Question NW224 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
12 April 2022 - NW224
Matiase, Mr NS to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
In light of the fact that the 2019 Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture found that land redistribution was hamstrung, partly because beneficiary selection has not been transparent and there is evidence of so-called 'elite capture' as business persons and/or those with personal and/or political connections acquire land ahead of farmers from communal areas and/or farm dwellers who have experience, what measures has she put in place to address the challenge and/or to ensure that the system is free from political and administrative abuse, corruption, elite capture and that deserving and rightful beneficiaries of land reform are the ones who benefit?
Reply:
In responding to the Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development developed the National Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy (Annexure A) which was subsequently approved by Cabinet.
The Policy aims, amongst other things, to achieve the following:
- Provide a uniform, fair, credible and transparent process and criteria for the selection of beneficiaries for land allocation or leasing of state properties by:
- Establishing independent Beneficiary Selection Land Allocation panels to preside over the selection of suitable candidates for land allocation;
- Implementing a standardised national on-line land application system to ensure a fair and transparent process of beneficiary selection and the rationing of resources; and
- Creating a land application register for potential beneficiaries of land allocation.
- Ensure qualified, suitable and deserving candidates gain access to land on an equitable basis and that the selected beneficiaries have the appropriate skills and capacity to optimally utilise state properties.
- Ensure that special target groups of land reform beneficiaries (as outlined in the Policy) have access to land for purposes of agricultural production.
- To give effect to these controls, an on-line land allocation system has been developed. The system has a clearly define automated qualifying criteria through which the beneficiary selection must pass.