Date: 24/08/2005
Source: The Presidency
Title: Mlambo-Ngcuka: Answers to questions in Parliament


Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka’s responses to questions in Parliament

Question Number: 13

The Leader of the Opposition (DA) to ask the Deputy President:

(1) With reference to her remarks on Wednesday, 10 August 2005, to the effect that a few lessons were learnt from Zimbabwe on how to do land reform fast and that some skills might be needed from Zimbabwe to help us with land reform in South Africa, (a) what methods does she propose we learn from Zimbabwe and (b) what skills does she propose we import from Zimbabwe;

(2) whether she discussed her views on this matter with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council before making these remarks; if not, with whom did she discuss the advisability of making these remarks; if so, (a) what were the views expressed by members of the council and (b) what was the outcome of these discussions?

Reply:

Honourable member, I really doubt if anyone in this house can deny that there are enormous problems with land ownership patterns in our country.

The fact that we have these problems is not surprising given the centuries of wars of dispossession and later racially based colonial and apartheid laws and policies designed specifically to drive black people off their land. It is as a result of this history that in 1994, 87% of agricultural land was owned by white people.

Honourable members, the preamble of our Constitution enjoins us to “Recognise the injustices of the past” and in adopting the Constitution to “Heal the divisions of the past”. Our Constitution therefore requires us to deal with land redistribution.

I am convinced that no one in this house can deny that land redistribution has been moving too slowly. Government has set a target of redistributing 30% of agricultural land to the previously disadvantaged by 2014. As of June this year only 3% had been redistributed.

We want to avoid the problems that have occurred in Zimbabwe - that 20 years after liberation, land redistribution remained incomplete.

We want to avoid a situation where, because land reform has taken too long, both the government and the people must resort to desperate measures. Indeed we can learn from the experiences of Zimbabwe as we can learn from the experiences of many other countries.

I urge all honourable members to assist in speeding up land redistribution in our country,

Question Number: 14

Prince NE Zulu (IFP) to ask the Deputy President:

(1) Whether the population expansion outstrips economic growth and perpetuates unemployment in South Africa; if so,

(2) whether the government has introduced any measures to control the population expansion; if not, why not; if so, what measures;

(3) whether the government has made enough incentives available to encourage the population to move from urban to rural areas; if so, what are the relevant details; if not,

(4) whether she will make a statement on the matter?

Reply:

Honourable member, our economy is now growing faster than our population. According to the 2001 Census the population of South Africa stood at 44.8 million people in 2001 compared to 40.5 million in 1996.

The population has thus grown by 10% over the five-year period. This reflects an average population growth rate of 2% per annum.

On average, per capita growth was negative in the decade before 1994. Since then, the economy has grown at an average rate of 2.94% per annum.

While the population growth rate does not perpetuate unemployment, the number of new people entering the labour market contributes to the level of unemployment in South Africa.

With regards population development, the government has a number of programmes in place to support women and men with regard to their reproductive choices. Among these are the Family Planning Programme, which provides for counselling; a range of choices of family planning methods such as contraceptives; access to legal termination of pregnancy and sterilisation under specific conditions; as well as education on sexuality and healthy lifestyles. These services are provided free at primary healthcare level.

While the government does not have a programme to encourage people to move from the urban to the rural areas, it does have programmes in place to improve the lives of people living in rural areas. One of these programmes is the ISRDP (the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme). The vision of the ISRDP is to attain socially cohesive and stable communities with viable institutions, sustainable economies and universal access to social amenities, able to attract skilled and knowledgeable people, equipped to contribute to their own and the nation’s growth and development.

Question Number: 15

Ms MP Rwexana (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

What priorities will she be pursuing during her term of office?

Reply:

Honourable member, the Deputy President is part of the Cabinet team, led by the President to implement the programmes of government.

However, in that context I would like to mention the areas of specific responsibility assigned to me. These are:

* the South African National AIDS Council;
* the Second Economy;
* achieving an economic growth rate of over 6%;
* linguistic and traditional matters
* the Moral Regeneration Movement and
* the Leader of Government Business
* International matters including several Bi-national Commissions.

My priorities in light of the above will be to:

1. Harness the goodwill of organised formations and individuals to support actually and practically government’s agenda to grow the economy such that we create jobs in the second economy and reduce poverty. Honourable members, many of the “haves” in our country, particularly those in business have a desire to help those historically less fortunate. What we need is a strategy to use this goodwill for the maximum benefit of our country. Support for small, medium and micro-enterprises, including co-operatives, forms a major part of government’s economic strategy. However, business and labour have a crucial role to play in this regard as well.

2. Ensure that government and all our social partners respond systematically to the issues raised by the Beijing plus 10 Platform on the challenges facing women and children.

3. In line with government’s Programme of Action and areas of work delegated to The Presidency, ensure that we build the capacity of government to deliver services especially at a municipal level.

4. Pay attention to issues of development, social cohesion and nation building through the Moral Regeneration Movement as well as traditional and cultural programmes.

QUESTION NUMBER: 17

Ms JL Fubbs (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:

How far has South Africa progressed in achieving the 2014 goals set by the Government, in particular as they relate to improving the quality of life and status of women?

Reply:

The United Nations (UN) agreement is to review the millennium goals in 2015, but the ANC-led government has committed itself to meeting these goals by 2014 so as to allow proper preparation for reporting to the UN. The millennium goals and the Beijing Platform of Action are an integral part of our policies and programmes.

We have already made considerable progress in providing comprehensive social security; meeting the housing demand; providing universal access to electricity; providing access to clean water and sanitation; providing primary health care; broadening access to and improving the quality of education, to mention just a few. We have also made significant strides in ensuring that women are represented in high positions in government as well.

To list detail some of the progress made so far:

* Already in 2003, 63% of households had access to sanitation while 85% of households had access to clean water.
* In housing since 1994, R50 billion has been transferred to the poor, the majority of whom are women, through transfer of deeds in houses that people have occupied in townships.
* Through land reform and restitution, over half of subsidies approved were allocated to female-headed households.
* The electrification programme is one of the biggest achievements of our country and unprecedented internationally, as 3.5 million homes have been electrified and this translates into over 435 000 homes per annum.

* In education we have seen an increase in the enrolment rate of female learners in Maths, Science and Technology.
* On the economic front government has instituted a number of measures to equalise opportunities for women in the workplace and has also facilitated programmes to ensure women have access to finance.
* On health the government is bringing primary health care to the communities.

However, in spite of these progress much more still needs to be done and I urge all South Africans to work together to ensure that equality between men and women is in fact real equality. Issued by: The Presidency
24 August 2005