Date: 04/11/2006
Source: Department of Agriculture
Title: Xingwana: Ministerial Lekgotla in Benoni
Media statement by the Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Lulu Xingwana at the Ministerial Lekgotla held at Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni
“Lehumo letswa tshemong”
If you go to some of the poorest areas in our country, people have land but poverty and food insecurity is still high. The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) has termed this challenge “dead assets in the hands of the poor”. We want to turn these assets/land and make them work for the people. During the month of November - which is the planting season for maize in some parts of our country - we are going back to the fields to plough. Sibuyele’ masimini siyolima.
I am happy therefore, to announce, this morning, the launch of the “Ilima/Letsema” campaign.
We will, through this campaign, build on and leverage programmes already existing in the provinces - programmes that offer support to small scale farming in the form of fencing, seeds, fertilisers, extension support, and irrigation as an example. We will have Ilima/Letsema in all provinces during November.
To the men and women in our rural areas, those in communal areas, in our peri-urban areas, those with land next to the cities – LET NO LAND LIE FALLOW! Go back to the land and unleash this productive asset to feed our families and communities, create employment and contribute towards economic growth and development of local and rural economies.
To the young people of our country also, we say to them they must roll up their sleeves and go to the fields. We say to them agriculture is cool!
We have, over the past two and a half days, come together as the Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs, MECs, Heads of Departments nationally and the provinces, CEOs of our state-owned entities, and top management of these institutions, to:
• take stock of progress made to date in implementing our programmes
• identify challenges
• align our programmes and fast track delivery.
We have collectively agreed on the magnitude of the challenges lying ahead and therefore committed ourselves that Siyagijima from now on!
In line with the spirit of SIYAGIJIMA, we have prioritised various areas for speedy implementation during the remaining five months of this financial year and for the next two years. These include the following:
• Finalising all urban restitution claims by March next year and settling of the outstanding rural claims by 2008 as dictated by the President during the State of the Nation Address in February this year
• Speeding up implementation of the resolutions of the Land Summit and next year reporting back to stakeholders on how far we have gone
• Finalising the AgriBEE Charter by the end of the year. We want transformation in the agriculture industry and empower women, the urban and rural poor, and the youth of our country especially. Bio-fuels - if done in the right way - will offer potential for growth in the agriculture sector and should also assist emerging farmers. We are engaging with emerging farmers to see how this programme can benefit them
• Fast-tracking spatial planning to deal with the challenges of agricultural land used for other developments and speed up the provision of land for housing development. We need to re-shape present settlement patterns, which currently are developer-driven and still follow those of the apartheid past
• Modernising our deeds registration system - and related areas – and leveraging technology to speed up deeds registration and avoid delays that negatively affect development and may compromise the attainment of the AsgiSA targets
• Turning around operations of the Land Bank to ensure that it delivers on its mandate, particularly its contribution to promoting previously disadvantaged individuals in the agriculture sector, development in the agriculture sector and AgriBEE, and remains sustainable. Support to the previously disadvantaged communities by the Land Bank should assist Government in the redistribution of 30% of agricultural land by 2014 and other land reform objectives.
We have said to every official and manager present during this Ministerial Lekgotla: Gijima!
We have built in quarterly reporting mechanisms to assess delivery. Land and agrarian reform is one of the fundamental key projects of our government and we therefore call for support from all relevant stakeholders to support these plans so that the dream for a prosperous and united South Africa can be realised and for a better life for all.
Thank you
Enquiries:
Mr Steve Galane
Tel: (012) 319-7960
Cell: 083 635 7346
Issued by: Department of Agriculture
4 November 2006
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za)
Source: Department of Agriculture
Title: Xingwana: Ministerial Lekgotla in Benoni
Media statement by the Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Lulu Xingwana at the Ministerial Lekgotla held at Kopanong Conference Centre, Benoni
“Lehumo letswa tshemong”
If you go to some of the poorest areas in our country, people have land but poverty and food insecurity is still high. The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) has termed this challenge “dead assets in the hands of the poor”. We want to turn these assets/land and make them work for the people. During the month of November - which is the planting season for maize in some parts of our country - we are going back to the fields to plough. Sibuyele’ masimini siyolima.
I am happy therefore, to announce, this morning, the launch of the “Ilima/Letsema” campaign.
We will, through this campaign, build on and leverage programmes already existing in the provinces - programmes that offer support to small scale farming in the form of fencing, seeds, fertilisers, extension support, and irrigation as an example. We will have Ilima/Letsema in all provinces during November.
To the men and women in our rural areas, those in communal areas, in our peri-urban areas, those with land next to the cities – LET NO LAND LIE FALLOW! Go back to the land and unleash this productive asset to feed our families and communities, create employment and contribute towards economic growth and development of local and rural economies.
To the young people of our country also, we say to them they must roll up their sleeves and go to the fields. We say to them agriculture is cool!
We have, over the past two and a half days, come together as the Ministry for Agriculture and Land Affairs, MECs, Heads of Departments nationally and the provinces, CEOs of our state-owned entities, and top management of these institutions, to:
• take stock of progress made to date in implementing our programmes
• identify challenges
• align our programmes and fast track delivery.
We have collectively agreed on the magnitude of the challenges lying ahead and therefore committed ourselves that Siyagijima from now on!
In line with the spirit of SIYAGIJIMA, we have prioritised various areas for speedy implementation during the remaining five months of this financial year and for the next two years. These include the following:
• Finalising all urban restitution claims by March next year and settling of the outstanding rural claims by 2008 as dictated by the President during the State of the Nation Address in February this year
• Speeding up implementation of the resolutions of the Land Summit and next year reporting back to stakeholders on how far we have gone
• Finalising the AgriBEE Charter by the end of the year. We want transformation in the agriculture industry and empower women, the urban and rural poor, and the youth of our country especially. Bio-fuels - if done in the right way - will offer potential for growth in the agriculture sector and should also assist emerging farmers. We are engaging with emerging farmers to see how this programme can benefit them
• Fast-tracking spatial planning to deal with the challenges of agricultural land used for other developments and speed up the provision of land for housing development. We need to re-shape present settlement patterns, which currently are developer-driven and still follow those of the apartheid past
• Modernising our deeds registration system - and related areas – and leveraging technology to speed up deeds registration and avoid delays that negatively affect development and may compromise the attainment of the AsgiSA targets
• Turning around operations of the Land Bank to ensure that it delivers on its mandate, particularly its contribution to promoting previously disadvantaged individuals in the agriculture sector, development in the agriculture sector and AgriBEE, and remains sustainable. Support to the previously disadvantaged communities by the Land Bank should assist Government in the redistribution of 30% of agricultural land by 2014 and other land reform objectives.
We have said to every official and manager present during this Ministerial Lekgotla: Gijima!
We have built in quarterly reporting mechanisms to assess delivery. Land and agrarian reform is one of the fundamental key projects of our government and we therefore call for support from all relevant stakeholders to support these plans so that the dream for a prosperous and united South Africa can be realised and for a better life for all.
Thank you
Enquiries:
Mr Steve Galane
Tel: (012) 319-7960
Cell: 083 635 7346
Issued by: Department of Agriculture
4 November 2006
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za)
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