Hansard: NA: Mini-plenary 4
House: National Assembly
Date of Meeting: 12 May 2022
Summary
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Minutes
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MINI PLENARY - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
THURSDAY, 12 MAY 2022
VOTE NO 29 – AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Watch: Mini-plenary
PROCEEDINGS OF MINI-PLENARY SESSION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
Members of the mini-plenary session met on the virtual platform at 16:31.
House Chairperson Mr C T Frolick took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayer or
meditation.
The Chairperson announced that the virtual mini-plenary sitting constituted a meeting of the National Assembly.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 29 – Agriculture, Land Reform, And Rural Development:
The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Hon Chairperson of the session, hon Frolick, hon members, Deputy Ministers Skwatsha and Capa, chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee, of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, members of our statutory boards and councils, leadership of farmers organisations and chief executive officers, CEOs of commodity organisations present, farmers and farm workers, senior officials,
ladies and gentlemen, I greet you.
IsiZulu:
Sanibonani.
English:
The new normal ushered by COVID-19 has meant that we execute strategies on agricultural production and food security
differently. Agriculture has shown buoyancy over the past two years, growing by 13,4%, year-on-year in 2020 and 8,3% in
2021. The employment figures in the sector were at 868 000 in the fourth quarter of 2021, reflecting stability over the past few years. Most agricultural subsectors in South Africa are emerging from one of the best years for the agricultural sector - the 2020-21 season. Grains, oilseeds and some fruit such as citrus saw bumper harvests, which boosted export earnings and improved farm income.
However, the economic growth experienced and the relative stability in employment are in danger of being eroded due to a number of factors, including the geopolitical issues affecting agricultural trade.
The current Russia-Ukraine conflict has the potential to scupper our growth, as there are real concerns about its potential impact on escalating food prices, since the two countries are major exporters of grains, oilseeds, fertilisers, and crude oil products to international markets. I have established a sector task team, led by the National Agricultural Marketing Council, NAMC, that is constantly scanning the environment and providing periodic reports on this unfolding situation and the impact on the sector in particular the escalation of food prices, animal feed and fertilisers.
Hon Chairperson and hon members, the intention of our land and agrarian reform has always been about redressing the inequity in terms of land ownership because of colonial and apartheid policies. We must ensure that land ownership assist us in attaining tenure security for all, empower citizens to participate in the agricultural economy and ensure integrated rural development. Our interventions in policy, legislation
and programmatic intervention must bring us closer in building an inclusive society, without leaving anyone behind.
The challenges of poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment, must challenge us to continuously find solutions that can
respond to these challenges. Racial discrimination also had a gender dimension, it is for this reason that women empowerment in both land and agrarian sectors should be integral.
The participation of the majority of women in the sector has always been limited to subsistence farming and working in the commercial farms, largely because land access has always been a constraint.
Government’s intervention in order to correct this situation has been multifold. Firstly, it has been about profiling women farmers who are producing for the market through Female Farmer of the Year. Secondly, it was about allocating women with farms through our Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy, Plas.
Thirdly, it has been through department’s procurement.
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I wish to table hon members the 2022-23 budget. Let me
indicate from the outset that the Budget for the Agriculture,
Land Reform and rural Development Department is R17,3 billion.
A sizeable portion of this budget is for transfers to
provincial departments of agriculture, as well as entities.
These allocations relate to Ilima - Letsema Programme which is
a Conditional Grant; Comprehensive Agricultural Support
Programme; Comprehensive Agriculture Extension; Commission on
Restitution of Land Rights; Agricultural Research Council,
ARC; National Marketing Council; and Ingonyama Trust Board.
I wish to thank the portfolio committee for their work in
engaging us on our annual performance plans for the year 2022-
23, which outlines how we will utilise the allocated budget.
Today we are joining the world in celebrating the inaugural
International Plant Health Day - raising awareness on how
protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty,
protect biodiversity and the environment, and boost economic
development. These objectives are critical for us to achieve
the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These
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development goals compel us to have development that is
sustainable and inclusive, without leaving anyone behind.
Chairperson, today also marks a historic moment in South
Africa’s agricultural sector. Earlier today, we signed the
Agriculture Agro-processing Masterplan together with social
partners. This Plan is a product of negotiations between
government, labour, business, and civil society organisations
in the agriculture and agro-processing space.
The journey we have undertaken since June 2020, built on the
work done since 2001 when we first developed a strategic plan
for South Africa’s agricultural sector, the sector plan,
Operation Phakisa and the National Development Plan. All of
these processes remain important milestones that are aimed at
the transforming the sector, giving us a vision to which we
must focus. This Masterplan is lifting our gaze to imagine the
agricultural sector we want in South Africa. We want a
prosperous and inclusive agricultural sector that thrives on
better utilisation of its natural and human resources.
Allow me to commend Prof Mzukisi Qobo, together with the
National Marketing Council and the Research Team led by BEFAP,
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and CCRED who really worked with us to ensure that we reach
this milestone. My appreciation goes to leaders and
representatives of farmers, agri-business, labour and
government, who have tirelessly worked to ensure that we have
a vision and plan that will help us attain a transformed and
inclusive sector – doing this actually early morning of today.
The process of developing the Masterplan has emphasised the
multifaceted nature of agriculture in society. The
representatives were diverse reflective of the subsectors of
the industry. Such representation also highlighted the
upstream and downstream linkages that are embedded in the
sector.
The Masterplan development process has once again affirmed the
importance of social compacting, as pronounced by President
Ramaphosa during his state of the nation address. It requires
commitment, patience and determination from all those who are
involved. It may take longer; however, the fruits derived from
such a process are always rewarding.
Hon members, in 2016, we commenced a process of negotiating an
e-certification with the Netherlands, in order to ease the
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burden of inspection in support of trade. Working together
with industry, we have finally launched the e-certification
this Monday, 9 May 2022. This digital tool has come at an
opportune time, given the COVID-19 pandemic, where inspection
across borders has become even more difficult. South Africa is
now one of the few countries that will now use e-certification
for trade.
The feature of transformation of agriculture in South Africa
remains the change in landownership patterns, the growth of
black commercial farming and the accumulation of wealth, to
improve the quality of livelihoods of people directly and
indirectly impacted by agricultural initiatives. One of the
important elements for transformation and inclusive growth
will be the use of Public Private Partnerships.
Our partnership with Numolux Group, on the Ceres Abattoir,
through its subsidiary company, has seen us improving its
production capacity to 60 tons per month for the local market.
The success of this project gives us lessons on how we can
revitalise some of government defunct programmes.
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Initiatives such as Partners in Agri-land Solutions, Pals,
where there is a partnership between emerging and commercial
farmers, are showing fruits in addressing binding constraints.
The development of the Mkhuze-siding, which is a transloading
in support of small-scale sugarcane farmers of Makhathini
Flats is a result of partnership between government, farmers,
Transnet, KwaZulu-Natal Economic Development Department,
Tongaat Hullet and Santrans.
Hon members, I am raising these stories as an affirmation of
the importance of partnership in resolving our country’s
challenges.
Climate change and biosecurity, remains our major concern.
Today, it is a day to celebrate. However, one of our very own
Veterinarian Dr Gideon Bruckner, a committed civil servant who
served his country and continues to do so is one who would be
honoured by the World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE,
with the Gold Medal. This award is in recognition of his
excellent contribution to the international veterinary
scientific community.
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As we celebrate our excellence in veterinary services, we
acknowledge the challenges that remains. The Foot-and-Mouth
Disease remains to actually become our challenge.
The Onderstepoort Biological Products Company also requires
deliberate support, to ensure the completion of its Good
Manufacturing Practice, GMP facility. It is important to
ensure that information on availability and nonavailability of
vaccine is given timeously at all times.
It is important in my view Chairperson, and the department
that Onderstepoort must be able to give information at a
constant as well as you know in a transparent manner to
producers to know where can they get their vaccines.
Hon Chairperson, I know that a number of portfolio committee
members have been concerned about this matter and I share
those concerns.
The intensity and frequency of extreme weather and climate
events on the globe, and particularly in Africa, are expected
to increase. We therefore need to continue to strengthen the
multihazards early warning system for our country. The recent
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floods experienced in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape serve as
prime examples for the implementation of disaster risk
reduction measures.
There is an intrinsic link between climate change and the
spread of pests and diseases. Over the past few years, we have
been experiencing introduction, establishment and spread of
pests and diseases into new areas. Some of the outbreaks are
due to deliberate human interventions. Hon members, I must
hasten to assure you that we have dealt with the Foot-and-
Mouth in Gauteng and Free State by depopulating of affected
farms in Gauteng and Free State has been completed. We are
doing so now in the North West province. I wish to thank the
livestock industry for working with us in addressing this
outbreak. I have also been engaging the Limpopo province and
KwaZulu-Natal to ensure that we address this issue.
The task team that I have set out on biosecurity led by Dr
Moephuli, Prof Kirsten, Dr Mogajane and Dr Bruckner have
actually given me a draft report which we have engaged on and
we will be releasing the final report as soon as possible.
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We have had a challenge of brown locust in our country. As a
country, we have experienced swamps in the provinces of
Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Free State that
we have never seen in decades. This outbreak has had
devastating impact on farmers and local communities. We are
grateful to Kumba Iron Ore, Transnet and other private sector
companies that have collaborated with us in the fight against
these locusts.
Investment in agriculture remains important particularly if
you talk about commercialisation of black farmers. I must say
our Land Development Support has actually assisted a number of
farmers who are on our Pro-Active Land Acquisition Strategy,
Plas farms. Such as Mr Dan Mosia in Georgina Farm in the Free
State who has now increased his sunflower on 600 ha. He
narrated that in 2020, he started with 300 ha with a yield of
1.33 tons per ha. He expanded his operation to 600 ha. Another
success story is that of Mr Rudzani Sadiki in Thornveld Farms
in Limpopo, who also has increased his production of sunflower
to 974 ha. However, I must also say, while we are happy with
these successes we remain concerned that not all our Plas
farms as government are farmable. We have therefore resolved
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that we will need to put basic and necessary infrastructure to
make sure that such farms are farmable.
Hon members, last year in our budget debate we announced that
we would open up for the application of hemp permits by
October 2021. I want to assure you that yes, we have done as
we have promised. Thirty-one permits have been issued. We
continue to process the rest of the applications. In order to
ensure an inclusive value-chain, we will be working with
Agricultural Research Council, ARC, to set up demonstration
farms in all nine provinces, to ensure education of primary
producers on the appropriation production technologies.
The Agri-Industrial Fund that we set up last year with
Industrial Development Corporation, IDC, has also borne some
fruit. We have since seen poultry farmers now who have been
funded by this facility being able to actually produce about
1,9 million birds per cycle.
It is important for me Chairperson to indicate the importance
of agricultural financing in support of agriculture. It is for
this reason that we are supporting the Land and Agriculture
Land Bank to make sure that they engage the landless and find
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amicable solutions that will assist the Land Bank to fund
again.
With regards to market access we have concluded the signing of
citrus and pear protocols to increase export of pears and
citrus fruits to the China market. We are also currently
negotiating trade protocols with South Korea, Saudi Arabia and
the Philippines.
I must say that we have bilateral relations that we have
signed with Ghana and CÔte d’Ivoire last year. These
agreements lay the foundation of technical exchange, but at
the same time improving our capacity to trade with them.
Chairperson, during this current year we will examine all
bilateral agreements we have entered into in order to assess
the extent to which they can enhance our country’s national
interest. All of these that I have mentioned are important to
ensure that we succeed and therefore strengthening our governance
and administration. I thank you.
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Inkosi Z M D MANDELA: Thank you hon House Chair, the hon
Minister Didiza, Deputy Ministers, hon members, ladies and
gentlemen, comrades and friends ...
IsiXhosa:
... molweni bantakwethu, ...
Afrikaans:
... goeiedag ...
English:
... and good afternoon to you all.
Arabic:
As-salaamu-alai-kum.
[Inaudible.]
English:
I greet you with greetings of peace and a life of dignity for
all. In his state of the nation address, His Excellency
President Cyril Ramaphosa said that, agriculture is one of the
industries with the greatest potential of growth. In addition,
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agriculture can help us to fight hunger and reduce poverty,
impact lives and livelihoods by raising incomes and improved
food security for 80% of the world’s poor, who live in rural
and peri-urban areas. Agriculture plays a critical role in
food security, and 80% of the world’s food is grown on small
family farms. This is why it is important for government to
support all players in the agricultural sector, and
acknowledge their role in ensuring peace and stability of our
beloved South Africa.
Since the dawn of our democracy, we have made great leaps and
strides to ensure robust and strong agricultural systems, and
agricultural extension programmes that benefit and empower
vulnerable small-scale farmers and their families. Hon House
Chair, under the leadership of the Hon Minister Thoko Didiza,
the agricultural sector must address increased production in
the agricultural sector, as well as improving market access
and maintaining existing markets.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation, FAO, in
so far as improving agricultural production levels, we are
already facing widespread hunger and poverty in South Africa,
coupled with the realities of global, continental and regional
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situations, the task is daunting. This is in addition to the
projection that show that, feeding a world population of
9,1 billion people in 2050 would require, raising the overall
food production by some 70% between 2005, 2007 and 2050.
Production in the developing countries like South Africa will
need to almost double. This implies significant increases in
the production of several key commodities. Annual cereal
production for instance, would have to grow by almost
1 billion tons. Meat production by over 200 million tons to a
total of 470 million tons in 2050, 72% of which in the
developing countries is up from the 58% today. Our approach
hon members cannot be accidental and per chance. We must
ensure that the ... [Inaudible] ...of poverty, hunger, and
hopelessness is systematically eradicated. Our agricultural
sector as a whole, has a pivotal role to play in this regard.
Hon House Chair, we have made great strides in improving
access to new markets for our agricultural products. Over the
past decade, South Africa’s agricultural products gained
access into new markets with trading partners globally. This
is largely due to the continued support through government
interventions and collaborations, between the government and
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the private sector. During this period, trade protocols were
negotiated and new markets especially in Asia, which opened
for citrus, pome fruits, and table grapes. China in Vietnam. I
knew lucrative markets for South Africa's table grapes, while
citrus and pome markets have been steadily increasing in China
and the Philippines.
Some of the commodities that penetrated new markets also
feature among the prioritised commodities as per the
Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan. Commodities with
potential in the strategic countries in Africa are maize,
cane, beet sugar as well as fresh apples. However, realisation
of the full potential requires that trade barriers are
resolved. South Africa faces high tariff rates and nontariff
barriers in many countries of strategic importance.
In addition to open markets in Asia, South Africa has
potential, realistic export opportunities with other African
countries under the African Continental Free Trade Area
Agreement. The strategic markets which South Africa can trade
in agricultural commodities include East Africa that being
Kenya, in North Africa or the Maghreb region, we need to focus
on Morocco, Egypt, Libya, and in West Africa or the ECOWAS, we
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must be focusing our efforts to Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea,
Senegal, Burkina Faso and Nigeria.
Hon House Chair, we can never realise the two aforementioned
strategic goals of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform
and Rural Development, namely being, increasing agricultural
production and improved market access without doing more of
capacity building in our agricultural sector. The department
has made great efforts to ensure that skills development and
training in the agricultural sector is viewed as a catalyst,
ensuring capacity building for land reform beneficiaries and
enhancing the industrial output in the agricultural sector.
The skills revolution within the agricultural sector and acts
as a clear catalyst towards the development of the agro-
processing sector. This would also not be possible without the
progress that is being made around infrastructure projects in
the agricultural colleges, and enhancing our research capacity
and capability. Skills and infrastructure are the two
catalytic elements to unlock our strategic goals have
increased production and improved access to markets. His
Excellency President Ramaphosa said that, one of the pillars
of the economic reconstruction and development is
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infrastructure-led development, and agriculture infrastructure
becomes a key priority in this regard.
Hon House Chair, the department is mandated to ensure that the
success of the AgriBEE Fund in order to support black emerging
farmers. We have to do more to ensure greater accessibility in
this finding by black and emerging farmers. We must do more to
ensure the success of the comprehensive agricultural support
programme. Through this programme, government needs to seek to
ensure increased creation of wealth in the rural agricultural
communities, create sustainable employment, improve on his
foreign trade account, as well as reduce poverty and
inequality in the ownership of the land and agricultural
enterprise, thereby dismantling the agricultural monopolies.
The productivity of the agricultural land and the economic
development of our farming communities, cannot unfold in the
face of hostilities between the farmers, farm workers and farm
dwellers. There is a need to improve on these antagonistic
relations and help reach in the words of His Excellency
President Ramaphosa:
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A new consensus that will drive all stakeholders towards
making a contribution in helping to grow our agricultural
sector.
Together with our sister Portfolio Committee on Employment and
Labour, we will be conducting a joint oversight operation into
the living and working conditions of farm workers, farm
dwellers and the farmers. We hope that at the end of our
oversight work, Parliament will deal with all the challenges
faced and experienced by our farming and agricultural
communities, posing a direct threat to the productivity of
those affected farms and their economic livelihoods. In order
to realise an increased investment in agriculture, we need to
ensure we reduce the high levels of crime and violence in the
productive sectors of our cultural economy.
Hon House Chair, water rights remain a critical challenge to
our goal of a transformed agricultural sector. Therefore, we
must ensure access to water rights by smallholder producers.
This will enable us to enhance agricultural output and address
our food security on the sustainable basis.
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Finally, honourable house chair the recent events of the
KwaZulu-Natal floods remind us of the realities of climate
change. The impact on our urban communities and rural farmers
has been devastating. As this phenomenon became more common,
we must seriously look into the efficacy of our strategies for
adaptation and mitigation plans to deal with disaster
management. Hon House Chair, I table before this House this
Budget Vote Report for Vote 29 of the Department of
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development for
consideration and for adoption by this House. I thank you.
Ms A STEYN: We all know how the apartheid state’s policy of
separate development gave effect to legislation that set aside
13% of the country’s land for the use and occupation of the
African majority. But for a few negligible exceptions,
Africans were not permitted to occupy or own land outside the
13% land area reserved for them.
The Native Trust and Land Act empowered the apartheid
government to place in trust the land reserved for use by
Africans. The apartheid state passed the Bantu Homelands
Citizenship Act in terms of which every African was stripped
of South African citizenship.
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In its place, they were assigned citizenship of a homeland of
the ethnic group to which they belonged, irrespective of
whether there were any links between them and such homeland.
In this way, many Africans became foreigners in the land of
their birth.
This is our history and the reason why we worked hard to
negotiate one of the best Constitutions in the world.
The founding provision of our Constitution states:
“The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign,
democratic state founded on the values of human dignity,
the achievement of equality and the advancement of human
rights and freedoms.”
Nice words and a great ideal to have but unfortunately this is
not the current reality of millions of black South Africans
still living as second class citizens fighting to have tenure
security and their dignity restored.
The apartheid period skewed ownership patterns is still in
effect today. We only have to look at recent court judgements
to see and understand how little things have changed under our
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new democratically elected government. How the ANC government
treats the aspirations of black South Africans that want to
become full owners of their land?
On 11 June 2021, the court found that the Ingonyama Trust
acted unlawfully in issuing leases to people who are already
the true and beneficial owners of the land in terms of Zulu
customary law.
The judgment, authored by Deputy Judge President Isaac
Madondo, went beyond that, to also say that the way leases
were issued abrogated citizens’ constitutional rights to
tenure security, such as the informal rights to land which are
protected by the 1996 Interim Protection of Informal Land
Rights Act, and the rights of people with old-order Permission
to Occupy, PTO, certificates.
The court also found that Minister Didiza did not protect the
rights of residents living on ITB, Ingonyama Trust Board, land
and gave her three months to rectify this situation. What have
you done so far Minister?
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This judgement is important as it has enormous ramifications
for the tenure security of the 12 million South Africans
living in all former homeland areas. Not only has no effort
been made to change the 1996 interim protection law into more
permanent legislation, no real effort has been made to survey
and register the 7,7 million hectares of land in order to make
it easy to record rights once a system is found to record
permanent rights.
But it is not only people living on former homeland land that
is affected by the unwillingness of the ANC to give permanent
tenure security or title deeds to those that want to have that
security.
In its judgment, in the case between Rakgase and the Minister
of Land Reform, the court stated that, I quote:
“Despite the contents of the various programmes and
strategies, the evidence in this case confirms the
ineffectiveness of either these policies or their
implementation and that land reform, despite it being
constitutional imperative, has been slow and
frustratingly so”.
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From the judgment it is clear that ample opportunity exists to
develop well-reasoned policy and legislation to give effect to
land redistribution, land development and the eradication of
spatial inequality.
It is clear not only from these judgements, but also during
interactions with farmers and community members on the ground,
that the slow pace of land reform is due to numerous
governance failures, a lack of capacity in government
departments, effective monitoring and evaluation, and
political will and leadership.
According to a written answer by Minister Didiza, the
department is the custodian of 10,4 million hectares of land
of which only 112 000 hectares was transferred and
1,29 million ha made available for leases in the past five
years.
This Department spends 20.6% of its total budget on
administration, which is the second largest allocation of its
total appropriation for 2022/23. The ongoing chaotic
management of land administration and constant under
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achievement of targets is a direct reflection on the poor
strategic leadership of this Department.
The DA is clear in its position that that the failure of land
reform is not the consequence of any constitutional
deficiency, nor is it due to the government’s lack of funds to
compensate owners for land purchased.
We need political will to bring about clear land
transformation, we need to provide certainty that property
rights will be protected, and that expropriated land will be
compensated and follow due process.
We need to acknowledge that the transfer of land alone will
not secure the economic success of an agricultural enterprise.
Knowledge, skills, infrastructure, markets, equipment, and
access to water for irrigation is required to successfully
farm on commercial scale, all of which forms part of post-
settlement support and that is currently not happening.
South Africa belongs to all who live in it and we will
continue to fight for the protection and expansion of
individual property rights for all. For reasons of justice,
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fairness and for the future prosperity of South Africa. Thank
you
Mr N S MATIASE: Hon House Chairperson, the EFF rejects Budget
Vote No 29 of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
It is an uninspiring budget, fundamentally out of touch with
the reality of land and agricultural challenges the country
faces. At the core of these challenges is lack of political
will by this department to take tough decisions to salvage the
little that is left of South African agriculture and to
fundamentally restructure the entire structure of the agrarian
economy to ensure that land reform is widely redistributive
and that agriculture is largely responsible for speed sparking
growth in the country side.
To put matters to context South Africa has seen a dramatic
decline in the number of agricultural producers over the past
decade. The dairy sector is one of the most seriously affected
with about 73% decline in a number of dairy farmers in the
country. These numbers are declining because most of these
farms are bought by bigger enterprises who want to consolidate
and monopolise agricultural production.
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However, in real terms, lead to a dramatic reduction in the
country’s ability to produce what it needs. The result is that
we now import basic products that we use to export as a
country. This could be corrected if the country were to
revisit its decision to deregulate the agricultural sector and
provide subsidies to agricultural producers.
There is no agricultural economy anywhere in the world that
has developed without massive state regulation and investment.
It is foolish to think that ours would grow and meet the
demands of this generation without massive state support. The
state support needed for a restructured agriculture, must
however follow a massive and unrepentant programme of land
redistribution in this country.
It is inexcusable and treasonous that today, 28 years since
1994, white people still own over 70% of agricultural land in
this country. While African people, the primary subjects of
land dispossession, own a little more than 4% of the land.
There is no determined effort in this and in pervious budgets,
to drastically scale up land redistribution. There is no
policy or programmatic departure from the redundancy of the
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past two decades. At this pace, it would take over 100 years
just to redistribute a mere 30% of land back to the African
people.
We need a radical policy shift and that hon Minister, cannot
be premised on your childish view sponsored by Johann Kirsten
from Stellenbosch that land reform can be successful, if
premised on a policy encourage white farmers to donate land
for land reform purposes.
White farmers are beneficiaries of a wide colonial land
dispossession and apartheid forced removals. They knowingly
...
[Interjections.]
Ms K D MAHLATSI: Hon Chair, on a point of order.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Matiase, there is
a point of order. Just allow me to take this point of order
please!
Mr N S MATIASE: I need to think that today is nonsensical ...
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Matiase, hon
Matiase.
Mr N S MATIASE: ... to give away the stolen land.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Matiase, I want to
take a point of order. Can you just hold on, so that I take a
point of order! Yes, hon member.
Ms K D MAHLATSI: Hon Chair, the hon member referred to the hon
Minister as childish. I think it is unparliamentary and he
must withdraw.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Mahlatsi, I will
come back to the point of order, please proceed hon Matiase.
Mr N S MATIASE: It is naïve to think that today, white people
have some humanity and some sense of guilt to give away this
stolen land back to African people. It will simply never
happen. We need to expropriate land without compensation to
resolve the century’s old land question in this country. That
is the only viable principle upon which a thorough going
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programme of land redistribution and rural development can
happen.
We offered you and when I say you I mean the ANC - this
opportunity to change for good. The nature of land
redistribution in this country and you declined it in favour
of your white financiers. However, what is more despicable is
that you are refusing to do the bare minimum even within the
limits of the sell-out constitutional order in as far as land
is concerned.
You have up to this day refused to develop an all-encompassing
legislative framework to secure tenure rights of people living
under strenuous tenure conditions on farms and in the former
homelands.
You have dragged your feet in developing an overarching land
redistribution legislation to guide the government’s land
reform programme.
You have allowed people such as Jerome Ngwenya the erstwhile
Chairperson of the Ingwenyama Trust Board to continue
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mismanaging the affairs of the board, thereby bringing it into
disrepute the honourable name of the Zulu Royal Family.
You have refused to develop a comprehensive programme of pre
and postsettlement support to the few beneficiaries of land.
You have put into abeyance indefinitely the settlement of the
land claims, you opportunistically reopened in 2014 raising
expectations of people of things you knew very well you had no
intention of delivering.
You have failed in every imaginable aspect of land reform and
the electorate must finally see you for who you are and what
you represent. We reject this Budget Vote and reject the ANC
and its falsehood. Thanks, hon Chairperson.
Inkosi R N CEBEKHULU: Hon Chairperson and members of the
portfolio committee ...
IsiZulu:
... nomphakathi oyingxenye yesigcawu ukulalela inkulumo
yanamhlanje.
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English:
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development has for a number of years let the people of our
country down. Whilst we welcome and note the year-on-year
positive developments within the agricultural sector in
growing and contributing to the gross domestic product, GDP,
the line function departments and entities that now make up
this department are suffering. Land reform and the restitution
of land to the people of our country has taken far too long to
effect change in the lives of millions who were left destitute
and disenfranchised.
IsiZulu:
Mhlonishwa Sihlalo siyadinga ukuba udaba lwamapulazi
ayegazethiwe akasuqashiswa ngoba lokho akwehli kahle
emphakathini owawufake izicelo. Okufanelekile ukuthi
lamapulazi kumele adluliselwe kulabo bantu ababe fake izicelo
ngawo. Uma kuliqiniso ukuthi umthetho awuvumi ukuba abe
esathinthwa impela akubenjalo.
English:
Hon Chairperson, the matters arising from the committee report
on this budget are all noted and must be duly implemented in
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order to ensure that the process of land reform takes place as
intended, and that the development of rural towns, villages
and communities takes centre stage.
In relation to section 25 of the Constitution, I would like to
remind this House that land reform must take place as was
intended many years ago, with reasonable compensation.
In terms of agriculture, we should be mindful of the
devastating effects that climate change will have on this
sector and its ability to feed South Africa. We must ensure
that enough funds are available for climate proofing our
farmers and for protecting the export market of our
agricultural goods.
Let me not beat around the bush when it comes to the biggest
challenge faced by the current administration of our country,
and that is the cancer of corruption within the system. It
must be stressed that we will not move forward if this cancer
is not treated and completely eradicated.
IsiZulu:
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Sihlalo, ngibuyele odabeni oluthinta umhlaba ongaphansi kwe-
Ingonyama Trust. Liqiniso elingephikwe ukuthi igcunswana nje
labantu abakhwela emagqumeni bamemeze ukuthi abanawo
amalungelo abantu abahleli ngaphansi komhlaba weNgonyama
Trust. Akulona iqiniso lokho. Abantu abahleli laphaya
bathakasile, abanangxaki ngokuhlala kwabo emhlabathini
ongaphansi kweNgonyama Trust.
Labo abakhokhiswa ngokuhlala lapho yilabo abahwebayo kuphela,
ngoba basebhizinisini. Akubekhona izinto abazifakayo
esikhwameni seNgonyama Trust ukuze ikwazi ikuqhubeka nokuletha
izinto eziyisidingo emphakathini owakhelwe iNgonyama Trust.
Ngakho ke kufanele sikuqonde futhi ukuthi akufanele abantu
bakhulume sengathi bathathisa ezimvweni zabantu abathile.
Kuphela yilelo qoqwana elinamathuba okuxhaswa kodwa lihambe
lifafaza umoya ongaphelele wokuthi abantu abahleli ezindaweni
zamakhosi ngaphansi kweNgonyama Trust, labo bantu
abakhululekile, abakwazi ukuphatha nokusebenzisa umhlabathi
ngendlela yabo. Wonke umuntu ohleli kulo mhlabathi uhlala
ekhululekile.
Asikugweme ke lokhu ukuthi kube kuyasa njalo abantu bacakafula
isakhiwo okungathi sinamaphutha esinawo. Akukho iphutha
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ekuphathweni komhlabathi ongaphansi kweNgonyama Trust.
Kuliqiniso ke Sihlalo wami ukuthi abantu abahleli kulo
mhlabathi ongaphansi kweNgonyama Trust abalalelwe uma ngabe
banikezwa ithuba lokukhuluma ukuze bakwazi ukuthi izimvo zabo
zaziwe yinoma ngubani. Sihlalo, ngale kwalokho iqembu leNkatha
lizwakalisa ukwesekela nokuncoma isabelomali salo Mnyango
esikhishiwe kulo nyaka. Ngiyathokoza kakhulu.
English:
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Thank you, hon member.
An HON MEMBER: What’s that now?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): [Inaudible.] ...
delivering his speech to the House, a point of order was
raised. I have subsequently checked with the NA Table Staff.
The member referred to the Minister’s childish ... The point
of order is thus not sustained. I now call on the next speaker
and that is the hon T Breedt. The hon Breedt?
Ms T BREEDT: Thank you, Chairperson. I believe that I found a
quote I can agree with by a person whom my colleagues from the
ruling party benches might even listen to. He was an Irish
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politician, but a socialist and a trade unionist at that. At
the turn of the previous century he said, “Agriculture was the
first occupation of man, and as it embraces the whole earth,
it is the foundation of all other industries”. This also
underscores what Bernard Baruch, famous for being an American
financier and foreign policy advisor to Presidents Wilson,
Roosevelt and Truman, said:
Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally the most
important of our industries. The cities are but the branches
of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deeply
into the land. We all flourish or decline with the farmer.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development has a back to front approach when it comes to
addressing problems and starting projects. Land reform
projects, the Agricultural and Agro-Processing Master Plan,
the Cannabis Master Plan and all its facets, agri-BEE ...
[Inaudible.] ... the National Rural Youth Service Corps,
Narysec, to name but a few, are all examples hereof.
Afrikaans:
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Die departement gaan beslis ... [nhoorbaar.] ... funksies en
die provinsies, sowel as hul begrotings seker blameer vir hul
tekortkominge, maar die punt bly steeds dat die departement
faal sy landbouers en gevolglik die land en sy ekonomie.
English:
Michelle Grainger of the North Carolina Sweet Potato
Commission said, “Farmers not only produce the food and fibre
we need but they help ensure our national security and
economic stability”. It would do this department good to
remember it.
However, ... to briefly highlight the programmes and the
allocated appropriations. The purpose of programme 2 is to
oversee livestock production, game farming, animal and plant
health, natural resources and disaster management. Programme
2 receives approximately 14% of the total Vote appropriation.
Despite its important role in promoting agricultural
production, managing biosecurity and sector-related risks,
plant and animal diseases and pests, including disasters, the
budget allocation of programme 2 has been stagnant and will
further decline by an average of 1% over the Medium-Term
Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period, taking into account the
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foot-and-mouth disease, FMD, outbreak, to name but one of the
recent disease outbreaks, the ongoing locust problem, the
issues experienced daily by veterinarians regarding vaccines,
our revoked Office International des Epizooties, OIE,
certificate concerning FMD and the most recent banning of our
exports, specifically noting the banning of our wool to China,
our greatest exporter of wool. Also, being reminded that our
wool industry is an almost R5 billion industry, this
allocation as well as the findings in terms of monitoring and
evaluation is a matter of grave concern.
There is also a misalignment between financial resource
allocation and performance targets among and within
departmental programmes. For example, the administration
programme receives a larger budget than programme 2. That is a
programme central to agriculture. A total of 57% of
administration’s budget goes to the compensation of employees,
yet monitoring and evaluation within the department is weak.
It remains a challenge and will continue to affect
accountability and service delivery; accountability that needs
to assess and oversee 53% of the total budget that goes to
transfers and subsidies that includes the interventions
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implemented by provinces. We cannot afford to have transferred
funds not being optimally used.
Programme 3 that speaks to food security also has a waning
budget that is continually being ill-spent. We will never
achieve true food security, not in a greater or household
sense, if this remains the case.
Afrikaans:
Voorsitter, ons kan verder vir dae aangaan oor die entiteite
befondsing ... [Onhoorbaar.] ... van hul magte en bevoegdhede
of werklike mandate en wat hulle eintlik met hulle daar maak.
Entiteite soos die Landbounavorsingsraad, LNR, word
onderbefonds en ... [Onhoorbaar.] ... deur die departement wat
eerder van buite diensverskaffers gebruik maak. Die navorsing
wat die LNR gedoen het rondom klimaatsverandering, weerpatrone
aan ons kuslyn en verskeie faktore, kon gehelp het om die
KwaZulu-Natal ramp te voorkom as die departement maar net na
sy entiteite geluister het.
Dan het ons nog nie eers begin vrae vra rondom die eersteklas
inentingsfabriek wat sedert 2015 in wording is, steeds begroot
word en nog nie ’n stap verder gevorder het nie, of die bek-
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en-klouseer fasiliteit wat ook al jare in wording is en al
miljoene rand gekos het, of die Landbou Meesterplan wat op
nommer 99 verander is omdat sekere landbou organisasies nie
daarmee saamgestem het nie, en basta met die res van hulle.
Voorsitter, die probleem is die ANC, want die ANC pak alles
ideologies in plaas van ekonomies aan en ... [Onhoorbaar.] ...
die Minister en haar departement nie hierdie kopskuif gaan
maak nie, gaan alle landbouers vir altyd gefaal word. Ek sluit
af. ’n Volk wat vir sy landbou sorg, sorg vir sy toekoms. Ek
dank u.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT (Mr M Skwatsha): House Chairperson, hon Minister
Didiza, Deputy Minister Capa, Ministers and Deputy Ministers
on the platform, hon Chairperson of the portfolio committee,
board members of our state-owned entities, SOEs, senior
officials of the department, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen.
Very interesting fundamental day that we have today,
discussing the department and more specially, my emphasis on
the section of the land. I so often feel that South Africa is
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blessed with [Inaudible.] a measured, matured government like
the democratically elected government which is able to
sanitize things that come from the far right and issues that
come from the far left. We are the mainstream, providing
proper solutions to this country.
Hon House Chair, allow me, since others have also, to quote
something important about the land ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Deputy Minister,
may I request whoever is controlling the visuals coming from
where you are speaking to correct it; and until then they must
rather switch off your camera, please. You don’t come across
visually very well on the platform at the moment. Can they
please sort it out? And in the meantime switch off the video
so that we can continue with the debate.
Hon Hope Papo, you have your hand up! Hon Papo?
Mr A H M PAPO: No, I never raised it, Chair.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Your hand is up, hon
Hope Papo.
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Hon members, may you lower your hands please, because it seems
to me you don’t know why you raising your hands.
Mr A H M PAPO: Hon Chair, I wanted to raise the same issue you
raise to the Deputy Minister, but you have addressed it.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Thank you, hon Papo.
Hon Deputy Minister, please continue with your video screen
off until the time that it is properly fixed. Please continue,
hon Deputy Minister!
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT (Mr M Skwatsha): Hon House Chairperson, I was
about to go into the quote that I had isolated. The quote goes
as follows:
Without freedom we want no life, without dignity we want no
life, without justice we want no life, without bread for our
children we want no life, without a future we want no life,
that is why we say fatherland or death.
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Fidel Castro addressing the 4th anniversary of the Cuban
revolution.
Hon members, with this quote I just want to illustrate to
anyone who still doubts the fundamental importance of the
land. In the length and breadth of our country, when the issue
of the land was discussed, we could see multitudes of our
people attending and with one voice, we want our land.
Land is key for human settlements, land is key for
agricultural production, land is key for economic growth, land
is key for cultural purposes, land is key for environmental
purposes.
To indicate the seriousness with which the President regard
the issue of land, he went to establish an Inter-Ministerial
Committee on Land chaired by none other than the Deputy
President to work in an integrated manner and to fast-track
the release of the land.
Although we are heartened with not having been able to succeed
in the vote on section 25, we still believe that the
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resolution of the problems of our country is making sure that
land is shared on an equitable basis.
The point that one is trying to make is ... made by the
President, the persisting inequalities in the manner in which
land is owned, managed and transacted, remains one of the
contentious issues to be resolved.
I now wish to draw your attention to some of our key
programmes on land redistribution and land acquisition. To
achieve the goal of equitable access to the land as enshrined
in the Constitution, our department acquires and allocates
land under the Land Redistribution programme.
In the 2020-21 financial year we have reported that we
acquired 22 000 hectares of land. We have improved on our
acquisition by over 100% from our previous financial year by
acquiring 57 000 hectares of land through Pro-active Land
Acquisition Strategy, PLAS, in the 2021-22 financial year.
This achievement is just a drop in the ocean and we are
complacent about it as we know that inequitable access to land
remains the main challenge in this country.
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Regarding the land allocation, in line with our national
policy for beneficiary selection, we continue to ensure land
allocation targets the vulnerable members of the society and
to that extend, 39 000 hectares of PLAS land allocated, over
50% of this land was allocated to targeted vulnerable groups.
It is our desired goal to improve on this as we implement the
policy.
We will continue to target areas where there are huge land
disparities, especially in the communal peri-urban and rural
areas. Our department had to make additional funding to this
programme through budget reprioritization to ensure that more
land is required. In the current financial a budget of
R366 million has been set aside for land redistribution.
In support of the rapid release of state land to enhance land
reform, in support of the initiative to release underutilized
and vacant state land, the department has allocated 679 943
hectares of 700 000 hectares of agricultural land to various
farmers, co-operatives, entities, communities including
vulnerable groups like farm dwellers and labour tenants.
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Regarding the tenure reform, we have set aside a budget of
R270 million for the acquisition of land to address security
of tenure. In this regard, the department intends to acquire
5 000 hectares of land in the current financial year.
The land acquired for security of tenure addresses different
land tenure needs, including settlement of the labour tenants’
application and Extension of Security of Tenure Act, ESTA,
occupiers.
Regarding the Community Property Associations, CPAs: the
department recognises the challenges facing Community Property
Associations within the limited budget. We continue to ensure
that CPAs are capacitated and supported to be compliant with
the Act. Led by our Minister we have got into a programme of
visiting all CPAs throughout the country. We have so far
visited three provinces and that work continues.
Last year we said that we will audit CPAs over a two-year
period. This current financial year is year two of that work.
Currently, more than 1 500 CPAs have been established and
registered nationally. In the past financial year we supported
581 CPAs against our target of 577. And we will further train
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585 members on governance of these CPAs in the current
financial year.
As government we are concerned about governance issues within
CPAs and we are at one with the portfolio committee and select
committee when they raise such serious concerns. We will
continue to grapple with governance issues and mediation of
disputes. For us, we consider that as dealing with the symptom
and not the actual cause of the problem.
The fundamental question that we might need to face, perhaps,
is: At this time to consider whether CPAs are the best land
holding model? Is it not time to consider sub-divisions in
certain instances? For example, where family members have been
brought into a legal entity and they experience continuous
disagreements to the detriment of the business enterprise.
Another major worry is that when beneficiaries have acquired
land through the various land reform programmes, they turn
around to defeat the very same objectives of land reform,
including not utilising the land or leasing it out for mere
[Inaudible.] rental income.
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In saying so, I’m [Inaudible.] to add that a lot of support
needs to be provided to CPAs. More thinking needs to go into
how we make them functional or whether they are the best
holding model, given governance challenges.
Despite these difficulties, there are positive areas, there
are success stories. For example, the Kgatle CPA in the
Greater Tzaneen and Tshivhula CPA in Musina were able to
resolve their governance issues and compliance challenges, and
as a result, they were able to attract investors and thus
created jobs for beneficiaries.
Regarding farm dwellers, the department will prioritise ESTA
awareness campaigns to create awareness and curb illegal farm
evictions. We’ll also provide legal representation to farm
dwellers through Legal Aid SA and mediation services.
On the 26th of March 2022 I was in Belfast, Mpumalanga, at
Paarde Plaas and Rietfontein farms where we handed over 35
housing units to farm dwellers and labour tenants. These
beneficiaries had been living in mud houses all along and are
now staying in proper brick houses. [Applause.]
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The department will expedite land acquisition for farm
dwellers to provide long-term security of tenure. The
department will also expedite the piloting of agri-villages in
eviction hotspots of KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and
Mpumalanga provinces. [Applause.]
Regarding communal land tenure, government’s position paper on
land administration and communal tenure was approved by
Cabinet for further consultation with traditional leadership,
traditional communities, civil society organizations and other
interest groups, and the consultative process has been
completed, which will lead into the much anticipated national
summit, which is going to take place very, very soon at the
end of this month.
The development of the communal land tenure policy and the
communal land tenure Bill has commenced and awaiting the
national summit consultations before moving on with the
approval processes.
Regarding restitution, the commission on restitution of land
rights is established by section 4 of the Restitution of Land
Rights Act of 1994 and I quote that section:
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A person or community dispossessed of property after 19
June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws
or practices is entitled to the extend provided by an Act
of Parliament either to restitution of that property or to
equitable redress.
Notwithstanding the challenges presented by COVID-19 virus and
the attended state of disaster regulations, the commission was
able to achieve and exceed its 2021-22 annual performance
targets, achieving 103% on the settlement of land claims and
106% on the target of finalizing land claims.
Let me go to the issue of the commission and the progress
towards autonomy. To deal with organizational structure that
does not align with section 4 and 21 of the founding
legislation that envisions an autonomous entity, [Inaudible.]
are instituted and organizational form subproject whose
outcome seeks to transform the commission into an autonomous
public entity. A business case which details the proposed
design and cost implications of setting up the commission as
an autonomous entity has been developed and submitted to both
the Department of Public Service and Administration, DPSA, and
the National Treasury for further processing.
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Regarding the Office of the Valuer-General, in the recent past
the Minister has admitted the challenges impacting negatively
on service delivery at the Office of the Valuer-General. In
the past year we began to implement a turnaround strategy and
we are now reaping the fruits. The 2021 allocation has
assisted the Office of the Valuer-General to improve its
performance regarding personnel and systems. The Office of the
Valuer-General was able to eliminate the valuations backlog
inherited since inception, improve its audit outcomes, improve
its management and internal processes, implemented evaluations
tracking system.
Currently we have 21 valuers in the employment of the Office
of the Valuer-General. [Applause.] However, we still do have
vacancies. This helps us to mitigate the risk we are exposed
to in the past.
The R107 million allocation in 2022-23 will be used for
further strengthening the organization. When all is said and
done, our stakeholders want to see an improved turnaround
time.
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Hon Chairperson, I am excited to hear hon Steyn ...
[Interjections.]
Ms A STEYN: Hon Chairperson, on a point of order. Hon
Chairperson, you did mention at the start of this debate that
we are in the House and that when are in the House people on
the gallery cannot participate. So, I see the Deputy Minister
brought himself a whole house full of people clapping. Can we
ask that, that be stopped, please?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Thank you, hon member.
Hon members, we allow that there are members on the platform
who participate, but we do not allow guests, whether they are
on the virtual platform, in the Ministry or elsewhere to be
part of the proceedings. So, let’s just stick to the rules as
all of us know it.
You may proceed, hon Deputy Minister, and you have just less
than a minute left. Please proceed!
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT (Mr M Skwatsha): Thank you, hon Chair. I just wat
to indicate that ... in fact I actually thought when I heard
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people clapping I thought it was hon Steyn and others because
I did not bring anyone here.
Hon Chair, I just want to say that I hear some members ... the
FF-Plus member, hon Breedt, saying that this is a problem of
the ANC. Closer look and study of our own history will
indicate that these are ancestors of some people that might
have closer proximity to hon Breedt. The ANC is cleaning up a
mess created by apartheid colonialism, hon Steyn and hon
Breedt [Time expired.] Thank you very much, hon Chair.
Mr S N SWART: House Chair, with your permission I will leave
the camera off due to connection issues. House Chair, the ACDP
would like to pay tribute to all the farmers, commercial and
emerging, along the whole agricultural sectors and all those
along the value chain who continue to provide food to South
Africans. South Africa has the highest level of food security
in sub-Saharan Africa and is a net exporter of food, and for
this we can be grateful.
Afrikaans:
Ons sê aan ons boere dat ons baie, baie dankbaar is.
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English:
However, the Russia-Ukraine War has raised concern about
escalating global food insecurity as these countries are major
exporters of grains, oil seeds, fertilisers and crude oil.
Since the war started, the prices of these commodities have
risen significantly, and South Africa, interlinked in the
global commodities market, is exposed to these price
increases. The grain and oilseed plantings in KwaZulu-Natal
have also suffered due to the heavy recent rains, leading to
delays in harvesting. There are also pre-existing constraints
to agriculture growth, which include inefficiencies in state
administration, infrastructure issues, security, and
geopolitics.
Despite the fact that South Africa is a net exporter of food,
there are roughly 6 million people in the country who do not
have enough food to eat. What even more alarming is that,
according to the latest data available to the national
Department of Health, 199 children died from malnutrition in
the first two months of this year, with KwaZulu-Natal hardest
hit. This is probably the tip of the iceberg with the
department saying it was concerned that many more child deaths
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might occur away from its facilities, especially in rural
districts.
It is a shame that the government donates millions of rand to
foreign countries when some 6 million people in the country do
not have enough to eat. Families are destitute in our own
country, and children are dying increasingly of malnutrition
in the country. Surely, hon Minister, charity must begin at
home, and more resources should be directed to ensure our
population is not starving. People go hungry not because food
is expensive or scarce, but because as Agricultural Economist
Wandile Sihlobo states I quote:
Households simply do not have the income. Even if
something costs R2, to a man without R2 that is
unaffordable.
The ACDP agrees. But, whose responsibility is it to feed the
hungry? While the government bears the lion’s share of
responsibility, it cannot do it alone. The private sector,
civil society and ordinary people need to assist in tackling
the issue. Food donations to organisations that feed the
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hungry should be encouraged. The ACDP is playing its role in
this regard.
Lastly, the ACDP wishes in addition all the farmers in
providing food security, to thank all those that are donating
food particularly following the devastating floods in KwaZulu-
Natal. You are the true heroes. Thank you House Chair.
IsiXhosa:
Nksz B TSHWETE: Sihlalo weNdlu yoWiso-mthetho yesizwe ...
English:
... Ministers and Deputy Ministers, members of the House. Hon
Chair, the 1955 Freedom Charter says that, the land must be
shared among those who work it. It further says, ...
IsiXhosa:
... abalimi mabancediswe ngembewu nezixhobo zokulima.
English:
The 1992 ANC Ready to Govern Policy Guidelines says that, the
ANC government will pursue increased agricultural
productivity, ensured food security and further pursue a
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policy of land redistribution to ensure that all South
Africans have equitable access to land. South Africa’s
progressive land reform policy has three pillars, which are
land restitution, land redistribution, and security of land
tenure rights.
IsiXhosa:
Sikhumbuzane ke Sihlalo ukuba ...
English:
... this Parliament has passed the enabling legislation on
land restitution in terms of provisions of section 25(7 of the
Constitution of the Republic of the country. The piece of
legislation is known as the Restitution of Land Rights Act,
Act 22 of 1994
IsiXhosa:
Ndincedisa ke Sihlalo ela lungu belisithi akukho nomthetho
othetha ngale nto.
English:
The purpose of the country’s land distribution programme, as
stated in the White Paper on South African Land Policy of
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1997, is to provide the poor with the land for residential and
productive purposes in order to improve their livelihood.
IsiXhosa:
Umohluko ke phakathi kwethu siyi-ANC namaqela aphikisayo kule
Palamente ...
English:
... is in our outlook.
IsiXhosa:
Thina sibona imiceli-mingeni, bona babona ukwahluleka.
English:
With every challenge, there is an opportunity, an opportunity
to create a better South Africa for all where everyone gets an
opportunity to share in the economic benefits of the country.
The land restitution program is about ensuring the equitable
redress for the historical injustice of land dispossession.
IsiXhosa:
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Asizi kuthetha into engavakaliyo kwaye, singazi kuhlafuna
manzi xa sithetha ngomba womhlaba. Umhlaba wona mawubuyele
ebantwini.
English:
Our immediate concern has always been around the productivity
of the land reform project. It is only a through productive
use of the land that our people’s lives can be improved, and
to find that guarantee, our nation’s food security. It is on
this account that the ANC will keep on emphasising the
importance of working the land. This is consistent with the
Freedom Charter and the 1992 policy guidelines.
One of the communities working the land is the Bela-Bela of
Community Property Association that is creating job
opportunities. The Communal Property Association, CPA supplies
its produced eggs to big retailers in the country. Some of the
challenges faced by the by some CPAs thus affecting
productivity, vary from noncompliance with the objectives of
the CPA’s Act ...
IsiXhosa:
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... ukruthakruthwano phakathi kwabo bafanele ukufumana uncedo,
ukungavani kwabo ngokuthi umhlaba bawuphuhlisa njani na ...
English:
... and land administration. The support given to CPAs will
ensure that many more CPAs become profitable like the Bela-
Bela CPA. The ANC in its in its 54th National Conference. has
reiterated the importance of democratising the control of
areas under communal land tenure, as well as the evaluation
and appraisal of the CPA with the intention to help reconcile
the right of community of rural communities to own land, and
to foster better relations between traditional leaders and
their respective communities.
The subprogramme on food security and agrarian reform will get
an allocation of R6,3 billion. This is the second biggest
allocation after the restitution subprogramme. There is a need
for a variable development of the agricultural sector, through
the creation and support of smallholder farmers.
In 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that, the agricultural
revolution should be embedded in land reform and that
redistributed farms should be active in production. In order
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to realise the productivity of land reform, about
R27,6 billion has been allocated towards food security, land
reform and restitution
The other allocation to take note of in this budget is the
R3,7 billion towards household expenditure, through grant
funding for land acquisition and farmer development support.
Four hundred million rand will be transferred to the Land
Bank, while R2,4 billion will be in a form of transfers to the
municipal and provincial governments.
In conclusion, as the ANC we have long noted that the lack of
access to land is one of the causes of poverty, both in urban
and rural setting. In order to realise effective agrarian
reform, issues of lack of access to adequate supply of water
needs serious attention, as this has a direct impact on our
food security. The employment of new technologies can help
improve our water usage, as research shows that, vertical
farming can use about 95% less water than conventional farms,
and yields 75 times more crops per square meter. As the ANC we
stand in support of Budget Vote 29. for the Department of
Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development.
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IsiXhosa:
Ndiyabulela Sihlalo.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT (Ms R N Capa): Thank you very much, hon
Chairperson, hon members, Minister Didiza, Deputy Minister
Skwatsha, Ministers and Deputy Ministers on the platform,
Chairperson of the portfolio committee and members of the
portfolio committee ...
IsiXhosa:
... iikumkani kuzwelonke, iinkosi zemveli, amakhosi
namakhosazana, izizwe zomhlaba, ndiyanibulisa.
English:
... members of our statutory boards and councillors and ...
[Inaudible.] ... farmer organisations and chief executive
officers of commodity organisations, farmers and farmworkers,
those men and women who work and enjoy all types of weather,
senior officials of the department ...
IsiXhosa:
... ndiyanibulisa nonke.
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English:
Chairperson, it gives me great pleasure to address this House
today on the occasion of Budget Vote 29 of the Department of
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. The state of
our rural communities is the stag reminder of the oppression
that once visited those people by the apartheid error, which
is characterised today by devils of poverty, underdevelopment
and unemployment.
Rural areas continue to bear such sculls of a brutal system,
which sought to strip black people of their dignity through
amongst others, the theft of their land, livestock and to
condemn them to be a constant supply of labour for the formal
economy.
Approximately 33,7% of South African population live in this
dusty rural areas. These communities are amongst the poorest
in our country. In fact, it does happen in many countries of
the world. But due to their limited access to social services,
including education and healthcare they remain poorer than
their counterparts’ in cities.
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The legacy of the past system of oppression subjected our
people, particularly in rural areas to underdevelopment,
unemployment and intergenerational poverty. Our government has
been working hard to address the historical challenges facing
South Africans in those rural areas by engaging in
socioeconomic processes to uplift these communities though
rural development initiatives.
We will continue to bring transformation to rural areas
through agrarian reform policies, which aims to ensure that
such communities begin to truly enjoy their liberation as
well. As a result, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform
and Rural Development is leading this charge of bringing much
needed development and support to rural communities that will
then achieve sustainable economic growth in those basis.
Chairperson, Covid-19 pandemic had a profound negative impact
on these poor and marginalised communities. The pandemic,
which remains the factor in lives of our people even today
disrupted their economy, impacted their ability to many
citizens to earn a living and caused deepened poverty in such
areas.
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As part of government support initiatives to mitigate against
effects of pandemic, the Presidential Economic Stimulus, PES,
with an agricultural support administered by our department
brought much needed relief to struggling smallholders and
subsistence farmers. Through this initiative support,
subsistence farmers were able to obtain production inputs
through a voucher system, which allow them to continue to grow
their crops, feed their animals and in turn sustain their
livelihood.
I also need to say sorry because there were some glitches and
are those who still have expired vouchers. That matter has
been attended to and we are actually sure that in the next
time we will do the best. Please bear with us. More than
50 000 subsistence farmers applied for the second phase of
this PES, which will bring further relief and ensure that jobs
are created and sustained.
Global warming and climate change are realities that we have
to address as a collective. This means the government,
traditional authorities, civil society, citizens and residence
of this country need to come together.
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We must change our living patterns and do all we can to reduce
emissions and improve human settlement planning to avoid
future catastrophic natural disaster. I do know that the
National Environmental Management Act, Nema, will also be
helpful and enabling policy that will make us to work
together, irrespective of our spheres of government or being
NGOs or traditional authorities.
But as is the outbreak of the pandemic being not enough
another disaster occurred, which affected blacks in kwaZulu-
Natal as well as Eastern Cape and North West. Our hearts and
prayers go out to all families who lost their loved ones
during the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape in April
2022. This disaster has costed lives, properties,
infrastructures and brought pains and sadness to families,
communities and our nation. We extend our appreciation to
every person and organisation who extended a helping hand to
those affected by the floods.
We know that subsistence agriculture plays an important role
in meeting the needs of the residence in rural areas. The
department plans to implement a number of projects that are
aimed at increasing jobs, developing skills and the provision
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of infrastructure development to support rural economic
transformation. The creation of jobs is critical in
alleviating poverty and improving the lives of rural
communities.
The department plays a critical role in contributing to the
creation of environment conducive for growth of rural economy.
...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): Hon Deputy Minister,
could you just pause there, please. I see the hand of the hon
Shaik Emam is up. Hon member, why are you raising your hand?
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM: Sorry, Chairperson, I just want to tell you
that I was in another debate but I can be available if you can
make it possible. I couldn’t send our chart. But, sorry for
that.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr C T Frolick): So, hon member it’s a
second time today that this is happening. I will request the
Table Staff to interact with the smaller parties so that we
don’t have this disruptions during the debate so that if they
are busy in another debate we know before hand and we can slot
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them later. But, we cannot continue like this. It needs to be
managed by the Table Staff. Thank you, hon member. Please
proceed, hon Deputy Minister. And my apologies for this break.
The DEPUTY Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development (Ms R N Capa): Sorry to the smaller parties,
Chair. The creation of jobs is critical to alleviating poverty
and improving the lives of rural communities. The department
plays a critical role in contributing to the creation of
environment conducive for the growth of the rural economy.
In the 2021-22 financial year, the department completed a
total of 30 infrastructures projects that support the farmer
production support unit – 64 infrastructures projects were
completed to support the animal theft through management
programmes.
This number indeed will increase in 2022-23 financial year as
we roll out projects to further support growth and development
in rural areas that I spoke bout.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural
Development support the proposed Eastern Seaboard Development.
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That is a broad and multifaceted vision to develop a new smart
city developments initiative launched in November 2021 by the
President of the Republic of South Africa. This important
development covers the jurisdiction of four districts in
municipalities, which are the poorest indeed and rural. That’s
OR Tambo, uGu, Harry Gwala and Alfred Nzo in the Eastern Cape.
But Minister, I wish I would add Sarah baartman because that
is one coastal belt that has got similar climate conditions
and might be able to be clustered together in order to quick
serve those people.
Successful consultation engagement was held during May 2022
between traditional leadership, the Department of Agriculture,
Land Reform and Rural Development, the Department of Co-
operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Municipal
Infrastructure Support Agent, Misa, and affected district that
I have mentioned and their traditional leaders. Indeed, this
was very successful. And indeed, we have looked into their
Integrated Development Plans, IDPs, and tried to ensure that
they are ready for the project.
Chairperson, in the current financial year more than
R600 million has been allocated to Rural Infrastructure
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Development. This allocation would be directed to
infrastructure progress, including those related to animal
health management, the River Valley Catalytic Programme,
farmer producer support centre and the revitalisation of rural
towns.
In fact, this are whenever towns apartheid government was
never interested n that. This were village management boards
that were settled along the main roads. They have no land
because there was no plan to actually expand them. And we
would be attending to that. The ANC is here.
As our country battles the scourge of gender-based violence,
women and girls in rural areas have not been spurred from this
despicable social ill. One could even argue that they are even
more vulnerable than their counterparts who live in urban
areas. This is due to the underdevelopment in their
communities, which often means no access to services such as
law enforcement and medical facilities. This one is more
challenging.
Gender-based violence is the blight on the freedom, which saw
many of our comrades’ paid their ultimate price. Women and
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girls are not safe in their homes. They are not safe in their
own communities even if they are among their fathers. This
situation has to be changed and it must change. The Department
of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, as a member
of the National Rural Safety Forum has contributed to the
development of the rural safety strategy, which aligns to the
National Development Plan Vision 2030 is called to build safer
communities with particular emphasis on the protection of
vulnerable groups such as women, children and people living
with disabilities.
The next three years, this include access to roads in Limpopo
and Eastern Cape.The President has actually marshal us to
ensure that in this two we actually attend to rural roads,
surface upgrades to gravel roads in the Free State as well as
North West.
We welcome this initiative as it will go a long way towards
improving the lives of our people by allowing cheaper and
easier flow of goods and services, access to economic
opportunities and safer movement of our communities from one
village to another.
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In addition to the department, we will work with farmer
organisations, if counterparts in all spheres of government to
implement a programme of preparing and rehabilitation of rural
and farm access zones to facilitate transport and logistics
for the agricultural economy, including inputs.
In fact, Chair, I would want to say this will be very much
helpful to our people. Chairperson, our country is
experiencing records of levels of unemployment, especially
amongst the youth, women and persons with disabilities. It is
through the ... [Inaudible.] ... programme that we recruited a
youth in various Tvet colleges across the country and created
nearly 500 jobs for rural communities in 2021-22 financial
year. In this group, the department included significant
number of women and persons with disabilities.
The department also employed youth graduates and then assisted
by placing them to those farmers who benefited from Payments
for Ecosystem Services, PES, and therefore, they were creating
jobs for the young people. They were also supporting the old
in order to be able to be productive.
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Two district development model - more than 600youth were
trained through Agriculture Research Council and have been
supported with agricultural inputs. It is encouraging that 610
participants established enterprises in all our nine provinces
received support and afforded economic opportunities.
In conclusion, Chair, we will continue to collaborate with
social partners while we implemented targeted programmes and
projects, which will bring development and create jobs and job
opportunities for our rural communities. We will not rest
until poverty is eradicated, frontiers of poverty are reversed
and there is prosperity and continued the growth for all our
people. I thank you, Chair.
Mr A M SHAIK EMAM: Thank you, House Chairperson and allow me
to apologise for participating in another meeting that took
place ... [Inaudible.]
Chairperson, the NFP will support the Budget Vote tabled here
today. Allow me to commend the department for the work done in
the introduction of an electronic system for small-scale
farmers and others to be able to apply for a phytosanitary
certificate which, it would appear, will go a long way in
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ensuring and enhancing the export of goods, particularly
agricultural goods for small-scale farmers.
Now, I also want to say that what we need to do is to expedite
or accelerate the process of land reform in the country,
particularly, you know, for the Khoi and San community ...
[Inaudible.] ... people of District Six. What is disappointing
is the sale of land in the Liesbeek River which is of
significance to the Khoi and San community, and which has been
sold to the Two Rivers development.
Now, one of the matters of concern that we have in the
agricultural sector is this, and we know as a result of the
floods that took place in KwaZulu-Natal, one particular farm
... [Inaudible.] ... family-owned sugar cane farm, suffered
R20 million in crop and infrastructural damages. This farm
employs between 800 and 1 000 employees and I’m given to
understand that the Minister is intervening in this matter.
However, the concern is that small-scale cane growers in South
Africa have a distinct disadvantage as a result of the import
of sugar which is duty free from Eswatini. What is more
important to note is that some of those who are directors or
shareholders in these mills in Eswatini are big manufacturers
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that control the industry in South Africa and that have an
edge over small businesses in South Africa, which is resulting
in a jobs bloodbath. A good example is that as a result of
sugar being duty free and ... cheaper labour in Eswatini, even
the product Chappies bubble gum in South Africa is now
produced in Eswatini.
Now, we are calling on the Minister to intervene in this. We
cannot have duty-free sugar coming in from Eswatini but the
industry ... the cane growers are coming to a standstill in
the country. Surely we need to put South Africa first.
Of course, the other matter ... the concern is that we have
enough fertile soil, we have all the natural resources ... we
are importing wheat ... we are now stuck as a result of the
war that’s taking place in Russia and the Ukraine. We believe
that what should happen is that we should enhance our own
agricultural sector, make sure that there is more development
in the rural areas so people don’t have to migrate. I see my
time is up. Thank you very much, Chairperson. The NFP supports
... [Inaudible.]
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Mr N CAPA: Hon Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Ministers, hon
members, leaders of entities, officials and staff from the
department, Parliament and entities, guests and fellow South
Africans, as I greet you in this month of unity of Africa and
this month of victory over fascism, I would firstly like to
remind this House and everyone that this concept of rural
development was consciously adopted by this government to
address the urban bias in the South African situation, which
by the way, is known to be a conventional phenomenon. This
tendency was further made crude in our country by the rule of
apartheid and colonialism. In this case, the word apartheid
translated properly into English means separatism or apartism.
It has nothing to do with development.
Rural ... [Inaudible.] ... South Africa were never developed.
They were only reserves and a source of cheap labour for the
mining and manufacturing industries. They were never
developed, except by ... [Inaudible.] ... into Bantustans
which faked independence.
Given these circumstances, rural development is an integral
part of socioeconomic transformation. It is actually intended
to develop rural communities as well as the spaces they live
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in. As a result, it tallies directly with the critical
services, which include education, health, social services,
public transport, and agricultural production and food
security. The department has a number of programmes on rural
development that it implements.
IsiXhosa:
Xa ndisenza umzekelo phaya kwizakhiwo zikarhulumente, kufuneka
ukuba abantu basezilalini bangaphindi babenoxanduva lokuhamba
imigama emide, okanye bakhwele izithuthi imigama emide behamba
befuna ezi nkonzo. Kwakhona makuqinisekiswe ukuba amasimi
alinywayo namadlelo ayabiyelwa kwaye kuqinisekiswe ukuba
amadama akhona kumadlelo emfuyo. Makuphinde kuqinisekiswe
ukuba abantu abasezilalini basebenzisa amanzi acocekileyo.
English:
When it comes to youth, the department through the National
Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec, ensures that young people
in rural areas get training and skills for social
organisation, upliftment and economic development.
It is a known fact that women in rural areas are the most
underdeveloped and therefore the department wants to ensure
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that rural women have equal opportunities in all sectors of
development.
The infrastructure and conditions in rural areas have been
ignored. The department has understood the need to upgrade
infrastructure and facilities that are conducive for the
movement and activities of people living with disabilities.
Rural development directly addresses unemployment, poverty and
inequality. This can only be understood and implemented by the
ANC and its government, or if you like the ANC-led government
or if you like, the ANC government.
IsiXhosa:
Ndizithetha zonke ezi zinto ngabom Sihlalo kuba kukho abantu
abathi xa behleli phaya ekoneni kwisithebe Ngokungavakaliyo]
... bacinge ukuba nabo bangurhulumente.
English:
The department has planned and is implementing programmes that
are addressing rural poverty and underdevelopment. They are
doing this under pressure from those who have always been
beneficiaries of the poverty of our people.
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IsiXhosa:
Uzakuyifumana ke le nto Mphathiswa ohloniphekileyo kuba kaloku
uxova intelezi nje, impundulu ikujongile.
English:
Through intergovernmental relations, the department has
demonstrated ... to appreciate all the concomitant ... of
rural development, which includes electrification, water and
sanitation, roads and bridges.
As the ANC, we urge all reasoning people to join us and
support Vote 29, the budget of the Department of Agriculture,
Land Reform and Rural Development. It seeks to address the
needs of the poorest of the poor. It seeks to build the nation
that was envisaged in the Freedom Charter and in the
liberation struggle.
IsiXhosa:
Ndiyabona ke Mphathiswa ukuba kufuneka uyiqonde into yokuba
kubonakala ngokungathi wena nabaxhasi bakho niyayiva le ntetho
ingumyalezo isuka phaya eMpuma Koloni ithi: Ningahambi nidlala
nithunyiwe. Loo nto iza kusinceda ke, ukuze lo msebenzi
niwuthunyiweyo uphumelele. Enkosi Sihlalo.
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Mr N P MASIPA: House Chairperson, the Annual Performance
Planning is the one off opportunity a year provided to the
department by law to reflect and conduct a systematic review
process of the past year’s performances and provide plans and
budgets for the year ahead. The process also allows the
department to apply corrective measures where it may have
failed the people of South Africa.
Once the department has completed the assessment, it is
supposed to draw a list of key performance deliverables that
contain specific, measurable targets with timelines within
which it must deliver use in the allocated budget. Where there
are fiscal constraints, the department can leverage the
private sector for assistance.
However, the department continues to use the same generic
performance planning and budgeting approach which has
repeatedly failed it. This failed approach is affecting the
department’s ability to effectively implement programmes, such
as blended finance programme
The tabled budget of R17,3 billion failed to factor in new and
worrying institutional threats ranging from animal diseases,
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plant pests, or operational deficiencies and the knock-on
effects of the ANC’s Russians invasion of Ukraine.
The Department remains underfunded on biosecurity. The foot
and mouth disease outbreak in 2011 cost the agriculture
industry about R6 billion. This led to the country losing its
FMD free status, which was later regained in 2014. Tragically,
South Africa was to lose FMD free status again in 2019, with
an outbreak that cost the economy an estimated R10 billion.
While the industry was fighting to regain the country’s FMD
free status, 56 new outbreaks were recorded across the
country. The question then is: Why do we have annual plans
that are not responsive to the real challenges in the
agricultural sector?
The Eastern, Northern, and Western Cape provinces have
experienced the worst locust outbreaks in recent memory. The
department demonstrated a lack of planning capacity during
operation after some key members of the locust control team
were left unpaid, with insufficient pesticide supplies, poor
quality protective clothing and substandard spraying
equipment. Even worse, the OBP is failing our farmers. Farmers
complain constantly about the lack of vaccines at the OBP.
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From 1st June, when the vaccination of the horses starts,
there is still no indication whether the OBP will be able to
supply the African Horse Sickness vaccines.
The development of poor performance plans to produce poor
service delivery outcomes is nothing new with the ANC
government. Instead of building institutional capacity, the
ANC corruption has crippled state institutions and collapsed
others. While Ramaphosa’s administration claims to have
prioritised infrastructure development to improve transport
and food security. Evidence on the ground shows that this is
not the case.
The poor maintenance of the ports, the rail and road
infrastructure are exacerbating, food inflation and is
threatening food security. Although transport does not fall
under this department, the industry wants to see collaborative
responses from state organs aimed at addressing food security
and skyrocketing inflation. But we all know that the ANC
government care less about the vulnerable.
While I still have a floor Chair, let me address an important
diplomatic effort that was covered in the media recently. The
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visit to Ukraine by the incoming President hon John
Steenhuisen very much in the best interest of South Africa.
The Russian invasion in Ukraine is hitting South Africans hard
in the pockets with rising fuel and food prices. The longer
that this war carries on buying petrol at R40 a liter isn’t
too far off the horizon. Hon Steenhuisen has helped to focus
the national conversation on the economic dangers that we face
should this war drag on. As if our food security isn’t
threatened already by this senseless Russian invasion of
Ukraine.
Recent surveys by Dr Kandase Cloete, found that: One in five
farmers want to exit farming in the next decade. It is a sad
indictment that this department does see this as a looming
crisis
The DA government in the Western Cape has responded positively
to these emerging challenges. The provincial Department of
Agriculture has recently entered into an MOU with an
agriculture commodity group to fill the void of fiscal
constraints, development of emerging farmers and support of
extension services. Through the Department’s innovation, it
has introduced agro-processing on wheels to assist emerging
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farmers who want to process their products before selling them
to the market. This is what a capable state must do to respond
to challenges in the agricultural sector.
In conclusion, the master plan that was signed off today was
never presented to Parliament, except to the members of the
ANC study group. While the DA supports the state’s
collaboration with social partners and private sector
leveraging to transform and grow the economy, we don’t support
the haphazard ceremonial plans that mean nothing to our
farmers. A dangerous precedent is being set on reducing the
portfolio committee members of this house to a rubber stamp
role of the ANC cadres study group. Programmes such as
AgriParks, Farmers Production Support Unit (FPSU), AgriBEE and
Blended Finance failed to produce the desired results because
the annual budget plan and policies were never aligned nor
supported by these plans. I thank you, Chair.
Ms M M E TLHAPE: Hon Chairperson, I request to switch off the
video. I am on load shedding here. The Department of
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development oversees the
operation of a number of public entities. It is therefore
important to acknowledge the importance of this entity as part
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of the ecosystem that supports the industry. What is critical
is the strengthening and adequate resourcing of these entities
in order to ensure that the work of the department is
adequately supported. These entities are not on their own.
They form an integral part of the agricultural sector
ecosystem, and I will speak to some of them.
Now, hon Steyn, let me indicate to you that irrespective of
what you say, our people know their history. Have you ever
wondered why land has to be transferred back to its rightful
owners? Why is it where it is? Now, let me tell you what is
political will. Political will is the 700 000 hectares of
state land that President released for redistribution.
Political will is the completion of Phase 3 residential units
of District Six, and the start of Phase 4 and 5 to be
completed in 2024-25, in order to restore the dignity for
victims of apartheid forced removals.
Hon Mathias, don’t think that South Africans have forgotten
that you refused, with your party, to support the
expropriation of land without compensation, and I wonder why?
Probably so that you can come here and play big, and pretend
that you care. For your information hon member, expropriation
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of land without compensation is just but one mechanisms of
land redistribution. We are not stuck as the ANC. We will
continue with other programmes to give our people land.
Now, under the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, by
September 2021, a total of 82 295 claims were settled.
Benefitting 2,2 million beneficiaries, comprising of 444 57
households. The extend of the land acquired and restored to
land claimants was 3,8 million hectares. The total number of
land claims outstanding in January 2022 was 6 907. We can
boldly say that the commission has settled 92% of claims lost
by 1998. For this financial year, by the way, as the
committee, we are encouraging the commission to push for
completion of research of all older claims whilst continuing
with the targets for settlement and finalisation land claims.
Whilst there is a push to ensure that land claims are settled
and finalised, the truth is that the commission does not have
enough resources to do that. The current allocation of
R3,7 billion hon Minister, is inadequate to allow for
settlement of all outstanding claims within the shortest time
possible.
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Deputy Minister Skwatsha, we welcome the progress made by the
commission to ensure that it moves towards being an autonomous
entity in line with Public Finance Management Act, PFMA
because we believe that will be to improve the organisational
efficiency and effectiveness. On the Office of the Valuer
General, its work was a new terrain, but considerable progress
has been made to entrench its services. One of the critical
areas which the committee welcomes was the review of the
Property Evaluation Act by the Ministerial Advisory Panel on
land reform. The work has been completed, and the Minister is
considering the report.
We envisage that recommendations of this report will assist
the department in implementing the just and equitable
compensation when acquiring land for land reform and further
clarify the mandate of the Office of the Valuer General, OVG.
We welcome the commitment to ensure that critical and
strategic positions are filled. It is doable. Whatever they
have planned on their Annual Performance Plan, APP because
already in 2019-20 its performance rating was 93%. In 2020-21,
it improved to 100%. There is also a renewed focus to ensure
that a number of days to issue evaluation certificate do not
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exceed 50, and to take less than 10 days to resolve queries
after issuing a final evaluation certificate.
Hon members, on the Ingonyama Trust Board, the biggest issue
here hon Cebekhulu, is that the committee has agreed to
address through oversight visits and engagements with the
trust board and trustees, as well as relevant stakeholders, is
the purpose for which the trust was established. And whether
communities were realising the material benefits from the
administration or management of their land. In terms of the
challenge of Ingonyama Trust Board that me and you know from
the committee, it is in respect of accountability and the
budget deficit.
Deputy Minister Skhatshwa has just indicated a plan for
hosting a Communal Land Tenure Summit, which will involve
diverse stakeholders. It will therefore be important that as
and when the department deliberates upon the matter of
customary land tenure, consideration be made on lessons
learned from our experience, whether negative or positive on
governance and the land administration of rural land as we
have seen with the Ingonyama Trust Board, because what we are
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seeing could actually be multiplied if not exacerbated when we
transfer the land to traditional communities.
Now our engagement hon Cebekhulu therefore, is stressing
accountability because as legislators, we want to protect the
right of individuals and communities as according to Section
25C on protecting the tenure security for all citizens. So
it’s not like we are being mean to Ingonyama Trust Board, but
our responsibility is the protection of citizens. But also,
it’s about enforcing accountability because of the public good
in terms of resources allocated to the bond. Now, hon Breedt,
...
Setswana:
... bothata ga ese ANC. Bothata ke gore lona makokokganetso
le gana go amogela gore puso le lefapha di a dira ka matlole a
mannye a ba fiwang. Mananeo a tshwana le namolo ya COVID-19,
letlole la Moporesidente la go tlhatlhosa ikonomi, ...
English:
... your Presidential Stimulus Initiative, ...
Setswana:
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Tlhabololo ya didika kgotsa, ...
English:
... District Development Model.
Setswana:
Ke tsone tse dingwe tse di bontshang gore ANC e semagane le go
fetola maphelo a batho.
English:
Coming to the Agricultural Research Council, our visit in
Tshwane, members were exposed to some of the laboratory
equipment in the bio-technology platform that is used in
diagnostic analytical services for stock theft, micro genetic
traceability, rapid ... [Inaudible.] ... test, paternity
tests, and so on. The Agricultural Research Council Agro-
Processing and Medicinal Plants Unit which is already
contributing to the upliftment of small moringa growers in
Limpopo, will play a crucial role in developing research
towards the implementation of agricultural industry master
plans.
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Other innovations include the plant and animal mobile clinics
and a mobile hour tour that enable the Agricultural Research
Council, ARC to reach remote areas on research livestock,
plant and bio systematic as well as soil testing to address
industry challenges. The effort of the current board which
seems to have an intrinsic understanding of the ARC mandate
and challenges, are acknowledged and appreciated. The task
team that ... [Inaudible.] ... has established to address food
and mouth disease challenges is noted. And the committee
should seek a report on its activities. The committee
previously lamented instability in the executive management
following the departure of the former CEO, and the new CEO has
just been appointed since the 1 April 2022.
Hon Swart, we really appreciate the assistance by farmers to
those in need during disaster. Theirs is a noble profession
and that is what we call private public partnerships, and we
really appreciate. Moving forward, we will continue to work
with them as they continue to help those that are in
destitute. Hon members, are visit to Onderstepoort Biological
Products, highlighted both positives and negative challenges
that the institution is facing. What has been apparent from
engagements on the entity’s APP and the oversight visit, is
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that the challenges of Onderstepoort Biological Products, OBP
are complex, and did not start in 2019, hon Masipa. Or even
five years ago, but have been going on for some time.
We equally support the work that the board is doing in
repositioning the institution. However, we know that there is
still more work to be done in ensuring that there is adequacy
in the availability of vaccines as well as the need for
completion of the Good Manufacturing Practice, GMP project as
all of these are important in the support of our animal health
system. House Chairperson, the ANC supports Vote 29 of the
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
I thank you.
The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL
DEVELOPMENT: Thank you very much House Chairperson ...
IsiXhosa:
... mandibulele ngentetho yabo bonke abathe bayinxalenye lale
ngxoko-mpikiswano, ngamandla amalungu eNdlu ngezincomo
abazithethileyo. Kodwa ke, kumele ndibulele oogxa bam amalungu
e-ANC, athe agxininisa ezintweni esizenzileyo nakwezo zinto
simele ukuba sizenze ukuya phambili. Tata uCapa
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ndiyakuthembisa namalungu onke ukuba asiz’ukudlala endleleni,
sizakuya apho sithunywe khona.
Siswati:
Ngiyacela ke kusho kutsi bakhona nine Bekunene nalabo
labakhuluma emaphunge kungatsi sebakhohliwe kutsi sivelaphi.
Uma nje sikhuluma ngekwakhiwa kabusha kwalelive kumele
sikhumbule incindzetelo lesibuya kuyo. Kulesinye sengatsi
siyakhohlwa, mhlawumbe kufuneka sikhumbutane, kutsi kahle
kahle vele uma sikhuluma ngalencindzetelo, isukaphi. Maye
nkosi yami 1652 kute kube ngumanje, mudze kakhulu nome ungatsi
1652 kufika ku 1994 angati kutsi singatsi sikhatsi lesidze
kangakanani kunaleminyaka lengu 28 yekutama kuhlengahlengisa
kabusha sakhe sive.
Kumele ke nine Bekunene futsi ngisho kutsi labohulumende
basembili bebabukene kuphela netimfuno talabayingcosana. Tsine
nje labamphisholo sasingatiwa nekutsi sibobani. Sikhohliswa
nje kancane, kutsiwe naku kwentiwa ema Agricultural
Cooperation lokungemphela kungesiko kwekutsi kulekelelwa
kwebalimi njengoba setama kwenta kulesikhatsi sanamuhla.
Kumele ke sikhulume emaciniso siwabheke. Ngiyabonga nkosi yami
kutsi make Steyn ingatsi nawe kube khona kuvuleka kwemehlo
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wakuvuma ngalomlomo wakho kwekutsi kahle kahle vele
besicindzetelwe lapha sivela khona. Keje ke ngitakushiya
kuloko.
English:
It would important for me, to actually appreciate the role
that have been played by members of the District Six. All the
various stakeholders, who have engaged with us as government
in the development of their land as they have returned.
On 06 May 22, many more beneficiaries returned to where they
were forcefully removed. After the City of Cape Town finally
issued the occupancy certificate. I want to actually
appreciate the role played by the portfolio committee in this
regard, the Interministerial Committee on Land, headed by
Deputy President. But, also the Department of Public Works for
having won the journey, ensuring that, that land is secured
for the claimants.
The City of Cape Town led by our mayor who was part of the
Members of this Parliament, who also have been opened to
engaging with us to resolve the issue of occupancy
certificate. It’s nice to be part of a democratic state,
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because even if we differ, we appreciate the contributions
that others are making. Because, the challenges of resolving
South Africa’s problems lie on all of us.
Hon Matiase, in your intervention you actually reflected on a
number of issues, where in your view, you felt that nothing
has been done. Some other members have also raised the issue
from the opposition of the lack of political will. That cannot
be far from the truth. The very fact that the ANC as a
movement was central in the negotiation of the Constitution of
the country and its democratic dispensation, particularly to
emphasize that the issue of land reform and bringing back the
dignity of our people is central in the trajectory for
transformation. That defines the political will.
What we have been doing over the years, returning land to our
people. At the same time engaging those who took the land from
our people, maybe not themselves directly but the system that
was in place ensured the disposition of the majority of the
South Africans.
We acknowledged their pain and therefore we undertook to
compensate. To ensure that there’s no disruption and further
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conflict in our country. Which democratic state can ever do
that if not the ANC-led government?
Hon Cebekhulu, you’ve also indicated the importance of fast
tracking land reform, yes we agree, but I think when we talk
about fast tracking of land reform, we shouldn’t be once
sided. We should equally make the same call to the land owners
of this country. Because, more time gets spent in the
negotiations on price. Some of the land owners even dispute
the fact that there was any land disposition.
Hon Steyn, hon Breedt, I actually want to take you to Melmoth.
Understand how long it took us, to resolve that claim, not
because there was political will, but because persistent, you
know refusal from land owners. There were few who actually
acknowledged that we needed to go and ensured that there’s
settlement and that’s why we celebrated last Saturday with
four communities of Melmoth in this regard. But, it’s a
journey that has been very long. And, I think when we talk
about these issues we need to appreciate that fact.
Hon Mandela, hon Tshwete, hon Capa and hon Manketsi you
actually raised the importance of supporting agriculture
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particularly those who have been given land and I agree with
you. Because, it is important that as we bring in new owners
into the land that they were removed from, they are equally
supported in order to make sure that they become successful.
And it is important to appreciate that [Interjection.] ...
that they support. I therefore wish to thank all members for
their participation in this debate. And to our farmers, and
... [Inaudible.] ...enterprises and claimants at home for the
good work that they have done. Thank you very much. [Time
expired.]
The mini plenary rose at 18:43.
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