ATC140711: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform on Budget Vote 33: Rural Development and Land Reform, dated 10 July 2014
Rural Development and Land Reform
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Rural
Development and Land Reform on Budget Vote 33: Rural Development and Land
Reform, dated 10 July 2014
The Portfolio Committee on Rural
Development and Land Reform, having considered the Strategic Plans (2014 2019),
Annual Performance Plans (2014/15) and budget allocations of the Department of
Rural Development and Land Reform, the Commission on Restitution of Land
Rights, and the Ingonyama Trust Board, reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
This
report provides an account of
processes of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform,
hereinafter referred to as the Committee, during consideration of the strategic
plans and budget allocations of the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform (the Department), the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (the
Commission) which is accounted as an integral part of the restitution programme
within the Department, and the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB). The Committee process
involved briefing on the strategic plans and budget allocations by the
Department, the Commission, and the ITB. The analysis of the plans drew on a
range of source documents such as the Estimates of National Expenditures (ENE),
the National Development Plan (NDP) and the New Growth Path (NGP) and the
previous relevant Budget Review Recommendations Reports (BRRR). This approach
assisted the Committee to assess the extent to which the medium-term plans
addressed key challenges identified in the contextual scan of the environment
within which the Department, the Commission and the ITB operates.
On 02 July 2014, the Department, the
Commission and the ITB appeared before the Committee in order to brief the
Committee on their strategic plans and allocation of resources to the various programmes
over the medium-term, with a particular focus on the 2014/15 financial year. In
addition, the Department and entities mentioned reflected on how their plans
were aligned to the National Development Plan, the State of the Nation Address
(SONA) and Medium-Term Strategic Framework priorities. The delegation from the
Department, the Commission, and the ITB was led by the Minister of Rural
Development and Land Reform, Hon G Nkwinti, and the Deputy Ministers, Ms
Mashego-Dlamini and Mr. M
Skwatsha. Senior Management of the Department and the Ingonyama Trust Board and
its administration were in attendance of the briefing sessions and participated
in the deliberations.
On 9
July 2014, further presentation from the ITB was received in order to clarify
issues relating to its mandate and how plans were aligned to the mandate as
derived from the law governing the ITB. Further deliberations on the
presentations created platform for the Committee to reflect on the key findings
and recommendations for the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform.
This report proceeds as follows: it
discusses the plans and budget allocation for the Department including the
Commission; highlights the ITB plans and budget allocation; and documents a
summary of the Committees key conclusions based on its observations In
conclusion, the report makes recommendations to the National Assembly for the
Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform.
2.
The
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
The vision of the Department is to ensure attainment
vibrant,
equitable and sustainable rural communities, and its mission is to initiate,
facilitate, coordinate, catalyse and implement an integrated rural development
program. This vision and mission are underpinned by agrarian transformation as
a strategy to attain this vision. Agrarian transformation is understood to mean
a
rapid and fundamental change in the relations (systems and patterns of
ownership and control) of land, livestock, cropping and community
2.1
Strategic context and the key priorities
for the 2014/15 financial year.
The Strategic Plan (2014-2019) of the
Department sets the performance within a context of marginalisation of the
poor, especially those in the rural areas. These areas encounter the challenges
of, amongst others, the legacy of apartheids spatial design which excluded
blacks from the mainstream of the economy, unequal land ownership patterns,
underutilisation and unsustainable use of natural resources, weak coordination
of planning and implementation of rural development, and inability of rural
areas to attract sustainable enterprises and industries. In addition, it is
widely acknowledged that land reform has not yet translated into the
establishment of sufficient number of sustainable black new farmers.
The Committee has noted that the Department
has identified the six MTSF priority areas linked to the NDP policy imperatives,
namely:
-
improved land administration and spatial planning for
integrated development in rural
areas;
-
sustainable land reform (agrarian transformation);
-
improved food security;
-
smallholder farmer development and support (technical,
financial, infrastructure) for agrarian transformation;
-
increased access to quality basic infrastructure and
services, particularly in education, healthcare and public transport in rural
areas; and
-
growth of sustainable rural enterprises and industries
characterised by strong rural-urban linkages, increased investment in
agro-processing, trade development and access to markets and financial
services resulting in rural job creation.
The Committee also noted that the reopening
of the lodgement of land claims to accommodate those who missed opportunities to
lodge land claims by the closing date of 31
st
December 1998 was a direct
response to pronouncements made during the SONA. It further noted that
consultation processes on
policy provisions for the exceptions to the 1913
cut-off date for the claims by the descendants of the Khoi and San communities
as well as the National Heritage Sites and historical land marks were at an
advanced stage. In line with the NDP, the New Growth Path (NGP), the plans of
the Department illustrated that comprehensive support to smallholder farmers by
speeding up land reform and providing technical, infrastructural and financial
support to communities as well as to engage in food security were among the top
priorities.
Whilst the
Committee observed that there was clear alignment between the plans of the
Department and the NDP and NGP, especially as it related to situating agriculture,
largely the smallholder sector, at the centre of job creation, it was not
convinced that there was clear linkage between the ITB plans as tabled and
these national priorities.
Table 1 illustrates the manner in which the
Department translated the MTSF priorities relevant to rural development and
land reform into strategic goals.
Table 1: Strategic outcome oriented
goals
Strategic Goal
|
Strategic Goal Statement
|
-
Corporate
governance and service excellence
-
Improved
land administration for integrated and sustainable growth and development
-
Promote
equitable access to and sustainable use of land for development
-
Promote
sustainable rural livelihoods
-
Improved
access to services
-
Sustainable
rural enterprise and industries
-
Restoration
of Land Rights
|
Foster corporate
governance and service excellence through compliance with the legal framework
Improve land
administration and spatial planning for integrated sustainable growth and
development with a bias towards rural areas
An inclusive and
equitable land dispensation with transformed patterns of land tenure and use
Improve rural
livelihoods as a result of capabilities, income and job opportunities
provided
Improve access to
services in rural areas through the coordinated of quality infrastructure
Promote
economically, socially, and environmentally viable rural enterprises and
industries
Restoration of Land Rights in terms of the
Restitution of Land Rights Act, as amended.
|
Source: adapted from the Strategic Plan of
the DRDLR (2014-2019)
Table 2 of this report illustrates the
strategic objectives illustrated above according to the five main programmes of
the Department. The Committee observed that the strategic objectives of the
Department remained unchanged to a larger degree. However, whilst in 2013/14, tenure
reform was included in the strategic plans, in 2014/15 tenure reform as a
component of the land reform did not feature. It found that there were no
particular objectives to hold the Department to account on how it would foster
tenure security on commercial farms in terms of Extension of Security of Tenure
Act and Labour Tenants (Land Reform) Act. Similarly, the strategic plans
provided limited scope for reporting on tenure reform in communal land areas,
especially enforcement of the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act. Nevertheless,
the Committee welcomed efforts to finalise tenure rights policies and
legislation targeting both communal areas and commercial farming areas.
Table 2: Strategic objective statements of
the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
Programme
|
Strategic Objective Statement
|
·
Administration
|
Compliance with
all public sector legal prescripts
Unqualified
regularity audit opinion
Skills
development for improved service delivery
|
·
National
Geomatics Management Services
|
Improved spatial
planning
Integrated and
comprehensive land administration system
|
·
Rural
development
|
Job creation and
skills development in rural areas
Quality
infrastructure provided
Functional and
institutional arrangements
Facilitate the
establishment of rural enterprises and industries
|
·
Restitution
|
Land Rights
restored
Redress land
rights lost after 1913
|
·
Land Reform
|
Strategically
located land acquired
Support to rural
communities to produce their own food in all rural districts
Farm development support
provided to smallholder farmers
|
Source: adapted from the Strategic Plan
DRDLR (2014-2019)
As illustrated in Table 2 above, the
Committees review of the strategic objective statements according to the
programme clarified that the Department and the Commission have attempted to
align their plans to the NDP and other relevant MTSF priorities. The key issue
related to redress of dispossession of lost land rights, farm development
support for smallholder farmers and job creation. The Committee argued for
effective oversight, including project visits to draw empirical evidence on the
impact of the policies as well as ascertaining if the plans were being
implemented as proposed. One of the crucial questions that arose from the strategic
objectives was whether land reform would be used to expand the land ownership
base for smallholders. The current restitution and redistribution policies have
a particular bias in favour of maintaining the large-scale farming as opposed
to smallholders. The Committee noted that oversight on how smallholders were going
to be supported was crucial and recommended that such oversight should focus on
smallholders in the former Homeland areas and the commercial farm lands. The Committee
noted that the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP) has been the
main farm development support policy instrument. The Committee would further
explore how the programme, with its focus on mentorship and strategic
partnerships, would be used to support smallholders of various scales of
production.
2.2
Priority
legislation and policies to be developed in the medium-term
The Department has planned to continue with
policy development started after the publication of the Green Paper on Land
Reform in 2011. The Committee noted that the extensive consultation processes facilitated
through the reference groups established by the Minister of Rural Development
and Land Reform resulted in publication of a number of pieces of legislation
and policies. The Committee noted that some of the pieces of legislation have
already been passed by the National Assembly; in particular, the Restitution of
Land Rights Amendment Bill (2013) and the Property Valuation Bill (2013) were signed
into law by the President.
Over the medium-term, the Department has
planned to process the following pieces of legislation:
2.2.1
Electronic Deeds Registries Bill
: This
Bill provides for facilitation of the enactment of electronic deeds
registration provisions. It is anticipated that this new manner of deeds
registration could decrease the time required for the registration of deeds. In
addition, this approach would further enhance the accuracy, examination and
registration of title deeds.
2.2.2
Regulation of Land Holding Bill
: The
most important issue in this Bill is that it would provide for classification
of land as controlled land; and enforce disclosure by land owners of their
race, gender and nationality. All acquisition and disposal of land by foreign
nationals would be provided for under this piece of legislation.
The Bill also establishes the Land Commission,
its powers and functions.
2.2.3
Extension of Security of Tenure Amendment
Bill
: This proposes amendments to address the tenure insecurities in
commercial farming areas, integrating land redistribution within effective
legal protection and disputes mechanisms.
2.2.4
Communal Property Association Amendment
Bill:
This Bill seeks to extend the applicability of the Act to land
acquired under the LTA for labour tenants. Under this Bill, there are proposals
for establishment of Communal Property Association (CPA) office and the
appointment of a Registrar of CPAs. This Bill will help to provide further
clarity on the management of the CPAs and the content of the CPA reports.
2.2.5
Communal Land Tenure Bill
: This Bill
would provide for the regulation of communal land in South Africa. In addition,
it would further provide for mechanisms to transfer communal land (including
the Ingonyama Trust land, to communities and members of communities as well as
administration of communal land. The piece of legislation would further clarify
the manner in which municipal functions can be performed on communal land.
The Committee expressed concern over the
lack of detail in the APP in relation to schedules for tabling legislation in
Parliament. The Committee considered such information as a significant factor
in planning for a programme of oversight. In relation to policy, the Committee
expressed concern about lack an overarching policy on land reform.
2.3. Budget allocation
The overall 2014/15 budget allocation for the Department, as illustrated
in Table 3, is R9, 455.3 billion which will increase
at the average rate of 4.6 per cent in nominal terms
over the medium term to R10, 673.2 billion.
It
is anticipated that the increases would be allocated for settlement of
outstanding land claims as well as the land claims to be received during the
re-opening of the lodgement of land claims between 2014 and 2019. In addition,
the increases are target for the increasing the pace of redistribution by acquiring
strategically located land as well as provision of recapitalisation and
development support to land reform farms. These interventions, including the
National Rural Youth Service Corps programme, would result in creation of more
job opportunities.
Table 3:
Programme Appropriations from 2013/14 to 2016/17
Programme
|
Budget
|
Nominal Rand change
|
Real Rand change
|
Nominal % change
|
Real % change
|
|
|||||
R million
|
2013/14
|
2014/15
|
2015/16
|
2016/17
|
2013/14 - 2014/15
|
2013/14-2014/15
|
|||||
Administration
|
1 189.8
|
1 169.7
|
1 241.2
|
1 317.6
|
-
20.1
|
-
88.4
|
-1.69
|
-7.43
|
|||
Geospatial and Cadastral Services
|
794.7
|
774.9
|
826.5
|
877.8
|
-
19.8
|
-
65.0
|
-2.49
|
-8.18
|
|||
Rural Development
|
1 792.4
|
2 011.6
|
2 006.1
|
2 226.2
|
219.2
|
101.8
|
12.23
|
5.68
|
|||
Restitution
|
2 916.8
|
2 680.7
|
2 661.4
|
3 258.5
|
-
236.1
|
-
392.6
|
-8.09
|
-13.46
|
|||
Land Reform
|
2 766.0
|
2 818.4
|
2 839.3
|
2 993.1
|
52.4
|
-
112.1
|
1.89
|
-4.05
|
|||
TOTAL
|
9 459.7
|
9 455.3
|
9 574.5
|
10 673.2
|
-
4.4
|
-
556.4
|
-0.05
|
-5.88
|
|||
Source: National Treasury (2014) Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE),
Vote 33
The budget allocation of R9, 455.3 billion has declined in real terms by
approximately 5.88 per cent (0.05 per cent in nominal terms) when compared to
the total revised appropriation of R9, 459.7 billion allocated in 2013/14. The
Committee observed that the greatest share of the entire budget has been allocated
to the programmes of Rural Development, Restitution and Land Reform which
jointly accounted for 79.4 per cent of the allocations for the 2014/15
financial year. The three programmes are the main drivers of the agrarian
transformation. Although the three programmes got the largest share of the
total budget, the Committee noted that there has been reprioritisation of
funds, about R2.4 billion and R2.1 billion from restitution and land reform
respectively to be used as transfers to households in the rural development
programme. The Committee remained concerned that funds that were being shifted
from restitution on one hand, whilst on the other hand the programme did not adequate
enough funding for settlement and finalisation of all outstanding claims as
well as settlement of the new claims arising from the reopening of the
lodgement of land claims.
The Committee commended the Department for the 17.4 per cent decrease in
budget allocation due to the usage of fewer consultants and greater reliance on
its internal capacity. Reliance of internal capacity forms part of the reasons
why the expenditure for compensation of employees is set to increase by an
average rate of 4.9 per cent over the medium-term.
2.3.1
Overview
of budget allocation according to the programme priorities
Programme 1: Administration
The programme
provides strategic and logistical support in the form of executive and
corporate management services.
It
also oversees departmental capital works and provides bursaries to
non-employees
and
makes a nominal contribution to the public sector education and training
authority. Over the medium-term, the programme seeks to ensure 100 per cent
compliance with government regulations and legal prescripts by 2019, obtain an
unqualified regularity audit opinion on financial and non-financial performance
by 2019, and improve employees and prospective employees skills to enhance
service delivery by 2019. As already discussed above, the Committee noted
there were no annual targets on the number of policies
and bills to be processed in 2014/15. The Committee also welcomed the idea of
building internal capacity within the Department, especially in scarce skills;
for example, the geomatics profession in which about 60 geomatics professionals
would be trained in 2014/15.
As illustrated in Table
3 of this report, about R 1 169.7 billion has been allocated for the
programme of Administration. This allocation is a decrease by 7.43 per cent in
real terms when compared to 2013/14 allocation. This decline has been influenced
by the decrease of 58.73 per cent in real terms on budget allocation for the office
accommodation sub programme when compared to the 2013/14 budget allocation.
The Committee
welcomed an increase of 23.21 per cent in the 2014/15 budget allocation for Internal
Audit Sub-Programme. Building internal capacity was considered to be a step in
the right direction towards ensuring that the Department attain unqualified audited
financial statements for the 2014/15 financial year. The Committee held a view
that the building of internal audit capacity within the Department could also
assist to address concerns raised in the previous years reports by the Auditor-General
of South Africa.
The Committee noted that a large amount of
expenditure under administration was allocated for compensation of employees. The
number of posts would increase from 1 365 in 2013/14 to 2 258 in
2016/17 to develop its internal capacity in line with the previous BRRR
recommendations and the Auditor-Generals reports. The Department has planned
to focus on IT in order to assist with impending review of IT and
implementation of an improved IT security.
Programme 2: National Geomatics Management Services
The purpose of the National Geomatics
Management Services (previously known as the Geo-spatial and Cadastral
Services) is to
provide geospatial, cadastral surveys, deeds registration and spatial
planning information as well as technical services in support of sustainable
land development. Over the medium-term, the key priorities identified by the Department
include improvement of efficiency of cadastral surveys management, information
services and registration of deeds. The Department intend to achieve this
through facilitating integrated spatial planning and land use management in all
provinces through the application of relevant legislation by 2019, and by
ensuring an integrated and comprehensive land administration system. The
Committee expressed its concerns over the manner in which the targets and
performance indicators have been crafted; for example, the APP shows that 20
per cent of Land Use Schemes (LUS) would developed by the end of the fourth quarter.
The Committee could not establish what the proposed 20 per cent translates into
because of lack of articulation of the total number of LUS and a percentage as
a factor.
The Committee observed that the focus of
the programme over the medium-term would be on the finalisation of the land
register under the Registration of Trading Account Sub-programme.. Over the
medium-term, greater amount of work would be dedicated towards provision of support
to municipalities for the implementation of Spatial Planning and Land Use Management
Act. The Committee welcomed the efforts to ensure that Department champions implementation
of the SPLUMA as the new planning legislation.
For the 2014/15 financial year, the budget
allocation for this programme is R774.9 million, which is a decrease from
R794.7 million in 2013/14. This translates to 8.18 per cent decrease in real
terms. However, the budget is expected to increase at the annual average rate
of 3.4 per cent in nominal terms but in real terms, this equals a decrease of
2.3 per cent over the medium term. The decrease is a result of the 19.25 real
terms decline in the allocation for the National Geomatics Management Services
Sub-programme. This reverses the substantial increases noted in 2010/11 and
2013/14 due to a need to enhance the capacity of technicians and professional
surveyors required to finalise the State Land Audit Project, especially the
survey of un-surveyed land.
The Registration of Deeds Trading Account
Sub-programme received significant nominal terms increases 45.69 per cent (37.18
per cent in real terms) when compared to the 2013/14. The driving factor for
such as increase has been the plans to implement an electronic register in
order to speed up title deed registration turnaround times. The Committee noted
that much of the increase may be going to procurement of consultants and
computer services, therefore proposed rigorous oversight on this programme. In
addition, and for oversight purposes, the Committee noted that the National
Geomatics Management and the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management
Sub-programmes accounted for 85 per cent of the total expenditure of the Programme;
therefore propose rigorous oversight.
The Committee welcomed efforts to build
internal capacity within this programme, especially noting that there are plans
to increase the funded posts establishment of 1 051 in order to fast track
implementation of the Spatial Land Use and Management Act. This therefore has
an impact on the expenditure on the compensation of employees which would in
turn increase over the medium term from R481 million to R550 million.
Programme 3: Rural Development
The purpose of the programme of Rural Development is t
o initiate,
facilitate, coordinate and catalyse the implementation of the Comprehensive
Rural Development Programme (CRDP) that leads to sustainable and vibrant rural
communities.
By 2019, the
Department has planned to ensure
provision of support to rural communities in all rural
districts to enable them to improve their livelihoods; improve access to
services in rural areas by coordinating and providing integrated infrastructure;;
facilitate the development of 235 rural enterprises and industries in areas
with economic development potential and opportunities; and increase job
opportunities and ensure skills development through CRDP and land reform
initiatives.
The Committee noted
an increase in budget allocation for this programme, from R1 792 billion
in 2013/14 to R2 006 billion in 2014/15.
This
increase of 12.2
per cent in nominal terms or 5.68 per cent in real terms was
influenced by the
shift of R2.6 billion from Restitution and Land Reform programmes to Rural
Development programme for transfers to households.
The Committee noted that there were significant
increases in budget allocation in 2014/15, when compared to 2013/14, for Rural
Infrastructure Development (RID) and Rural Enterprise and Rural Enterprise and
Industrial Development (REID) sub-programmes. The two sub-programmes continue
to be significant for provision of agricultural support to farmers and for
infrastructure development for basic service and economic development in rural
areas. In turn, the developments provide potential for facilitation of income
generating opportunities in rural areas.
The Committee observed that the expenditure
for the programme of rural development was expected to increase over the medium
term at an average rate of 7.5 per cent in nominal terms or 1.6 per cent in
real terms. The shift of R2.6 billion from Restitution and Land Reform
programmes to Rural Development Programme to provide funds for basic service
infrastructure to households was a major contributing factor to this. In
addition, R4.5 billion has been reprioritised from Restitution and Land Reform
programmes to Rural Development as transfers to households. The Committee
expressed concerns over the shifts of funds from restitution and land reform
especially in consideration of the need to accelerate the settlement of the
outstanding land claims as proposed during the SONA.
National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC)
sub-programme allocation decreased drastically from R808 million in 2013/14 to
R628 million in 2014/15, a decrease of 26.87 per cent in real terms. It
remained unclear to the Committee how the programme would be able to reach the
target to train 5 000 youth in the 2014/15 financial year with this budget
decline.
Programme 4: Restitution
The programme of
restitution is mainly implemented by the Commission on Restitution of Land
Rights (the Commission). This section therefore draws from the presentation on
the strategic plan of the Commission as well as the presentation by the Acting
CFO of the Department in relation to the expenditure under this programme,
meaning the Commission.
The Commission
derives its mandate from section 25(7) of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996). The Commission is established in terms of the
Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act 22 of 1994). Its functions are to
solicit and investigate claims for land restitution and to prepare them for
settlement. The Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1996 further provides for the
establishment of the Land Claims Court to adjudicate on land disputes,
including those arising from the restitution processes.
As part of the Department, the Commissions
planning processes took consideration of the contextual underpinnings guiding
the entire planning processes of the Department, as well as the priorities
arising from the NDP, NGP, the MTSF (2014-2019) and the SONA. One of the
critical points has been the pronouncements on acceleration of the settlement
of outstanding land claims, reopening of the lodgement of land claims as well
as provisions of exceptions to the 1913 cut off date to cater for the pre-1913
land claims by the descendants of the Khoi and San.
In view of the
above, the Commission identified facilitation of the restoration of land rights
and alternative forms of equitable redress by 2019; facilitation of the
reopening of lodgement of land claims by people and/or communities that did not
meet the 1998 deadline; and finalisation of claims received by the deadline of
31
st
December 1998 as the top priorities. Its target is to settle
1 457 restitution claims over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, of
which 379 will be settled in 2014/15, and to finalise 983 backlog claims of
which 239 would be finalised in 2014/15 financial year. Over the medium-term,
the Commission has planned to establish 23 functional lodgement offices and 9
mobile lodgement units of which 14 would be opened and functional in 2014/15.
With regard to the
budget allocation for 2014/15 financial year, about R2, 7 billion has been
allocated and this constitutes a decrease when compared to R2.92 billion
allocation in 2013/14. A contributing factor to this decrease is a drop in the
budget for Restitution National Office and Regional Office Sub programme. The
largest share of the total budget for the programme has been allocated to the
Restitution Grants Sub-programme to cater for transfers to households for
finalisation of land claims, the core business of the Restitution Programme.
As have been noted
in previous section, the Committee expressed concern over the decline in the
allocation for restitution, yet government has reopened the lodgement of land
claims, which will impose a huge burden on the already limited budget of the
Commission. The Committee further expressed concern over lack of indication of
strategies to prioritise the outstanding land claims for finalisation over the
MTEF period.
Programme 5: Land Reform
The land reform programme encompasses both
redistribution and tenure reform as provided for in sections 25(6) and (6) of
the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. During the
2013/14 financial year, the programme was
divided into two branches; namely, the Land Tenure and Administration, as well
as the Land Redistribution and Development. With this restructuring of the
programme, the Department sought to reposition itself for better execution of its
mandate across the various levels of policy implementation.
Over the medium-term, the key priorities of the department under the
programme of land reform are to promote equitable land redistribution and
agricultural development by acquiring 1 140 000 hectares of
strategically located land by 2019; provide comprehensive farm development
support to
2 706 farmers,
both
smallholder
farmers and land reform beneficiaries, for agrarian transformation by 2019; and
to ensure functional systems and institutional arrangements for tenure and land
administration in order to enable agrarian reform across South Africa by
2019.
So the budget
allocation for land reform covers for the
recapitalisation and development of distressed farms, land acquisition for
redistribution, the training of farmers through strategic partners and mentors,
and the provision of tenure security for people living on commercial farms and
communal areas.
The Land Reform programme budget
allocations slightly increased from R2.76 billion in 2013/14 to R2.818 billion
in 2014/15. This translates to an increase of 1.89 per cent in nominal terms
but is a decrease of 4.05 per cent in real terms. This programme benefited from
the shifting of R629 million to this programme in 2013/14 resulting in the
adjusted allocation of R2.76 billion. The Committee observed that over the
medium-term, the budget for land reform would increase at a nominal annual rate
of 2.7 per cent, but this amounts to a decrease of 3 per cent in real terms.
The real term decline relates to declines in the allocations for the land reform
National Office, Land reform Provincial Office, and Land Reform Grant
sub-programmes by 15.46 per cent, 17.54 per cent and 27.6 per cent
respectively. In addition, the fact that acquisition of land is acquired
through the Agricultural Land Holding Account rather than from allocations in
this programme accounts to the decline of 27.6 per in Land Reform Grants
Sub-programme.
The Committee noted and welcomed an
increase in the funded posts establishment of 659 posts of which 584 were
already filled and 86 were filled in addition to this establishment. In
overall, personnel have increased from 584 in 2013/14 to 707 in 2014/15.
The Committee however noted with concern
that the plan had little or no articulation of work done by the Department to
make interventions to enforce land tenure rights for farm dweller and
protection against unlawful evictions; in particular, the plans for the Land
Rights Management Facility, and how much allocation has been made to cater for
legal representation of the victims of evictions. This lack of planning for
tenure reform on farms has, in the past, allowed the Department to continue work
without reporting on farm tenure activities.
3.
The Ingonyama Trust Board
The Ingonyama Trust was established in
terms of the Kwazulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act No 3 of 1994, amended by the
National Act 9 of 1997 which provided for the establishment of the Ingonyama
Trust Board. It functions as a landowner-in-law of the Ingonyama Trust Land
comprising approximately 2,705,229 hectares under some 1600 individual titles
in all of the 11 Districts of Kwazulu-Natal and eThekwini Metro. The Ingonyama
Trust Board provides strategic leadership, monitors operational performance of
management, protects the Ingonyama Trusts financial position, and ensures that
the Ingonyama Trust adheres to high standards of ethics and corporate
behaviour. In addition, it sets policies, standards and objectives and ensures
implementation of all the above. The afore-mentioned sets a governance
structure of the Trust, guided by the mission and vision outlined in Table 4 of
this report.
Table 4:
The Mission and Vision of the Ingonyama Trust
Board
Vision
|
Mission
|
To be a leader in sustainable
communal land management
|
To contribute to the
improvement of the quality of life of the members of the traditional
communities living on the Ingonyama Trust land by ensuring that land
management is to their benefit and in accordance with the laws of the land
|
Source:
Strategic Plan of the Ingonyama Trust Board
(2014/15)
3.1
The
context within which the Ingonyama Trust Board operates
The Ingonyama Trust Board is a statutory body
operating as a schedule 3A entity in terms of the Public Fund Management Act.
It focuses on administration of land in the former homeland of KwaZulu.
Although the Ingonyama Trust Board strives to ensure sustainable land
management, the absence of comprehensive land tenure legislation for the
communal areas renders its function very complex and challenging. The ITB reported
that it is set out to develop best practices to ensure that by 2025 all persons
occupying its land shall have formal tenure in the form of a lease on surveyed
land. This confronts a complex question about the best form of tenure system in
communal areas.
Although the Ingonyama Trust Board is a largest land owner in KwaZulu-Natal,
the land parcels it owns are located in the jurisdiction of various
municipalities.
Over the last five
years, the Ingonyama Trust Board had reported that one of the challenges it encountered
had been the conflicts between the municipalities and the institutions of
traditional leadership. These conflicts mainly arises when the Ingonyama Trust
Board asserts its powers as the land owner in title whereas municipalities, as authorities
responsible for service delivery to the people, made assumptions that they could
make decisions about land owned by the Ingonyama Trust. Some municipalities were
also in conflict with the Ingonyama Trust Board on the basis of the following question:
who was liable for municipal rates for land owned by the Ingonyama Trust? Could
it be the Ingonyama Trust Board or the beneficial occupier? The Ingonyama Trust
Board had obtained a legal opinion which affirmed that the Ingonyama Trust
Board was liable for municipal rates on its land which is unallocated. The
beneficial occupiers, including government departments, businesses were liable
for rates on land they occupy.
The
challenges confronting the Ingonyama Trust Board could be summed up as follows:
rating of land by
municipalities without proper ascertaining of the occupier as per provisions of
the Municipal Property Rates Act; lack of clarity on the status of state
domestic facilities located on the Ingonyama Trust Board land; illegal
occupation of land; and fragmented planning due to misaligned programmes.
The strategic focus of the Ingonyama Trust
Board took cognisance of the national initiatives such the Outcomes approach of
government, especially Outcome 7: vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural
communities with food security for all; and Outcome 8: Sustainable human
settlements and improved quality of household life. On the provincial front,
the Kwazulu-Natal Provincial Growth and Development Strategy set the tone for
government delivery of services until 2030. The strategy puts emphasis on the
following: human and community development, strategic infrastructure, job
creation, environmental sustainability and spatial equity.
3.2
The
priorities of the Ingonyama Trust Board
The strategic outcome oriented goal of the
ITB is to administer the affairs of the Ingonyama Trust. This is done in order
to ensure that all its operations are for the material benefit and social
wellbeing of the communities living on the Ingonyama Trust land.
Assessment of strategic objectives outlined in
Table 4 below and related performance indicators show that the focus of the ITB
would be estate management, training of traditional council in land management
matters, coordination of stakeholder forums, cooperative governance and service
excellence by the ITB.
Table 5: Strategic objectives of the
Ingonyama Trust Board
Strategic
Objective
|
Objective
Statement
|
·
Unlocking enabling environment conducive to development on Trust land
·
Effective and efficient asset management services
·
Provide human resources management
·
Support to Traditional Councils in capacity building programmes.
|
·
Facilitate development on Ingonyama Trust land by provision of tenure
rights, interacting with municipalities on their planning schemes, planned
land management projects identified and approved by the ITB; conducting
workshops with traditional councils and other stakeholders and communicating
the initiatives of the ITB.
·
To ensure that resources are effectively and efficiently utilised.
·
To provide Human Resources support through policy framework
·
To provide support in the form of policies and training to traditional
councils.
|
Source: adapted from the Ingonyama Trust
Board Strategic Plan 2014-2015
The Committee observed that some of the
broad priorities in these documents were aligned with some of the national priorities
as articulated in the National Development Plan. The Committee noted that the
Ingonyama Trust Board contributes to two of the main goals of the Department;
namely, effective planning and administration that is biased towards rural
areas, and increased access to and productive use of land, especially in the
context of food security.
The Committee, having conducted its own
analysis of the strategic objectives and annual targets for 2014-2019, the
following observations were made:
-
The
ITB anticipated that there would be an increase in the number of tenure rights
granted by the Board and the land management projects that would be identified
and implemented;
-
The
ITB would develop five policies annually over the medium term. However, it was
unclear which legal policies were prioritised by the ITB.
-
The numbers
of trainings to be provided were evenly spread across the year. However, the plans
did not identify the traditional councils that were targeted.
3.3
Budget
allocation for 2013/14
The total budget of the ITB comprises own
income and transfer of payments received from the Department. The ITB own revenue
income is earned from leases and investment. The ITBs disbursement policy
provides that 90 per cent of the income earned through trading activities should
be used for the benefit of communities and 10 per cent of the income should be
used for the Boards expenses. Its internal administrative costs are met
through a transfer payment from the Department
.
Table 1: Budget
Allocation for 2014/15-2017/18
Income
|
2014-2015
|
2015-2016
|
2016-2017
|
2017-2018
|
Average growth rate
2014/15-2017/18
|
Rental income: non-mining
|
15 329 922.00
|
16 096 418.00
|
16 901 339.00
|
17 746 301.00
|
5.0%
|
Commercial PTOs & Prospecting
Income
|
9 696.00
|
10 181.00
|
10 690.00
|
11 224.00
|
5.0%
|
Investment Income
|
9 722 851.00
|
10 208 993.00
|
10 719 443.00
|
11 255 415.00
|
5.0%
|
interests on overdue
debtors Accounts
|
88 491.00
|
92 916.00
|
97 561.00
|
102 439.00
|
5.0%
|
Rates due from Lessee
|
12 561.00
|
13 188.00
|
13 848.00
|
14 540.00
|
5.0%
|
From Reserves
|
20 232 143.00
|
14 339 962.00
|
15 795 431.00
|
17 183 539.00
|
-5.3%
|
ITB own Funds
|
45 395 664.00
|
40 761 658.00
|
43 538 312.00
|
46 313 458.00
|
0.7%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Transfers
|
17 294 000.00
|
18 069 000.00
|
18 788 000.00
|
19 727 400.00
|
4.5%
|
Investment Income
|
12 336.00
|
12 953.00
|
13 601.00
|
14 281.00
|
5.0%
|
DRDLR funding
|
17 306 336.00
|
18 081 953.00
|
18 801 601.00
|
19 741 681.00
|
4.5%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total income
|
62 702 000.00
|
58 843 611.00
|
62 339 913.00
|
66 055 139.00
|
1.8%
|
Source: adapted
from ITB (2014) Strategic Plan
The total budget allocation
in 2014/15 is R62.7 million and is going to increase slightly over the MTEF by
an annual average rate of 1.8 per cent. As illustrated in Table 1, the funds revenue
is to increase at average growth rate of 0.7 per cent over the medium-term and transfer
from the Department is going to increase by 4.5 per cent average growth rate. In
overall, the average percentage of its own funds over the total expenditure for
the Board is decreasing while transfers from the Department are gradually
increasing.
Income from the Boards funds has decreased from R52.7 million in 2013/14
to R45.4 million in 2014/15, which is a decrease of 15.41 per cent. Also the
Boards funds as percentage of total expenditure of the Board have decreased
from 87.53 per cent in 2013/14 to 72.4 per cent in 2014/15. The decrease is
influenced by the decrease in rental revenue due decline in leases as number of
people become property owners. It is also influenced by the decline in
reserves.
Transfer from the Department was adjusted from R7.5 million to R14. 5
million in 2013/14 and has increased to R17.3 million in 2014/15.
4
Overview
of key conclusions drawn from the deliberations on the Strategic Plan, the
Annual Performance Plan of the Department and the Ingonyama Trust Board
Having receiving the briefing, and further
having deliberated the findings and observations on budget allocations and Annual
Performance Plans of the Department, the Commission and the ITB; the following
conclusions can be drawn:
4.1
The
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
Administration:
Corporate governance and service excellence
4.1.1
The targets and performance indicators as
presented in the APP requires revision in order to ensure that they are realistic
and measurable. In addition, such measurability could result in better
accountability on spending and value for money as well as assessments of the
impact of various policy interventions in rural settings.
4.1.2
The increased capacity within the Department,
as proposed in the Strategic Plan, especially in the Internal Audit as well as
enhancement of internal controls and management systems could result in
attainment of unqualified audit opinion by the Department.
4.1.3
A number of policies and pieces of legislation
developed by the Department over the last four years create opportunities for
fixing the impediments to land reform as the National Development Plan
proposes.
National Geospatial
Management Services
:
Improved land administration for integrated and sustainable growth and development
4.1.5
Focus on the implementation of the Spatial Planning
and Land Use Management Act as well as partnerships between the Department and
municipalities creates potential for reversal of the legacy of apartheid
spatial planning and integrated sustainable growth and development.
Rural Development:
Promote Sustainable rural livelihoods,
improved access to services and sustainable rural enterprises and industries
4.1.6
Effective planning and monitoring of the
performance of NARYSEC as well as proper plans about the placement of graduates
from the NARYSEC programme could enable enhancement of skills development among
the youth as well as contributing to job creation.
4.1.7
Effective coordination of government
interventions could enable the Department to attain wider coverage of rural
areas in terms of rural development initiatives that could lead to improved
access to services and establishment of rural enterprises and industries such
as cooperatives proposed in the strategic plans of the Department.
Land Reform:
Acceleration of the pace of land
redistribution and provision of recapitalisation and development support
4.1.8
Recapitalisation
and development support for land reform farmers and rural communities is the
most crucial complement of agrarian transformation, especially if it addresses
the needs and aspirations of the intended beneficiaries. Poor monitoring of the
programme to recapitalise and develop the farms, especially the use of private
sector partners and mentors, has the potential to undermine the intentions as
was observed in some cases of Strategic Partnerships.
4.1.9
Prioritisation
of acquisition of strategically located land matched with adequate
recapitalisation and development support, both in terms of pre and post
settlement stages of the project could assist to off-set some of the current
challenges that land reform is entangled with.
4.1.10
With the Communal Land Rights Act having been
declared unconstitutional; the Department is yet to develop a comprehensive
policy framework on tenure reform for the rural dwellers in the former homeland
territories. In the absence of such policy, there could be very little that the
Department could do to ensure tenure security in the former homeland because of
the weaknesses in the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act.
4.1.11
Failure of the Department to put in clear targets
and performance indicators in relation to tenure security on commercial
farmland, especially provision of legal services to victims of evictions could
be interpreted as lack clear plans or strategies on how the Department
addresses tenure on farms in the interim whilst strengthening policy provision
to address tenure insecurity.
Restitution:
Restitution of land rights in the form of
restoration of rights or alternative forms of equitable redress to claimants
4.1.12
Continuous shifting of funds from restitution
to rural development affects the amount of land that could be acquired for
restitution.
4.1.13
Reopening of lodgement of land claims creates
opportunities to broaden access to land by people who would otherwise not have
not been able to lodge claims because they missed the deadline for lodgement or
were erroneously excluded; for example, the betterment claimants.
4.2
The
Ingonyama Trust Board
4.2.1
There appears to be disjuncture between the
core business of the ITB and its plans to ensure that the objectives are
attained. It becomes difficult to assess if the plans developed would result in
improvement of the lives of the rural communities and realisation of the social
and economic benefit on the investment. This therefore suggests that the
Committee should find mechanisms through which it could enhance its oversight
mandate.
4.2.2
The absence of a range of policies, especially
policies on funding cultural activities, womens independent access to land,
and other relevant policies affect the manner in which the ITB can perform some
of its functions effectively.
5.
Recommendations
In view of the observations and key
conclusions discussed above, the Committee recommends that the Minister of
Rural Development and Land Reform should consider -
Administration
5.1
Finalising
the extensive consultation processes on the Green Paper on Land Reform by
documenting an overarching policy that interweaves various policies into a
single coherent South African land policy within six months of the adoption of
this report by the National Assembly.
5.2
Ensuring
that the APPs targets are realistic and measureable to assist Parliament in
conducting its oversight responsibility.
5.3
Reducing
the vacancy rate within the Department with a priority accorded to filling
vacant strategic positions in order to address the challenges lack of capacity
perform on some of the critical programmes, and excessive use of consultants.
The Minister should further report to the National Assembly, within three
months of adoption of this report, about the time-framed plans to fill the
funded vacant posts and strategies put in place to address high staff turnover
in the Department.
National Geospatial
Management Services
5.4
Submitting
a report about the targeted municipalities that the Department has planned to
assist to develop the Land Use Schemes within three months of adoption of this
report. This would enable the National Assembly to conduct oversight and track
the progress in relation to the targets set for this programme.
5.5
Submitting
a status report in relation to the Internal Audit Committee recommendation for
a forensic investigation on the e-cadastre project to the National Assembly
within three months after the adoption of this report.
Restitution (Commission on Restitution of
Land Rights)
5.6
Ensuring
that the Department does not continue to shift allocation for restitution to other
programmes so that the Commission could accelerate finalisation of backlog
claims and settled but not finalised claims. Where shifting and
reprioritisation of funds is unavoidable necessary care should be taken to
ensure compliance with the Public Finance Management Act (Act No 1 of 1999).
5.7
Engaging
National Treasury about increase in allocation of funding to finalise land
claims lodged with the Commission by the cut-off date of 31 December 1998. Within
six months of the adoption of this report, the Minister should submit a report to
the National Assembly on the outcomes of the engagements, especially additional
allocations to finalise prioritised claims (old claims) and settlement of new
claims that emanates from the reopening of the lodgement of land claims.
5.8
Developing
the National Land Claims register as a matter of urgency to assist the
Commission to prioritise existing land claims lodged by the end of 1998. The
Minister should report to the National Assembly about the plans and time frames
for the development of the land claims register within three months of the
adoption of the report by the National Assembly.
Land reform and development
support
5.9
Assessing
of the Recapitalisation and Development Programme farms, especially those whose
five year funding cycle would be ending at the end of this financial year, in
order to determine if the progamme has contributed to creation of sustainable emerging
black commercial farmers. The Minister should submit a report to the National
Assembly within three months after the adoption of this report by the National
Assembly.
5.10
Submitting
a performance plans on the Tenure Reform component of the land reform programme
with clear and realistic targets and performance indicators within one month
after the adoption of this report by the National Assembly.
Rural Development
5.11
Enhancing the monitoring of the performance
of the NARYSEC programme and develop policy mechanisms for placement of the NARYSEC
graduates.
5.12
Improving the coordination of planning and CRDP
interventions to avoid duplication of services in implementing rural
development interventions, by signing Memoranda of Agreement with various
government and non-government entities, and ensuring alignment with the
National Development Plan.
The Ingonyama Trust Board
5.13
Assisting the ITB to address the disjuncture
between its core businesses as provided for in law and its strategic plans to
ensure that the ITB conduct its business in line with the purpose for which it
was intended. The Minister should further ensure that the ITB submits clear
plans that details what traditional communities would be supported in the
2014/15 financial year; and how much was allocated for the different planned
projects.
5.14
Assisting the ITB to conduct a comprehensive
socio-economic impact assessment on how beneficiaries have materially and
socio-economically benefited from the ITB programmes.
5.15
Assisting the ITB to develop policies to
address gaps related to funding of cultural activities, promotion of womens
independent access to land and other relevant policies that affect the manner
in which the ITB performs its functions. The Minister should report to the
National Assembly within six months after the adoption of this report.
Report
to be considered
Documents
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