Question NW4341 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Reply:

A court order issued on 10 December 2019, against the former Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, now Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), by the Land Claims Court (Court), ordered the appointment of the Special Master for Labour Tenants. The Special Master does not report to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, but will supervise, oversee and monitor the functions of the Department regarding outstanding Labour Tenants’ claims.

The same court order, dated 10 December 2019, also granted permission to the Special Master to appoint consultants to provide opinions, reports and other assistance. The position of the Master Data Specialist was subjected to a job evaluation process, to ensure that the correct salary level was determined before the post was submitted to be filled through a recruitment and selection process. A job description was developed for the post by benchmarking against similar posts with the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. The process however took longer than anticipated and the Special Master requested that the process not be continued. The Special Master was seeking alternative solutions in filling lower-level positions that can assist in the administrative functions of his Office.

The Department is, therefore, in the process to fill the following positions allocated to the Office of the Special Master:

• 1 x Systems and Operations Manager post filled.
• 1 x Programme Administrator and Office Manager post filled.
• 1 x Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Manager post filled.
  • • • 1 x Office Assistant post filled.
      • 1 x National Programme Manager post. Post advertised and the closing date of the advertisement is on 20221014. Filling of the post is anticipated to be by 20230101.
      • 1 x Programme Coordinator. Seconded from the DALRRD.
      • 1 x Senior Administrative Officer post. Filling of the post through a recruitment and selection or transfer processes and filling of the post is anticipated to be by 20230101.
      • 1 x Messenger post. Filling of the post through a recruitment and selection or transfer processes and filling of the post is anticipated to be by 20230101.