Date: 24/03/2010
Source: The Democratic Alliance
Title: DA: Swathe: Speech by DA Member of Parliament in the debate on Rural Development and Land Reform budget vote, Parliament

Honourable Speaker, the Democratic Alliance (DA) supports sustainable and equitable land reform to address the imbalances of the past.

We believe in an Open Opportunity Society where all citizens are equal and given equal opportunities to accomplish their goals; realise their aspirations using sustainable rural development and land reform.

The DA is however, concerned about the inadequate budget allocated to Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. The R6.7 billion apportioned is insufficient for the department to fully execute its mandate.

Honourable Speaker, poor land claimants pinned their hopes on the budget for the 2010/11 financial year to address outstanding claims. This financial year was supposed to address these backlogs and allow the Department to move forward on a clean sheet. Farmers who signed contracts with the Department also hoped that they would this year finally receive payments.

Unfortunately this insufficient budget will continue to impede progress and dangerously test the patience of land claimants and farmers alike. It is unacceptable to keep people waiting this long for justice to be done!

For example, and most importantly, the Land Restitution programme has been allocated a mere R1.5 billion. The restitution of land rights is a Constitutional imperative and pertinent to addressing the land rights of those who have been forcefully removed from their ancestral land. Out of the R1.3-billion that has been allocated, only R 800-million may be used to purchase farms. This is way below the R3-billion rand owed to farmers.

Farmers and land claimants are beginning to feel betrayed by the government and some intend going to court to force the department to honour commitments of signed contract to purchase farms.

The DA is also concerned that the Department has shifted focus from restitution to Rural Development. Land restitution is an emotional issue which deserves attention and needs to be addressed urgently. It should be placed as priority number one and be settled.

The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) have initiated a program creating 54 business centers in the rural areas. The initiative will boost economy in the rural areas and thereby create hope for many people in the rural areas. The DA commends their bold move as business in the rural areas has declined due to lack of financial support. This has led to young entrepreneurs moving from rural areas to urban centers.

The Department's focus on initiation, facilitation and the driving of development in the rural areas must include the private sector industries such as mining and agriculture. The Department should therefore, through, the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme (CRDP) embrace the NAFCOC and IDC'S programmes.
The fact that the Department will only focus on 160 wards through the CRDP over the next four years also is also somewhat concerning. This is only a drop in an ocean of unemployment and underdevelopment in the rural areas.

In the State of the Nation Address, the President announced Rural Development and Land Reform as one of the government's top five priorities, however, as previously mentioned, this was not followed with adequate budgetary allocations. Also people in the rural areas still share their drinking water in the rivers with animals, have no proper roads, few job opportunities and no sewerage.

Hon. Speaker up until development and upgrading is completed and services are created and rendered to poor people in the rural areas people will continue to move to cities and urban centers. Rural Development has the capacity, if done properly, to make people to stay where they are if it is all allocated sufficient budget and employ officials with knowledge, skills, expertise and relevant qualifications.

When appointing staff to manage the rural development and land reform processes, merit and quality should be considered. This is important in order to ensure that in municipalities we have engineers, architects, highly experienced qualified managers and administrators.

The DA is concerned about the section 25 constitutional amendment proposed by the Department. The proposed constitutional amendment will scare investors off. It is a real threat to food production and to the right to have private property.

The Constitutional amendment is merely being proposed because the Department is failing to meet its land reform targets. We must rather look at why the Department is failing to reach the target of 30% of transferring land to beneficiaries by 2014. It is not the constitution but the Department's staff capacity to deliver their mandate.

Some officials are corrupt collude with some farmers inflate farm prices. The slow pace delivery is also due to vacancies in the department. The hiring of inexperienced and unqualified staff is also a cause failure. The Auditor-General has given the DRDLR a qualified audit for the past three years.

The willing buyer willing seller principle is not to be blamed as it protects the rights of individual farmers. It enables them to negotiate with whom ever want to buy their property (farm). It is a tool used in negotiation and also serves as a guide. The principle cannot be used as an excuse of failure by DRDLR officials. It is not perfect as some people use it wrongly for their selfish benefit outside of market related price. Those people or farmers and officials need to be exposed and dealt with. The willing buyer willing seller needs to be strengthened rather than scrapped.

The DA is concerned about the DRDLR'S controversial statements, which angered both farmers and poor landless people. The statement issued about expropriation made some farmers stop farming and investing in their farms. This has lowered food production.

We see this as discouraging and threatening hardworking commercial farmers. The DRDLR talk of food security in their strategic plan but on the other hand propose constitutional amendments to property rights to be scrapped in favour of putting land as a move to the nationalisation of land. This in itself scares potential investors. The DA will oppose the amendment to the constitution.

South Africa cannot succeed where communist countries failed. This move will compromise the hard fought democracy where all citizens thought and believed that their rights will be protected. We disagree that nationalisation will speed up Land Reform. Turning a commercial productive farm land into a national asset will not work. It will scare away hard working experienced farmers and investors. South Africa is where it is because of experienced hard working commercial farmers and not the subsistence garden farming. The country's food production will suffer if we are not careful.

The DRDLR talks of using white experienced farmers as mentors to help inexperienced Black Farmers in the strategic plan. The two tongued language might jeopardise that arrangement.

The DA visited farms given to land beneficiaries by government in 2009 and found out that 90% of farms are in a state of collapse. Hon. Minister Nkwinti supported us when he said 90% of those farms given to black farmers are not functional and are failing. The government plans to invest about R500-million this year on rescuing Black farmers who have not received support from the state. This move shows that the DA was always correct to say giving people farms without support from the state equals land reform failure.

The DA believes that the focus will bring relief to the 5.9 million hectares of land most of which have collapsed. However, the DA believes that government needs to put its priorities right. Budget allocation needs to be in line with priorities and to the people's needs and not visa versa. People in the rural areas cry for clean portable water, access to electricity, proper and well maintained roads and sanitation. They complain about missing Rural Development's Comprehensive Rural Development Program focused on few wards, but masses of people will only read about its progress and will mean nothing to them.

Re le ba DA re re dinaga magae le tsona diswanelwa ke tlhabologo. Re re Mopresidente ke kgale a tshephisa go tlisa ditirelo bathong ba dinaga magae bjale ke nako. Re re ke nako ya gore ditshephiso di phethagale.

Ga re rate go kwa ngwaga ka ngwaga Mopresidente a bolelela ka dihaga magae fela ge re lebelela kabo ya masaleng ga e laetse gore toro yeo e phethagala. Re le ba DA re swabisa ke gore Mopresidente o re go tla phatagatswa ka boy a ditinelo ga nyane go nyane. Ge re lebela gana yeo Mopresidente a bolelalgo ka yon a ke di witse 160 ka mengwaga e mene(4yrs). Re makalatza ke gore naa Mopresidente o Ho fihle setshabe sa dinaga magae neng ka thlabologo. Go ya ka dipalo tsa rena go laetsa a tlat sefilong a seso a phettagatsa toro ya gagwe.

Re le ba DA rebona Comprehensive Rural Development Program (Lenaneo la Tlhabologo) e sa somika tshwanelo. Re bona e tlogela ditshaba ka naka tshwanelo. Ga e fihlelele batho ka bo ntshi. Lenameo le le hlola gore batho ba se kgotsofale ka fao e sepeago ka go nanyarko gona. Ba lefepa la dinaga magae ba dirile phoso kago bea leneo la tlhabaloo go di ward go ena le gore ba e theye go di Province.

Di ward tse 160 ga di dire Mebasepala Meraro ya district. Batho ba ipotsisa gore mo mengwageng ye mene (4 years) yeo e tlago bat lo humana eng? Ka ge mo ba Afrika Borwarga ba swanelwa ke go ditirelo tse kaone tsa motheo? Naa bona gaba swanelwe keg e hwetsa mesomo go ba go hwetsa meets a go hlweka, Mothihagase,ditsela tse kaone le kelela tshila.

Busura ba dinago magae ba rate go bona Wobogo fao ba dulago gona. Ba thabetse le go amogela lenaneq la Mabenkele go swana le Moutse Mall ko moutse Dennilton, Moratiwa Mall Bapedi Mall ga Nchabaleng. Se se dinle gore setshaba sa Mokopane, Mapela, Bakenberg Tau ya tswala ba be le kgahlego ya gore le bona ba hwetse Mabenkele Mafelong a bona. Ditshaba tse le tsona di lemoga gore go agiwa ga Mabenkele a di Mall meetseng ya gabo bona e tla tlisa Hlabologo. Ba rata go bona ba hwetsa ditsela tse botse meetse a go hlweka ntlo ka ntlo, Mohlagase Le dihtlwana tsa meetse tsa kelelatshila

Re le ba DA re amogela lenaneo la mmuso leo le rego fao batho ba diralego kgopelo ya naga cupsa go e na le kgwebo ya temo yeo e thwetsego batho ba bantsi setshaba seo se ka lebogiwa ka masaleng. Gape ge go e nale bao ban ago le tsebo ya kgwe bo ye ba ka fiwra sebaka sa soma le bona.

Re bolela ka mafelo a go swana le Meepo, Bolota diphoofa le Masemo a magolo a mafiela goba Mahlathi(plantations) ba lli bao ba ka fiwa setseka sa go phumulo mekgo. Dikgwebo tseo tse kgalo di swanelwa ke go thusa thiabologong ya sethshaba go swana le go aga dikolo, di clinic,di hall, Bolota dipuka , di phipe tsa meets a go hlweka, metshene ya meets,ditsela, maporoga le Matamo a meets ka dinokeng tse kgalo. Ba amogele dikgwebo tse nyane ka mebaeneng tsa ditshaba tseo di dulago kgauswi. Ba ba fe setseke ka gare ga di shave. Ba thuse ditshaba go hlomo di Trust gomme ba be le di Trust Account gore tshelelete ya setshaba e bolokege