poverty, speech by Cobus Dowry, Western Cape Minister for Agriculture
20 February 2007
Honourable speaker and Members of the House,
During the State of the Nation Address this year, President Thabo Mbeki
reminded us yet again of our mandate to liberate our people from the scourge of
poverty in all its manifestations, and eliminate all its offshoots. Since 2004
this African National Congress (ANC) Government in the Western Cape has done
much to push back the boundaries of poverty. In agriculture we have made the
plight of farm workers our business and produced the only strategic plan for
farm workers in the country. Yet farm workers and their dependants are still
the most vulnerable members of our society. During the past year there were
many incidents that placed the emphasis on the plight of 220 000 farm workers
who work on farms in the Western Cape as well as their estimated 1,5 million
dependants.
The loss of lives in the tragic train disaster touched our hearts deeply and
once again drew our attention to the circumstances under which some of our farm
workers live and work on a daily basis. The eviction of farm workers both legal
and illegal often result in calls to come to the aid of families living next to
the road or under a bridge with their children and their few belongings. I
engage extensively with various role players on the critical issue of security
of tenure.
The Premier has appointed a task team to investigate the extent of the
problem, and to look into the role of various departments in the province in
addressing this problem. I have already on various occasions requested the
national minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs to set a process in motion
to review the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA).
I want to reiterate it again that I believe that the processes is flawed in
that some magistrates are not 100% adhering to the regulations as set out in
the act, before granting a final eviction order. In this matter my attention
has been drawn to a Human Rights Commission report, which reached the same
conclusion.
There is something wrong in our farming community when you have 645
applications for evictions from farms in the Western Cape, over 3 years. Of
these applications 222 were granted and 10% were set aside by the Land Claims
Court. The question arises whether the remaining 423 became illegal evictions,
or what happened to their constitutional rights.
As a housing solution for farm workers, Agri villages seem to be the right
option. We will need the full co-operation of all departments and spheres of
government to succeed. Farm workers will gain access to full title of a
property in this way. As much as we acknowledge the contribution of the
majority of farmers to improve the circumstances of their workers there are
still to many reports of incidents of maltreatment of workers and the
non-compliance to the minimum wage structure and health and safety regulations.
Too many workers are still spraying chemicals without protective clothing.
The eight themes as contained in the agri-business sector plan for growth
and development are not only in synergy with the programmes and emphasis of the
department but it is either in line with the objectives of the Accelerated and
Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) or it will support these
objectives in reaching a growth rate of 6%.
With the start of the 2007 academic year, a total of 154 first year students
enrolled for our Higher Education-programmes. Of these, 24% are women, and 38%
are from the Black population. Students from Agricultural Colleges are excluded
from financial assistance through the National Student Financial Aid Fund.
Therefore we supported 38 black students with bursaries to study in agriculture
and carried approximately 50% of the total cost of R1,1 million.
A further 28 Black students obtained a National Certificate in Agriculture
through our Learnerships programmes. This year 60 students from the farm worker
community benefits from our Learnerships programmes. We aim to increase this
number with another 100 during the course of this year. The delivery on
accelerated land reform and the administration of ESTA is confronted by the
structure of the national departments of Land Affairs and Agriculture under one
ministry; the same does not apply to provinces. Yet we are held responsible for
matters related to Land Affairs.
I have raised the issue of greater delegated authority to provinces with the
national Minister. The linkages with the provincial land reform office (and
officials) must be clarified with a structured relationship if we want to
achieve the land reform targets we have set for ourselves. Through our joint
concerted efforts we have managed to transfer 125 000 hectares of agricultural
land to emerging farmers during 2006, whilst only a total of 85 000 hectares to
beneficiaries in the previous 12 years have been transferred.
I agree with the premier that our strategy remains the only reliable way to
overcome poverty, unemployment, inequality and social fragmentation. Ours is
the correct strategic path in realising our vision of making the Western Cape a
home for all and in ensuring shared growth through our Provincial Growth and
Development Strategy (PGDS). IKapa Elihlumayo.
Enquiries:
Alie van Jaarsveld
Spokesperson
Ministry of Agriculture: Western Cape
Tel: (021) 483 4930
Fax: (021) 483 3890
Cell: 084 604 6701
E-mail: avjaarsv@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Western Cape Provincial
Government
20 February 2007
