all of a sudden, find themselves without jobs. It is therefore imperative that the massive amount of food production will, in fact, have to come from the subsistence agricultural subsector, as white commercial farms are turned into game farms.

Another important sector that merits the government’s serious attention is the peri-urban subsector. It straddles both the commercial and subsistence subsectors. However, the sector lacks capital, technology and land. These are the aspirant farmers who have been evicted from the commercial farms that have been turned, in the main, into game farms. The rural people often lack urban work skills and are therefore unemployable in urban settings. The government must and will intervene in this regard.

For our green revolution to succeed we need a couple of things to be put in place. We need strong partnerships. We need to have the necessary resources. We need mentoring programmes and expertise. We need to communicate effectively with our communities. We need an investment strategy, of course, for agriculture and we need special projects that include household production units.

We will adhere to the requirement of the Constitution that stipulates that government makes progress in the socio-economic rights of our people, as enshrined in Chapter 2 of the Constitution. We will also adhere to Batho Pele and good governance principles. Thank you very much, hon Chairperson. [Applause.]

Mr M A MZIZI: Deputy Chair of Chairs, Minister, MECs, special delegates and colleagues, when we take part in the debate on agriculture . . .[Interjections.] . . . we need to look back to where we have come from. For some of us, agriculture was something that we learnt at school had no significance in having any future for the black communities because of the laws of the time. The main reason was that no black person could own land. The help of the Department of Land Affairs to deliver land to the disadvantaged and marginalised people resulted in a receipt of funding by the agricultural support component of the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme.

Angeke ngisho futhi ngiqinise ukuthi sekuyantwela ezansi. Esikhathini esifishane . . . [I wouldn’t say and affirm that the dawn is setting in yet. In the short time . . . ]

. . . in 2004 July the broad-based black economic empowerment charter in the agricultural sector, AgriBEE, was launched. The most important thing was that in November 2001 President Mbeki published the strategic plan for South African agriculture with a vision of a united and prosperous agricultural sector, whose main strategic goal was to generate equitable access and participation in a globally competitive, profitable and sustainable agricultural sector, thereby contributing to a better life for all.

I-IFP iyasixhasa isilinganiso sesixamali esinikezwe lo mnyango. Iphakamisa futhi ukuthi uNgqongqoshe abophe isifociya ngakho konke ukuze lokhu esikubiza phelezi “AgriBEE” ibe yimpumelelo. [The IFP supports the budget allocation for this department. The IFP would also like to ask the Minister to pull up his socks in every respect so that AgriBEE can be a success.]

With regard to Land Affairs, while the IFP supports the budget, it must be remembered that land is a thorny issue. It is acknowledged that land reform includes the disposal of state land, tenure reform and increasing the pace of delivery of the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme.

Singakhuluma sigeqe amagula kodwa okusalayo ukuthi azikabuyi emasisweni. Lashonaphi elikaMthaniya? Angikaze ngizwe Ngqongqoshe kukhulunywa ngoLundi olumahlikahlikane. Umbuzo-ke yilona wokuthi ayebusa liphi izwe amakhosi aKwaZulu? Angisho ukuthi kufanele sikhulume ngomlando waKwaZulu kodwa kuyoba kuhle ukuthi izizukulwane zazi ngezwe lokhokho bazo. Kusantuleka izindawo zokuhlala ngenxa yokweseleka komhlaba. Abahlala emaphandleni basahlushwa ukuthi imfuyo yabo ayinamadlelo. Azibuye emasisweni, sikhombe ngophakathi futhi sidle izaqheqhe. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[We can talk until sunset, but the fact is that we haven’t yet received what is due to us. What about our land? Minister, I did not hear anything regarding Ulundi? The question is what land was governed by the amakhosi then? I am not saying here for a minute that we must talk about the history of KwaZulu, but it would be good for the generations to come to know about the land of their forefathers. There is still nowhere to reside because of the shortage of land. Those living in the rural areas are still having difficulties because their livestock do not have any pasture. Let us get what is our due, so that we can live in comfort and enjoy the fruit of the land. I thank you. [Applause.]]

Ms Y NAHARA (KwaZulu-Natal): Thank you, Chairperson. Let me add my voice to the many others who have thanked the Minister for the budget presented to us here and for the statement she made in which she pointed out the programmes. Anyone who knows what poverty and struggle are will not really have any problem in saying: “Phambili ntomb’nkulu nomsebenzi wakho!” [Forward with your work!]

Angisho nje ukuthi siyawubonga umsebenzi owenziwa uNgqongqoshe kwezomhlaba laphaya KwaZulu-Natali. [I must say that we are grateful for the work done by the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal.]

This is because if you talk about freedom, but you have no land and food, then you haven’t started talking. Therefore, in KwaZulu-Natal we have launched the Siyavuna programme to try to address the problem of food security and also of poverty. I can happily say in this House that in the few municipalities where we have been this is producing fruit. We haven’t done everything, but the little we have done has given results.

However, one of the concerns I have is regarding the land claims. “Ungathi kukhona abantu asebebone i-jackpot lapha kuhulumeni.” [It appears as if there are people who have found the jackpot in the government.] Land is becoming more and more expensive from the so-called willing sellers. It is a concern for us in KwaZulu-Natal. “Mningi lo mhlaba ohleli . . .” [There is lot of land that is not being utilised . . .] . . . which is not being used, but we cannot access it. We are therefore saying that if the Minister and the other MECs could also look into this issue in terms of which we are becoming a jackpot for those people . . .

“. . . abathanda imali . . .” [. . . and those who have money . . .] . . . whilst government is being kind enough . . . “. . . ukuthi awuthenge lo mhlaba ngoba ungowethu vele.” [. . . must buy this land because it is obviously ours.]

Apart from that, in trying to address the issues of our people and unemployment, we have quite a number of farmers who would like to go into, or have already started, stock farming. The problem we have and a very serious one . . .

. . . ukwebiwa kwemfuyo yabantu. [. . . stealing of people’s livestock.]

It was quite surprising having the police tell us that stock theft was so rife, particularly in the areas of Umsinga and Underberg. However, the question is: What have they done about it as they . . . “. . . bathi akungenwa laphaya futhi ngeke ubuye uma uke wangena.” [. . . they say that that is a no-go area and you will not return once you enter it.]

It has been a concern of the portfolio committee. Of late, maybe two weeks ago, we appointed two members of my portfolio committee to be part of this farm security which has all along been just for whites. We want to form partnerships with them and understand how they used to avoid these problems, because people who are mainly affected by this theft . . . “. . . yibona abalimi laba abasafufusa.” [. . . these are the emerging farmers.]

And that we are trying, together with the MEC, and I think even the premier will take up this issue. Furthermore, we think there are quite a number of challenges we are facing in the programme of feeding our people in the province. It is still a bit difficult for the people who live on the farms or on communal land to access the programmes we have. This is either because of a land problem or because the farmer just doesn’t want to see anybody talking to his people.

Those are the few challenges I thought maybe I could share with this House and with my many colleagues here. Maybe other provinces have come up with a solution for problems such as this one, which are brought about deliberately.

However, one of the successful issues I can talk about here - maybe in terms of what the Minister has done . . . “. . . ukubuya komhlaba wakwaNdelu.” [. . . restitution of land to the Ndelus tribe.]

This is something I really praise the department for, which was the most successful I’ve ever come across. This was the land that was under the control of the church. Everybody was saying . . . “ . . . ngeke uze ubuye lo mhlaba ngoba kuthiwa uphethwe abantu bakaNkulunkulu.” [. . . this land will never be restored because they say missionaries control it.] When we went there last week to hand over the land to the people, one of the old ladies – I remember . . . “. . . wathi: ‘Wema! Ave kukuhle. Intandane enhle umakhothwa unina.’” [. . . she said: “He stopped! It is good. Mother is the caregiver.”]

This expression told me that these people had lost so much hope today that it was a surprise to them. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]

Dr H MATEME (Limpopo): Chairperson, from your kind heart, I hope all the time saved by the speakers above, if need be, will be passed on to speaker number 12. As regards language, I will use Sepedi, English, Xitsonga, Tshivenda and IsiNdebele, if necessary, typical of the province. [Interjections.]

Ka segagešo ba re ngwana yo a sa llego o hwela tharing. Re le Limpopo, le rena re be re theeditše ka ditsebe tša go hloka merulana ka gare ge mmagwe setšhaba a ala ditaba tša lefase le tša temo mo Lekgotleng le.

Re lemogile gore mohlomongwe meragelo ya kua Limpopo yeo e ngwadilwego ga se e fihle gabotse ofising ya mohlomphegi mmagwe setšhaba. Bjale ka ge ba re makhura a ngwana ke go rongwa, le rena re be re holofetše gore lehono mo re tla tlotšwa makhura, ra bethwabethwa mo magetleng ka tše dingwe tša tše dibotse tšeo re di dirago ka kua gae. (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)

[It is said in my culture that, if you do not complain, no one will give you attention. As Limpopo, we were also listening attentively when the mother of the nation presented this country’s agricultural issues in this House.

We have realised that the written reports from Limpopo probably did not get to her office accordingly. As we were also sent out to do this and that, we were hoping to receive compliments today and be patted on the shoulders for what we have achieved back home.]

Having said that, I also feel that certain statements made in this House cannot go unchallenged. Figuratively and literally, the Minister for Land and Agriculture in the Republic of South Africa, does not have a blind eye. Those who don’t know can take a look at her. No blind eye. [Laughter.] As such, figuratively and literally, she cannot turn any blind eye to anything.

Our committee went to New Zealand last month, and the ministry of agriculture in that country reassured us that they, hand in glove with our Minister, are fighting very hard at the World Trade Organisation meetings to make sure that those countries that subsidise agriculture stop doing so or, at least, minimise their subsidies so that the likes of us can be relieved from the dumping of agricultural products in our own countries. Therefore, I think the hon member surely wasn’t speaking about the Minister that I know.

Secondly, our Deputy President once visited us and advised us. A re batho ba bangwe le bona ba na tokelo ya go fafatla.[She says that other people also have the right to talk nonsense.]

I don’t have the English equivalent to this expression, but it means that people get disorientated in time and space and do not know exactly where they are. [Interjections.] This is the impression I got when the hon member Watson said that the ruling party, the ANC, to which I belong, has a policy of numbers only. I don’t know that policy and I would, therefore, urge the hon Minister to invite the likes of Mr Watson to come and witness events such as the Female Farmer of the Year and others, which indicate that the ruling party also strives for quality. [Applause.]

I tend to agree with the Chair of Chairs who spoke here and said that for all the years before democracy and even after democracy, some people have been members of the opposition, but it looks like they are not quite sure what it is that they are opposing. Therefore, perhaps the time has come that they changed their name to members of the supporting group for the ruling party because, truly speaking, there isn’t much that they need to oppose.

The Limpopo province, like the rest of the country, is also engaged in the celebrations of the 50 years of the Freedom Charter. At our imbizos we are taking the farmers on board. We are also surprised; we’ve borrowed from the partially abled people. We have this phrase that says that we are going to do nothing for farmers without farmers. That is our approach.

Allow us, as Limpopo, to invite this august House to share in our mourning for the passing of one of the most abled farmers in our province, Bertie van Zyl, who had put our province on the world map as regards tomato production. While we mourn his passing, he was not a selfish person. Our people also carefully studied what he was doing and, therefore, we have able and up-and-coming future tomato producers in our own province. For that, we say he has not lived in vain.

We are very much in step with the programmes of the department. The department of agriculture in our province has more than 100 learners in our learnership programmes, and some of them have already been employed elsewhere in this country, as people always poach from Limpopo, but we do not regret that.

As we will be celebrating the Youth Month, that is June, we are also going to make sure that the young people participate fully in the programmes of this department. We would particularly like them to focus on programmes such as NERPO, because research has indicated that the programme on red meat has some good percentages as regards income.

Once more, as a province, we would like to share with this august House that we are proud of our capacity and capability, and we feel there is no challenge in agriculture which we cannot meet successfully. This has been evidenced by the way we dealt with the foot-and-mouth disease which frequently visits our province, understandably so, because we are very close to the Kruger National Park. The buffalo, which is a natural carrier of that virus, gets through the fence from time to time and interferes with our livestock. However, we have dealt with that challenge and hope we will continue to deal with it as successfully as we’ve been doing.

We have defined for ourselves some specific areas of focus for this coming financial year. We feel that we are going to continue with our rehabilitation of the irrigation schemes and we also intend completing, at least, the rounding up or the restructuring of the Arrowhead Regional Development Council or ARDC projects. This is a monster which we have inherited from the past, and which we intend to kill and resuscitate in a new form, and we are succeeding in performing that miracle. We also are very determined to implement the promotion of the AgriBEE, which our province needs very much.

We are also planning the development and implementation of succession planning. One of the speakers before me has indicated that, in some areas, it looks like agriculture is only intended for the very old people. Now, we do have a programme to take the youth on board, and we also feel that we will have made considerable progress at the end of this financial year.

The rest of the plans that we have are well espoused in our strategic plan, which I think we can make available for the records of this House here. All in all, our plans and programmes are in line with what the national Department of Agriculture is doing and are also in line with the policies and principles of the ruling party.

Lastly, I would like to indicate that our MEC is not absent here because she did not want to come, but because there is so much to do in agriculture, and the principle of collective leadership directed that I be here today. I hope that our province has been well explained, particularly to Mr Watson, whom we still wish to invite to come and see what we are doing in Limpopo.

Finally, Limpopo supports the budget of the department and our Minister. Thank you. [Applause.]

Mrs T JOEMAT-PETTERSON (Northern Cape): Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, members of the House, comrades, honoured guests, ladies and gentlemen, I bring you revolutionary greetings from the Komani San who believe that the restoration of their human rights and dignity is an ongoing process and that their collective future is amply enshrined in the capable process of the Budget Vote of the Minister, as well as the processes they engaged in when they entered the contract and signed it with the ANC-led government for a better life. The women of the Northern Cape say to you, Comrade Minister: “Wathinta abafazi, wathinta imbokodo”! [You strike the woman, you strike the rock!] They thank you for taking them away from growing vegetables in the backyards to cultivating commercial crops, as well as having cattle farms. We also bring you, quite ironically, revolutionary greetings from our commercial farmers who thank you for the drought-relief funds which you amply made available for them. They recognise that, without the drought- relief funds, the commercial farmers in our province would have been devastated and ruined.

We bring you greetings from our illiterate farmworkers who thank you for the Abet programmes you have announced, and believe that the cycle of poverty they are entrenched in will finally be broken. Our youth in the province are mindful of the fact that June 2005 will be the culmination of our ANC government’s January 8th commitment to ensure that the wealth redistribution of our country happens, that job creation is sustained and that we share in the land of our country.

The youth of our province are also mindful that June does not only represent the youth month, it also represents the month of the Freedom Charter. And, ironically, it also represents the month in which the 1913 Land Act was promulgated.

It is with this hope that the Northern Cape believes that your Budget Vote has crystalised our collective responsibility towards advancing the national development agenda through a vision of humanism and people-centred development. The betterment of our lives in the Northern Cape and in our democracy must extricate us from the unequal distribution of resources in the past.

Our collective future revolves around our ability to expand ownership within agriculture by means of stimulating entrepreneurship, employment equity, skills development, targeted procurement and corporate social investment. Our devotion to the causes of economic freedom, as envisaged in the Freedom Charter, should serve to inspire us in curtailing the inequalities between urban and rural communities, and developing the forces of production for the integration of the second economy into the first economy.

Your Budget Vote mirrors the spirit of the Freedom Charter through programmes that speak into a political, social, economic and moral vision for agriculture and land reform. Our agenda is not accidental; our agenda is deliberate. It is that of making poverty history and of pursuing development as our absolute principle in creating a dawn of good living and prosperity for those that have been subjected to an early dead end of intolerable exploitation.

Those who are sceptical of our transformation agenda within agriculture - we have heard enough of them today, and I don’t even need to give them the honour of mentioning their names - need to understand the demands of transformation of the means and mode of production. They need to understand that it is only through black economic empowerment that South Africa will succeed in responding to the challenges of harnessing increased participation of workers in determining their own economic destiny.

In June this year we will engage all commercial farmers, commercial unions and various industry stakeholders to discuss with them the revolving implementation of our AgriBEE charter in the Northern Cape.

We are committed to ensuring that 30 per cent of land, not dry land, but irrigable and productive agricultural land, will be in black hands in the next nine years - and no longer ten years. So the mobilisation of our masses for global competitiveness serves as a catalyst of stimulating transformation through viable and sound enterprises within agriculture. In this regard, a number of monumental efforts have been undertaken in placing agriculture, the apex of rural development, into the sustainable growing provincial economy.

As far as the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme is concerned, we have managed to spend 92 per cent of the R10,5 million cash budget of 2004-

1. With six of the nine projects having been 100 per cent complete and two due for completion in May 2005, we hope to report, in fact, in this House next year that projects will be 100 per cent complete and 100 per cent of our money spent.

The type of support includes stock-watering systems, fencing, training and capacity-building for farmers. A total of 777 people, who are mainly land reform beneficiaries, have benefited from Casp and more than 1 000 jobs will be created through this programme alone. To other provinces this might sound as being little, but in the Northern Cape, which has only two per cent of the population of our country, this is a huge improvement in job creation.

During this financial year, we will implement 15 land-care projects to the value of R2 million; a further 150 jobs will be created and 714 farmers will benefit through our sustainable resources management programme. The civil society mobilisation programme, which will be rolled out in May 2005, is intended to, amongst others, increase participation of emerging farmers and increase awareness about land care, and by so doing promote the sustainable use of our natural resources.

With the persisting drought in our province, we need to ensure that we fight for the prospect of increased food security because it is the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable and our rural women who often suffer the most. An amount of R1 million was set aside for the creation of food security projects, and 87 beneficiaries, who were predominately women, benefited from this intervention. The development of customised commodity strategies will ensure an alignment of the provincial and national strategies for agricultural growth and transformation, and will include projects in the Northern Cape, such as the commercialisation of goats.

Through the commercialisation of goats programme, we have registered and continue to support 30 co-operatives. We believe that, through the co- operatives’ development in our province and the sharing of workers through workers’ trusts in the ownership of their own destinies, we will assist not only emerging farmers but also workers by providing them with quality breeding material and also assist them to enter the economic programmes of our government.

Our livestock improvement programme has not only seen us redistributing goats, but will also see us training farmers and workers through the Paeta training programmes. Our access to land and security of tenure rights for mostly rural people is critical in ensuring economic empowerment and participation of the previously marginalised in the mainstream economy. The department will continue to give support to land reform programmes, Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development and restitution by co- ordinating both pre-settlement and post-settlement support to ensure that development programmes are aligned with land reform projects in order to make our land productive.

Comrade Minister, we are humbled that in your Budget Vote you addressed capacity problems in our province in terms of skills shortages. In our struggle to recruit certain skills, we will ensure that we, in fact, train our black learners as veterinarians and engineers, and ensure that this sector that was primarily dominated by white professionals will no longer be exclusive domains for them. The process has been started in order to ensure that we have a uniform salary structure so that we can retain some of these skills in the public sector.

The department will also continue to engage the services of other stakeholders, NGOs and political organisations in order to ensure that, through training and capacity-building of farmers, we don’t train them to remain emerging farmers, but to become part of the mainstream of the economy.

In conclusion, may we remind one another about our commitment towards cultivating land activism among urban and rural dwellers. Let us act in unison in advancing farmworker-rights awareness among our exploited and unappreciated toiling rural masses as we approach May Day. Let us continue to make the clarion call in order to mobilise our people to share in the country’s wealth. “Ke a leboga.” [I thank you. “Enkosi kakhulu.” [Thank you very much.] “Dankie.” [Thank you.] Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr S V NAICKER (KwaZulu-Natal): Madam Chairperson, hon Minister, MECs and hon colleagues, it is questionable as to what extent this particular budget should be politicised. If we take that into consideration, and we take into account the two terms that I heard here this morning - one from the hon Mr Van Rooyen who used the term “nation-building”; the other term from my colleague, Mrs Nahara, who spoke about poverty and used the term “poverty alleviation’ - one can understand my emphasising the importance of this particular budget.

At the outset, having some background in this particular field, I hasten to congratulate the Minister and support the budget. It is no easy task, in a period of transition, to find overnight all the answers that we want on a subject of this nature.

We all have agreed on several occasions that KwaZulu-Natal, where I come from, is an important province that has a very strong agricultural potential which has not been utilised to the full. For this to be achieved, a series of measures need to be undertaken where there will be serious and continuous co-operation and co-ordination between commercial agriculture and community-driven agriculture, as stated by the hon Minister. No government, no individual and no institution can survive in isolation. There has to be total co-operation, and I hope that will materialise.

Having said that, I want to focus on some of the practical issues, in view of the time constraints. The distribution of state land and the restitution process needs to be speeded up both in terms of growth and the development of subsistence commercial farming. This is a problem that we have repeatedly touched upon. We are very aware of the monetary, technical and substantial problems associated with land affairs and distribution, but inevitably there cannot be sustainable development without the urgent, systematic and equitable solution. We don’t want to go back in history. We are here to address and bring about an adjustment to history.

I now come to the role and significance of the Land Bank. Let us touch on this very important subject. Obviously, we have a Land Bank, and then we have the commercial institutions. Unfortunately, however, one wants to know what benefit there is with an institution like the Land Bank, because the interest factor is the same as with a commercial bank. If one goes to a commercial bank and one has a good rating, obviously one will probably get an interest rate a few per cent below the prime rate, but at the Land Bank we do not have that situation.

Therefore, one of the important factors to be considered, taking agriculture and the various levels of the agricultural sector into consideration, are the commercial farmers. However, for now let us rather look at the subsistence farmer. If the true history of agriculture is to be written in South Africa, then the main chapter will contain the survival of the subsistence farmers, and therefore the importance of the Land Bank should be considered and even, if necessary, a particular agricultural board should be established to help this situation.

Let’s come back to the drought that we have been facing recently. In KwaZulu-Natal, thank the Lord, we have been blessed with rain, but let us take into consideration the green drought. I don’t want to lay any emphasis on the green drought, but it is a subject that must be taken into consideration.

We all need to think about new innovations to save water. The Cape Town and Western Cape cases have shown us conclusively that the dams are only 28 per cent full, and agriculture, which uses up to 68 per cent of the fresh water supply, will face the negative consequences of this reality.

I want to remind the hon Minister, with great respect, that there is something that for the past 65 years has been on the agenda in KwaZulu- Natal, namely the Tugela Basin. The Tugela Basin was introduced by a Mr Torrington-Smith, one of the greatest town planners from England, who planned Richards Bay. At some stage, there was interest from different international communities to help the people in the Tugela Basin. It has such potential. One day, if I am privileged to come back here, I would like to give the background to the Tugela Basin, and the hon Minister must please take note of that and go and see it.

If one goes back to the other river, our former Water Affairs Minister, Mr Asmal, spoke about the possibility of the establishment of a dam there, which is absolutely important. All those aspects can be looked at, and they will be absolutely beneficial to the entire province.

We need to urgently find the missing link between national and provincial priorities and competencies in terms of agriculture. We need to rethink and prioritise the urgent needs of our people, especially the poorest of the poor and the perpetually disadvantaged.

Let’s look at these aspects. Yes, in this process of restructuring, KwaZulu- Natal has . . . [Time expired.] Mnr F ADAMS: Geagte Voorsitter, Minister en kollegas, die geboorte van die nuwe Suid-Afrika 11 jaar gelede, het ook vir landbou ‘n nuwe uitdaging gebring. Dieselfde sektor wat vir jare alleen deur ‘n relatief klein groepie suksesvolle kommersiële boere oorheers is, het nou van hierdie boere gevra om betrokke te raak by die vestiging, ondersteuning en bemagtiging van nuwe opkomende boere uit voorheen benadeelde gemeenskappe.

Dit is verblywend om te kan kennis neem van die Minister en die departement dat hierdie proses reeds op dreef is, en dat dit elke dag met groter toewyding aangepak word. Grondhervorming moet die hoogste prioriteit geniet in ‘n poging om die ongelykhede van die verlede aan te spreek.

Dit bring my by ‘n sekere punt. Sekere mense wat ook in die regering was, wat ook in die regering gedien het, wat ook in die Raadsale van die Parlement gestaan het, en wat ook voorheen Ministers was, laat my nou vra: Hulle kom kla hier, maar wat het hulle destyds gedoen? Ek wil weet wat die agb Naicker gedoen het, as hy kan luister na wat ek sê en ophou om rond te loop sodat ons ‘n bietjie respek in hierdie Huis kan hê. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr F ADAMS: Hon Chairperson, Minister and colleagues, the birth of the new South Africa eleven years ago brought with it a new challenge for agriculture. The very sector that had been dominated for years by a relatively small group of successful commercial farmers, has now called upon these farmers to become involved in establishing, supporting and empowering new, emerging farmers from the previously disadvantaged communities.

It is gratifying to hear from the Minister and the department that this process is already on track, and that it is daily being tackled with increasing dedication. Land reform must be accorded the highest priority in an effort to address the imbalances of the past.

This brings me to a certain point. Certain people who were also in government, who served in the government, who also made themselves available to serve in the Houses of Parliament, and who formerly also served as Ministers, now lead me to ask: They come here and complain, but what did they do at the time? I would like to know what the hon Naicker had done, if he could listen to what I have to say, and stop walking around, so that we might have a little respect in this House.]

We’ve got discipline in this House.

Hon Naicker, what did you do when you were in government? The government is trying its utmost to uplift our people and instead of working together, I can classify you as one of those full-time, fault-finding people. Daar is ‘n groot verskeidenheid van modelle waarin bemagtiging van plaaswerkers besig is om plaas te vind, hetsy individueel of in goedbeplande projekte saam met kommersiële boere of saam met ander opkomende boere.

Daar is baie werkers wat weet hoe om te boer, en sal kan wys wat in hulle steek as hulle net die geleentheid kan kry om te boer.

Daar is wonderlike sukses vir hulle waarop ʼn mens trots kan wees. Kom ons kyk na die provinsie wat ek in hierdie Huis verteenwoordig. Om net ʼn paar voorbeelde te noem, Koekedalplaas se boere pluk al vrugte vir die uitvoermark, en daar is Bolandplaas wat al wyn in die buiteland bemark. Verskeie plase spog reeds met wynmakers wat in Boergondië opgelei is, en wat reeds kampioen wyne produseer.

So is daar verskeie projekte waar of deur die regering of deur private inisiatief hulp verleen is aan mense wat die grond lief het en nou die geleentheid kry om hul ideale te verwesenlik. Die regering doen darem iets vir ons mense. Hy kla nie net en sit op ‘n hoop en sê vir sy mense, “Ek wil die alternatiewe regering word”, soos die DA, en dan niks doen nie.

Nie eens as alternatiewe regering kan hulle iets vir Suid-Afrika beteken nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[There are a large variety of models in terms of which the empowerment of farm labourers is already taking place, either individually or in well- planned projects in co-operation with commercial farmers, or jointly with other emerging farmers.

There are labourers who know how to farm, and would be able to show what they are made of, if only they had the opportunity to farm.

They have achieved some wonderful successes of which one can be proud. Let us look at the province that I represent in this House. Just to name a few examples, the farmers of Koekedal Farm are already picking fruit for the export market, and then there is Boland Farm which has already started marketing wine abroad. Several farms are already boasting wine-makers who were trained in Burgundy, and who are already producing champion wines.

So there are various projects where, either by the government or by private initiative, support was provided to people who love the land, and who now have the opportunity to achieve their ideals.

At least the government is doing something for our people. It does not only complain and sit in a heap and say to its people: “I want to become the alternative government”, like the DA, and then does nothing.

Not even as an alternative government could they mean something to South Africa.]

As we speak here, the Minister of agriculture in the Western Cape here, Mr Cobus Dowry, is leading a Wesgro agricultural trade mission to the Netherlands. This mission, consisting of ten previously disadvantaged individuals and agricultural companies, is essentially the implementation of an Agri-Match agreement, signed between the Western Cape department of agriculture, the South African-Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and the SA Agri Academy.

It is anticipated that the mission participants will gain invaluable information and experience with regard to international trade and quality requirements, which will result in the empowerment of these participants, thus creating a better future and life for the historically disadvantaged communities. I want the DA to take notice of that.

It has been proven, both in theory and in practice, that agriculture can act as a catalyst in the process of economic development. As a result of the realities of South Africa’s Constitution, farm-level knowledge and experience is situated in the public service in the provinces.

In the development of an agricultural strategy for Africa, this source of knowledge and expertise should be shared and mobilised. Moreover, South Africa as a country has, particularly through our hon President Thabo Mbeki, played an influential role in the world, especially in the developing world and particularly in Africa. The NNP supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr R J TAU: Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues, as we conclude our contribution to this Budget Vote, it is important to take into account that as a committee, we note the challenges and opportunities that present themselves to the department. Such challenges are informed by the international environment and reflects that which comes out of the continent and those that are self made as a result of practices by some farmers who are still hell-bent to perpetuate practices that do not conform with the objectives of the democratic dispensation. It is in that regard that we are not surprised by the arrogance displayed by Mr Watson, and I want to put it to this House that we must note that it is not for the first time that he comes to the podium, raises very important issues that need to be responded to and the next thing, he leaves. In that particular process, he would continue to do the very same thing.

However, it does not mean that in his absence we cannot respond to some of the issues that he raised, quite misleading the nation. Of course it is important that Mr Watson, representing the DA, must note that history is a good instrument that we use to learn and that assists us to be able to reflect and to be able to chart a proper way forward. Therefore, it is misleading to ignore the history of apartheid, which is a history of colonialism and land dispossession for which our people are suffering from until today.

Our people are, in actual fact, impatient and hungry for land in order to feed themselves and their families. If he wasn’t there in KwaZulu-Natal when we took Parliament to the people, let us remind Mr Watson and the DA of the cries of the ordinary people, women and children who were challenging government and saying that government is a bit slow in the process of land redistribution in order for them to plough “amadumbe” [a kind of African potato] in order to feed their families. I think it is important for him to learn that.

Therefore, it is misleading to suggest that we should rush the process of land redistribution. In actual fact, ours is not necessarily to rush the process of land redistribution, but to accelerate our land and agrarian transformation process.

It is unfortunate that the DA’s Mr Watson once more focused his energy and speech on failures of government, thereby losing a very wonderful opportunity to reflect on the successes and challenges that our country is faced with. He also failed to appreciate the successes we achieved amidst all these difficulties that our country is faced with. His concentration on market-driven land and agrarian transformation on its own, fails to accept our government’s developmental objectives and the arrogant attitudes expressed, which he claims to represent here. He forgets to tell the nation that those who still own the majority of the South African agricultural land continue to inflate their prices in order to ensure that they frustrate the objectives of our government’s land and agrarian transformation programme.

In his response to the state of the nation address debate, the President asked a set of strategic questions in which we as a nation need to give responses to. I shall therefore take the liberty to reflect on a number of them in the context of this debate, such as: How many black people are impoverished by farmers who consistently abuse them on their farms? How many black people are employed and unemployed, dismissed and abused by farmers on a daily basis? How many young black children are still forced to work for farmers instead of sending them to school in order to become better parents when they are ready? How many young women and men continue to be abused by farmers, and when their productive levels drop, are thrown off the farms and advised to apply for government disability grants and housing subsidies? And the one that stands out as a key question is the one that asks: How many black people have gained access to land? As a committee, we took the question much further, to ask how many of them have in actual fact gained access to agricultural land?

The above present to the department serious challenges in as far as land and agrarian transformation is concerned. As a committee, ours is a total transformation of the above reality through the acceleration of land and agrarian reform to benefit the workers, the unemployed, the young, the disabled and in particular women. We also appreciate the fact that our government has made enough strides in this regard, and as such can be attributed to the sectoral strategy for agriculture.

It is our view that in fighting rural poverty and food security at local level, it is important to base our land and agrarian reform strategy in the first instance on accelerated transfer of productive land for household- based subsistence farming. Having noted the problems that our people experience as a result of lack of post-transfer support, as well as in the provision of agricultural input and support services, we would want to see a more greater role played by the department in assisting our people in order for them to be able to engage on the challenges they are consistently faced with.

In addition, we would also want to see other forms of small-scale farming, principally the building of agricultural co-operatives owned and run by workers, youth, women and the poor to be strengthened and capacitated in order for them to be in a position to address the objectives that were and will be established for once the Bill is finalised. In actual fact, it is our view that the department should start to put processes in place that will ensure that our people are prepared for this kind of operations.

We raise this issue due to the fact that if not properly guided, co- operatives by their very nature can also be counter-revolutionary. Therefore, it is important that processes must be put in place to assist our people so that once the Bill has been finalised, they are ready and understand the character and content of co-operatives.

We are proud to note that, as a people’s government, guided by the people’s charter, committed to building a contract with our people in fighting poverty and creating jobs over the next five years, we do not lie to our people. Last year, not unless the hon Watson was not present, of course, during her budget vote debate in this august House, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, hon Comrade Didiza, made mention of the re- establishment of the Agricultural Credit Scheme in the Department of Agriculture. We are proud to say that our people were not lied to.

For those who are still waiting for the moon to come down before they believe that our government is a government at work, R1 billion has been made available to start this particular scheme. This will provide capital to increase support to agricultural activities in communal land areas, as well as other small-scale agriculture and therefore relieves the Land Bank of this particular responsibility.

It will also endeavour to work with financial institutions to implement the provisions in the financial charter relevant to the development of small and medium-farming enterprises and in the process accelerate sectoral initiatives, including the comprehensive farmer support programme and tourism enterprises or programmes, Mr Naicker.

We therefore call on the department to ensure the process should be properly guided. We say this because, in most instances, these institutions at times tend to be abused. We raise this because at times we find that the target is missed, and the people who must benefit tend to lose out of these processes. It is our belief that this scheme will primarily be used as an instrument by the department to meet its developmental objectives. It is important that we guard against processes in which the people who must benefit from the scheme are left out in the cold and, instead, the long established are the ones that benefit from this scheme.

The scheme must respond to the questions put above and in those terms seek to build the second economy and affirm our people, and in particular women. I thank you very much, hon Chairperson. [Applause.]

The MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Thank you very much, Chairperson, and hon members for participating in this debate, particularly my colleagues, the MECs, as well as special delegates from the provinces. Of course, it is befitting that all of them participated in this debate to give the reflection on the provincial activities and how the provinces themselves in support of this budget will undertake the work in the agriculture and land sector.

It indeed affirms what I said earlier. The way in which my colleagues, the MECs and we, Minister and Deputy Minister, are working and will continue to work for these five years, will ensure that we deliver on the promise that we made to our people, namely that their lives are going to be better from year to year.

It is a pity that hon Watson is not here. I hope that next time he will be able to sit until the end of the debate to get answers to his questions or concerns. He did not ask for any apology, as Mr Naicker has done, to say that he will not be here when I respond.

It would probably be interesting just to remind all of us in this House of the history of the African farmer in South Africa. Somehow, from the way in which the debate is approached from some quarters, it is as if African peasants and African farmers, in particular, were never successful. During the 19th century and the early 20th century, the African farmer was thriving, producing even more than the white settlers who, at the time, were starting to engage on the land.

However, as time went on, and gold was discovered, there was a need for labour. What happened? Many black farmers, in particular, were actually taxed very highly as a way of moving them off their farms. Many of them resisted even then, but certain measures were used which finally culminated in the 1913 Land Act, which was promulgated by the then parliament on 19 June 1913.

I must say, some of you really ought to read Colin Bundy who wrote “The Rise and Fall of the African Peasantry”. I think it would give a very interesting history of where African farmers come from. However, it would also be quite interesting for all of us to go back to the 1930 Carnegie Report on the poor white farmers, which will tell the history of how the Vaalharts Scheme and many other schemes were put in place in order to support the white farmers of this country.

Mr Watson speaks as if there has been no programme by government to support those who are settled. He says that we are doing a numbers game in our measurements. I want to say, as my special delegate from Limpopo indicated, I don’t know of such a policy. For us the quality and the quantity in this instance matter. We cannot speak about redressing the imbalances of the past lest we measure how far we have gone. That can only be done by calculating how many hectares we have delivered and how successful those farmers are.

One of the things that Mr Watson, I’m sure, has conveniently forgotten is that, prior to 1994, when the then South African government talked about agriculture, it only talked about white agriculture. It never bothered about what happened in other areas of our country. The levels of subsidies, support, consolidation of debts in the agricultural credit schemes and the agricultural Land Bank were all done in support of white farmers.

A majority of the African farmers, even in the former homelands and the self-governing territories, were scraping by with whatever minimal resources they had through the development corporations. It was only a section of our society. When this government took over, it was true to the promise of the Freedom Charter, which stated that South Africa belongs to all who live in it. Also, we did not just talk about it - we meant it, because in our programmes we have sought to balance the need of those who were our oppressors and those who were victims.

It’s not an easy balancing act, because as much as you have to deal with the farming sector, you still have to deal with people who need access to potable water, a basic need that they’ve never had before. As you deal with the issues of land and agriculture, you’ve got to deal with the issues of access to primary health services, which were never there in a number of rural areas.

When Mr Mzizi spoke earlier on, he said: Liyobuya nini elikaMthaniya? [When will the land of Mthaniya be brought back?] It’s true. A majority of Africans, in particular, in this country today are still looking back and thinking - with all our generosity of making South Africa belong to all who live in it - how will this be of benefit to us? When will we ever have a secure tenure? When will we ever plough and graze our livestock in a land that we can truly say is ours?

I want to say to Mr Mzizi that we will continue to strive until one day even the people of Ulundi will say that, yes, the land belongs to all who live in it. [Applause.] Again, I want to say that Mr Watson raised another important issue when he said he wonders whether the Minister turns a blind eye to the problem of the grain farmers in South Africa. Maybe Mr Watson forgot to reflect on one thing, namely for the past two years, when there was a drought in the region, who were the people who benefited the most from the purchases of the World Food Programme? Maize that was distributed in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi was bought from South Africa’s white farmers who are on grain production, in particular, at a dollar rate. When we had to intervene as a result of the impact of the famine to food-insecure households, our farmers benefited.

We are not holding a grudge because of that benefit because we understand how the market mechanism works. However, by the same token we’re equally saying to them it’s important to plan ahead. When we engage with the farmers and say, don’t only take advantage of what is happening now, which is short term, in terms of the drought, remember what is likely to happen when you start to shift to other production areas where maize was not grown before the impact of the surplus that is going to be created in this economy. A number of them indeed turned a blind eye.

We have not stopped. We continue to engage – and we will continue to do so – whether there are strikes or not. Whether there are mass mobilisations by farmers, we will continue to do what we have done. As Dr Bundy had said, we have engaged our international partners to fight for the removal of subsidies and export subsidies in the OEDC countries. We do so, not for our sake, but because we care about the importance of a free market for our farmers in the world trade regime.

We’ve been participating, and I’m sure Mr Watson has not asked AgriSA in particular, because I was with one of their members in Colombia just two weeks ago, in the canes group meeting – a forum of developing countries mobilised together to ensure that we continue to fight for further trade in the world regime. He forgets, I’m sure.

However, it is important to indicate that people who think like the hon Watson need to give themselves a little bit more time to understand our government’s programmes so that they can articulate better what we do and what we do not do.

We have not shied away from issues where we’ve had weaknesses. We’ve acknowledged the importance of support, hence the Comprehensive Agricultural support programme; Mazibuyele Emasisweni from Mpumalanga; the Siyavuna programme and the Green Revolution. All those are mechanisms to ensure that we can support those who’ve gone back to the land.

I want to take note of issues that were raised, particularly by our Chairperson, hon Rev Moatshe, with regard to the issue of aquaculture. He has raised that issue extensively, if I remember, for the past three years. Indeed, hopefully this year we will finalise a policy in conjunction with the department of environment and fisheries on aquaculture production in South Africa. We have also, through our integrated production system, looked at ways in which we can link aquaculture with other crop production in our environment, and I am sure that it will help us to realise this important element of our farming sector.

I want to say to this end that it is very interesting – and I heard this in the NA and I am hearing it now through Mr Watson - that the communal areas are the most productive. What has happened? Why did the former RSA government then push us onto 13 per cent of land if it was so highly productive? I will welcome this research from Mr Watson so that I can educate myself. It’s news to me. However, if that is the case, thank you very much for having put us there. Maybe we will find a better use for that land now.

I also want to applaud the work that a number of provinces are doing. The focus in the Western Cape is on farmworkers, because this is one of the important elements in terms of our production sector. They are a core resource through which we can ensure that we can become successful in the agricultural areas. I also want to highlight some of the issues that have been raised by hon Joemat with regard to issues of capacity-building and changing the face of our professionals in agriculture. Last year, when I met with the veterinary council, I raised this issue about their human resource development strategy; and I hope that this year one would be able to find results, both in terms of how they accord people the status to practise as veterinarians and also what strategy they put in place to build new veterinary scientists in the field of agriculture.

Lokunye nje, ngiyatsandza kuphindza ngibonge kuMhlon Mzizi. Babe Mzizi ngiyabonga impela ngemsebenti lotsi utasisita ngawo wekwenta kwekutsi labalimi nabo labasahluma bakwati kuhlephula kulo AgriBEE. Ngoba phela ngempela nguyona-ntfo leyo lesifuna kutsi yenteke, kutsi labalimi bakitsi nebantfu labafuna kungena kuloluhlangotsi lwetekulima bakwati nabo kutsi batimele bakwati kuhlephula. (Translation of Siswati paragraph follows.)

In addition, I would like to thank hon M Mzizi again. Mr Mzizi, thank you for the work that you promised to do in helping the emerging farmers so that they also could get a share of the AgriBEE. In actual fact, the objective is that our black farmers and all those who want to venture into the agricultural sector should be able to take part and be independent farmers who benefit from the BEE.]

I again want to refer to the issues that have been raised by the hon chairperson with regard to stock theft. Indeed, these are some of the issues that we will take into consideration and ensure that, working with our safety and security colleagues, as well as those in the defence force, we are able to deal with the issues of stock theft, particularly those that relate to cross-border theft.

I would like to thank the majority of members who participated in this debate. We will take all the issues that they have raised into consideration so that we are able to report back to this House next year as to how far we have gone.

I would like to thank the officials of the department of agriculture. Some of them are seated there on the right and some of them are there in the gallery. Our directors of agriculture from all the provinces are here to hear for themselves what you are saying about the challenges and the issues facing agriculture. Without this leadership at an administrative level, the work that we do would not be this successful. Thank you very much, hon Chair. [Applause.] [Interjections.]

Ms S J LOE: Madam Chair, if I may, I think it’s important that the hon Minister knows that Mr Watson is ill and that he informed the ANC Chief Whip. [Interjections.] I know, hon Minister, that Mr Watson holds you in the highest regard and that he did apologise to your ANC Chief Whip. He should have informed this House. Thank you. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Loe, can you please take your seat. Hon Chief Whip?

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Chairperson, in terms of the debate, once the Minister has replied, the debate is closed. There is nothing which has been raised. So, if you sit down, sleep through your breakfast and wake up during lunch, and still want that breakfast, it’s too late for tears. [Laughter.]

Debate concluded.

Proceedings suspended at 13:05 and resumed at 14:00.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon members, it’s time for questions. Before we go to questions, I just want to make a statement directed at our Deputy President.

Deputy President, I do not know whether you do have time to celebrate your birthday, given your very busy schedule. Nonetheless, on behalf of the NCOP, I would like to extend our hearty birthday wishes to you. This is a very important day, not just to you and your family, but also to all South Africans. Today we celebrate the day on which our Deputy President was born. Congratulations! [Applause.][Singing.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! I have not finished my statement. [Laughter.] Even on your birthday you did not try to find any reason not to honour this afternoon’s appointment with this House. Deputy President, for you to come and answer questions is very important to us. We know that you take the work of the NCOP very seriously and we want to congratulate you for that.

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all of the best in the work that you are doing for South Africa and for our continent in ensuring that the lives of our people become better and that we all live in peace.

Deputy President, compared with the time when you were born, South Africa is now a better place to live in for its entire people. You have fought for us to live a better life and you are now leading us even further into those greener pastures that we have been expecting.

On the continent front, we are also seeing positive developments towards peace and democracy because of the work of people like you. If you were not here, we wouldn’t be seeing all these developments. I want to congratulate you once more, on behalf of the Council, for the wonderful work that you are doing on the entire continent of Africa. Even the Pan-African Parliament has hailed South Africa for the wonderful work that is being done on the continent.

Your selfless contribution to the struggle for freedom and the work that you and your government are doing for the betterment of our people’s lives is a gift to our nation. May you have many more years to come! We are looking forward to your continued outstanding leadership and contribution to the cause of the masses of the people. I, once more, Deputy President, wish you well.

Inkosi ikuphe amandla! Usiphilele izinsuku eziningi ezizayo futhi ukwazi ukusihola size sifike emadlelweni aluhlaza ngoba yikhona singena! Siyabonga, Msholozi. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)

[May God give you strength! May you live for us for many more days to come and may you be able to lead us till we reach greener pastures, because we are only entering them now! Thank you, Msholozi. [Applause.]]

Hon members, we now proceed to the questions as printed on the Order Paper. For the Ministers, the time allocated to reply to a question is five minutes and the time to reply to a supplementary question is four minutes. The time to ask a supplementary question is two minutes. The number of supplementary questions allowed is four and nothing more than that. Did everybody get that? All right, we will now continue with the questions addressed to the Deputy President. QUESTIONS AND REPLIES – see that book.

The Council adjourned at 15:46. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS


                       TUESDAY, 22 MARCH 2005

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 Council of Provinces on 17 March 2005:


    i) Division of Revenue Bill [B 8B – 2005] (National Assembly – sec
       76)

1. Introduction of Bills

 (1)    The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs


        i) Sectional Titles Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2005] (National
           Assembly – sec 75) [Bill and prior notice of its introduction
           published in Government Gazette No 27047 of 10 December
           2004.]


     Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on
     Agriculture and Land Affairs of the National Assembly, as well as
     referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification
     in terms of Joint Rule 160, on 23 March 2005.


     In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of
     the Bill may be submitted to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
     within three parliamentary working days.

1. Translations of Bills submitted

 (1)    The Minister of Social Development


        i) Bili yA Maqheku [M 68 – 2003] (National Assembly – sec 76)


     This is the official translation into Southern Sotho of the Older
     Persons Bill [B 68 – 2003] (National Assembly – sec 76). National Council of Provinces 1.    Membership of Committees
 The following changes have been made to the membership of the Joint
 Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests:

     Appointed: Matlanyane, H F (Limpopo) (ANC)
     Resigned: Ndalane, N A (Limpopo) (ANC)


                       TUESDAY, 29 MARCH 2005

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Transport

 Report and Financial Statements of the Cross-Border Road Transport
 Agency for 2003-2004, including the Report of the Auditor-General on
 the Financial Statements for 2003-2004 [RP 200-2004].

1. The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs

 (a)    Strategic Plan of the Department of Land Affairs for 2005 to
 2010.

 (b)    Strategic Plan of the Department of Agriculture for 2005 to
 2010.

1. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development

 Report on the provisional suspension from office of Magistrate E T
 Khenisa.

National Council of Provinces

1. The Chairperson

 Progress report from the MEC for Housing, Local Government and
 Traditional Affairs (Eastern Cape) on the intervention in Elundini
 Local Municipality, in terms of section 139 of the Constitution, 1996
 (Act No 108 of 1996).



                      WEDNESDAY, 30 MARCH 2005

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

 Strategic Plan of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for 2005-6 to 2009-10.


                       THURSDAY, 31 MARCH 2005

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

   Consolidated Financial Information of National Treasury for the year 2003-2004, including the Reports of the Auditor-General on the Consolidated Financial Information of National Departments, Constitutional Institutions, National Public Entities and Trading Accounts for 2003-2004 [RP 23-2005].

2. The Minister of Transport

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Transport for 2005-6 to 2007-8.

                     MONDAY, 4 APRIL 2005
   

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. Assent by President in respect of Bills

   1) National Energy Regulator Bill [B 9D – 2004] – Act No 40 of 2004 (assented to and signed by President on 30 March 2005); and 2) Division of Revenue Bill [B 8B – 2005] – Act No 1 of 2005 (assented to and signed by President on 30 March 2005).

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

   (a) Government Notice No 111 published in Government Gazette No 27235, dated 11 February 2005: Determination of the daily allowance in respect of meals and incidental cost for purposes of section 8(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of 1962). (b) Government Notice No 112 published in Government Gazette No 27235, dated 11 February 2005: Determination of welfare activities for purposes of the definition of “welfare organisation” in section 1 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No 89 of 1991). (c) Proclamation No R.6 published in Government Gazette No 27233, dated 31 January 2005: Commencement of the Security Services Act, in terms of the Security Services Act, 2004 (Act No 36 of 2004).

2. The Minister of Trade and Industry

   Report of the Consumer Affairs Committee for 2003-2004.

                     TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2005
   

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. Draft bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159

   (1) Forestry Amendment Bill, 2005, submitted by the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry on 28 March 2005. Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry and the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs.

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Defence

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Defence for 2005-6 to 2007-8.

2. The Minister of Labour

   Preliminary Annual Report of the Department of Labour for 2004-2005 [RP 37-2005].

3. The Minister for Safety and Security

   (a) Strategic Plan of the South African Police Service (SAPS) for 2005-2010 [RP 36-2005]. (b) Strategic Plan of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) for 2005-2008 [RP 18-2005].

4. The Minister of Sport and Recreation

   Strategic Plan of Sport and Recreation South Africa for 2005-2009.

5. The Minister of Communications

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Communications for 2005-2008.

                    WEDNESDAY, 6 APRIL 2005
   

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. Membership of Committees

   (1) The following changes have been made to the membership of Joint Committees viz: Budget African National Congress: Appointed: Asiya, Mr S N (Alt) Bhamjee, Mr Y S (Alt) Chinkunga, Mrs L S Dambuza, Ms B N Gumede, Mrs M M Joemat, Mrs R R Mashigo, Mrs R J Mkongi, Mr B M Mnguni, Mr B A (Alt) Dicharged: Hogan, Ms B A Mabe, Ms L L Mashiane, Ms L M Sikakane, Mr M R

National Council of Provinces

1. Referrals to committees of papers tabled

   The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the relevant committees as mentioned below:

   (1) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Public Services for consideration:

   (a) Report and Financial Statements of the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency for 2003-2004, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2003-2004 [RP 200-2004]. (b) Strategic Plan of the Department of Transport for 2005-6 to 2007-8.

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

   (a) Report of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on the National and Provincial Elections for April 2004. (b) Strategic Plan of the Department of Health for 2005-2008.

   (3) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs for consideration:

   (a) Strategic Plan of the Department of Land Affairs for 2005 to 2010. (b) Strategic Plan of the Department of Agriculture for 2005 to 2010. (c) Strategic Plan of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism for 2005-6 to 2009-10.

   (4) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs for consideration and report:

     Report on the provisional suspension from office of Magistrate    E T Khenisa.
   

   (5) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs:

   (a) Report of the Auditor-General on the Performance Audit of Overall Management Measures at Ntsika Enterprise Promotion Agency [RP 11-2005]. (b) Report of the Consumer Affairs Committee for 2003-2004.

   (6) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Education and Recreation:

   (a) Report and Financial Statements of Boxing South Africa for 2003- 2004, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2003-2004. (b) Report and Financial Statements of the National Advisory Council on Innovation for 2003-2004.

   (7) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Finance for consideration:

     Consolidated Financial Information of National Treasury for the    year 2003-2004, including the Reports of the Auditor-General on the    Consolidated Financial Information of National Departments,    Constitutional Institutions, National Public Entities and Trading    Accounts for 2003-2004 [RP 23-2005].
   

   (8) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Finance:

   (a) Government Notice No 111 published in Government Gazette No 27235, dated 11 February 2005: Determination of the daily allowance in respect of meals and incidental cost for purposes of section 8(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of 1962). (b) Government Notice No 112 published in Government Gazette No 27235, dated 11 February 2005: Determination of welfare activities for purposes of the definition of “welfare organisation” in section 1 of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 (Act No 89 of 1991). (c) Proclamation No R.6 published in Government Gazette No 27233, dated 31 January 2005: Commencement of the Security Services Act, in terms of the Security Services Act, 2004 (Act No 36 of 2004).

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Foreign Affairs

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2005 to 2008.

                    THURSDAY, 7 APRIL 2005
   

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Trade and Industry

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Trade and Industry for 2005 to 2008.

2. The Minister of Correctional Services

   Strategic Plan of the Department of Correctional Services for 2005-6 to 2009-10.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Council of Provinces

1. Report of the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs on Provincial Study Tour to North West, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Western Cape Provinces 8 – 12 November 2004:

                           Contents
   

Acknowledgements

The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs (hereinafter referred to as the Select Committee), National Council of Provinces (NCOP) would like to thank all the officials (North West and Mpumalanga) involved in facilitating this oversight visit. Their generosity of spirit, accommodating nature as well as all their planning before, during and after the visits assisted Members and staff to fulfil their oversight obligations.

                              Section A


                            Introduction

This report covers the study tour undertaken by the Select Committee to the North West, Mpumalanga, Eastern and Western Cape Provinces from 8 – 12 November 2004. Sample studies of projects were undertaken as part of the oversight visit to gauge the developments, progress and challenges encountered in the implementation of aquaculture production in South Africa, as well as the provision of water and sanitation services.

  Aquaculture Production in South Africa – an overview[1]

Aquaculture in South Africa consists mainly of freshwater species of trout, crocodiles, ornamental fish, catfish and tilapia and marine species such as abalone, prawns, oysters and mussels, whilst candidate species such as eel, crayfish, cob, yellow-tail, grunter, tuna, turbot and seaweed are also receiving priority. The technology and services is well established for species such as trout, crocodiles, catfish, abalone, prawns, oysters, mussels whilst still lacking for species such as eel, tilapia, cob, tuna and seaweed.

Various factors are currently stimulating the development of aquaculture development in South and Southern Africa, including:

• Availability of resources: water, land, labour, energy, etc. • Limited fisheries resources • Market factors • Marine and agricultural infrastructure • Need for diversification and optimisation of resources • Access to technologies • International partnerships and collaboration • Socio-economic factors

Factors that are currently inhibiting development within the industry include:

• The lack of a national policy with regard to aquaculture development • Complicated and fragmented statutory procedures • The lack of marketing structures and access to global markets • Limited access to finance and developmental capital • Limited human resource capacity, skills and expertise • Some constraints in terms of natural resources are seasonal variation in climate, particularly in the southern and high-lying regions, as well as a high-energy coastline, with limited sheltered areas • Human resources are poorly development and will need to be addressed in order to ensure sustainable and equitable development • Low cost unskilled labour may provide opportunities in certain labour intensive sectors • Expertise on managerial level is, however, limited, particularly with regard to large-scale intensive farming systems. Economic resources provide an opportunity in terms of available infrastructure, though access to capital and markets are difficult

A joint venture strategy based on complementary partnerships is proposed to address weaknesses in terms of human and economic resources in the short term. It is important, however, that the initiative is taken by South Africans to ensure equitable participation in such ventures.

1. Overview of provincial initiatives to develop aquaculture production – North West

   • Briefing by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Tourism, 9 November 2004, Mmabatho[2]

The Select Committee was briefed by officials from the Provincial Department of Agriculture on aquaculture initiatives and or projects in the province. A synoptic report and an overview on aquaculture initiatives and or projects in the province highlighted the following:

Aquaculture was defined as:

             Managed production of aquatic organisms, through breeding
             and stocking of fish, amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates
             and aquarium plants.

Aquaculture and Food Security:

• Potentially can contribute to food security and rural livelihoods • Sustainability needs to be ensured through funding, training and support from government • Can be achieved through ‘on-farm diversification strategies’ for emerging farmers and ‘culture-based fisheries’ for subsistence farmers • Small-scale commercial aquaculture should be developed

Small-scale commercial aquaculture:

• Small-scale commercial aquaculture has great potential in South Africa • Requires higher levels of sophistication and organisation than food security aquaculture projects • Technical support required in the initial stages • Formal markets essential • Community-public-private sector partnerships could be established

2 Aquaculture in the North West Province

  • Current status

North West Province, due to its relatively warm climate and abundance of dams, has great potential to develop its aquaculture sector.[3] Rural aquaculture can play a significant role in rural food security and depending on the circumstances of the location (for example, local ambient temperatures and distance from market) can become commercially orientated.

Although there are currently no rural aquaculture projects in the North West province, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment (DACE) has embarked on a process to develop this sector and to make the necessary commitments to ensure the success of rural aquaculture within the province.

Currently, there is a national programme (to take place over the next 3 to 5 years) that has been initiated by the Water Research Commission and the National Department of Agriculture and which is being implemented by the Rural Programme of the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University to develop aquaculture within the rural sector.[4]

  • North West Province: Aquaculture considerations

• Intensive aquaculture requires  significant  capital  investment,  for
  example, tanks, pumps and piping
• Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) required
• Aquaculture licensing and permit issues
• Requires trained expertise in diverse fields from animal husbandry  to
  entrepreneurial skills
• Market chain needs to be established.

  • Potential threats  and  challenges  posed  by  aquaculture  to  the
    environment

• Translocation or introduction of alien and/or  invasive  species  into
  rivers threatens ecosystems
• Escape of aquaculture species into the wild during floods
• Introduction of  parasites  and  diseases,  for  example,  carp  louse
  potentially causing harm for indigenous species

  • Aquaculture strategic plan

• Develop a provincial policy and vision for aquaculture
• Identify resources available for  rural  aquaculture  (skilled  staff,
  infrastructure and funding)
• Training for DACET extension officers to provide aquaculture support

  • Conclusions

• Aquaculture identified as having significant potential in  North  West
  Province
• Potential economic benefits for the people of the Province
• Can provide  food  security  for  rural  people,  but  requires  state
  intervention and support to sustain these initiatives
• Currently under-developed, but can  be  developed  through  the  Water
  Research Commission (WRC) national aquaculture development programme
• A recent WRC survey found that rural aquaculture in  South  Africa  is
  not constrained by available land, water and infrastructure
• Ongoing technical support required
• Training and experience in aquaculture a limiting factor
• Small scale commercial  aquaculture  to  be  more  viable  than  ‘food
  security’ aquaculture projects

Recommendations from DACE (North West)

  • Develop a strategic plan for the DACE with regard to developing this

sector. • Identifying resources available to the DACE with regards to developing rural aquaculture (for example, staff with skills, infrastructure that would be used for rural aquaculture, funds to start pilot projects, etc.). • Developing policy and a vision (with regard to aquaculture) for the DACE. • Training of DACE extension service officers in aquaculture. • Need for national policy on aquaculture for South Africa – DWAF and NDA are developing these. • Need for financial, technical and capacity building support for NWDACET staff and potential rural community aquaculture projects.

1. Site visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental  Affairs
   on Aquaculture Projects  in  the  Western  Cape,  Eden  District,  12
   November 2004

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Western Cape Province was a fact-finding mission regarding aquaculture projects in the provinces.

There was no briefing and the site visit to aquaculture projects in the Eden District were cancelled. The main reason for the cancellation is that both the Mayor and Municipal Manager of Eden District Municipality were out of town on business matters on that day. They had requested a postponement of the visit to a later date that will be suitable. (Correspondence available from Committee Section).

2. Site visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs
   on Aquaculture Project in the Eastern Cape – Amatole and Chris Hani
   Districts, 9 November 2004

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Eastern Cape Province was a fact-finding mission regarding aquaculture projects in the provinces.

The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs visited an aquaculture project outside Umtata, which falls under the Oliver Tambo District (instead of visits initially planned for aquaculture projects in the Amatole and Chris Hani Districts).

  • Background of the Oliver Tambo District

The Oliver Tambo District covers most of the former Transkei. With Umtata as the main centre, the district includes most of the beautiful Wild Coast and Pondoland. The coastal belt is sub-tropical, especially from Port St Johns northwards, and holds a number of nature reserves with indigenous forests. Hills beyond the coast gradually rise to 1,500 metres beyond Umtata. The district is well watered, with many rivers and rainfall above 700mm per annum in most areas.

Oliver Tambo has the second highest population, an estimated 1 504 411 in

1. It has a high population density for a mostly rural district, 90/square kilometre, reflecting the apartheid inheritance of the homelands. Oliver Tambo has a relatively small formal economy compared to the rest of the province, providing 11% of value added. Subsistence agriculture makes a major contribution to household food security. The main challenge facing the Oliver Tambo District is to grow the economy and create employment. The unemployment rate is a very high 77% and the formal economy is small and centred on Umtata and public services. The rich natural resources of the district in existing forestry and the potential in irrigation and livestock farming need to be utilised through partnerships between communities and the private sector. Fishing has potential for development, possibly through a small fishing harbour at Port St Johns and community partnerships in aquaculture in a limited number of areas.

3. Site visit to the Aquaculture project in Umtata

Aquaculture in Umtata was started years ago. It initially received support from the provincial department of environmental affairs and skills and expertise from the University of Transkei’s Department of Marine Biology. However, when the professor left, the project went into decline and financial support also dried up. The aquaculture facilities in Umtata are currently underutilised and not fully maintained.

Among the challenges that are currently facing the facility include:

• Lack of funding and proper support from Government
• Poor state of facilities and lack of maintenance
• A need to have access to water, particularly the local dam
• A need for a new and powerful water-pump
• Lack of skills and  expertise,  such  as  a  biologist  from  a  local
  university
• Lack of cooperation with sector departments  such  water  affairs  and
  environmental affairs
• A need of resources

There are a number of positive spin-offs of aquaculture in the area. These include:

• Generation of income,  serving  as  job  creation,  for  those  people
  working at the facilities
• Poverty alleviation purpose and improving dietary/nutrition  needs  of
  the communities Potentially it can contribute to food security
• Need for diversification and optimisation of resources
• Has potential of harvesting different types of fish and  other  marine
  species such as eels for export purposes to overseas markets
• Similarly there is potential for local market

Recommendations (Select Committee)

• DWAF and NDA are developing a  national  policy  for  aquaculture  for
  South Africa, the Select Committee needs to input on this policy based
  on their first hand experiences of visiting aquaculture sites.
• A workshop must be planned with the relevant stakeholders  working  on
  this issue in  South  Africa  to  ascertain  a  holistic  overview  of
  provincial initiatives on aquaculture production. The Select Committee
  will host a two-day workshop, bringing all relevant  people  in  South
  Africa to provide insights on ‘best  practices’  utilised  at  various
  levels.
•  Need  for  provincial  Government,  especially  sector   departments,
  cooperation and support.
• Develop a strategic plan with regard  to  developing  aquaculture  for
  commercial, recreational and subsistence purposes.




                              Section B

1. Water and sanitation services in South Africa – an overview[5]

When South Africa’s first non-racial democratic Government took power in April 1994, the country’s population was just over 40 million people. Of these, 15,2 million (12 million of whom lived in rural areas), lacked access to basic water supply[6] and 20,5 million lacked basic sanitation. The newly elected Government strongly located basic services for the citizens of the country within a rights based approach.

South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that formally recognises water as a human right. Its national water and sanitation programme, which is one of the largest national programmes in Africa, aims to deliver sustainably on that right. Both the recognition of water as a human right and the development of the national water and sanitation programme derive from the advent, in 1994, of South Africa’s democratic era. At that time, the country faced immense challenges relating to water supply and sanitation. The Government and its development partners have been determined to tackle these problems and to achieve major progress in water and sanitation.

1. Overview of provincial initiatives to attain water and sanitation rights

    1. North West
   

   • Water Services Provision – Status Quo

There are 11 Water Services Authorities (WSA) and 5 Water Boards[7] in the North West Province. These comprise 2 district councils and 9 local municipalities.

  • Basic sanitation – backlog

• Household sanitation – 2,850,000 persons (R1568 million)
• Bucket replacement – 40 268 hh (R250 million)
•  Clinic  sanitation  (R7  million)  funds  transferred   to   district
  municipalities and implementation is in progress
• School sanitation – 62 schools (R30 million)

  • Basic water supply

• Provision of basic water supply – 1,140,000 persons (R1538 million)

  • Overview of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG)
        Programme in the Province

• The introduction of the MIG posed a number of challenges in terms of:
     o New national management structure
     o New national management systems and procedures
     o New funding criteria
     o Establishment of project management units (PMU’s)
     o Involvement of sector departments
     o Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
     o Increased allocation
     o Committed CMIP and DWAF projects

MIG Allocation 2004/05

Source: Department of Developmental Local Government and Housing, North West Province

        • Monitoring and support towards service delivery

• Ensure completed Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) (11 WSAs)
• Ensure feasibility studies are done for identified projects
• Approve technical reports of selected projects
•  Participate  in  PMUs   9Central,   Bophirima,   Southern   Bojanala,
  Rustenburg, Madibeng,
  Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom) for guidance and support
•
• Sustainable service delivery:
     o Monitor the sector performance
     o Pre-assessments of draft WSDPs and assistance to WSAs to prepare
       WSDPs
     o Give support to  municipalities  to  implement  the  free  basic
       services policies


• Sustainable institutions:
     o Support to WSAs to identify training needs to build capacity
     o Support to implement MIG programme by  providing  toolboxes  and
       guidance to WSAs/PMUs
     o Support WSA’s for the Section 78 process

• Transfer of assets:
     o Three transfer of assets  agreements  finalised  (Ga  Segonyana,
       Phokwane and Moshaweng)
     o Drafting of transfer of assets agreements for other WSAs
     o  Promoting  WSP/WSA  agreement  with  water  boards   and   WSAs
       (Moretele, Moses Kotane,  CEDM  and  Rustenburg)  depending  the
       outcome of s78 process
     o Refurbishment of schemes (R21.5m)
     o Performing joint inspections
• Planning (technical) support to WSIs
     o Support IDP and WSDP processes
     o Support MIG processes
     o Liaise with provincial government departments
     o Drought relief activities
• Information management and monitoring
     o Access information from Macro-plan, WRM and MIG
     o Monitor backlog clearance
     o Monitor free basic water and sanitation provision
     o Provide information to MIG, WSDP, WRM and NIS
     o Monitor water boards
• Region’s capacity to meet challenges
     o Reorganise the team in line with new functions
     o Support and oversight functions
     o 20 posts are identified
     o 13 posts are occupied
     o Filling critical vacant posts

Issues that emerged during the presentations and site visits

        • Concerns were raised at  the  huge  backlog  of  delivery  of
          sanitation
   services in the North West. These concerns focused on the reason for
   only 25% targets in sanitation being met after 10 years.
        • The issue of the non-establishment of PMU’s was also raised.
        • The figures presented by the officials showed a large  under-
          spending
        of money in the Rustenburg municipality and this revealed the
  discrepancy of the allocated amount to the amount spent by this
  municipality.
  • The issue of expenditure and monies being retained by the
  municipalities was a serious one and Members probed extensively on
  this component of the presentation.
        • The slow transfer of assets to municipalities raised a number
          of
  questions.
        • Limited infrastructure in rural areas hampered the  effective
          delivery of
  provision of water and sanitation services.
        • Limited resources to support the IDPs hamper the work of the
  municipalities.

Recommendations

• Need to work more extensively with municipalities in the North West to
  educate officials on the   meshing of budgets and IDPs.
• The limited infrastructure for the provision of water  and  sanitation
  services hampers delivery  and  therefore,  this  issue  needs  to  be
  critically addressed in rural areas.
• The transfer of assets to municipalities must be fast tracked and  the
  target date set by DWAF of 2006 must be achieved.    2. Mpumalanga

  • Overview of provincial framework on water and sanitation
       services

Water Supply

1 682 807 people were served by the DWAF CWSS programme since 1994. The DWAF capital investment on water supply since 1994 is approximately R788 million. The current backlog figures are estimated at approximately 800 000 people. This included people with infrastructure that are receiving a service below basic level.

Unfortunately, the above figures do not include the backlogs served by other programmes like CMIP, etc. DWAF is currently in the process to consolidate the information for the sector.

During the ten years since 1994, it was mainly the function and responsibility of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to address the water backlog.

As from April 2003, most of the funding was transferred directly to Municipalities in order for them to address the water provision backlog in their areas of jurisdiction. The MIG process was fully introduced in April 2004 and DWAF will be involved in this process with policy. WSDPs, monitoring of sector conditions, support to WSAs and intervention.

Sanitation Supply

  Phase 1 – 1994 to 2000

The programme began during the 1994/5 financial year, and the period between 1994 and 2000 saw the first phase of the programme being established. This first phase was largely focused on pioneering a community based developmental programme model, which was characterised by its demand driven approach, and saw roughly 15% of all construction costs being funded through community contributions.

From 1996 to 2000, community members in Mpumalanga, in relation to improving their own sanitary conditions and lives, contributed an estimated R260 000 – this was over and above the labour contributions that were made in terms of households that dug their own toilet pits. Cumulative expenditure during these years was just below R3, 2 million, and this saw slightly over 2 700 toilets built.

  Phase 2 – 2000 to 2002

The years from 2000 to 2002 saw the provinces’ sanitation project implementation falling under a programme known as the Mpumalanga Regional sanitation Programme (MRSP). This programme was managed by the Mvula Trust and funded by the Mpumalanga DWAF regional office.

Cumulative expenditure during these years was just below R30 million. These funds were effectively utilised to build just under 6 900 household toilets, 1 175 school toilets in 105 schools, and enabled a substantial cholera campaign to be conducted in partnership with the Provincial Department of Health.

  Phase 3 – 2003/2004

This financial year was characterised with many of the preliminary processes leading to the launching of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) programme. Delays in sanitation service delivery were caused in relation to the finalising of an increased sanitation subsidy amount by DWAF. On 1 July 2003, 17 local municipalities in Mpumalanga took up their Water Service Authorities functions.

Cumulative expenditure during 2003/2003 was just below R38 million. Over 13 500 toilets were built – an amount just under one and half times greater than the cumulative total of all toilets delivered over the previous years since 1994.

  Phase 4 – 2004 onward

The application of the transition of the Mpumalanga sanitation programme under the MIG programme of the Mpumalanga Department of Local Government and Housing is underway. All multi-year sanitation project cash flow information was successfully handed over to the finance section of DPLGH. Funds for the 04/05 year are currently being dispersed to the various Municipal Project Management Units, for use on the ongoing sanitation projects, as well as for newly approved projects as listed in the Integrated Development Plans of Municipalities.

The 2004/05 will see a targeted 17 000 toilets built in the on-going MIG/DWAF contractually committed projects. Further, several new MIG sanitation projects are going ahead and the 2005 MIG target for sanitation service delivery could be estimated at 20 000 toilets.

  • Visit to water and sanitation projects

Albert Luthuli Local Municipality – provision of boreholes to rural areas |Funder |Department of Water Affairs and Forestry | |Amount |R3 500 000 000 | |Contractors |Bloms’ Kitchen, Ncesa & Vusuzi JV and J & M Drilling CC | |Consultants |Simba Civil and Structural Engineers & Tumber Fourie Consulting | | |Engineers | |Beneficiaries|14 000 | |Employment |1250 people employed (temporary). | |created | | |Project |R3, 5 million was made available by DWAF to address the backlog | |description |in rural communities where bulk water supply through pipeline is| | |impossible or not cost effective. Since the municipality has a | | |greater population residing in the remote areas where the bulk | | |could not cater for their water demands, the municipality opted | | |for the drilling of boreholes as the best available option to | | |address the situation. | | | | | |About 57 boreholes were drilled and equipped with hand pumps | | |through this programme and this addressed the need to more than | | |14 000 residents in the rural remote area. Another 17 boreholes | | |were equipped with play pumps, especially where the yield of the| | |borehole is more than 3 litres per second and mostly near at | | |least more clustered communities and rural public amenities like| | |primary schools and clinics. | | | | | |The programme was successfully completed and a further R1 | | |million is made available for this current financial year. A | | |further 18 boreholes would be drilled and equipped with the | | |relevant mechanisms. | |Project |April 2004. | |Commission | | |(Date) | |

• Albert Luthuli Local Municipality – clinic sanitation

Albert Luthuli Local Municipality – Upgrading of Eerstehoek Water Scheme

Issues that emerged during the presentations and site visits:

  • MIG PMUs are not fully functional and the rollout of the MIG
    programme is not as smooth as anticipated.
  • Some local municipalities are not reporting  regularly  or  actively
    taking
    part in drought relief programmes and this is cause for concern.
  • The capacity of the sanitation sector is still  problematic  as  the
    sector
    relies heavily on current DWAF support.
  • The internal capacity of local municipalities in handling water and
    sanitation issues is problematic.
  •  The  provincial  integrated  strategy  to   address   backlogs   is
    outstanding

Recommendations

  • More competent sanitation implementing agents required.
  • The skilling of municipalities must be urgently prioritised.
  • Information systems need to be updated so that backlogs tracked and
    addressed.

1. Site visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs on Water and Sanitation Projects in the Eastern Cape – Amatole and Chris Hani Districts, 9 November 2004

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Eastern Cape Province was to undertake an oversight visit focusing on water and sanitation services and projects in the province.

The site visit to the projects was cancelled due to difficulties experienced with regard to transport logistics, as well as delays resulting from other factors such as long distances travelled, e.g. from Cofimvaba to Umtata.

1. Site visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs on Water and Sanitation Projects in the Western Cape, Eden District, 11 November 2004

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Western Cape Province was a fact-finding mission regarding water and sanitation projects and services in the provinces.

However, all the activities for the day were cancelled due to logistical problems. The main reason being that the morning flight from East London (Eastern Cape) to George (Western Cape) via Johannesburg was delayed as a result of bad weather conditions. Members of the Select Committee only arrived in George in the late afternoon of the 11th November 2004.

References

Written and oral input of the officials from Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and Water and Sanitation – North West Province, 2004 Written and oral input of the officials from Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and Water and Sanitation – Mpumalanga Province, 2004

Report to be considered.

1. Report of the Select Committee on Education and Recreation (Arts and Culture, Science and Technology, Sport and Recreation) on Oversight Visit to Eastern Cape Province 8-12 November 2004:

2. Introduction

The Select Committee on Education and Recreation (Arts and Culture, Science and Technology, Sport and Recreation) undertook an over sight visit to the Eastern Cape Province between 8 – 12 November 2004. The visit to was also in line with the National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) Vision 2009 document, which seeks to expand the role of the Council to monitoring service delivery by the Provinces in order to ensure continued progress and furthering of the visible advances of the first decade of freedom in South Africa. The Committee reports as follows:

1. Objective of the study tour

The main objective of the study tour to the Eastern Cape Province was to ascertain the state of the implementation of the following programmes of the Department of Education:

a) The National School Nutrition Programme b) School sanitation and water supply c) Early Childhood Development d) Adult Basic Education and Training e) Further Education and Training f) Education for Learners with Special Educational Needs g) Functionality of School Governing Bodies h) Programmes on HIV and AIDS i) School vandalism j) School staffing and availability of classes k) Teacher and learner abuses

1. Delegation

The following Members of the Committee formed part of the delegation to the Eastern Cape Province:

1) The Hon. Mr. B. J. Tolo, Mpumalanga Province (as the Leader of the delegation) 2) The Hon. Mr. M. Thetjeng, Limpopo Province 3) The Hon. Mr. J. O. Tlhagale, North West Province 4) The Hon. Ms J. Vilakazi, KwaZulu-Natal Province 5) The Hon. Ms. J. M. Masilo, North West Province 6) The Hon. Ms M. Madlala-Magubane, Gauteng Province 7) The Hon. Ms A. N. D. Qikani, Eastern Cape Province 8) The Hon. Ms H. Lamoela, Western Cape Province 9) The Hon. Mr. M. A. Sulliman, Northern Cape Province

The following Parliamentary support staff accompanied the delegation to the study tour:

1) Mr. T. Madima, Control Committee Secretary (He joined the Committee on 10 November 2004) 2) Mr. Z. A. Mvulane, Parliamentary and Committee Researcher

During the study tour, provincial and district managers accompanied the delegation.

1. Briefing by the MEC for Education

On the first day of the study tour, the MEC for Education in the Eastern Cape Province, the Hon. Mr. M. Matomela (MPL), briefed the delegation on the state of various education programmes in the Province and progress of the Department in ensuring that the programmes are effectively and efficiently implemented. Mr Matomela briefed the delegation as follows:

4.1 Mud structures in schools

The Eastern Cape Province has among the highest number of schools with mud structures in the country. Over 500 schools in the Province have mud structures. The Province does not have any learners who study under trees, but in mud structures, churches, community halls and people’s houses. In winter, some of these structures are not conducive for effective learning and often dangerous for the learners. It is in such situation that the community will then offer their churches and houses for the learners.

4.2 Over-expenditure

The major challenge that is facing the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape Province is over-expenditure. The Department is paying more than R3,5 million per month in interests to service its over-expenditure. By March 2004, it had paid over R15 million in interest. The over expenditure depletes the budget available to the Department and limit its ability to address some of the major challenges facing education in the Province.

A major concern about the over-expenditure is that it is in personnel. It has been established that the main causes of this is poor budgetary systems. The over-expenditure is also caused by backlogs in salaries and retirement funds for retired teachers. Some of the retired teachers were not paid for over a long period and the Department is compelled to pay them despite the shortage of funds.

Generally, the Department has a history of poor management and administration systems. It has a shortage of adequately trained personnel, especially in management positions and key strategic positions like financial management and planning. It also has a vacancy of rate of over 60% posts in critical positions. In some instances this limits its ability to implement and monitor government policies effectively.

However, measures have been put in place to address many of the challenges that are facing the Department and education in the Province, particularly in improving the administration and management structure of the Department. In order to ensure that the Department has the necessary personnel, systems and structures to address some of the weaknesses, the Department has prioritised the Finance and Corporate Services Section and filling critical posts, particularly in management positions. The national Department of Education, through the Interim Management Team, is also assisting the Department in finding means to address the issues associated with over- expenditure and poor performance of staff.

4.3 Infrastructure backlogs

The Eastern Cape Province is facing massive backlogs in infrastructure in schools. This include new classrooms, the renovation of old classrooms and school structures, administrative blocks, kitchens, and laboratories. However, the Province does not receive any budget from the National Treasury (Department of Finance) to address this backlogs. As a result, it budgets backwards every year, which means it has to budget for infrastructure backlogs of previous years.

However, this issue has been raised with the National Treasury and with the national Department of Education for urgent interventions. There are indications that measures will be put in place to address the Province’s backlogs in the next financial year.

The Eastern Cape Province is in a process of reorganising its schooling system. The Province still has a large supply of junior primary and secondary schools that were inherited from the homeland education system. The Department is also planning to ensure that all new schools have the necessary infrastructures and systems necessary for effective education.

The influx of learners in some areas, particularly learners who move from poor performing schools to better schools, has exacerbated the issue of a shortage of classrooms in some schools. The Department is devising more options in order to address the issue of lack of classrooms in the schools.

The problem of learners studying under dangerous conditions is a major issue in the Province. Department is devising mechanisms to cater for the needs of these, particularly those studying under mad and collapsing dangerous structures that were largely built by communities. It is also planning to amalgamate some schools where the number of learners has declined substantially and to create hostels where learners have to travel long distances.

4.4 Departmental leadership

From a leadership perspective, the provincial Department of Education has been among the unstable departments in the Province. Since 1994 it has had 9 Heads of Department (Superintendent-Generals) and six MEC’s. Some people in critical posts in the Department do not know their job descriptions and functions, which affect the ability of the Department to deliver services effectively.

However, proper systems have been put in place to address most of these challenges. The Interim Management Team from the National Department of Education is assisting the Department to address some of the challenges, particularly those associated with personnel matters. Thus far, there are indications that the situation is stabilising and improving. A new departmental structure with properly defined roles and responsibilities has been established. This will ensure that people understand their job descriptions and responsibilities in delivering quality services to the people. Displaced employees within the structure will be placed in positions that match their competencies and where they will be able to perform optimally.

4.5 The National School Nutrition Programme

The current budget for the School Nutrition Programme in the Eastern Cape Province is just over R177 million. This amount has proven inadequate to cover all the needy schools in the Province. The Department has had problems with the Programme since taking it over from the Department of Health early in 2004. The tender process is in dispute.

Despite poor infrastructure and the lack of personnel to administer the Programme effectively, the Department was compelled to take over from the Department of Health. Few months after taking over the Programme, it was discovered that the Proof of Delivery system, which was used by the Department of Health was fraught with corruption and mismanagement. As a result the Department initiated the Goods Receive Vouchers system to ensure that goods are accounted for during delivery. This system ensures that the school keeps a record of the delivery of food, the date it was delivered and the person who received the food on behalf of the school.

However, Goods Receive Vouchers system has resulted in a lot of paper work for the Department, particularly at district level. For each feeding day at school, there is large number of invoices for the districts officials to process. The paper work tends to cause delays in the payment of the service providers. As it stands, the Department has a huge backlog of paper work relating to payments and purchases of food in schools.

The suppliers of the food in schools are also major contributors to the challenges faced by the Department in administering the Programme effectively. They frequently do not claim in time and some suppliers do not deliver the food to schools as required.

Many schools in the Province have reported problems on the current operation and structure of the Programme. As a result, the Department is reviewing the Programme to improve it. Several options are considered, including that of the Northern Cape, as proposed by the Select Committee on Education and Recreation in 2004.

There are indications that some of the problems associated with the Programme could be addressed if it is decentralised. However, the Department needs to carefully investigate the effectiveness and challenges of decentralising the Programme so that when it is decentralised there are no interruptions.

The Department is planning to implement the new model for the Programme in the coming new financial year. In all the options that are considered, there is strong indication that there is a need for effective provincial monitoring systems for the Programme. The new model for the Programme should ensure that the Department focuses more on educational issues rather than seeking ways to improve administrative systems, as is currently the situation.

4.6 Vacancy rate in schools

The Eastern Cape Province has a supply of over 600 000 teachers. The teacher to administrator ratio in the Province is 93:7 rather than the national norm of 80:20. Despite the large supply of teachers, the Province appears not to have enough teachers in certain areas, particularly in the rural parts of the Province. This is mainly because the redeployment of teachers has been slow. As a result, temporary educators have had to be employed in many schools.

The Department plans to deploy 6 000 teachers to schools where they are needed, specifically to rural schools. It is also devising a strategy to address the issue of temporary teachers and acting principals. In some instances there have been reported fatalities when people are not appointed to the posts that they have filled in an acting capacity for some time.

A major challenge in the redeployment process in the Province is that teachers do not like to be redeployed to other areas, particularly to rural schools. This has resulted in a large supply of teachers in the urban areas and a limited supply of teachers in areas where they are needed most like in rural schools.

4.7 Non-performing schools

The Eastern Cape Province has a large supply of non-performing schools or schools that achieve a pass rate below 20%. The Province also has a very low pass rate in Grade 12, particularly in schools located in disadvantaged communities. The problem is mainly attributed to the fact that some schools push learners to do Standard Grade subjects.

The Province also has a very low supply of Mathematics and Science educators. Thus, teacher-upgrading, particularly in Mathematics and Science subjects needs to be followed up in order to ensure that it is in line with the curriculum needs of schools.

4.8 Subsidised scholar transport

Generally, scholar transport is a major issue in the Eastern Cape Province. This has been exacerbated by the influx of learners from former disadvantages areas to urban areas where most of the performing schools with proper infrastructure are located.

The lack of a subsidised scholar system in many schools in the Province is mainly as a result of budgetary control measures in order to curb over expenditure. The geographic set up of some areas makes it difficult cars to reach schools. In some areas learners have to walk long distances, particularly in summer where heavy rains damage roads.

The Province also has a system of a large supply of dangerous scholar transport like bakkies, which are not permissible to transport people. Some of these vehicles are not road worthy and are not maintained and serviced by their owners. There have been several fatal accidents of bakkies transporting learners to school. The Department of Education is working with the provincial Department of Transport to device a proper and safe scholar transport system for the Province.

1. Oversight Visit to Schools

The delegation visited the following schools in the Province:

5.1 Langalethu Junior Secondary School

This school was established in 1981. In 1988, a transformation programme was established to create a proper identity for the school. One of the main objectives of the transformation process was to change the learning culture at the school. After the implementation of the process, the culture of teaching and learning changed completely. The school is now among the top performing public schools in the Province.

In 2002, the school had an enrolment of 2 144 learners. This number has decreased to 1 331 in 2003 and 1 393 in 2004. There are indications that this is a problem facing all schools in the Province.

The school has 29 educators. It has managed to be the first in music and sport in the Province. The Principal plays a key role in motivating the learners and educators to do better academically and in all provincial competitions and events. Educators in the school work up to 10 hours a day instead of the norm of 7 hours a day.

5.1.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Poverty

A major challenge facing the school is the high poverty rate in the area. Most of the learners at the school are from poor families. This results in some parents not being able to pay schools fees for their children.

b) The National School Nutrition Programme

There is late delivery of food for the Nutrition Programme at the school. In some instances, the supplier supplies insufficient food products. The school has a school garden, but because it is not fenced some members of the community steal the vegetables.

c) Vandalism

As the school is not fenced, it experiences a high incidence of vandalism and burglary.

d) Lack of Classrooms

The school has eleven classrooms. This has resulted in the overcrowding of learners in all grades.

e) Lack of computers

The school does not have computers. The learners are eager to learn about computers, but the budget of the school does not allow the school to purchase even one computer.

f) Water and sanitation

Although the school has water, the supply is infrequent. In some instances, it does not get water for a week. The toilets at the school need renovation.

g) Impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic

The school has a high number of learners affected by the HIV and AIDS pandemic. However, due to lack of resources, there is very little that the school can do to assist the learners or their parents. The school does offer HIV and AIDS education and works with the local clinic to offer health education to the learners. One classroom at the school has been converted to a clinic. This assists the school in raising awareness about the disease at the school. Some teachers use the class to teach learners about first aid. The class is equipped with a first aid box donated by a local clinic, which also assists in stocking it.

h) Abuse of learners

There are high incidences of learner-to-learner abuse at the school. The school tries to find means to address it. In some instances parents are not keen to take matters of learner-to-leaner abuse further. They leave them solely to the school. For example, a group of learners tried to rape a learner. The parents of the learner were asked to report the matter to the police, but they never did. The school informed the police of the incident and the learners were arrested. However, the parents are still not keen to take the matter any further.

There are also incidences of bullying by some learners. The school, however, takes matters of bullying very seriously.

i) Learner Support Materials

The school uses old and outdated Learner Support Materials. There has not been any delivery of new books to the school. Teachers buy new textbooks with their own funds and share them with the learners.

j) Substance abuse

The school experiences incidences of substance abuse by some learners. Although most of them try to hide the fact that they smoke marijuana, teachers have caught a few smoking on the premises.

5.1.2 Committee recommendations

The Committee recommends the following with regard to Langalethu Junior Secondary School:

• The Department should take urgent intervention measures to ensure that
  learners at the school eat every school day.
• Tenders for the school nutrition programme should be awarded to local
  people.
• The school should follow up on learners applying for grants.
• The Department of Education should invite the Department of Home
  Affairs to the school to assist with birth certificates for the
  learners.
• The Department should ensure that the school is fenced.
• The school governing body should look at other sources of revenue for
  funds to fence the school and address some of its challenging.
• Psychologists or councillors should be invited to the school to assist
  learners with social problems.
• The toilets at the school should be renovated.

5.2 Lindokuhle Junior Secondary School

The community established this school in 1984. It has 442 learners and 11 teachers. It starts from Grade R to Grade 9. All the teachers at the school are employed permanently, but one teacher is temporary and has not been paid by the Department since January 2004. Another teacher, who teaches Grade R, is volunteering and is not paid at all by the Department. Although she shows serious commitment to teach the learners voluntarily, the school feels that she should be compensated because she does a very good job and shows commitment to the education of the learners. However, the school is unable pay the teacher because of shortage of funds.

The school has three mud class structures. The roof in two classrooms is falling down. When it rains, the learners attend classes in houses in the community. This interrupts the teaching programme of the school, especially in winter.

1. Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of classrooms

The school has one proper functioning classroom. The other classes are conducted under trees and sometimes in community houses and churches. Because the classrooms do not have doors, goats sleep in them. The learners have to clean their classes every day before they resume their lessons.

b) Water and sanitation

The school uses water from a nearby river. There are pit toilets that are not working. The learners go the bush for toilet.

c) Scholar transport

The school does not have subsidised scholar transport. The learners walk an average distance of five kilometres a day to and from the school.

d) Poor road infrastructure

The school is located at the top of a hill and has a very poor road infrastructure. When it rains, it becomes difficult for the educators and learners to get to the school.

e) Fencing

The school is not fenced. Sometimes mentally disturbed people from the community walk to the school and disturb learners.

f) The National School Nutrition Programme

The school receives only bread, which is delivered in bulk once or twice a week. This results in learners eating stale bread and unhealthy foodstuffs. Sometimes the school does not get bread for weeks.

5.2.2 Committee recommendations

• There is an urgent need for the Department of Education to intervene
  at the school.
• The condition of the school is very bad. There is an urgent need for
  mobile classes at the school.
• The Department needs to ensure that the learners get learners support
  materials.
• The Department needs to provide scholar transport to the school.
• The Department should ensure that the teacher, who teaches Grade R, is
  paid at least a stipend salary.

5.3 Ikhwezi Junior Secondary School

This school was established in 1985. It has ten grades with 488 learners and a total of 12 teachers. Nine of the teachers are permanent and three are temporary. Among these teachers is an educator who volunteers to teach the ECD class. Some of the temporary educators have been temporary for almost a year.

The school has a serious problem of overcrowding. It is unable to accommodate all the learners in the five classrooms that are currently available in the school. In order to accommodate the learners, the school uses multi-grading of classes, with two teachers teaching various grades. This affects the learning ability of the learners.

5.3.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Water and sanitation

The school does not have access to water. Water is fetched from a nearby dam and sometimes when it rains from tanks. The use of the water from the dam results in the Principal of the school having to take learners to hospital every week. The school has ten pit toilets for the learners and five for the educators.

b) Telephone

The school does not have a telephone. Even cell phones do not work where the school is located. This makes it difficult for the principal to keep in touch with the circuit and the Department. Sometimes the Principal misses crucial meetings because invitations arrive late. If the Principal has to make a phone call, he has to walk four kilometres for cell phone coverage.

c) Education for Learners with Special Education Needs

The school does not have educators with specialised knowledge of dealing with learners with special educational needs. The school devices its own means of catering for learners with special educational needs. Even the structures of the school are not conducive to learners with special educational needs.

d) Non-payment of school fees

Because of the high poverty in the area, most parents struggle to pay school fees. In order for the school to survive, it needs to increase the fees for the learners who are able to pay.

e) The National School Nutrition Programme

The nutrition programme at the school is infrequent. This affects the general attendance of the learners. Some learners only attend school on feeding days. The principal has sought help from the Circuit and District offices, but nothing is being done to improve the situation.

It is very difficult for the school not to feed other grades as learners at the school are from poor families. Even the ones in senior classes deserve to eat because the young ones keep some of their food from them or their siblings at home.

5.3.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should ensure that learners eat every school day.
• The educators at the school should be trained to deal with learners
  with special educational needs.
• The Department should ensure that the school is supplied with water.
• The Department should ensure that the learners are transported to
  school.
• Rather than the Department contracting people from Mtata and other
  distanced areas, local contractors should be contracted to supply food
  to the school.

5.4 Vukuzenzele Junior Secondary School

Vukuzenzele Junior Secondary School caters for learners with special educational needs. It is located in the Bizana District area. The 150 learners at the school reside in hostels at the school. Most of the facilities at the school are functioning.

However, the supply of water is infrequent. This results in school toilets being in a bad condition. Some learners, as result of their disability, are not able to use toilets properly, which creates more work when there is no water. Some educators at the school have not received their special school allowances for three years.

5.4.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of critical staff

The school lacks critical staff like psychologists, nurses and therapists.

b) Lack of a proper sanitation system

The sanitation system at the school has been blocked for two years. Funds for it to be renovated were approved in 2003 but nothing has been done to address the situation.

c) Scholar transport

The school does not get any provision for scholar transport, particularly when closing for vacations. It struggles to transport the learners to their families, who are unable to pay for their transport.

d) Lack of support from the district

The school does not get support from the district office, as there is no support staff member responsible for learners with special educational needs.

e) Insufficient budget

The budget give to the school is insufficient. The school is not given a special budget to meet the special needs of the learners.

5.4.2 Committee recommendations

 • The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that there is
   water in the school.
 • The Department should assist the school to hire at least two people
   who will assist with cleaning and to take care of the disabled
   learners in the school.
 • The school should be provided with a mobile clinic.
 • The Department should assist the school to transport the learners to
   the school.
 • The Department should make provisions for the school to meet the
   special needs of the learners.
 • The Department should review its funding to special schools. Because
   of the nature of their learners, special schools tend to have more
   needs that are associated with the nature of the learners.

5.5 Nompumalanga Special School

This school was established in 1988. It is located in the same premises with Vukuzenzele Junior Secondary School. It trains learners with special educational needs with basic skills. Some of the learners at the school are slightly educable and, thus, the school teaches them the normal curriculum. Some of the learners have learnt to read and write since arriving at the school.

Those learners who rely on their creative skills, make very creative works like leather clothes and other crafts. Some of the learners run a cooking company and cook for events and functions. Some of the learners do gardening. They sell their products to the community. The school has started a major project to give employment to 40 of them. Fifty percent of the learners at the school get disability grants.

5.5.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of critical staff

The school lacks critical staff like psychologists, nurses and therapists. The only psychologist, who comes to the school when needed, is located 150 kilometres away from the school.

b) Lack of a proper sanitation system

The sanitation system at the school has been blocked for two years. Funds for it to be renovated were approved in 2003 but nothing has been done to address the situation.

c) Scholar transport

The school does not get any provision for scholar transport, particularly when closing for vacations. It struggles to transport the learners to their families, who are unable to pay for their transport.

d) Lack of support from the District Office

The school does not get support from the district office, as there is no support staff member responsible for learners with special educational needs.

e) Insufficient budget

• The budget give to the school is insufficient. The school is not given
  a special budget to meet the special needs of the learners.

5.5.2 Committee recommendations

• The needs of the school should be prioritised, particularly the
  renovation of toilets.
 • The Department should assist the school to transport the learners to
   the school.
 • The Department should make provisions for the school to meet the
   special needs of the learners.
 • A mobile clinic should visit the school at every week.
 • The Department of Social Development should be invited to ensure that
   all the learners get disability grants.
 • The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that there is
   water in the school.
 • The Department should assist the school to hire at least two people
   who will assist with cleaning and care of the learners in the school.

5.6 Xuraview Junior Secondary School

The community established the school in 1976. The reason for establishing the school was because the learners were studying in schools across the river. When it rained, learners were unable to go to school. In some instances there were reported fatalities in the river. The community decided that there was a need to establish the school.

The school has 590 learners and 15 educators. The school has a functioning School Governing Body. The school has insufficient classrooms. Pre Grade R and Grade R are combined into one classroom.

5.6.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of classrooms and overcrowding

The school has eight proper classrooms and needs another eight to accommodate all its learners. The classrooms are not conducive to learning.

b) Water and Sanitation

Water supply at the school is infrequent. The toilets for learners at the school are in a very bad state. Some of them have been closed because they are irreparable and hazardous to the learners.

c) Electricity

Although the school has electricity, it needs to be upgraded.

d) Telephone

The school does not have a telephone. This makes communicating with other schools very difficult.

5.6.2 Committee Recommendations

• The Department needs to assist the school in renovating the classes
  and make them conducive to teaching and learning.
• The Department needs to work with the Municipality to ensure that the
  school gets water.
• The school needs to be renovated.
• Public works needs to be invited to inspect the school.

5.7 Hillbrow Senior Secondary

The school has 1 258 learners and 36 educators. There are 15 vacancies for educators. The School Governing Body at the school is effective and assists in many matters concerning school management and administration. Senior certificate or matric examination results at the school have moved from below the average in 1997 (28,6%) to 66% in 2003. This is attributed to the commitment of both the learners and teachers at the school. The school has a well-resourced computer centre with 43 computers. However, only 23 of the computers are working. The rest need to be upgraded and fixed. The school has a laboratory wit basic infrastructure.

The facilitators in Grade R were paid R1 000 and have not been paid since

1. One structure of the school was built in 1936. It is now dangerous to keep learners under such a structure.

5.7.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Water and Sanitation

Although the school has water, it is irregular. There water tanks but because the school is not properly fenced, the community uses the water.

b) Education for Learners with Special Education Needs

Although the school has education with special educational needs, there is very poor support that is given to the learners.

c) Teenage Pregnancies

The school has a very high number of teenage pregnancies.

d) Scholar transport

The school does not have a scholar transport. The reason from the Department has been that learners from the township are excluded from getting scholar transport. However, some of the learners are coming from far away communities. They struggle to get to the school and are often late or miss classes.

e) Sporting facilities

The school does not have sporting facilities. Although some of the learners are keen to play sport, they are prevented by the lack of infrastructure at the school.

f) The National School Nutrition Programme

Although the school does have a nutrition programme, the menu needs to be revised. The school is also prevented from having a say in the menu and type of food given to learners.

5.7.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should work with the school to organise councillors to
  council the learners on teenage pregnancies and safe sex.
• The Department should involve the school in determining the menu for
  the learners.
• The Department should assist the learners who are from more than five
  kilometres away from the school with subsidised transport.
• The Department should engage with the Department of Sport and
  Recreation and the local municipality to ensure that the school has
  sporting facilities.
• The Department should assist the school in identifying learners with
  special educational needs and assisting them with their special
  educational needs.
• The Department should ensure that some of the teachers in the school
  are trained in assessing and addressing the needs of learners with
  special educational needs.

5.8 D. D. Siwisa Primary School

The school has a total enrolment of 658 learners. There is overcrowding in the foundation phase, as the ratio of teacher to learner is 1:60. The situation is better in the intermediate phases where the ratio is 1:38.

5.8.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Shortage of classrooms

There is a shortage of classrooms in the school, particularly for the foundation phase.

b) Inadequacy of the School Nutrition Programme

Although the school has a nutrition programme, the learners are fed only three times a week. The school only feeds learners up to Grade 4, while learners in Grades 5 to 7 are not fed. This is a major challenge for the school since some of the learners come from the same poor families, but because of the inadequacy of the Programme, the school is compelled to only feed learners up to Grade 4 and only for three days.

The inadequacy of the Programme also affects the attendance of learners to school. There is a much higher attendance of learners on the days when there is feeding than when there is no feeding.

c) Poor attendance of Parents to School Governing Body’s meeting

There is very poor attendance of parents to School Governing Body’s meeting. This affects the functionality of the School Governing Body and the ability of the school to devise proper and affective mechanisms to address some of the challenges that are facing the school.

5.8.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that the learners
  in the school are fed every school day.
• The Department should assist the school in devising mechanisms that
  will ensure that parents take part in the education of their children.


• The Department should devise alternative measures like mobile
  classrooms to accommodate the learners.

5.9 Roodeblom Farm School

This is a small farm school with about 40 learners and has two teachers. Although, the learners stay far more than five kilometres away from the school, there is no subsidised scholar transport. The principal wakes up early in the morning and collect those staying more further from the school.

Most of the learners in the school are from very poor families, who earn very low salaries. As a result their parents cannot afford to buy them school uniforms. Some of them wear their normal clothes and some wear old uniforms.

The school has a Nutrition Programme, however, the learners are fed biscuits and scheme milk everyday. The school does not have electricity. This affects learning and teaching, particularly in winter when there is poor visibility.

5.9.1 Committee recommendations

• The Department should device urgent mechanisms to ensure that the
  learners who stay far more than five kilometres away from the school
  get subsidised scholar transport.
• The Department should exempt all the learners from paying school fees
  because school fees have become a major barrier to the learners in the
  farm.
• The Department should assist the school in establishing a healthy menu
  rather than just feeding the learners biscuits and milk.
• The Department should ensure that the school is electrified.

5.10 Thembalesizwe Primary School

The school is located in a very poor area. Only about 40% of the parents are able to pay school fees. The school has a Nutrition Programme and feeds learner every school day. This has proven really helpful in attracting more learners to the school. The surplus food from the Programme is given to the more needy learners to take with them to home everyday. There are two volunteers who cook and prepare the food for the learners. Although they come from very poor households, the school is unable to pay them the stipulated stipend for assisting with the preparation of the food.

5.10.1 Challenges

The school is facing some of the following key challenges:

a) Lack of sporting facilities

The school does not have any facilities for school sport. As a result the learners are not able to participate in any school sport competitions. There is an open space near the school which could be used as a play field. The Principal of the school has made numerous requests to the Department to prepare the open space to be used as a play field for the learners. To date there has not been any response from the Department.

b) Toilets not conducive for use by Grade R learners

Although the school has pit toilets, they are not conducive for use by the Grade R learners. The toilets are normally not a good state and too big for the Grade R learners.

5.10.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should engage with the Department of Sport and
  Recreation and the farmer to ensure that the available space is
  upgraded and prepared for sporting activities.
• The Department should take urgent measures to ensure the school has
  proper toilets, particularly for the Grade R learners.
• The Department should ensure that the volunteers who prepare the food
  for the learners are paid the stipulated stipend.

5.11 Masiphathisane High school

This is one of the Dinaledi schools in the Province. It has an enrolment of 1 347 learners with 40 teachers. The learners pay a school fee of R200 and there have been no incidences of non-payment of school fee. Most parents bring their children to the school because of the quality of learning that takes place in the school.

In 2004 the school had 251 matric students and 151 of them were doing Maths and Science subjects on Higher Grade.

Success of the school is also as a result of the committed and hard working teachers and learners. The co-operation of parents in the education of the learners is also vital in ensuring that the learners are performing very well and always do their homework. The school also puts more emphasis on social behaviour and social guidance.

5.11.1 Committee recommendations

• This school should be used as model for assisting other schools in the
  Province.
• All the learners in the school should be encouraged to do Maths and
  Sciences subjects because of the potential and attitude of the school
  and the learners towards these subjects.

5.12 West-end Primary School

The school has 940 learners and 25 educators. There is a decline in the number of learners at school. This is largely due to the high rate of poverty in the area.

5.12. 1 Challenges

The school is also facing the following challenges:

a) Centralisation of education administration in the District

The school is facing major challenges that are resulting from the centralisation of administration in the district that constantly interrupt the effectiveness of the school. For example, when a teacher gets sick, the school is unable to replace him or her or hire a replacement because the approval has to be obtained from Bisho. Sometimes it takes over a month for Bisho to approve the appointment of temporary teachers. This means that the learners will come to school but do not get any lessons because there is no teacher. Often learners without teachers are combined with other same grades but this result in the overcrowding of classes.

The maintenance of the school is also contracted from Bisho. It takes a long time for Bisho to respond to issues of maintenance. In some cases an incident can go for month without any response.

b) Delivery of Learner Support Material

The delivery of Learner Support Material to the school is always late. In some instances support material is delivered weeks after lessons have started.

c) School Governing Body

The School Governing Body is not well versed in issues pertaining to school management. It needs to be trained.

d) Insufficiency of the School Nutrition Programme

Although the school has a Nutrition Programme, it is insufficient and is therefore only given to the most needy students, despite the fact that government policy indicates that it has to be given up to Grade 4.

e) Lack of subsidised scholar transport

Some learners from the school come from as far as more than five kilometres away from the school. However, they do not get subsidised scholar transport. When some their parents cannot afford to pay for scholar transport, the learners miss school or are often late because they are forced to walk long distances.

f) Lack of training for teachers to deal with Learners with Special Educational Needs.

Although some of the learners at the school have Special Educational Needs, teachers cannot cater for their needs because they are not properly trained to understand their needs.

5.12.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that at least all
  the learners up to Grade 4 are fed.
• The Department should ensure that Learner Support Material is
  delivered and given to the learners at least before the start of the
  school calendar.
• The Department should ensure that teachers at the school are trained
  to assess and understand the educational needs of learners with
  special educational needs.
• The Department should ensure that learners who come as far as more
  than five kilometres away from the school are assisted with subsidised
  scholar transport.
• The Department should ensure that the School Governing Body is
  properly trained to effectively manage the school and play a key role
  in the administration of the school.

1. 13 Fanti Gaqa Primary School

This is a good example of a well-managed and functioning school. The success of the school is attributed to the cooperation between all stakeholders including teachers, parents, learners and the community. Due to parents involvement the school managed to buy computers and establish a computer laboratory. Generally, the environment of the school shows discipline and commitment from both teachers and the learners. The school has 834 learners with 19 educators.

5.13.1 Challenges

The school is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of classrooms

The school has a problem of overcrowding of classrooms because of lack of classrooms.

b) No Nutrition Programme

Although some of the learners in the school are from poor families, they do not get any food because the school is classified as not needy.

5.13.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that all the
  needy learners at the school are fed.
• The Department should devise temporary measures like mobile classrooms
  to ensure that the learners are accommodated.

5.14 Kuswus Laerskool

This is a former model C Afrikaans school. In 1994 it had 135 learners and all white learners were Afrikaans speaking. At present the school has 525 learners and about 157 are from Afrikaans speaking families and think in Afrikaans. The rest are from nearby areas and former disadvantaged communities and think in English. The school has 19 educators.

The school fee is R260 and 53 learners are exempted from paying school fees, while 100 have partial exemption.

Only 47 of the learners are fed every school day. If there is surplus, it is given to the most needy learners to take home.

1. Oversight Visit to FET Colleges

The Committee visited the following FET colleges throughout the Eastern Cape province:

6.1 King Hintsa Public FET College

The King Hintsa Public FET College is located within the boundaries of two Mbhashe and Mnquma municipalities. The College was formed after the merger of three Technical Colleges: Teko in Butterworth, HB in Tsengwa at Willowvale and Centane Technical at Centane, which has resulted in three campuses. There are also plans to build two more campuses in the areas where there is a need for the College. The main campus of the College is at Teko. The enrolment at the College depends on the quarters from 500 to 1500 learners per year.

A Student Governance Council (SGC) was set up to assist the College with all institutional challenges. The Council has been effective in guiding the administration and management of the College. It has been trained on school governance and management. The Council has also played a key role in securing land for an administration block for the College.

6.1.1 Challenges

King Hintsa Public FET College is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of administration block

The College does not have an administration block. It occupies a building that is owned by the Department of Agriculture. This has major shortcomings in terms of expanding the College and managing its student and administrative affairs. The Department of Education has promised to assist the College in building a R6 million administration centre.

b) Lack of fulltime staff

Although the College is supposed to have 99 full-time staff members, the Principal is the only full-time member of the College. The Heads of Departments from the previous colleges were seconded to assist in the management of the College, but none of them is employed in a permanent position. The College does not have Registrars, which makes dealing with the administrative and academic affairs of the College a major challenge.

c) Curriculum

The curriculum needs to be reviewed and aligned with the needs of the learners in the areas it serves. Currently it is located next to a technikon, which has an advanced curriculum and academic programmes. This has resulted in lower enrolments in the College. Students are moving to technikons where they feel they will acquire skills that will enable them to get jobs. The College does not have the infrastructure to offer engineering yet there are learners in the area who would like to do engineering work because it is the only major source of employment in the Province.

d) Lack of other sources of funding

The College depends solely on the Department of Education for funding. Parents in the area are too poor to pay for their children’s academic fees. There is a substantial number of learners who are unable to buy even the basic materials required in their courses.

e) Lack of a resource centre

The College does not have a resource centre. This has resulted in the use of an office in the administration block to keep some of the College’s learner support materials.

f) Lack of communications facilities

The communication facilities in the College are not reliable. An e-mail system, which was installed in September 2004, is no longer functioning. This prevents the College from looking for other sources of funding (for example international donors). Some campuses do not have telephones, which makes communication a challenge.

g) Poor living infrastructure

Some of the hostels in the College are in a very bad state. They need to be renovated and are a serious health danger to the learners. However, the College is not able to close them down because it would mean that the learners from distant areas would not have accommodation.

h) Water and sanitation

Although the College does have water, it is not reliable. Construction companies continuously interrupt the water. If the matter is reported to the municipality, it takes more than a month to attend to such interruptions. The sanitation system at the College is very old and needs to be changed. The College experiences blockages every now and then.

i) Electricity

Although the College does have electricity, there are continuous electricity failures. It takes a while for Eskom to address such interruptions because they have to be reported to the East London office. The plumbing of the College is very old and needs to be upgraded.

j) Health inspectors

The College does not have health inspectors. The Principal has taken over the duty of inspecting the health conditions of the College.

k) Laboratories

The College does not have a laboratory. It uses workshops for all its work. Some of these workshops are in a very bad state and dangerous to the learners.

l) Library

The College does not have a library. However, there are plans to set up a main library for all the campuses.

m) Administrative staff

The College does not have a permanent administration. It does not have even a secretary. It relies of the services of students and other former students who are currently unemployed.

6.1.2 Committee recommendations

• There is a need for urgent intervention by the Department to assist
  the College in improving the health conditions of the hostels.
• The Council needs to approach other corporations for funding in order
  to address some of its challenges.
• The alignment of the curriculum of the College with the needs of the
  learners should be prioritised.
• The Council should approach some of the car manufacturing companies in
  the Province to assist with training some of its learners.
• The Department should approach the Department of Health for health
  inspectors to visit the College at least once a month.

6.2 Buffalo City Public FET College

The Buffalo City Public FET College has three campuses situated in East London and Mdantsane areas (the East London, John Knox Bokwe and St Marks Campuses). The College offers a wide range of part-time and full time programmes as well as short courses at its Business Skills Centre. The College has well-established infrastructure and systems. This is a result of its long history as a well-managed College in the entire Eastern Cape Province. It has networks and links with international cities, donors and other colleges.

6.2.1 Challenges

However, the main challenges confronting the College are a high vacancy rate and acting staff. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the only full- time staff member of the College. All the Programme Directors are employed part-time and on acting capacities. This creates a problem of instability within the administration of the College.

6.2.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should ensure that the vacancies in the College are
  filled.
• The Department should ensure that learners from poor families in the
  College receive financial assistance like bursaries or study loans.
• The Department should ensure that the College also admits learners
  from the rural parts of the Province.

6.3. Grahamstown FET College

The process of amalgamation with other two FET’s in the Grahamstown FET College is in progress. The CEO of the three merging FET’s consults with the leaders of the other two campuses.

6.3.1 Challenges

The College is facing the following challenges:

a) Lack of institutional policies

There is a lack of institutional policies to guide the merging of the College, while the amalgamation is moving at a very fast paste. The current policies in the new institution are fragmented. The various campuses are still implementing their own old policies.

b) Staff vacancies

The College has about 28 staff vacancies. Most of the staff in the college work on a part-time basis.

c) Lack of updated computer facilities

The College uses outdated computers with old computer programmes. Most of the computers need to be replaced.

d) Dilapidated buildings

The R40 000 yearly maintenance budget for the College has proven to be very insufficient. As a result many of the campus buildings are dilapidating. The building of the College belongs to the Department of Public Works. However, it is not maintained. The College does not even have boarding facilities, which is a major challenge for attracting learners from far way areas, particularly those from rural areas.

e) Lack of bursaries for poor learners

Although the College has a very high turnover rate of poor learners, it has very limited bursaries. Some of the learners drop out before completing their courses because of financial problems.

6.3.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should put a task team to assist the College to
  establish institutional policies to guide the merger process.
• The Department should assist the College in getting sponsorships for
  new computers.
• The Department should ensure that the College building are renovated
  and maintained.
• The Department should ensure that the staff vacancies in the College
  are filled.

6.4 Highland Campus Public FET

The Highland Campus Public FET is in a process of reorganising its curriculum and institutional structure. The College intends to restructure its three campuses to specialise in different fields, i.e. Grahamstown campus to deal with business courses, tourism and hospitality; Uitenhage campus to specialise in engineering and the Graff-Reinette campus to specialise in agriculture and game farming.

The aim of restructuring the curriculum structure of the College is to produce students with more entrepreneurial skills to create more work for other unemployed people. The College has also started offering learnerships.

6.4.1 Challenges

The College is facing the following challenges:

a) Structure of the learnerships

The structure of the learnerships is a major problem for most Colleges in the Province. Since the learnerships are under the Department of Labour and the colleges are under the Department of Education, the colleges are unable to use their staff because this is seen as double-deeping or some form of moonlighting.

b) Insufficient budget

About 82% of the budget of the College is spent on salaries. As a result on only about 18% of the budget is used for other functions. This has often resulted in the College running over-expenditure.

c) Inflexibility of the college structure

In general, there is inflexibility with the College structure. Because of the condition of service of colleges, they are unable to offer courses on Saturdays, despite the fact that there is clearly a need for the College to offer some of its colleges on Saturdays.

d) No building maintenance of the College

There is no building maintenance taking place in the College. This has been attributed to the fact that the Education Department is not paying the Department of Public Works for maintenance of the colleges.

e) Lack of administrative block at Uitenhage campus

The Uitenhage campus urgently needs R2 million to complete its administration block.

f) Graaff-Reinet campus not conducive for teaching and learning

The Graaff-Reinet campus was originally an army base and is not conducive for teaching and learning.

6.4.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should assist the College to complete its
  administration block since this impact negatively to the
  administration of the College.
• The Department should ensure that the College is maintained.
• The current structure of the learnerships needs to be review to enable
  Colleges the flexibility to expand and rich more learners,
  particularly those who can only be able attend classes on weekends.

1. Meetings with District Offices

The delegation met with the following District Offices:

7.1 Mdantsane District Office

At Mdantsane there are a variety of schools. There are those that are performing very well and managed effectively and those that are not performing well at all. The major challenge facing the district is the high rate of poverty. In some schools teachers and learners are robbed of their properties.

The main of the District is to ensure that all the deserving schools have access to the Nutrition Programme. However, because of the large number of learners from poor families and the insufficiency of the budget, the District targets learners from Grade 0 – 4 and in some schools it the learners who are considered most needy that are given food.

The District has a poor scholar transport system. There have been several fatal accidents of learners who are transported in bakkies that are not road worthy and sometimes overloaded in bakkies. The District is working with the provincial Department of Education to devise a more proper and safe transport system.

The filling of posts in some schools, particularly those of acting principals are temporary teachers has not been done for over two years. This is mainly because the provincial Department has not issued a circular for these posts. In some instances the large supply of acting principals creates uncertainties in the education system in the District because acting principals and teachers are note sure whether they will be employed for the posts.

7.2 East London District Office

The District Office briefed the delegation on the following issues

7.2.1 ABET Centres

There are 31 ABET Centres in the East London District Offices. The Centres are not properly monitored due to lack of transport. Most of the Centres in the District do not function optimally because of lack of infrastructure and insufficient financial resources. Teachers in ABET Centres in the District are not motivated because of the poor conditions of service. In some instances they get their salaries way after month end. The salaries of ABET teachers is very poor since they are employed as part-time teachers.

7.2.2 School Nutrition Programme

The School Nutrition Programme in the District is not functioning properly. There are 206 schools that qualify for the Programme, but 197 of them get the Programme. In most of these schools the learners are fed for three days and sometimes the Programme will disappear for a while and then restart again. There are two schools, which were never allocated suppliers although the provincial Department was informed of the schools.

There are several reported problems with the suppliers of the food to schools. Some would supply jam and margarine without bread to a school. In some instances the suppliers delivered the food in people’s houses early in the morning before the opening of the schools. This has been raised with the provincial Department for interventions but there has not been any solution.

The serious challenge is that the administration of the Programme is centralised to the provincial Department. This leads to delays in the payment of service providers.

There is no manager responsible for School Nutrition in the District. The Programme is done on an ad hoc basis. The Programme has two staff that are also responsible for other issues besides school nutrition. There are two unplaced lecturers and one displaced principal working for the Programme. However, because of lack of familiarity and working on ad hoc basis, they do not seem to effectively address the challenges that are facing school nutrition in the District.

7.3 Bizana District Office

The delegation visited the Bizana District Office, where a District Manager was short few days before the visit by a disgruntled principal who was not appointed after acting in a post for almost a year. The delegation also met wit the staff of the District to brief them about their findings during the study tour the processes that will be undertaken to ensure that the Province put in place effective administrative measures and address the issue of acting principals and temporary teachers.

1. Overall committee recommendations

   • The Department should look at transferring the budget of the School Nutrition Programme to schools. • Special schools should be prioritised. The Department needs to ensure that they have the entire necessary infrastructure. • The Department should ensure that teachers who are volunteering, particularly those teaching Grade R in the Province, are paid at least a stipend salary. • A proper employee training and development programme should accompany the new financial control systems in the Department. • The Department should work with teacher unions in order to device an effective Teacher Deployment Plan. • Schools with dangerous mud structures, for an example Lindokuhle, should be prioritised in the next financial year. • As a matter of urgency, the Department should distribute mobile classes to schools with dangerous mud structures, and in schools where learners are located in people’s houses. • The Department should ensure that tenders for learner support materials are, at least, finalised by October so that the distribution of the materials to school can start as early as November. The material should be delivered to schools and given to the learners at least before the start of the school calendar. • The Department should establish Norms for the purchase of Learner Support Materials. The Norms should outline the exact date for the finalisation of orders and the dates for the delivery of the material to schools. • The Department should finalise the appointment of staff in FET Colleges in the Province. • The Department should review its funding to special schools. Because of the nature of their learners, special schools tend to have more needs that are associated with the nature of the learners. • The Department should assist schools where there is a low participation of parents in school activities in devising mechanisms that will ensure that parents take part in the education of their children. • In schools where there is overcrowding, the Department should devise alternative measures like mobile classrooms to accommodate the learners. • The Department should ensure that teachers at the school are trained to assess and understand the educational needs of learners with special educational needs. • The Department should work the Department of Social Development to ensure that children with disabilities who are not getting the disability grant are assisted and proper follow-up measures should be implemented to check whether the children get the grants. • As a follow-up mechanism the Committee recommends that the Department submit a written progress report on the issues identified and recommendations made within thirty days after the adoption of the report.

2. Conclusion

In the five days in the Province, the Committee visited thirteen schools, three Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges and three district offices in the three regions of the Province. The Committee also had a briefing by Honourable Mr. M. Matomela on the first day of the study tour and a debriefing on the last day of the study tour.

The Committee is of the opinion that, although schools visited may not be necessary a representative sample of all the schools and colleges in the Eastern Cape Province, they do, however, provide a framework for the Committee to better comprehend the state of education in the Province. Most of the issues that were identified by the schools were also highlighted by the MEC for Education as key challenges that are facing the Province during the briefing and debriefing sessions. This reaffirms the findings that were made by the Committee. It gives the Committee assurance that most of the challenges will be addressed in order to ensure that schools in the Province offer better and quality education and have the optimal support of the administration at district, regional and provincial levels.

Despite the challenges facing the Province, the Committee would like to express its appreciation to the enthusiasm, commitment and zeal that was displayed by both the learners and teachers in the schools that were visited. In most of the schools the delegation was met with jubilation. The Committee did witness a strong sense of commitment from both the educators and learners. Some schools have devised creative measures to ensure that they get education everyday, despite their challenging conditions. The strong sense of humanity displayed by the educators and the principals reassured us that the situation could only get better with better resources and administrative support.

It is apparent that tightening the belt at Head Office level does not address the challenges facing schools in the Province. It only transfers the challenges to the learners and teachers at school level. If the Department does not fill vacant posts, appoint educators, principals and administrators, and seek better solutions to ensure effective and efficient administration at Head Office, it is the learners and educators who will suffer.

Report to be considered.

                        MONDAY, 11 APRIL 2005

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Council of Provinces

1. Referrals to committees of papers tabled

   The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the relevant committees as mentioned below:

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

     Preliminary Annual Report of the Department of Labour for 2004-    2005 [RP 37-2005].
   

   (2) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises for consideration:

     Strategic Plan of the Department of Communications for 2005-    2008.
   

   (3) The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs for consideration:

   (a) Strategic Plan of the South African Police Service (SAPS) for 2005-2010 [RP 36-2005]. (b) Strategic Plan of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) for 2005-2008 [RP 18-2005]. (c) Strategic Plan of the Department of Defence for 2005-6 to 2007- 8.

   (4) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Education and Recreation for consideration:

     Strategic Plan of Sport and Recreation South Africa for 2005-    2009.
   

   (5) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs for consideration:

     Strategic Plan of the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2005 to    2008.
   

   (6) The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Public Services for consideration:

     Strategic Plan of the Department of Public Works for 2005 to    2008.
   

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

   (a) Agreement on the Financing of Innovative Local Economic Development Initiatives by South African Department of Provincial and Local Government between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Italy, in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996. (b) Explanatory Memorandum on the Agreement on the Financing of Innovative Local Economic Development Initiatives by South African Department of Provincial and Local Government between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Italy. (c) Government Notice No R.165 published in Government Gazette No 27320, dated 24 February 2005: Fees payable in terms of the Securities Services Act, 2004 (Act No 36 of 2004). (d) Government Notice No 170 published in Government Gazette No 27332, dated 25 February 2005: Fixing of rate per kilometre in respect of motor vehicles for the purposes of section 8(b)(ii) and (iii) in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of 1962).

                    TUESDAY, 12 APRIL 2005
   

ANNOUNCEMENTS

National Council of Provinces

1. The Chairperson

   Letter received from the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development requesting Parliament’s concurrence for the President, in terms of section 53(2) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, to extend the period of operation of sections 51 and 52 of the said Act for two years with effect from 1 May 2005.

TABLINGS

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

   (a) Strategic Plan of the National Treasury for 2005-2008 [RP 27- 2005]. (b) Strategic Plan of the South African Revenue Service for 2005- 2008.

2. The Minister of Public Works

   (a) Strategic Plan of the Department of Public Works for 2005-2009. (b) Memorandum by the Minister of Public Works setting out particulars of the Building Programme for 2005-2006 [RP 24-2005].

3. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development

   (a) Report of the South African Law Reform Commission for 2003-2004 [RP 183-2004]. (b) Proclamation No R.5 published in Government Gazette No 27221, dated 31 January 2005: Referral of matters to existing Special Investigating Unit and Special Tribunals, in terms of the Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No 74 of 1996).

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Council of Provinces

1. Report of the Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs on Budget Vote 32: Trade and Industry, dated 6 April 2005:

   The Select Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs, having considered the Medium – Term Strategic Plan 2005 – 2008 and Budget Vote 32: Trade and Industry, reports that it has concluded its deliberations thereon and accepts Budget Vote 32.

2. Report of the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs on the Draft Notice for Declaration of Amnesty in terms of the Firearms Control Act 2000, dated 11 April 2005:

   The Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Draft Notice for Declaration of Amnesty in terms of the Firearms Control Act 2000, referred to it, recommends that the Council, in terms of section 139(2)(a) of the Act, approve the said Draft Notice. Request to be considered.

3. Report of the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs during Participation in the World Conservation Congress held in Bangkok, Thailand, 17 – 25 November 2004 under the Theme “People and Nature – Only One World”

4. BACKGROUND

Members of the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs was invited by the President, Yolanda Kakabadse and Director General, Mr Achim Steiner of the World Conservation Union to attend the 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress to be hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand in Bangkok from the 17th to the 25th November 2004. In response to the invitation, a delegation of five members, three from the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and, two from the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs were granted permission attend the proceedings of the Congress.

Having participated in the lobbying of Hon Valli Moosa for the Presidency of the International World Conservation Union and in the six commissions of the World Conservation Congress dealing with ecosystem management, education and communication, environmental, economic and social policy, environmental law, species survival and protected areas, the delegation of the portfolio committee and select committee report to the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces as follows:

1.1 CONGRESS OBJECTIVES

1. Explore the relationships between people, development and conservation through its four themes: Ecosystem management, Bridging sustainability and productivity; health, Poverty and Conservation - Responding to the challenge of human well-being; Biodiversity Loss and Species Extinction - Managing risk in a changing world; and Markets, Business and the Environment - Strengthening corporate social responsibility, law and policy
2. Approve the 2005/2008 IUCN Programme and Financial Plan
3. Elect the President of the world conservation union and other officers
4. Table 2003/2004 commissions reports on ecosystem management, education and communication, environmental, economic and social policy, environmental law, species survival and world commission on protected areas
5. Consider motions and adopt resolutions at plenary level. 1.2 DELEGATION OF THE COMMITTEES

A joint delegation of the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs and the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism constituted of the Ms E Thabethe, (ANC-NA) Ms M Ntuli (ANC-NA), Mr G Morgan (DA-NA), Rev P Moatshe (ANC-NCOP) Mr F Adams (NNP-NCOP) and Committee Secretary, Mr M Manele.

1. ELECTION OF MR VALLI MOOSA AS PRESIDENT OF WORLD CONSERVATION UNION

As one of the objectives of the ICUN Congress was to elect the President and other office bearers, the delegation in collaboration with senior officials from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism played a very active lobbying role which culminated to the nomination and election of Mr Valli Moosa as the President of the World Conservation Union.

1. OVERVIEW OF CONGRESS PROCEEDINGS

The world conservation congress of which the delegation of the portfolio committee on environmental affairs and tourism and the select committee on land and environmental affairs attended was officially opened on the 17 November and closed on the 25 November 2004. The proceedings of the congress had parallel commissions meetings on ecosystem management, education and communication, environmental, economic and social policy, environmental law, species survival and protected areas, and tabling of reports of the director-general on the work of union since the 2nd IUCN World conservation congress, membership development since 2001 to march 2004, draft report by director general on follow-up to the resolutions and recommendations of the 2nd session of the world conservation congress, proposed amendments to the rules of procedure of the world conservation congress regarding the credentials committee and electronic voting, election of the IUCN President, Treasurer, and Regional Councilors, election of chair of the chair of commissions, evolution of the financial situation over the period of 1999-2003, financial plan for the period 2005-

1. Discussion and adoption of draft resolutions, adoption of programmme, commission mandates and financial plan, announcement of election results, massage from the President elect, Mohammed Valli Moosa and closure of the World Congress by the outgoing President, Yolanda Kakabadse.

2. OVERVIEW OF CONGRESS RESOLUTIONS

The world conservation congress passed 118 resolutions relating to governance, policy, programme, website and species. Under governance the congress passed resolution relating to relate to precedence clause establishing precedence in regard to IUCN general policy, improving the transparency of IUCN Council, broadening the criteria for membership admission in the NGO category, the involvement of local and regional government authorities within IUCN, including local IUCN members in the Union delegation at multilateral agreement meeting, fulfilling the rights to optional use of the official languages in the internal and external communication documents of IUCN and its members and implementation of an IUCN programme for the Insular Caribbean.

4.1. POLICY RELATED RESOLUTION

Under the policy, the congress passed resolutions relating to the Mediterranean mountain convention, ratification and implementation of the revised African convention, protecting the earth’s water for public and ecological benefit, a moratorium on the further release of genetically modified organism, policy on control of animal population for the purpose of biodiversity conservation, HIV/AIDS pandemic and conservation and, the Harold Jefferson Coolidge medal, recognizing earth charter, human trapping standards, education for sustainable development, the precautionary principles in environmental governance and, coordination of sustainable development programme for energy.

4.2. PROGRAMME RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS

Under programme, some of the resolution passed relate to the provision of an office for IUCN’s observer mission to the united nations, audit of international conventions, treaties and agreements on environment, drafting a charter of ethics for biodiversity conservation, international covenant on environment and development, education and communication in IUCN programme, policy on capacity building and technology transfer, capacity building for young professionals.

4.3. SPECIES RELATED RESOLUTIONS

Under species the resolution passed relate to conservation needs of the tiger, conservation of saiga antelope, conservation of dugon, protection of the great Indian bustard, shark finning, conservation of the bandula barb and continued prohibition of shahtoosh production and trade.

1. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Having participated in the six commissions IUCN during the World Conservation Congress, the delegation of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and, the Select Committee on Land and Tourism concludes and recommends that:

5.1. The South African Government’s approach has shifted from that of traditional conservation to a more holistic approach where conservation is linked with the development agenda of the country including local communities, poverty alleviation, capacity building, natural resource management.

5.2. The advancement that can be seen in south African conservation over the last ten years have largely been due to the vision and work of Mr Valli Moosa, the former Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism who introduced new initiatives and changed the way in which conservation was being addressed.

In this regard, it is recommended that:

5.3. The Portfolio Committee and the Select Committee must during the 2005 Parliamentary Committee period call both the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and IUCN to brief members of the purpose and functions of commissions such as with ecosystem management, education and communication, environmental, economic and social policy, environmental law, species survival and protected areas.

5.4. Both the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and ICUN Regional office must appear before the Portfolio Committee and the Select Committee to brief members on the 2005 –2008 IUCN Programme.

5.5. Based on the recommendations made during the world Conservation Congress in November 2004, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism must come and brief both the Portfolio Committee and Select Committee on strategies and plans put in place to ensure the implementation of the World Conservation Congress Resolutions.

Report to be considered.

[1] The sections that follow were sourced from an article by, Brink D (2003), Overview of Aquaculture in South Africa: Division of Aquaculture, University of Stellenbosch.

[2] The information highlighted in the sections below was largely sourced from the written and oral input of the officials from Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment – North West, 2004. [3] This was documented in a recent report by Rhodes University for the Water Research Commission, entitled, Contributions of Aquaculture to Rural Livelihoods in South Africa: A Baseline Survey, (Rouhani and Britz, 2004). [4] On 8 September 2004, the DACE, represented by Chief Director Mogomotsi Kgantsi and other senior officials of the Department, met with Mr Urban Rouhani of Rhodes University (representing the national initiative) to discuss the Department’s willingness to collaborate with the national programme so as to develop aquaculture within the rural sector of the North West Province. [5] The overview provided below was largely sourced from an article entitled The National Water and Sanitation Programme in South Africa: Turning the Right to Water into Reality (August 2002), written by Mike Muller for the Water and Sanitation Programme, an international partnership to help the poor gain sustained access to improved water supply and sanitation services. The article can be obtained from: http://www.wsp.org/publications/af-bg-sa.pdf [6] In South Africa, basic water supply is defined as 25 litres per person per day within 200 metres of the home, and of acceptable quality. Basic sanitation is defined as a ventilated improved pit latrine or equivalent. [7][pic]Oà - 0 † Ê ‹h‹-ñ5?\?mH sH h‹-ñ^J The five Water Boards comprise Rand water, Botshelo Water, Magalies, Sedibeng and Midvaal water company.