Honourable Speaker,
Honourable Minister,
Honourable Members,
Manene, nani manenekazi, bahlali belizwe lakowethu
Distinguished Guests,
“The gods are cruel, and one of their cruelest acts of omission was that of giving us no hint that in very much less than a quarter of a century all those hundreds of heads of cattle, and sheep and horses belonging to the family would vanish like a morning mist.
“They might have warned us that Englishmen would agree with Dutchmen to make it unlawful for black men to keep cows of their own. The gods could have prepared us gradually for shock.”
Sol Plaatje “Native Life in South Africa”
Introduction
Our people were robbed of their birth right, robbed of their identity, robbed of their traditions, robbed of their wealth, robbed of their freedom, robbed of their dignity.
After more than 350 years of protracted struggle, through courage, strength, determination and resilience, with outstanding leadership, the “robbers” agreed to surrender.
After our victory 22 years ago, we began to right the wrongs, to bring justice to our divided land. We have not done to those who robbed us of our land, what they did to us. Instead, in the moment of our victory, we acknowledged their rights as well. 20 years ago we passed a constitution which applies to all.
In Section 25 it says,
“4 a. the public interest includes the nation's commitment to land reform, and to reforms to bring about equitable access to all South Africa's natural resources; and ...
“5 The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis...
“8. No provision of this section may impede the state from taking legislative and other measures to achieve land, water and related reform, in order to redress the results of past racial discrimination...”
In the twenty-two years we have been building this new home for our people. One brick at a time, the foundations and walls are being put together of this home we are building called, “Free South Africa”.
We have not built a complete house yet. But we now have these years of experience, which have shown us which of our tools work, which need to be sharpened and which don't work at all.
The road ahead
Much work lies ahead.
Only when the dignity of all who were forced off their land and separated from the graves of their ancestors has been restored, will we be able to rest.
But even then, even when we are finished the job of land reform, and enjoying our rest, we know that we won’t be able to rest for long.
For, restoring the fabric of a nation, that had its soul ripped apart by 350 years of conquest and oppression, will take generations.
Government is in it for the long haul
We’re not Johnny-come-lately populist politicians, promising instant pudding and destroying our institutions, facilities and national integrity.
And nor are we colonial apologists who seek to use the Constitution only to the extent that it protects the apartheid status quo we inherited in 1994.
We’ve been opposing the Natives Land Act since the year before its enactment, since the formation of the ANC 104 years ago, in 1912.
It is our view, and has been since before the drafting of the Freedom Charter more than 60 years ago, that South Africa – including the land – belongs to all who live in it.
Land reform is not a nice-to-have; it is a national imperative. When South Africa truly does belong to all who live in it, all will benefit from the stability and security that will ensue.
Willing Buyer-Willing Seller
Government is sharpening the tools at its disposal to add momentum to the process.
For example, we initially hoped that landowners would buy into the prioritisation of land reform, so we pursued a policy of willing buyer-willing seller when it came to land expropriation.
We did not want anyone to feel forced to participate in the process.
But humans being humans, the owners demanded top prices for the land – that government couldn't always afford to pay.
Many felt it unfair that the same owners who profited from the exclusion of the original inhabitants of the land, should profit again on selling it back to the people.
By holding out for higher prices, the landowners were effectively putting a brake on land reform.
That’s why government dropped the willing buyer-willing seller policy. We need to speed up.
There are no plans to forcibly remove any white farmers. But nor can we sit on our hands and wait for the desperation of our people to mount to the point that drove farm invasions to the north of us.
But instead of the buyer and the market determining the price alone, the price is now determined by what is fair and equitable, as required by the constitution. This is why, as we said we would do, we established the Office of the Valuer-General and appointed Mr Chris Gavor from the 1st of September 2015. From that date his office has been playing a key role in all the land we have acquired.
Strengthening the relative rights of people working on farms
Another instrument we’ve been sharpening is “Strengthening the Relative Rights of People Working the Land” popularly known as the 50/50 Policy Framework which was announced by the President in the State of the Nation Address last year.
The policy framework seeks direct redress for farmworkers whose sweat and toil built a powerful agricultural sector in our country. Redress for those who have never profited from their labour, and whose welfare has never been considered. Government is buying them a share as co-owners and managers in the farms they have helped to build, through an equity injection into these enterprises. This is the most lasting solution to farm evictions.
Despite the outcry from those who don't want to see change and the rights of farmworkers to be affirmed, including many on the other side of this House, more than fifty commercial farmers expressed an interest in becoming part of this program.
10 proposals are finalised and being implemented, with about 540 beneficiaries on 7642 hectares of land.
We are sure that many more progressive farmers will prove the doomsayers and reactionaries wrong and become part of this program, as they come to realise that we are all together in building our new nation.
Land Claims
On 30 June 2014 the President assented to the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Act paving the way for deserving persons and communities to lodge their land restitution claim, for a period of five years. To date, in excess of 140 000 new land claims have been lodged with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights which is almost double the 79 696 claims lodged over a period of 4 years in the previous window, confirming that reopening the Restitution process was indeed the right thing to do. The past year has seen an escalation in the communication drive to solicit even more claims from those dispossessed of their rights and in order for those to be lodged before the new deadline of 30 June 2019.
The Commission prioritises claims lodged before 31 December 1998, to investigate those claims, and to resolve through negotiations and mediation. This has been prioritised through their Annual Performance Plan shows how those claims will be prioritised and finalised.
The settlement of claims will be supported by a development programme, implemented by the Department, aligned to the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme; and through the three-pronged strategy for rural development set out in the National Development Plan. This will speed up the settlement of land claims.
In this year 2016, which marks the 50th anniversary of the declaration by the National Party regime that District Six would be a whites only area, leading to the forced removals of more than 60 000 residents, it is our democratic government which has brought hope to the people of District Six. Development of the land is taking place there as I speak.
But even once all those claims have been settled, we must acknowledge that many of our compatriots lost their land in the period of colonial conquest prior to the enactment of the 1913 Natives Land Act – and that these losses fall outside the terms of the present law.
The role of district land reform committees to drive accelerated and successful land reform
In my budget speech last year, flowing from the National Development Plan, I announced that we would be establishing District Land Reform Committees (DLRCs) in all 44 Districts of the country. This has been done and we have also completed a training program for these committees so that they will be able to,
- Identify farms suitable for acquisition by Government (the target is 20% of strategic agricultural farming land in the country by 2030);
- Identify and interview potential candidates for farm allocation;
- Advise the Minister on the strategic support needs of identified farms
- Advise the Minister on the strategic support needs of recommended candidates; and
- Advise the Minister on resolving land rights conflicts.
All the 44 DLRCs and their interim secretariats are now ready to preside over the 2016/17 land acquisition and allocation applications. All DLRCs have also finalised their annual calendar of meetings for 2016/17.
All applications for the acquisition and allocation of land, and Recapitalisation and Development will be presented to these committees in all the 44 Districts before they go to the National Land Allocation and Recapitalisation Control Committee (NLARCC) at head office for approval.
All the Beneficiary Selection Committees have been established. They will select and screen suitable candidates for land allocation. The DLRCs have also established panels of experts for the assessment and evaluation of business plans for the Recapitalisation and Development applications.
We have also finalised the categories of beneficiaries to be targeted for land allocation. These will be chosen by the Beneficiary Selection Committees.
- Category 1: Households with no or very limited access to land. We aim to address food security and social justice and provide the very poor with the opportunity to gain initial access to land to make a start with farming.
- Category 2: Small-scale farmers who are farming for subsistence purposes and selling part of their produce on local markets. This may be land located in communal areas, on commercial farms, on municipal commonage or on church land. These are people who are producing for subsistence purposes on small plots of land, but who want to expand their operations.
- Category 3: Medium-scale commercial farmers who have already been farming commercially at a small-scale and with an aptitude to expand, but are constrained by land and other resources.
- Category 4: Large-scale or well established black commercial farmers who have been farming at a reasonable commercial scale, but who are disadvantaged by location, sise of land and other resources or circumstances.
In addition, other specific groups to be targeted for land allocation and to receive strategic support by the State are:
- Agricultural sciences university and college graduates;
- NARYSEC participants;
- Agricultural para-professionals;
- Youth with experience or qualifications in the field of agriculture;
- A “Special Category” of more vulnerable people, consisting of women, people with disabilities, farm workers, farm dwellers, labour tenants and military veterans;
Beneficiary Selection will be a public and transparent process. Notices requesting expression of interest will be put up at municipal notice boards and other public spaces frequented by people. Advertisements will be placed in the local media and information will be disseminated at farmers' meetings. The District Beneficiary Selection Committee will screen all beneficiaries in the district and make recommendations to the DLRC and NLARCC.
Military Veterans
Speaker, the injustices of the past were deep and left many scars on our people. We have a nation to heal. There are those who took the ultimate decision to be prepared to lay down their lives in the cause of bringing democracy and freedom and returning the land to our people. Those are the Military Veterans. All countries throughout the world recognise their military veterans and hold them in the highest esteem. If we were to ignore them, it would be at our own peril. I want to recognise some of my comrades who military veterans who are listening to this debate today.
In recognition of this imperative the Minister has established a task team, which I head, to prioritise military veterans as beneficiaries of land reform. This is in spite of the fact that some veterans have already benefited through the normal application process of the department. This will result in a special dispensation to look after them. However the full terms of the law will still be followed.
In the past year we have acquired 8 farms for military veterans. We have also received numerous applications from military veterans, which we are busy processing.
The Chief-Directorate: Strategic Land Reform Interventions, has commenced with project visits to each of the farms acquired for military veterans to make an assessment of what further support they require.
Recapitalisation and Development Programme
The recapitalisation program assists black farmers in all provinces of South Africa, on both state and privately owned farms. The program has recapitalised and developed land reform farms since the 2010/11 financial year. The total amount spent on Recapitalisation and Development in last financial year is estimated at R836 million.
There are 1 496 farms making up more than one million hectares under the programme in terms of the five year funding model. In the financial year 2015/2016 some of them were also assisted with drought relief.
There are currently 651 strategic partnerships secured to provide technical, financial and infrastructure support to farmers. The support varies from production inputs, infrastructure, machinery and implements. The program has managed to create 7 731 jobs of which 3 389 are for women. The programme has also managed to capacitate 2 937 farmers of which 1 306 are women through training in agribusiness.
Support to farm workers facing eviction
We remain concerned about evictions of farm workers from farms. In many cases farm workers are evicted because they do not know their rights under the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA), or the procedures to be followed to get assistance when they are evicted. Amongst the problems in assisting farm workers facing eviction are:
- Most incidents are reported by community workers and constituency offices, instead of the legal procedures from the Courts
- Courts are unaware of legislative procedures and do not inform the department of eviction cases they are dealing with.
- Many occupiers are unable to report incidents due to fear of intimidation, distances from towns and lack of information
- Many occupiers leave farms without being aware of their rights in terms of the Act;
- The Police are unaware of the procedure for illegal evictions
- Lack of alternative accommodation for occupiers that were evicted
The provinces have started the process of reviving the ESTA forums. These forum will serve as a platform for the sharing of information on ESTA matters, including information of reported cases.
I want to encourage farm-dwellers and their organisations to participate in the coming weeks in the public hearings the Portfolio Committee is currently busy with on the ESTA Amendment Bill.
I ask members of this august House to also publicise the anti-Evictions toll-free number 0800 007095 which allows farm-dwellers to access free legal and mediation assistance through our Land Rights Management Facility if they are facing eviction.
National Geomatics Management Services
The Land Audit Phase 2 project is complete. The report is being reviewed internally. The next step is to present the report to top management of the department for comments, inputs and adoption. It will then be submitted to the Minister for consideration and adoption before it is tabled to Cabinet.
The department has since 2008 been offering bursaries to aspirant students to obtain qualifications in Surveying. During the 2015/16 financial year, the department sponsored 473 students pursuing their studies in surveying of which 157 were females and 316, were males. The total bursary fund amounted to more than R34 million. In 2015, 69 students successfully completed their studies, 28 of which are female and 41 are male.
Due to financial constraints, the department aims to give out 30 new bursaries as compared to 98 the previous financial year. The bursary fund for 2016/17 amounts to R31 million.
Deeds
The Branch Deeds Registration is busy drafting a Business case to deal with the Modernisation of the Deeds Registration System. The scoping of the work for this project is in the initial stages. A Project Management Office will be established in the Branch for this project.
Conclusion
“While you are sitting happy and comfortable in your bright and wealthy homes, just give one thought to the hundreds of native families, men, women, and little children, even at this moment, being ruthlessly evicted from their humble homes, where perchance they were born, turned homeless, helpless, and hopeless, on to the roads - wandering in misery about the land of their forefathers in search of any wretched spot whereon to live and rest.
“And then, think you, that at the very moment this calamity is overwhelming them, your Government and your representatives actually come forward and block the way of these wretched people to raise for themselves a new home on any farm-land. And the farm-lands are nine-elevenths of the total surface of this Province. Why, I ask, should you treat us thus?”
Appeal to the British Public about The Native Land Act, 1913 by John Langalibalele Dube, President, South African Native National Congress.
Ubaw'omkhulu uDube owathetha lamazwi ngexesha lakudala, njenge nyange lesizwe ngoku,sikholelwa ukuba elele nje usathetha
