ATC140408: Legacy Report of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform 4th Parliament of the Republic of South Africa May 2009 – March 2014
Rural Development and Land Reform
Legacy Report of the Portfolio Committee on
Rural Development and Land Reform
4
th
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa
May 2009 March 2014
Table of Contents
Overview of key challenges
during the term of the Committee
1.1
Department and entities reporting to the portfolio:
rural development and land reform
1.2
The Committees approach and methods for conducting its
work
.
4.
Special
project(s) coordinated by this Committee
5.
Briefings
and/or public hearings
6.1
Challenges emerging from processing of legislation
6.2
Overview of strategic issues for follow-up by the
Committee in the fifth Parliament
7.1
Challenges identified and emerging issues for follow-up
8.1
Challenges and key issues for follow up
12.1
Challenges and issues for
follow up
13.
Obligations
conferred on committee by legislation
14.
Summary of
outstanding issues
Highlights of the report
This report accounts the work of the 4
th
Parliaments Portfolio Committee (the Committee) on Rural Development and Land
Reform. Based on its 2009-2014 Strategic Plan, reviewed in 2012, the Committee
developed strategic objectives that provided a framework within which it
operated.
The objectives were crafted as follows:
-
To evaluate; process and monitor implementation of relevant policies,
legislation and programmes of the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform and its entities.
-
To undertake an effective
process of scrutinising and overseeing the exercise of executive authority;
including entities under the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.
-
To ensure that the public is
central in all aspects of legislation formulation, implementation and
evaluation through interactive, responsive and meaningful engagements
-
To foster conditions and
support systems which enhance committees capacity and processes for a robust
and critical oversight, including guidance over the Executive
-
To foster co-operation
within the three spheres of government as well as committees in the National
Assembly and the National Council Of Provinces on matters of common interest
Table 1
: Key
focus areas per year
Year
|
Key focus
|
2009/10
|
-
Oversight on realignment
of the Department and creation of capacity to implement the new mandate.
-
Monitoring
conceptualisation and roll out of the CRDP pilot projects
|
2010/11
|
-
Oversight on
implementation of the turnaround strategy for restitution
-
Assessment of the
effectiveness of the Recapitalisation and Development Programme (to improve
productivity of land reform farms)
-
Assessment of the CRDP
pilots and roll out of the CRDP to rural municipalities
|
2011/12
|
-
The completion of the
National Land Audit
-
Policy review and the
Green Paper on Land Reform
|
2012/13
|
-
Follow-up the Green Paper
on Land Reform debates and engage in policy review
-
Tracking progress in
implementation of the recommendations of the Auditor-General
|
2013/14
|
-
Coordinated oversight on
redress of the legacy of the 1913 Natives Land Act.
-
Processing of legislation
referred to the Committee by the National Assembly
|
Some of the key achievements
Over the last five years, the Committee
managed to achieve the following:
-
It oversaw the completion of the state land audit by the Department of
Rural Development and Land Reform;
-
As a result of the Committees insistence, the Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform tabled (in 2010) its first Communal Property
Associations (CPAs) Annual Report since the promulgation of the CPA Act in
1996;
-
The Committee oversaw the completion of the Comprehensive Rural
Development Programme pilot projects and subsequent rolling out the CRDP model
to other rural municipalities;
-
A number of key pieces of legislation referred to the Committee were
processed; that includes the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill; the
Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill; the Property Valuations Bill. In
addition, it also processed other Bills of technical nature such as the Deeds
Registries and the Sectional Titles Amendment Bills.
-
It created platforms for a coordinated dialogue on the legacy of the 1913
Land Act, and raising debates between public representatives and members of the
public on the subject matter; and
-
It ensured public participation processes during consideration of
legislation and other core businesses of the Committee. For example,
stakeholders briefing sessions on the plight of farm dwellers and workers.
Key areas for future work
Having conducted its work under the guidance
of its five year strategic plan (2009-2014), revised in 2012 when the Committee
conducted its mid-term review; and further having concluded its business by the
end of March 2014; there are issues that it recommends that the new Committee
should find mechanisms to include them for follow up during the fifth Parliament.
The Committee identified broad areas of work
that could be marked for consideration as priority issues for the fifth
Parliaments Portfolio Committee responsible for land reform and rural
developed. As illustrated in Table of this report, the key areas have been
grouped according to the four categories; namely, restitution; redistribution,
tenure reform, development support, and policy development. In addition,
critical attention needs to be paid to the entities which reports to the
Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, mainly the Ingonyama Trust Board
and the Agricultural Land Holding Account and the Deeds Trading Account.
Whilst this Committee managed to work with the
Department to ensure that an unqualified audit report was achieved, a lot of
work was still required to ensure that a clean audit was attained. Therefore
critical focus needs to be paid the governance issues. And a focus on the
findings of the Auditor-General for this Department would help to improve in
both areas of financial and non-financial performance.
Table 2
:
Proposed areas for future work
Area
|
Issues
|
Restitution
|
-
Progress on state of readiness for the lodgement of claims
-
Finalisation of outstanding claims and funding for new land claims
-
National Land Restitution Register
|
Redistribution
|
-
Monitoring the performance of the Agricultural Land Holding Account and
the management of leases as per the new lease management policy ;
-
Oversight on new land purchases and the role of the Valuer-General as
provided for the Property Valuations Bill.
|
Tenure
|
-
Communal Land Tenure Policy
-
Amendment of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act
-
Settlement of claims made in terms of the Labour Tenant Act (LTA)
|
Development Support
|
-
Assessment of the performance of the RADP, especially the strategic
partnerships and mentorship programmes
-
Support to smallholder farmers
|
CRDP
|
-
Coordination of government interventions for the CRDP and development
support for land reform projects
-
Monitor infrastructure development projects, and human capacity
development programmes in rural areas
-
Implementation of key legislation such as the Spatial and Land Use
Management Act
|
Overarching Policy
|
-
Follow up with the Department on the compilation of the overarching
policy framework through the White Paper on Land Reform; and a separate
White Paper on Rural Development
|
Entities
|
-
Policy and legislation governing the Ingonyama Trust as well as
improving accountability of the Board.
-
Land administration on the Ingonyama Land and draw comparisons with
other system of administration elsewhere in South Africa
|
Overview of key challenges during the term of the Committee
Whilst the Committee recorded a number of
successes between 2009 and 2014, it also encountered challengers which it had
to deal with. These challenges can be grouped in terms of the five strategic
focus areas proposed in the strategic plan.
Law-making (policy and
legislation)
-
The Department could not adhere to its legislative programme; as a result
the Committees programme was affected. Only towards the end of the term that
more legislation was referred to the Committee.
-
As a rural development committee, most of the work done targets to better
the lives of the rural poor. Therefore, public participation process on some
legislation takes longer due to consultation processes in rural areas of South
Africa, yet there are limited time and resources to do so.
-
The absence of an overarching policy document (a white paper) affects the
way in which the Committee could evaluate or monitor policies holistically.
Oversight on exercise of the
Executive
-
The Department often submitted its briefing documents or reports, either
very late or on the day of the meeting. This affected the ability of the
Committee to critically engage with the presentations and subject under
discussion. Late submission of documents hamstrung the effectiveness of
oversight and scrutiny of documents.
-
There were constant
changes on the Parliamentary programme. This affects the programme of the
Committee.
In addition, the time
allocated to Committees for oversight visits was insufficient, especially for
committees focusing on rural development and land reform; they do require more
of field-based oversight activities and time for follow-up visits.
Public participation
-
Effective processes of public consultation in law-making are expensive.
It takes more time to finalise consultation on policy or legislation.
Recommendations
In view of the overall performance of the
Committee and the challenges it encountered during its term of office, the
following recommendations were made:
The Committee should consider
-
Creating enough
space, in its programme, for oversight visits. Such visits should encompass a
mix of both remote areas of South Africa and the peri-urban areas in order to
enable the Committee to determine if indeed the CRDP is reaching the very rural
poor and disadvantaged sectors of our Society;
-
Insisting on
timeframes for submission of reports or briefing documents to the Committee in
order to avoid late submission which affects the Committees ability to
critically and effectively engage in discussion about the subject matter under
consideration.
-
Ensuring that
oversight visits should be followed by follow-up activities to ensure that the
findings of the Committee are dealt with by the Department/entity. Such
follow-up activities may include return visits to same sites to ascertain
progress made by government.
-
Designing mechanisms
to track progress in responses to its questions (arising from its meetings and
other forms of engagements), and implementation of Committee resolutions as
tabled in the House.
-
Coordinating
efforts of various portfolio committees with
overlapping mandates in order provide a comprehensive parliamentary oversight
on activities of government departments, as well as dealing with various
crosscutting issues of interest to the committees.
-
Focussing the oversight efforts on governance systems and structures of
the Department to ensure that the Department achieves a clean audit report from
the Auditor-General of South Africa.
1.
Introduction
This report accounts for the work of the
Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform, hereafter referred to
as the Committee. It is based on performance against is planned activities as
per the Strategic Plan (2009-2014), implemented between May 2009 and March 2014.
The functions of parliamentary committees, as
stipulated in the rules of the National Assembly, include the following:
-
To monitor the financial and non-financial
performance of government departments and their entities to ensure that
national objectives are met.
-
To process and pass legislation.
-
To facilitate public participation in
Parliament relating to issues of oversight and legislation.
The Committee oversees the Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform, hereafter referred to as the Department, and its
entities. The entities are the Ingonyama Trust Board, the Agricultural Land
Holding Account, and the Deeds Trading Account. In addition, the Commission on
Restitution of Land Rights, under the programme of Restitution, reports
independently to Parliament.
1.1
Department and entities reporting to the portfolio: rural
development and land reform
1.1.1
Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform
In 2009, the old Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs
was split
to create a separate ministry
and department that would encompasses the mandate of the former Department of
Land Affairs, and a new mandate of rural development. The new department was
named the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Its legislative
mandate, as documented in the strategic plan of the Department, is to create
and maintain equitable and sustainable land dispensation and to act as a
catalyst for rural development that ensures rural livelihoods, decent work and
continued social and economic advancement for all South Africans
[1]
.
Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides a
framework within which the legislative mandate for land reform is derived and
implemented. In line with the new mandate, the new Department was realigned and
defined its new role, being to initiate, facilitate, coordinate, catalyse and
implement an integrated programme of Rural Development, with a vision to
create vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security
for all
[2]
.
This vision derives from the priorities of
government as documented in outcome 7 of the 12 outcomes of government.
[3]
1.1.2
Entities reporting to the Minister of Rural
Development and Land reform
There are three main entities which reports to
the Department; namely the Deeds Registration Trading Account, the
KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Board, and the Agricultural Land Holding Account.
In addition, the South African Council of Planners and the Commission on
Restitution of Land Rights also report to the Minister of Rural Development and
Land Reform. These entities reports to the Minister, who reports to Parliament,
about the funds transferred to them in terms of Section 38(1)(i) of the Public
Funds Management Act.
(a)
Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
implements the programme of restitution. The purpose of the restitution
programme is to provide equitable redress to victims of racially motivated land
dispossession, in line with the provisions of the Restitution of Land Rights
Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994). Its objective is to resolve restitution claims
within the target period, through negotiated settlements that restore land
rights, or award alternative forms of equitable redress to claimants
[4]
.
(b)
Deeds Registration Trading Account
The Deeds Registration Trading Account is
managed in terms of the Deeds Registries Act, No 47 of 1937, as amended. Its
main purposes are to finance the operating costs of the various Deeds
Registries responsible for the registration of conventional bonds, sectional
titles and leaseholds.
(c)
KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Board
The Ingonyama Trust Board is established in
terms of the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act, (Act No.3 of 1994) as amended
by the National Act 9 of 1997. It core business is to manage the land for the
material benefit and social wellbeing of the individual members of the
tribes. It is vitally important to note that the Trust Board cannot alienate
or burden the land without the written permission of the relevant traditional
or community authority.
(d)
Agricultural Land Holding Account
This account was
established for the land reform purposes in terms of the Provision of Land and
Assistance Act, 1993 (Act No 126 of 1993) as amended in 2008. The Act provides
that the Minister may, from money appropriated by Parliament, proactively
acquire land for land redistribution.
1.2
The
Committees approach and methods for conducting its work
1.2.1
Approach
Given the strategic
significance of the programme of land reform as an integral part of the
strategy for rural development, and a component of mechanisms to redress the
colonial and apartheid racially-based and skewed land ownership patterns, the
Committee adopted an approach to ensure the centrality of public participation
in its approach. Its programme of action ensured that its contribution to the
oversight and accountability functions of parliament, especially issues related
to how the policies of government were implemented as well as their impact with
regard to changing the lives of the people. The Committee adopted an
evidence-based law-making and policy assessment; hence it put a lot of emphasis
on stakeholder engagements and public hearings in almost all its law-making
activities.
Illustration
1:
Framework for Oversight by the Portfolio
Committee
Illustration 1
(above) shows how the Committee conceptualised the work it carried out over the
last five years. The Committee took into consideration the context within which
rural development and land reform were implemented. Poverty, unemployment and inequalities
are the three critical challenges that can be directly linked landlessness a
legacy of the colonial and apartheid land dispossessions. However, the
post-apartheid land reform programme has also been criticised for poor post
settlement support which leads to underutilisation of land. It has also been
criticized for its lack of effective institutional support to the new land
owning entities, the Communal Properties Associations (CPAs) and Trusts.
Therefore, the focus of the Committee was on policies and processes that could
unlock the potential, in both rural development and land reform, to undo the
legacy of the racially-based land divisions.
The focus of the committee was on secure land access in terms of the
redistributive programmes of land reform (restitution and redistribution) as
well as tenure reform; increased productivity of land reform farms through the
Recapitalisation and Development Programme (RADP); improvement of the
livelihoods of the rural poor through the CRDP, and audit of state land.
The oversight
strategies were underpinned by commitment to public participation in all
aspects of oversight and policy or law-making, scrutiny of reports of the
Department and relevant entities, supported by reports from other government
entities such as the public service commission, Department of Performance
Monitoring and Evaluation, and the Auditor-General. These oversight
underpinnings were translated into methods as detailed subsection 1.2.2
(below).
The Committee
identified three strategic outcomes which it focussed on, i.e. development of
policies and legislation, pursue oversight to ensure clean audit for the
department, and to ensure that the Department was accountable for a range of
interventions that would alter the context
[5]
.
The key achievements (outlined in this report) are directly linked to the key
strategic outcomes identified in this report but also broadened in the
strategic plan of the Committee.
The approach of the
Committee hinged on the following essential considerations:
-
The reversal of the legacy of the Natives
Land Act requires integrated and coordinated interventions by all section of
the society. The Committee adopted a holistic approach which viewed the
Department of Rural Development and Land Reform as a coordinator of government
interventions;
-
An emphasis on public participation in its
activities to create platform for critical engagement between citizens and
public representations in Parliament. Involvement of citizens, as consumers of
services, in matters of service delivery is important in a democratic society;
-
The capacity of the state to make
interventions that would result in better delivery of development services to
the rural poor, a particular focus was on the delivery of land to the landless,
provision complementary comprehensive development support, tenure security;
-
The key policy questions that could resolve
the challenges confronting beneficiaries of the programme of land reform, and
contributing to the daunting task of the reversal of 100 years of land divisions.
-
The legacy of the Natives Land Act was deeply
entrenched; therefore a radical approach was required to resolve landlessness,
tenure insecurity, poverty and under-development.
-
Review of
various policies and identification of key gaps in policy and how the
Department has addressed them, or plans to address the policy gaps:
This process was linked to the engagements
between the Committee and the Department around the Green Paper on Land Reform.
The Committee drew on a range of reports from relevant government departments;
for example, reports of the Department of Performance Monitoring and
Evaluation, the National Planning Commission and the Public Service Commission.
-
Briefings
by the Departments and its entities
: Over the last five
years the Committee received briefings on the following: strategic plans and
budget allocations for the Department and entities, quarterly performance
reports including spending patterns, annual reports culminating in the
development of the Budget Review Recommendations Reports. Specific briefings
were received from other departments such as National Treasury on particular
issues affecting aspects of the programmes of the Department.
-
Engagement
with members of the public, civil society organisations and academic/research
institutions
: The Committee hosted stakeholder meetings and workshops
for conversations about particular issues affecting programmes of the
Department. The two specific issues related to the tenure security on
commercial farms, the national workshop that focussed on the legacy of the
Natives Act to mark the centenary of the natives land Act, and a policy
workshop for a review of emerging policies from the processes linked to the
Green Paper on Land Reform.
-
Oversight
visits to particular sites where the Department implemented certain specific
programmes.
The Committee visited sites for restitution, LRAD, PLAS,
RADP, revitalisation of irrigation schemes, CRDP pilot projects. The project tours
and the interactions with beneficiaries as members of the Trusts and CPAs
enhanced an understanding of the depth of challenges of land reform and by
extension implementation of policy mechanisms to undo the injustices of the
past.
-
Interaction with institutions established to
support democracy, or the Chapter 9 institutions. In its course of business,
the Committee conducted hearings and briefing sessions with the Office of the
Auditor-General of South Africa, and the Public Service Commission. These institutions
provided useful information and insights into the performance of the
Department, both in terms of financial performance and performance of the
pre-determined objectives.
1.3
Structure of
the report
Following this detailed introductory part, the
report proceeds as follows:
-
It provides statistical data about the number of meetings held, oversight
trips undertaken, legislation processed, petitions processed and other key
variables;
-
It lists the stake holders and their significance to the work of the
Committee
-
Narratives about the briefings and the public hearings conducted by the
Committee in relation to processing of particular legislation
-
The next sections are details about legislation, oversight visits and the
international tours.
-
It summarises the key issues to follow-up and concludes with
recommendations to strengthen operational and procedural processes to enhance
the committees oversight and legislative roles in future.
2.
Key statistics
Table 1 (below) provides an overview of the number
of meetings held, legislation and international agreements processed and the
number of oversight trips and study tours undertaken by the committee during
the 4
th
Parliament. As illustrated in the Table, no international
agreements were processed by the Committee whilst the Committee has not
obligation to conduct statutory appointments and interventions.
Table 3:
Statistical
overview of activities of the Committee
Activity
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
2013/14
|
Total
|
Meetings held
|
15
|
28
|
25
|
40
|
31
|
139
|
Legislation processed
|
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
8
|
Oversight trips undertaken
|
1
|
4
|
None
|
None
|
(3)
[7]
|
8
|
Study tours undertaken
|
None
|
None
|
1
|
None
|
|
1
|
International agreements
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
N/A
|
Statutory appointments made
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
N/A
|
Interventions considered
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
None
|
N/A
|
Petitions considered
|
None
|
None
|
1
|
None
|
None
|
1
|
Apart from the five oversight visits conducted
by the Committee on its own, further visits to three provinces were undertaken under
the banner of the
ad hoc
Committee to
exercise coordinated oversight on the reversal of the legacy of the Natives
Land Act (1913). The Committee was the lead and coordinating committee.
3.
Stakeholders
The Committee has engaged with a range of
stakeholders during the course of its work.
As outlined in Table 2 (below), the stakeholders came from a range of
sectors that have an interest in this portfolio; those included NGOs and CBOs,
organised agriculture, organised labour, research and academic institutions,
and public law interest organisations. The contribution of these stakeholders
is highly valued by the Committee because it enriched the deliberations and
certain decisions arrived at by the Committee. Of strategic importance was that
through the engagements, the Committee as an extension of the House remained
accessible to the members of the public.
Table 4:
List of
Stakeholders
Sector
|
Name
|
Area of interest
|
NGOs/CBOs
|
Land Access Movement of South Africa
Nkuzi Development Association
Association for Rural Advancement
TCOE
Surplus People
Women on Farms Project
Vulamasango singene/ Border Rural Committee
|
Land rights and development; food sovereignty; Farm worker rights;
restitution, redistribution
|
Organised agriculture
|
AgriSA
Tau-SA
NERPO
AFASA
|
Commercial
agricultural organisations; agricultural
associations; and Commodity organisations;
|
Research and
Academic Institutions
|
UCT: History Department
SU: Sociology Department
UWC: Institute for Poverty Land and Agrarian Studies
UCT: Community Law and Society
Human Rights Watch
|
Land dispossessions and transformation of property relations; Land and
agrarian reform; food regimes; NRM and Fisheries
Land rights and customary law
|
Organised Labour
|
COSATU
FAWU
|
Conditions of employment and agrarian transformation on farms
|
Public Law
Interest organisations
|
Legal Resources Centre
Lawyers for Human Rights
Rural Legal Trust
|
Human rights, land and property rights and customary law
|
4.
Special project(s)
[8]
coordinated by this
Committee
The
Committee conceptualised and coordinated the events to mark the centenary of
the Natives Land Act (1913). This matter was highlighted by the President on
the occasion of the 2013 State of the Nation Address, when he reminded South
Africans that the year 2013 marked a centenary of Natives Land Act of 1913. Its
promulgation
turned
black people into wanderers, labourers and pariahs in their own land
.
The National Assembly
passed a resolution to constitute an ad hoc Committee to exercise coordinated
oversight on the reversal of the legacy of the Natives Land Act of 1913. The
resolution provided a comprehensible mandate through the terms of reference
that guided the Committee conduct its business. The ad hoc Committee was
mandated the Committee to exercise its powers in terms of Rule 138 (Rules of
the National Assembly, 7
th
).
The particular terms
of reference mandated the
ad hoc
Committee to
-
assess
the extent to which the programmes of land reform and rural development have
addressed the legacy of the Native Land Act of 1913, especially with regard to
the committees mandate in respect of land divisions and agricultural
development;
-
assess
the success, or otherwise, of the land restitution programme (this particular
point had a particular significance; i.e. to allow the Committee to conduct
assessment of restitution prior to engagement with the processes of the
Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill.
-
enquire
about the systems put in place for, and to monitor processes towards, the
re-opening of the lodgement of land claims so that the Commission on
Restitution of Land Rights can implement a programme that is fair and
transparent to all South Africans; and
-
make
recommendations on the removal of blockages obstructing the restitution of land
rights.
The
ad hoc
Committee, in accordance with the
resolution of the National Assembly, consisted of 12 members of the Portfolio
Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform; and representatives for the
following Portfolio Committees: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; Arts and
Culture; Public Works; Human Settlements; and Cooperative Governance and
Traditional Affairs, in accordance with the following proportions: African
National Congress (11), Democratic Alliance (4), Cope (3), Inkatha Freedom
Party (1), and other Parties (1).
Mr. JD
Thibedi, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and
Land Reform, was the Chairperson of the
ad
hoc
Committee.
5.
Briefings and/or public
hearings
This section addresses the briefing sessions
with stakeholders and public hearings on particular area of work in this
portfolio and/or the legislation before the Committee. The following paragraphs
describe the kinds of hearing or briefings conducted by the Committee.
5.1
Briefings/public hearings with stakeholders
Over the term of this Committee, issue-based
public conversations with stakeholders and interest groups were held. The committee
identified tenure on commercial farms as a critical component for discussion.
The reason was that research reports were pointing to the abuse of farm workers
and the poor living conditions on farms. From these two public hearings, the
Committee undertook to strengthen its oversight on this area, and the primary
issue being to follow up on the amendment of the Extension of Security of
Tenure Act, 1997 and explore possible research on the extent of evictions since
1994. Partnership with the International Labour Organisation was explored.
However, the project could not take off due to lack of adequate resources from
the Committee.
During the processes of the
ad hoc
Committee established to exercise
coordinated oversight on the reversal of the legacy of the Natives Land Act of
1913, the Committee was assigned a coordination role. During the term of its
office, the
ad hoc
Committee created
opportunities for various stakeholders to brief it on various aspects of the
history of land dispossession in South Africa, progress made to transform the
property relations
5.2
Public hearings on legislation
The Committee conducted public hearings on all
the pieces of legislation referred to it for consideration and reporting. Some
of the public hearings were conducted in Parliament with civil society
organisations and members of the public as witnesses. This is mainly in
legislation tagged section 75.
However, with regard to the legislation that
could largely affect many rural poor people, the Committee decided to conduct
hearings in different localities in the districts. The only Bill which was
initially tagged as 75 but later changed to 76, the Restitution of Land Rights
Act Amendment Bill, it was decided that the Committee should conduct public
hearings in different rural parts of South Africa during this process, the
Committee engaged with over 10 000 people, of which 1300 submitted written
complaints and submissions. These complaints were forwarded to the Department
and the Commission for response and further engagement with the relevant
communities and individuals. The Committee has requested the Department to
submit full and comprehensive responses to the queries raised by the members of
the public.
The following public hearings were
held in Parliament.
5.2.1
Property Valuation Bill
[B54-2013]: It ties in very much to the
Restitution of Land Rights Act, Provision of Certain Land, and the
Expropriation Bill
5.2.2
Restitution of Land Rights Bill [B35-2013]: This Bill was widely
supported. However, other pieces of legislation or policies that are likely to
affect the right to restitution were the Communal Land Policy, the Communal
Property Associations, and the RADP.
5.2.3
Deeds Registries Amendment Bill [B10-2013]:
It amended the Deeds Registries Act, 1937,
so as to substitute certain obsolete expressions; to delete the reference to a
registrar of mining titles or a mining commissioner acting as a registration
officer; to provide for the extension of the duties of a registrar. It further
dealt with the appointment of alternate members to the deeds registries
regulations board and others.
5.2.4
Sectional Titles Amendment Bill [B11-2013]: The Bill
amended the Sectional Titles Act, 1986, so as
to amend certain definitions; to redefine the boundaries between certain
sections and common property; to regulate the substitution of bonds registered
in respect of different pieces of land shown on the sectional plan; to provide
for the issuing of certificates of real rights of extension and certificates of
real rights of exclusive use areas at the opening of a sectional title
register; to provide for the issuing of more than one certificate of real
rights of extension and more than one certificate of real rights of exclusive
use areas
5.2.5
Geomatics Profession Bill [B4-2013]: The public hearings created a
platform for dialogue between the members of the public and Parliament in
relation to the transformation of the geomatics profession. The Bill was widely
supported.
5.2.6
Spatial Land Use Management Bill [B14-2012]: The hearings reaffirmed the
need for spatial justice. However, they raised the need to ensure that this
Bill complements rather than competes with the Municipal Systems Act.
5.2.7
Black Authorities Act Repeal Bill [B9-2010]: The public supported the
Bill. However, there were concerns that the provisions of this Bill were
entrenched in other pieces of legislation such as the Traditional Leadership
and Governance Framework Act. The Traditional Courts Bill was also identified
as one of the Bills that could potentially entrench the legacy of this Bill.
5.2.8
Rural Development General Amendment Bill [B33-2010]: Although t
his Bill affects
almost every piece of legislation administered by the Department, it has not
substantive impact because it mainly addresses the name change from the
Department of Land Affairs to the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform.
6.
Legislation
This sec
tion provides an overview of the pieces of
legislation referred to the committee during the 4
th
Parliament. As
illustrated in Table 3 (below), the Committee processed seven pieces of
legislation over the five year period.
Table 5:
Legislation referred to the Committee
Year
|
Name of Legislation
|
Tagging
|
Objectives
|
Completed/Not Completed
|
2009/10
|
None
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
2010/11
|
Black Authorities Act Repeal Bill
[B9-2010]
|
75
|
The Black
Authorities Act had remained a symbol of past racial divisions and
discrimination and was entirely repugnant to the values and human rights
enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996,
especially the equality clause in Section 9. Therefore, the Black Authorities
Act Repeal Bill [B 9 2010] sought to repeal the Act, i.e. remove the Act
from the statute book.
|
This Bill was completed and report published in the ATC on 1 September
2010
|
Rural Development and Land Reform General Amendment Bill [B33-2010]
|
75
|
To amend various laws under the
administration of the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, so as to
substitute certain obsolete definitions to ensure legal certainty; to effect
certain consequential amendments in this regard; and to provide for matters
connected therewith.
|
The Bill was completed and published in the ATC
|
|
Sectional Titles Amendment Bill [B 14
2010]
|
75
|
To amend the Sectional Titles Act, 1986, so
as to amend certain definitions; to redefine the boundaries between certain
sections and common property; to regulate the substitution of bonds
registered in respect of different pieces of land shown on the sectional
plan; to provide for the issuing of certificates of real rights of extension
and certificates of real rights of exclusive use areas at the opening of a
sectional title register; to provide for the issuing of more than one
certificate of real rights of extension and more than one certificate of real
rights of exclusive use areas; to further regulate the cancellation of
registered sectional plans; to provide for the issuing of a certificate of
registered sectional title in respect of a fraction of an undivided share in
a section; to provide for a notice to a mortgagee for consent to proposed
extensions to a section in a scheme; to provide for the extension of a scheme
by the addition of rights to exclusive use areas only; to provide for a right
of extension of a scheme in respect of a building or buildings that already
exist; to provide for the deletion of a provision pertaining to certain
administrative expenses payable by a developer; to provide for the deletion
of a superfluous reference to urban immovable property; to provide for the production
of a certificate by a conveyancer regarding the payment of moneys in respect
of the cession of real rights; to provide for a cession of real rights to
exclusive use areas within a specific time for the benefit of owners of
sections; to further provide for the vesting of rights to exclusive use areas
where an owner ceases to be a member of a body corporate; to provide for the
cancellation of exclusive use area rights with the written consent of the
mortgagee and holder of a registered real right; to further provide for the
regulation of consent of bondholders for the registration of servitudes; to
provide for the payment of certain contributions by a developer towards the
defrayal of certain rates and taxes and the maintenance of common property; to
further provide for liability for payment of contributions where ownership in
units changes; to provide for the levying of special contributions by the
trustees of a body corporate; to provide for the use of exclusive use areas
for purposes depicted on the registered sectional plan only; to substitute
obsolete references; to delete and amend certain incompatible provisions no
longer applicable; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
|
It was completed and published in the ATC on 19 August 2010
|
|
Deeds Registries Amendment Bill [B 13
2010]
|
|
To
amend the Deeds Registries Act, 1937, so as to substitute certain obsolete
expressions; to delete the reference to a registrar of mining titles or a
mining commissioner acting as a registration officer; to provide for the
extension of the duties of a registrar; to provide for the appointment of
alternate members to the deeds registries regulations board; to provide for
the disclosure of the full names and marital status of persons in all deeds
and documents to be executed or lodged for registration or record in a deeds
registry; to provide for the issuing of a certificate of registered title in
respect of a fraction of an undivided share in land; and to amend certain
definitions; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
|
It was completed and published in the ATC on 19 August 2010
|
|
Sectional Titles Amendment Bill [B14-2010]
|
75
|
To amend the Sectional Titles Act, 1986, so
as to amend certain definitions; to further regulate notification of the
intended establishment of schemes and the sale of units to lessees; to
provide for the cancellation of registered sectional plans in a prescribed
manner; to regulate the issuing of a certificate of registered sectional
title in respect of a fraction of an undivided share in a section; to provide
for the deletion of an obsolete reference; to provide for the registration of
a transfer of a part of the common property with the consent of the owners of
the sections and the holders of registered real rights; to provide for the
endorsing of title deeds to reflect amended participation quota schedules; to
regulate the alienation of a portion of land over which a real right of
extension or part thereof is registered; to provide for the consent of
holders of registered real rights over exclusive use areas to the alienation
of common property; to provide for the cession of a mortgage real right of
extension and a mortgage real right of exclusive use area; to provide for the
cancellation of part of a section pursuant to an expropriation; to further
provide for the consent of bondholders with the registration of a sectional
plan of extension; to provide for the issuing of more than one certificate of
real right of extension and more than one certificate of real right of
exclusive use area; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
|
It was completed and the report was published in the ATC on 11
November 2010
|
|
Deeds Registries Amendment Bill [B13-2010]
|
75
|
To amend the Deeds Registries Act, 1937, so
as to provide discretion in respect of the rectification of errors in the
name of a person or the description of property mentioned in deeds and other
documents; to provide for the issuing of certificates of registered title
taking the place of deeds that have become incomplete or unserviceable; to
substitute an obsolete reference; to substitute an outdated heading; to
delete reference to the repealed Agricultural Credit Act, 1966; to further
regulate the updating of deeds in respect of the change of names of
companies, close corporations and the surnames of women; to amend a
definition; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
|
It was completed and the report was publish
in the ATC on 11 November 2010
|
|
2011/12
|
None
|
NA
|
NA
|
NA
|
2012/13
|
Spatial Planning
and Land Use Management Bill [B 14 2012]
|
76
|
This Bill provides
for a framework for spatial planning and land use management in the Republic.
It seeks to address the fragmented, unequal and incoherent spatial planning
system which reflects the old planning system. This Bill will contribute to
spatial justice.
|
Completed and the report was published in
the ATC on 21 March 2013
|
|
Geomatics Professions Amendment Bill
[B4-2013]
|
75
|
The Bill seeks to provide for the transformation of the geomatics
profession; to provide for the establishment of the South African Geomatics
Council as a juristic person; to provide for the facilitation and
accessibility to the geomatics profession; to provide for different
categories of registered persons and branches in the geomatics profession; to
provide for the identification of areas of work to be performed by the
different categories of registered persons; to provide for the recognition of
certain voluntary associations by the Council; to provide for measures
designed to protect the public from unethical geomatics practices; to provide
for measures in order to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and
integrity; to provide for the establishment of disciplinary mechanisms; to
provide for the establishment of an Appeal Board; and to provide for matters
connected therewith.
|
Completed and the report was published in
the ATC on 14 June 2013
|
|
Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill [B35-2013]
|
76
|
To amend the Restitution of Land Rights
Act, 1994, so as to amend the cut-off date for lodging a claim for
restitution; to further regulate the appointment, tenure of office,
remuneration and the terms and conditions of service of judges of the Land
Claims Court; to make further provision for the advertisement of claims; to
create certain offences; to extend the Ministers powers of delegation; and
to provide for matters connected therewith.
|
The Bill was completed and the report was published in the ATC on 5
February 2014
|
Property Valuations Bill
|
75
|
The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment, functions and powers
of the office of the ValuerGeneral; to provide for the appointment and
responsibilities of the Valuer General; to provide for the regulation of
the valuation of property that has been identified for land reform as well as
property that has been identified for acquisition or disposal by a
department; and to provide for maters connected therewith
|
The Bill was completed on 19 March 2014, and published in the ATC on
11 March 2014.
|
6.1
Challenges
emerging from processing of legislation
During the processing
of the Black Authorities Repeal Bill, regarded as a legislative cornerstone of
apartheid by means of which Black people were controlled and dehumanized;
reminiscent of past division and discrimination.
Its provisions have become both obsolete and
repugnant to the values and human rights enshrined in the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, 1996.
The Committee noted
that the concerns raised by the members of the public, arguing that the
distorted legacy of the Bantu Authorities Act lives on, and was in fact,
entrenched in other laws recently passed by Parliament.
One of the laws cited was the Traditional
Leadership and Governance Framework Act (Framework Act) of 2003. Section 28 of
the TLGFA states that any traditional leader, tribe and tribal authority that
was previously established and still recognized in law is deemed to be
recognised
by the Framework Act
as an official traditional leader, traditional community, or traditional
council of the future.
It was argued
that the Framework Act entrenches apartheid-created structures and boundaries
into the future and opens the door (in section 20) for other laws to give these
structures specific and wide-ranging powers. This matter remains unresolved and
the Committee would have liked to convene engagements with its counterpart
dealing with local governance and traditional affairs issues. This is
considered to be an essential matter for transformation and reversal of the
legacy of apartheid regime.
Secondly, the issue related to the reopening of the land claims for the
people whose rights in land were dispossessed after 191 June 1913 poses a
critical challenge because the constitution addressed the matter of
restitution of a right in land and prescribed
the 19 June 1913 as a date from which lost land rights could be claimed. The
Committee noted that this matter excluded many traditional communities and
authorities whose land rights were dispossessed prior to 1913, including the
Khoi and San people.
The Committee notes
that other programmes of land reform could be used to address landlessness but
the victims of forced removal seek social justice by restitution of land
rights, and therefore restitution programme is the only vehicle through which
opportunities to claim original land is possible and not any other land
available. It is vitally important because land, for many African people, is
more than just a property. It has social, cultural and religious connotations.
Thirdly, the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act processed by
the Committee in 2012 give planning powers to the local municipalities.
However, the Committee was aware at that time that there was lack of capacity.
The extent to which municipalities have embraced the new mandate derived from
this legislation needs further attention. Due to the absence of a planning
legislation since the parts of the DFA were declared unconstitutional in the
Constitutional Courts, planning backlogs in some municipalities were huge.
6.2
Overview of strategic issues for follow-up by the Committee in
the fifth Parliament
The following issues are vitally important to
follow up on:
-
Development of the White Paper on South African Land Reform, and that of
Rural Development.
-
Policy on the exceptions to the 1913 cut off date for lodgement of
restitution claims, target the Khoi.
-
Funding for new land claims (and strategic plan for finalisation of land
claims).
-
Oversight related to the implementation of the Spatial Planning and Land
Use Management Act, and the Geomatics Profession Bill.
-
Priority legislation: Communal Property Association Amendments; Extension
of Security Act Amendment; Establishment of the Land Management Commission.
-
Oversight on the establishment of the Office of the Valuer-General; and
the functioning of the office.
7.
Oversight trips undertaken
Over the last five years, the Committee
managed to conduct oversight visits in Limpopo, Northern Cape, Free State, and
Eastern Cape. In addition, two other visits to the Launch of the CRDP project
and to the Ingonyama Trust Board offices. The strategic thrust for these visits
were to monitor the progression of CRDP pilot sites and assess whether the
model was replicable or not; the implementation of the RADP policy and
restitution policies.
Table 6
:
Overview of oversight trips
Date
|
Area Visited
|
Objective
|
Recommendations
|
Follow-up Issues
|
Status of Report
|
28
February
01 March 2011
|
Northern Cape
|
To
understand the extent of the challenge of rural development and how CRDP
interventions address the challenge of rural development;
To
explore the challenge of post settlement for land reform projects and how the
recapitalization and development programme assisted in their revitalization.
|
To improve on capacity building for NARYSEC to ensure
that at the end of the term, they youth have gained the skills and knowledge
they require.
The DRDLR should put in place mechanisms that clarify the
role of STRIF in post settlement support for land restitution, LRAD and PLAS
projects. Support mechanisms should transcend the narrow focus on profiling
and training of beneficiaries but extend towards coordination of extension
support from the DAFF/DARD, Municipalities and any other government or
non-government agencies involved in agriculture and rural development.
|
NARYSEC and how it works with local
municipalities, the accounting systems in place.
Coordination between among government
departments.
The assessment of the RADP policy and
impact of interventions made, i.e. mentorships and strategic partnerships in
the Northern Cape
|
Adopted
|
0204 March 2011
|
Limpopo
|
To
understand the extent of the challenge of rural development and how CRDP
interventions address the challenge of rural development
To explore the challenge of post settlement for land
reform projects and how the recapitalization and development programme assist
in their revitalization.
|
To enhance the capacity of the Council of Stakeholders.
There is a need to assist the LRAD beneficiaries
struggling to repay their Land Bank loans. However, the means of assistance
should be sought in consultation with the beneficiaries. Therefore, the DRDLR
should facilitate support mechanisms from DAFF and the Land Bank in order to
ensure that the gains attained through enabling access to land by the black
farmers are not undermined.
|
The functionality of councils of
stakeholders under the CRDP framework.
Strategic Partnership in Hoedspruit. Follow
up visits to check if they are prospering.
Follow-up on interventions to root out
corruption in land restitution projects and the entire programme/commission
|
Adopted
|
25 -29 July 2011
|
Free State
|
To
understand the extent of the challenges of land restitution.
To
understand the extent of challenges of rural development
and
how CRDP interventions
To explore the challenge of post settlement for land
reform projects and how the recapitalization and development programme assist
in their revitalization.
|
The DRDLR together with the CRLR should report to
Parliament about progress in settlement and finalization of all land claims
lodged by 31 December 1998. The report should outline the verifiable number
of outstanding land claims yet to be finalised, the estimated amount of
funding required for settlement and finalisation of all claims, and by when
all those land claims would be settled.
The DRDLR should enter into performance agreement with
the NARYSEC youth and detail the responsibilities. The DRDLR should report to
Parliament within three months after adoption of this report.
The DRDLR should include in the monitoring and evaluation
of programmes indicators that illustrate whether developmental initiatives
are improving the livelihoods of beneficiaries. Success of land reform
projects, especially joint ventures (strategic partnerships and equity
schemes) should not only be judged by increase in productivity and
maximisation of profits only. Changes in socio-economic conditions of the
beneficiary households should be accorded even greater attention.
|
Follow-up on interventions to root out
corruption in land restitution projects and the entire programme/commission
None
Visits to Diyatalawa and Makgolokoeng. The
performance of the NARYSEC and monitor the training programme.
The extension to which the M&E has
responded to the call to develop a rigorous system of M&E for the land
reform programme and CRDP.
|
Adopted
|
02- 05 August 2011
|
Mpumalanga
|
To engquire about the challenges of land restitution and
how they can be resolved.
To explore the challenge of post settlement for land
reform and how the RADP assist in their revitalization.
|
The DRDRL should investigate allegations of corruption
and fraud at Tenbosch CPA and Giba CPA report to Parliament within three
months after the adoption of this report.
The DRDLR and DAFF should enhance their capacity for
coordination of land reform and agricultural support programmes, integrated
as a broader strategy for rural development.
|
Follow-up on interventions to root out
corruption in land restitution projects and the entire programme/commission
Coordination of interventions by DRDLR and
DAFF
|
Adopted
|
18 20
June 2012
|
Ingonyama Trust Board Offices in
Pietermaritzburg
|
Meeting with the Ingonyama Trust Board to
discuss the challenges confronted by the ITB in land administration,
observation on its operations, its newly built office space and seek
solutions to the challenges it confronts
|
That the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
should have constant engagements to bridge the gap in the communication
strategies which affect the compliance in terms of the ITB mandate.
|
Explore the complexity and the challenges of
administration of land rights and tenure in communal land
|
Adopted
|
7.1
Challenges
identified and emerging issues for follow-up
7.1.1
Challenges emerging
This section highlights some of the challenges
that were identified by the Portfolio Committee.
-
Integration of rural development and land reform requires greater efforts
by government to coordinate interventions. To date, coordination of services to
land reform beneficiaries seems to still pose a greater challenge. Greater
synergies of interventions between Departments of Rural Development and Land
Reform, Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries, Water and Environment, Economic
Development are required.
-
Most of the land owning legal entities suffers the challenge of lack of
capacity to manage their own affairs, and it is as a result of almost absent
support from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Its own
report on the affairs of the CPAs shows that greater attention must be given to
capacity development to support the CPAs. In addition, the collapse of
relationships between the institutions of traditional leadership and the CPAs
has stalled development in some land reform projects.
-
Lack of training for beneficiaries
-
Some private sector companies acting as strategic partners have failed to
transfer skills to land reform beneficiaries; used public funds to run the land
reform projects
-
Tenure insecurity on farm still continues, and there has been delay in
amendment of the relevant legislation (ESTA). Equally important is the issue
about the livelihood security for people living and working on commercial
farms.
-
The Committee has passed the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management
Bill, the Restitution of Land Rights Bill, and the Property Valuation Bill.
These Bills require creation of additional capacity to the Department.
Furthermore, additional funding would be required.
-
Some of the institutions set up to assist in coordination of rural
development interventions, especially the Councils of Stakeholders, were
dysfunctional. Whilst in-depth study on these institutions is required,
evidence emerging from the oversight visits shows that there was poor
coordination, local municipalities were not actively involved, and
participation of local people was not satisfactory. If indeed rural development
is about the people themselves, greater attention of these institutions is
important.
7.1.2
Issues for follow-up
Through the oversight visits by the Committee,
the following issues have been identified as crucial areas of focus for the new
Committee.
-
Pre and post settlement support for land reform beneficiaries (Special
attention should be paid to the RADP policy);
-
Conflicts within land reform groups, and that affects the productivity on
some of the farms. A central feature in these conflicts is the relations
between traditional leadership and CPA leadership elected in terms of the CPA
Act.
-
CRDP in all rural municipalities, assessing the extent to which the
infrastructure development projects have altered the lives of the poor;
-
Capacity of the rural municipalities to develop Land Use Schemes and
Plans in terms of the Spatial Land Use Management Act.
-
Insecurity of tenure on commercial farm lands;
-
National Land Register and the National Land Restitution Register
monitored closely;
-
Land claims in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act and the claims
lodged in Labour Tenants (Land Reform) Act;
-
The functioning of NARYSEC and the Councils of Stakeholders in the CRDP
sites across the country; and
-
Allegations of fraud and corruption in the Regional Offices of the
Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
8.
Study tours undertaken
The following study tours were undertaken:
Table 7:
Study
Tours undertaken
Date
|
Places Visited
|
Objective
|
Lessons Learned
|
Status of Report
|
18 22 October
2010
|
Malawi
|
·
To look into different approaches adopted
for integrated rural development by Malawi and draw lessons for the CRDP;
·
To understand the pilot of Community Based
Rural Land Development Programme (CBRLDP) and challenges facing Malawi with
regards to the scaling up of land redistribution; and
·
To understand governments strategies for
intervention in poverty alleviation and curbing food insecurity, and
agricultural input support programme.
·
To explore a range of initiatives and
programmes that addresses youth development
|
·
The committee require strengthening its
oversight functions, especially with regards to the departments support for
self-sufficiency in food production for the rural households who live on
communal areas under customary arrangements. Such oversight can be linked to
the ongoing work on monitoring and oversight of the implementation of the
CRDP pilot projects across the country.
·
Land administration for the communal areas
(those under customary tenure) has not yet been resolved.
The implications of CLARA judgement on
provision of tenure security for rural dwellers require further attention.
·
Continued monitoring of the implementation
of the programmes of restitution and land redistribution to ensure that
government fulfils its promises for redistribution of agricultural to the
previously disadvantaged communities and individuals
·
Rural development is integrally part of
other line functions of government departments, for example, health,
education, water, agriculture, labour, social development, and trade and
industry and other sectors. The committee therefore needs to develop
mechanisms to oversee the department, especially with regards to its strategy
to act as a catalyst for rural development at a municipal level.
|
Adopted
|
8.1
Challenges
and key issues for follow up
8.1.1
Challenges
The findings from the study tour showed that
Malawi implemented a programme of One Village One Product (OVOP) which was
adapted from the programme run in Japan, Malaysia and China. The intention of
the Committee was to visit one or two of these countries outside the continent
of Africa to further explore the model and how it is implemented. In addition,
it was going to compare with the Malawian model. The Committee was however not
approved to conduct such a study tour.
The challenge with regard to this study tour,
the Committee could not complete its study because of failure to conduct a
comparative analysis of the OVOP, a key project which it was interested in, the
introduction of special economic zones, as well as linkages of products to
markets.
8.1.2
Issues for follow-up
It is therefore recommended that the new
Committee could look into the concept of the special economic zone with a rural
focus, and establish how these could integrate land reform and CRDP as
implemented in rural areas. The Countries of Malaysia, Japan and China as
learned during the visit to Malawi provide a case for study into the OVOP as a
component of the special economic zones.
9.
International Agreements
This Committee did not consider any
international agreement during its term of office
10.
Statutory
appointments
This Committee did not conduct any statutory
appointments during its term
11.
Interventions
Interventions are not
applicable to this Committee
12.
Petitions
Table 5 of this report presents petitions from the members of the
public. The Committee only dealt with one petition from various claimants
organised as the Western Cape Land Claimants. It included both urban and rural
land claimants as well as the members of the Khoi and San communities.
The process to deal with this petitions involved the consideration of
witnesses on issues the petition raised, briefing by the Office of the Regional
Land Claims Commissioner for the Western Cape. The end result was a report to
the National Assembly, including steps, and commitments, to be taken.
Table 8
: Petitions
considered
Title
|
Date referred
|
Current status
|
Western Cape Land Restitution Claimants
|
06/07/2010
|
Considered and reported to the National
Assembly with recommendations to the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform. The report was adopted by the National Assembly, but the Committee
has not received any response from the Department on the recommendations from
the Committee. However, it should be noted that the Commission on Restitution
of Land Rights had provided responses on the specific issues on land claims
as referred to the Committee.
|
12.1
Challenges and issues for
follow up
12.1.1
Challenges emerging
The following challenges were experienced
during the processing of petitions:
(a)
Technical/operational challenges
-
Information to assist the Committee to conclude its investigation was not
readily available from the Western Cape Office of the Regional Land Claims
Commissioner.
-
Land claims on the state land took too long to finalise due to delays in
transfer of state land. The Committee could not find any convincing argument
why it was difficult to transfer land from the state to the beneficiaries of
restitution.
-
One of the challenges was with regards to the state land disposal
processes in the Western Cape. It was found that no disposal was taking place
in the province, yet land reform would require disposal of state land.
(b)
Content-related challenges
-
The Committee would work with information made available to it. The
Committee remained concerned about the inaccuracy of the statistics in the
restitution programme. For example, the number of outstanding claims against
the number of finalised land claims.
-
Many of the grievances in the petition were based on allegations which
were not supported with evidence, thus making it difficult for the Committee to
come to conclusions about the allegations. The only thing the Committee could
do, especially with the allegations of fraud and corruption, is to bring that
to the attention of the Minister for investigation.
-
In most instances Departments submit documents or reports on the day of
the meeting, thus limiting the extent to which the Committee could engage in
the subject being discussed.
12.1.2
Issues for follow-up
The 5
th
Parliament should consider
following up on the following concerns that arose:
-
Report in response to
the recommendations of the Committee in relation to dealing with the grievances
lodged by the Western Cape Land Claimants;
-
Investigations into
the allegations of fraud and corruption in the Western Cape Office of the
Regional Land Claims Commissioner;
-
Consider how the
issues and responses to the Petition apply to other parts of the country; for
instance, lack of communication to the land claimants and how the Commission is
improving on all of the aspects raised in the Petition. The approach could be
linked to follow up on the recommendations of the Committee emanating from the
public hearings on the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill.
13.
Obligations
conferred on committee by legislation
Since the promulgation of the Money Bills Amendment Procedures and
Related Matters Act, 2009 (Act No.9 of 2009) which requires that the National
Assembly, through its Committees, conducts annual assessment of the performance
of each national Department with regard to the medium term estimates of
expenditure; and tabling the Budget Review Recommendations Report (BRRR), the
Committee has noted progress made by the Department to address the challenges
that confronted land reform in the last 15 years. However, the Committee also
raised concerns on the funding of programme, such are:
-
Shifting of funds
from the programmes of restitution and reform, yet the programme was struggling
to reach the then target set at redistribution of 30% of agricultural land by
2014.
-
Commitments which
exposed government to be liable to amount over R40m, thus resulting in backlogs
in the restitution programme.
-
Capacity of the
Department to coordinate government interventions in the CRDP sites
13.1
Challenges
emerging
The following challenges are recorded:
-
Backlog land claims affect the capacity of the Commission on Restitution
of Land Rights to settle as many new land claims as possible.
-
Capacity of the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights to conduct
proper research and settle many of the outstanding complex land claims.
-
Coordination on government interventions on CRDP sites and land reform
projects remains a critical challenge, hence a need for a comprehensive support
mechanisms.
-
Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Bill places planning
responsibilities at a municipal level, and rural municipalities lack capacity
to implement this Bill.
14.
Summary
of outstanding issues
The following key issues are outstanding from
the committees activities during the 4
th
Parliament:
Table 9
: Some
of the outstanding issues
Responsibility
|
Issue(s)
|
Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
|
-
Plans
regarding prioritisation and finalisation of outstanding land claims
-
Policy
on exceptions to the 1913 cut off date
-
Track
the funding for restitution, especially the new claims
-
Track
progress in preparations for the reopening of the land claims. Proposed
visits to some of the lodgement sites
-
Filling
the vacancies for the lodgement of claims
|
Ingonyama Trust Board
|
-
Disbursement
of funds to deserving traditional communities
-
Satellite
offices and the History Book
-
|
Department
|
-
Legislation:
CPA Act amendment, Land Tenure legislation, ESTA amendments, possible white
paper on Land Reform
-
Evaluation
of the RADP and other development support mechanisms
-
Responses
to the Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations and the Oversight visit
recommendations
|
15.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are proposed in order to assist the
Committee for the 5
th
Parliament to resolve operational and/or
procedural concerns encountered during the 4
th
Parliament.
15.1
Coordinate
efforts for various
committees with overlapping mandates in order provide a comprehensive
parliamentary oversight on activities of government departments, as well as
dealing with various crosscutting issues of interest to the committees.
15.2
The Committee should consider creating enough space, in its programme,
for oversight visits. Such visits should encompass a mix of both far flung and
remote areas of South Africa and those areas next to the urban centres in order
to enable the Committee to determine if indeed the CRDP is reaching the very
rural poor and disadvantaged sectors of our Society;
15.3
Oversight visits should be followed by follow-up activities to ensure
that the findings of the Committee are dealt with by the Department/entity. Such
follow-up activities may include return visits to same sites to ascertain
progress made by government.
15.4
The Committee should consider designing a mechanism to track progress in
responses to its questions (arising from the meeting), implementation of Committee
resolutions from reports tabled in the House.
15.5
The Committee should further consider an agreement with the
Department/entities about the timeframes for submission of reports in order to
avoid late submission which affects the Committees ability to critically and
effectively engage in the subject matter under discussion.
15.6
The Committee should focus its oversight
efforts on governance systems and structures of the Department to ensure that
the Department achieves a clean audit report from the Auditor-General of South
Africa.
15.7
Greater attention should be given to the accountability of the Ingonyama
Trust, especially as it relates to disbursement of funds, land administration,
and general governance related issues.
[1] DRDLR (2012) Annual Report 2011-2012.
[2] DRDLR (2012) Annual Report 2011-2012 p.13
[3] The Presidency (2010) Outcomes of Government, Outcome 7
[4] CRLR (2012) Annual Report of the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights
[5] The revised Strategic Plan of the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform (2005-2014).
[6] The discussion in this section is not exhaustive. The Members of the Committee as individuals also used other avenues to raise questions to the Minister in the House, separate from queries they made to the department in relation to specific issues arising from their constituency work.
[7] Note that the three oversight visits recorded here were carried out as part of the ad hoc Committee established to conduct coordinated oversight on the reversal of the legacy of the Natives Land Act (1913)
[8] In this case, the special project undertaken relates to a particular intervention that required participation of members of other Portfolio Committees; This Committee therefore conceptualised a programme which it canvassed to the National Assembly so that it is adopted by a resolution of the House.
Documents
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