Affairs Ms Lulu Xingwana at Mbizana commonage land claim: handover celebration
for Izinini and Ntshamathe communities at Mbizana Sport Grounds
21 December 2006
Programme Director
Kumnkani wamaMpondo Mpondombini Sigcau, Aah Thandizulu!!
Chieftainess Nontembeko Sontsele (Malibongwe!! Igama LamaKhosikazi)
Nkosi uNkosindiphile Ndunge
IiNkosi zomthonyama ezikhona
Amalungu ePalamente
Executive Mayor (MaFaku Mama uChapa)
Local Mayor Mr Twabu kunye no Councillor abakhona,
Chief Land Claims Commissioner, Mr Thozi Gwanya,
Commissioner for the Eastern Cape Province, Ms Linda Faleni
Ntshamathe Claimants,
Izinini Claimants,
Distinguished guests,
Halala kubanini mhlaba base Ntshamathe Halala!!
Halala banini mhlaba base Zinini Halala!!
Ubuyile umhlaba Ubuyile !!
Umhlaba ubuyile!!
Ngoku bendilapha ngoSeptember nango October, ndithe ndizakubuya phambi
kokuphela kwalo nyaka, ndizokunikezela lo mhlaba kubaniniwo. Ndibuyile ke
namhlanje, apha ku December, ngexesha le Krismesi, ndizokuthi kuni nanku
umhlaba wenu!!
I know that we have all gone through a rough patch to get to this stage.
There have been serious disagreements and confrontations, but I am glad that we
have come to an amicable agreement to resolve this land claim.
This claim has demonstrated the tension between the land need by traditional
communities close to the rural towns and the need for the rural towns to grow.
This challenge is pronounced in the homeland areas, where there is unbelievable
pressure on the land around the towns as urbanisation increases. One of the
most undesirable outcomes of this process is the increase in the population of
informal settlements.
Abantu basuka ezilalini, becinga ukuba bazakuba nemisebenzi edolophini. Xa
befika apha bafika babone ukuba akukho misebenzi apha edolophini. Bafika
bahlale emikhukwini ebandayo, enethayo xa kunetha. Bafika bahlale kwezi ndawo
zimdaka nezine ngxinano.
This African National Congress (ANC) led government has resolved to
establish sustainable human settlements and to get rid of imikhukhu. The N2
Gateway project near KwaLanga in Cape Town, is one example how we want to
eliminate imikhukhu and restore our people's dignity.
Sithi Phantsi ngemikhukhu Phantsi !! Phambili ngolimo ezilalini.
Phambili !! Apha kwezi lali zethu sinemizi nezindlu ezintle ezinesidima.
Masiphucule imeko zethu zokuhlala kwezi lali sihlala kuzo, endaweni yokuba
siyokuthoba isidima sethu ngokuhlala emikhukhwini.
The extent of land claimed by Izinini community was 2 032 hectares (ha)
whilst that claimed by Ntshamathe was about 344,5ha. With this claim we have
had to strike a balance between the need of land by the landless claimants and
the need for the Mbizana town to grow so that we can all be proud of our town.
Today we are here to restore 1 629 hectares to Izinini community and give the
403 ha to the Mbizana Local Municipality. The 1 629 ha is made up of the 815 ha
of forest land, the 506 ha which is portion G of the Map as well as 308 ha,
which is the small forest managed by Department of Water Affairs and Forestry
(DWAF). We still have to formalise the transfer of the DWAF land with the
Minister of DWAF.
The claim from Ntshamathe community was for 344,5 ha. We are here today to
restore to Ntshamathe 152 ha. Portion A, with 193 ha in extent, will remain
with the Municipality. The restored land includes portion B, C and D.
The Municipality has undertaken to ensure that all its development on the
land allocated to them will benefit the claimant communities. The Municipality
and the Claimant Communities may decide to enter into specific agreements for
specific development projects, where the scale of benefits will be agreed upon.
The Municipality has a responsibility to provide housing, local economic
development, job creation, infrastructure development, tourism and general
upliftment of this area. The role of the residents is to support their
Municipality. The role of the Municipality on the other hand is to ensure the
passionate provision of services, the creation of opportunities for growth.
Mbizana is strategically placed on the tourism map. It has a rich history
and significant veterans of the struggle such as OR Tambo. It has been
prioritised by the Presidency for very important pilot projects for integrated
development planning. We must therefore do our best to take advantage of those
opportunities to position and profile Mbizana. On my side I have agreed with
MEC Nkwinti as well as the Executive Mayor Chapa that we must focus on
promoting ILima, where people till the land and produce their own food. We have
agreed to revive agricultural production on the Nkantolo Valley.
We have compensated Izinini and Ntshamathe communities for the land that
remains with the Mbizana Local Municipality. Today I am here to announce that
the total restitution award for Izinini Community is R47 million. The total
award for Ntshamathe is R81 million. In the determination of the award we have
recognised the ownership rights of the twelve big families from the Ntshamathe
community as well as those of the nine big families from Izinini.
Today I am here to announce that each family that has been verified as the
victim of racial land dispossession will be paid financial compensation to an
amount of fifty thousand rand (R50 000). This amount will be paid directly to
your bank accounts, through ABSA Bank. An additional amount of R8 684 per
household will go towards development. We have complimented the development
funds with development grants. The total amount for development for Izinini is
almost seven million rand (R6 990 620).
Development support for Ntshamathe is twelve million rand (R12 018 656). Mr
Mayor, through the settlement of these claims today, I am bringing One Hundred
and Twenty Eight million rand (R128 460 410) into your economy. A sum of
Nineteen Million Rand (R19 009 276) will be directed towards integrated
development planning, where the Mbizana Local Municipality will have a
significant role to play.
Let us make sure that the development wheels are turning faster in Mbizana.
Let us identify sustainable projects that will ensure that our children's
children have a secure future. Let us begin now to define their future, by
making noble decisions on how we spend our money, on how we use our resources.
We have talked about goat projects, now is the time to put action to our words.
We have talked about improving our livestock for economic reason, now is the
time! We have talked about bio-fuels on this rich soil in this area, now is the
time! Tomorrow I will be going to Port St Johns to hand over Majola Tea Estate
to the claimant communities. I will be coming back early in the New Year, to
handover North Pondoland and Caguba. When I come, I want to see projects that
have been started as a result of this award today. I want to see your dreams
come true. I want to see results. I want to hear more about your dreams and
vision for this place.
We as Africans must take charge of our own development. We can't wait for
someone from anywhere in the world to come and tell us how we must do our own
development. We can't sit down and watch our land go to waste. Let us dream
dreams, let us see visions of the desired state. Let us identify resourceful
people among ourselves and pull that knowledge together for our own good. Let
us respect one another. Let us "LIFT as you Rise" as opposed to pulling one
another down. Let us focus on that which will make our homes a better place to
be, let us make Mbizana a better place for all of us. Why should we sleep in
Port Edward, Kokstad or Port St Johns when we want to come to Mbizana? Why
should we go and do shopping in Port Shepstone and Kokstad when we have such
beautiful land in this town?
The President has given me a very short time, up to the year 2008, to settle
all outstanding land claims. We are left with about six thousand rural claims,
including the claim on the Wild Coast Mzamba Hotel. The Commissioners have told
me that these are the most difficult claims. My focus is not on the difficulty
but it is on the results. My focus is on the return of land to its rightful
owners. I don't have time for lame reasons that the community are at
loggerheads with the Municipality. Those who want to fight must go outside the
field of service delivery. This government wants the people to experience the
results of democracy. The people want to experience their freedom. Officials
must not stand on the path of freedom! Politicians have a duty of oversight, to
ensure access by all people to the programmes of government.
I want to see meaningful participation of women in all development projects,
especially in agriculture. We have launched a mass movement of rural women
called, Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (WARD). I would like WARD to
assist in these projects that we have launched in this Municipality so that we
can see active participation of women, youth and people with disabilities. The
purpose of WARD is to see quick access by women to support programmes such as
Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP), Micro-Agricultural Finance
Schemes of South Africa (MAFISA), Land Bank products and other capacity
building programmes. I want the WARD activists to interact with you so that all
can see that women have a lot to contribute towards improving agriculture. The
good projects that you are proposing for this community will be most effective
when you enable women and youth to take the lead.
Let me wish you all the best in this project. I will be leaving this place
with a big hope for success, but I want to come soon to see new development
initiatives in these communities. Ndifuna ukubona I projects zoMama zisenza
umahluko omkulu eMbizana.
Phambili ngeLima Phambili !!!
Phambili ngoLimo Phambili Malibongwe!! Igama lamakhosikazi!!
Malibongwe!!
Amandla!!
Issued by: Department of Agriculture
21 December 2006
Source: Department of Agriculture (http://www.nda.agric.za/)
