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Hon. Chairperson, the Democratic Alliance welcomes a sustainable and equitable land reform and rural development. We view this as a moral necessity to correct the imbalances of the past and as a fundamental condition to growing our economy to benefit all South Africans. The DA believes in an Open Opportunity Society for all.

The DA welcomes Minister Nkwinti on his appointment as the minister of Rural Development and Land Reform. Since his appointment he recognised a need to address problems in the rural areas by drafting a strategic plan and a program for his department to work on.

The DA welcomes his hands-on approach in the Department. We have seen, witnessed and heard about his active involvement in all projects in his department. The DA however, is concerned about meagre allocation of R505-million for rural development. This amount was shifted from R2.616 billion for grants under Land Reform.

According to the study by the Centre for Development and Enterprise, "in 2008/9, the Land Affairs Department had R6.6-billion to spend on all its programmes. To put this in perspective, just a handful of claims on valuable coastal land could cost R1-billion to settle".

The DA views this portfolio committee as crucial for rural communities which was neglected for a long time. We extend a hand of cooperation to the Minister's Department while also assuring him of our critical engagement when things go wrong. We will not be doing this for cheap political point scoring but in order to ensure that all South Africans enjoy and share the wealth of this country.

The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform faces numerous challenges. It inherits one of the poorly functioning departments under the previous Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs. The reality is that many landless people feel neglected in the democratic dispensation. Our collective tasks will be to address, as a matter of urgency, the following matters.

First, we need to target a 30% land redistribution level by 2014. This may, at first glance, seem unachievable. The previous administration sought to introduce manifestly unconstitutional laws like the Expropriation Bill to "accelerate" land redistribution, but this was never a realistic solution. Indeed, it constituted a serious risk to investment, and never addressed the key stumbling blocks. So instead, we need to develop legally justifiable laws, and the desperately needed commonsense solutions that would speed up land reform processes in South Africa.

Second, we must ensure that new land owners are provided with adequate post settlement financial and material support. It is indeed an indictment of our system that over 50% of land reform projects are failing because the state does not provide adequate support to the land reform beneficiaries.

Mr. Chairperson South Africa cannot afford this when millions of our people face danger of food shortages and go to bed without food.

Third, we must accelerate the settlement process of over 4000 land restitution claims which still remain unresolved, and remove bureaucratic bottle necks which hinder settlement process.

Fourth, we must upgrade land titles, and provide titles to as many South Africans as it is legally and economically feasibly. It is a serious anomaly that many South African still hold their land under Apartheid-type titles, 15 years into democracy.

Finally, the Honourable Minister must take swift steps to ensure that the over one- third vacant posts in his Department are filled with efficient and properly qualified people.

We cannot afford the policy of "cadre deployment" when our people go hungry and remain landless.

Morena Modula re le ba DA ga re kgotšofatše ke maseleng ao a abelwago kgoro ye.Re bona mašeleng a ele a tlase kudu go phethagatsa dillo tsa setshaba.Re rata go lemoša mmušo gore ge ba rata go hlabolla setšhaba ga ba swanela go gana ka mašeleng.Ke kgale dinaga magae di hlokomologilwe ka fao go nyakega ditirelo tše ntši go thiba dikgala tseo.Tona o swanetše go lemoga gore ditšhaba tša dinaga magae di thabetše go kwa gore di tlo hlabollwa go swana le ditoropong.Mopresidente go polelo ya gagwe o laeditše gore batho ba magaeng ba swanetše go hwetša ditirelo tše kaone le mabenkele kgauswi le bona gore ba kgone go reka dinyakwa tša bona.Presidente o boletše ka ditsela le dintlo tse kaone,meetse a go hlweka,mešomo le kelela tšhila gore di tlo ba gona dinaga magaeng go swana le ditoropong.

Modulasetulo re le ba DA re sa lla ka mananeo a kgoro ao a hlokago thekgo ya mašeleng gore na a tlo phethagatšwa bjang,neng?Ke ka baka la eng go dirwa mananeo ao a senago kabo ya mašeleng?Ke ka baka la eng di Pilot projeke tša dinaga magae di sena motheo,mohlala Pilot Projeke ya Giyane ga e bonale.Setšhaba sa Giyane ga se tsebe mo Projeke yeo e lego gona.Setšhaba se se kwele go di kuranta, ditaba le Imbizo gore go ne projeke Giyane e fela bona gaba e bone.Taba ye e laetša gore projeke ye ke ya dikuranteng,radiong le telebišeneng e sego lefaseng la Giyane.

Modulasetulo re bone ditšhaba tša magae di dira di tšhupetso le megwanto go bo mmasepala ba Northwest le Mpumalanga ka sello sa go hloka di tirelo.Rele ba DA re re ke nako ya gore Kgoro ya hlabologo ya dinaga magae e tšeye mošomo wa yona.DA ga e rate go bona Kgoro ye e hloka maikarabelo eupša e rata go bona e somela setšhaba.Kgoro ye e swanetše go šoma e sego go lebelela kgoro tše dingwe gore di dire mošomo wa yona.Re le ba DA re re mešomo e a bolela.Re re mesomo ya Tona e tla bonagale setšhabeng ka go aba ditirelo tša motheo.

Morena Modulasetulo setšhaba sa gešo sa dinaga magae se dutše godimo ga kgatelelo e kgolo ya go hloka thušo go dinaga tseo ba di filwego.Ditšhaba tse dinyaka thušo ya maseleng le hlahlo gore ba kgone go tšwetša temo pele.Nakong ya puso ya Apartheid balemi ba makgowa bao ba filwego dinaga ba be ba thušwa ka mašeleng le thekgo ya mahlale a temo.Re le ba DA re ka thabela go bona Tona ya Hlabologo ya dinaga magae le Mobu a šomiša tsebo ya boradi polase bao ba tlogelago di naga tša bona. Re rata go bona hlabologo ya motheo naga ka bophara bja yona.

Re le Ba DA re dumela gore naga ke ya batho bohle gomme ditshaba tsohle di swanetše go hlabollwa ka go lekana.Re re dikgoba tša hlabologo a di fiwe batho ka moka ba Afrika Borwa. Ditšhaba tša dinaga magae di lla ka kabo ya ditirelo tsa motheo.Ditšhaba tša dinaga magae di nyaka meets ago hlweka,ditsela tse kaone,mohlagase le mesomo.Ditšhaba tša dinaga magae di rata go bona hlabologo dinageng tša bona ,ke ka fao ba ilego ba tšea karolo ka bontši dikgethong tša naga.Ga go mokgahlo wa dipolotiki wo e ka thopago dikgetho ntle le thekgo e kgolo ya badudi ba dinaga magae.

Re le ba DA re hlompha le go amogela di poelo tša dikgetho gomme re holofetša setšhaba gore re tla se šomela ka potego le boikgafo.Re tla dira bonnete bja gore ditshephišo di phethagale ka go hlokomela gore mmušo o aba ditirelo go batho bohle ba Afrika borwa.

On the Rural Development front, Mr. Chairperson we will need to develop economies that are integral to their development.

Once more Mr. Chairperson the DA will support the new administration and we will gladly make available all our policy inputs on land reform. We hope that this will be reciprocated with the cooperation it deserves. Our role as the official opposition party remains unchanged, but the interest of South Africa's land reform will inform all our critical engagement with this administration.