L Xingwana: Land hand over celebration at Elim Mission Community

15 July 2006

Programme Director,
Honourable MEC, Professor Ndabandaba,
Honourable members of parliament,
Executive Mayor of Ugu District Municipality,
Executive Mayor of Hibiscus Coast Municipality,
Councillors here present,
Amakhosi in our province and district,
Chief Land Claims Commissioner, Tozi Gwanya,
Acting KZN Land Claims Commissioner, Linda Faleni,
Claimants as well as beneficiaries,
Members of the various media houses,
Discovery Channel, BBC and Lion Television,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:

When we took over government in 1994 many people did not believe it was
real. One of the very first pieces of legislation that was passed by the
democratic government was the Restitution Act no 22 of 1994, which provides for
equitable redress to all victims of racial land dispossession. We asked victims
of forced removals to lodge land claims for restitution but only 33 000 claims
were lodged by March 1998. We extended the lodgement cut off date to 31
December 1998 and the total number of claims lodged increased to 79 696. This
is still less than 10 percent of the people that lost their dignity as a result
of forced removals. The Surplus Peoples Projects estimated that more than six
million people were victims of forced removals. Many people doubted the ability
of the new democratic government to honour the promise of “putting the land
rights in the right hands.”

Abanye abantu bathi “Umlungu mdala, asoze nikwazi ukujika into eyenziwe
ngumlungu.” Nina bantu balapha e-Elim nabonakalisa ukumethemba lo rhulumente,
nalifaka ibango lenu lomhlaba. Aba bafo babini bakwa Komo, uFrederick
noKhawuleza bakhawuleza bona bafaka ezi claim forms esithe sasebenza ngazo
ukufezekisa eli bango. Masibaqhwabele izandla!

We are here today to put an end to the history that reduced all our people
into labour tenants and farm workers on their own land. Namhlanje
sizokunibuyisela umhlaba wenu, owathathwa kuni ngolunya nangenkohlakalo. Let me
commend the Hermansburg Mission for standing together with the people to resist
the removal of our people from this land. The colonial and apartheid
governments had no respect for churches, chiefs and customs. Some churches
stood their ground to defend their prophecy against racism and oppression. The
churches played a significant role to bring quality education to our people.
They built schools, hospitals and church centres. The question to the church
today is, “What role can the church play in education, in health, in moral
regeneration, in poverty alleviation, in the improvement of quality of life of
our people, in the transformation of our communities, in fighting the HIV/AIDS
pandemic?”

We cannot run away from the fact that quite a number of churches benefited
from the racial laws and practices of the past colonial and apartheid
governments. They acquired much more land as the people were kicked out of the
land. Some even bought more land and acquired more assets through State
funding. This led to the wrong belief that “churches led people to close their
eyes and pray, whilst the land was being taken away by the time they opened
their eyes, land was gone!”

We have paid the current landowners, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
South Africa (ELCSA), the market related price of R2,8 million. Besinethemba
lokuba noko icawe iyakuthandaza kuThixo ophilayo, athambise intliziyo yayo
isiphe lo mhlaba siwukhululele abantu ngesisa. But we respect our Constitution
which says we must give just and equitable compensation to the landowner,
regardless of who the property owner is.

This land has sugar cane, tea and timber. For those who are spreading lies
and uncertainty about land reform in this country go out and tell them that in
line with the Constitution of this country, you have been paid a just and
equitable compensation for your land. We will never have “land grabs” in this
country which respects its Constitution.

The second message is that the farmer who was farming on this land, Mr Peter
Collocott, has entered into a lease agreement ending in February 2008. During
this lease period he has committed to the total skills transfer to the new
landowners. Go out and tell those prophets of doom that those farmers who sold
us the land for land reform purposes still have an important role to play in
the agricultural sector of this country. They must just commit that they want
to be part of our new South Africa.

In this claim members of the claimant community are also workers on these
sugarcane, timber and tea plantations that we are handing out today. In other
words there is plenty good room for working side by side, working hand in hand
for a better future. What we want to see is a clear flow of substantive and
lasting benefits to the new land owners.

The democratic government led by the African National Congress (ANC)
committed itself to restore the dignity of those communities who lost their
rights in land as a result of past racially discriminatory legislation and
practices. Land remains a cornerstone of every socio economic development of
any nation.

The government has embarked on a number of policy interventions aimed at
empowering our society especially the Africans. Amongst these interventions are
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) framework and more recently the
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA) which is
aimed at halving poverty and unemployment by 2014.

The government has identified key infrastructure projects with major impact
on AsgiSA. We are already talking about alternative sources of energy like
bio-fuels which we can produce from sugar beet, sugar cane, maize and other
types of crops. The Durban Dube Trade Port, the Makhathini Cassava and Sugar
projects. All these big initiatives are earmarked for this province. In the
Departments of Agriculture and Land Affairs we want to focus on agricultural
development corridors along N2, N12, N4 for example where we want to support
provincial development initiatives thus aligning our agricultural and land
reform strategies with provincial growth development plans and local economic
development. It is therefore important to locate land reform projects within
the broader framework of government economic development programme. Wherever
possible our people must be enabled to be global players in these sectors such
as tea, sugar and timber which are dominated by global players. We have just
signed trade agreements with the Chinese with the view to open new economic
opportunities for our people.

Today we are here to officially hand over 577 hectares of commercial
agricultural land to 53 families and 300 beneficiaries of Elim Mission
community. This land was taken away from these families through the Native
Service Contract Act of 1932. As we seek various ways to address poverty, we
look upon communities like this one to take advantage of the new opportunities
presented by government. Sugarcane remains one of the important commodities
which create employment opportunities whilst also generating revenue for the
country. This government is committed to ensure that blacks benefit from the
entire value chain in the sugar industry.

Ladies and gentleman, the success of projects like this one relies heavily
on how all spheres of government work together in an integrated manner. Allow
me to take this opportunity to commend the Ugu District Council for the
proactive role they have adopted for Elim Mission. I am glad to report that the
district has contributed R35,000 for this celebration and also set aside R2
million for a tourism venture in one of the portions of land we are restoring
today. This tourism initiative would give an added impetus on the economic
growth of this community and this intervention is highly welcomed.

The Land Claims Commission in partnership with the provincial Department Of
Agriculture and Environmental Affairs are investigating a plan for a fresh
produce market within the Ugu District. One of the areas identified for
cultivation is here in Elim Mission. Our MEC, Professor Ndabandaba has drawn up
a plan to fund co-operatives to manage this process. All these interventions
clearly demonstrate that all levels of government are working jointly to ensure
the success of this project and many similar projects in KwaZulu-Natal.

We are very encouraged with the role the provincial Department of
Agriculture and Environmental Affairs has played in various land restitution
projects in this province. It has always been government objective to create
sustainable land reform projects which would revolutionalise the agricultural
sector in South Africa. We are aware that most of the land reform beneficiaries
do not have the start up capital, the agricultural equipment or expertise to
run viable commercial agricultural businesses.

We have therefore sought to empower our people through the Comprehensive
Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and Siyavuna Programme an initiative that
assists farming communities in their specific line of production. This has
allowed beneficiary communities to capitalise the farms with much needed
implements thus improving production efficiency. This intervention is beginning
to bear fruits in areas such as Mpangisweni in Zululand District, Engadini in
Mgungundlovu District and Charlestown to name but a few. This will ensure the
long term sustainability of land restitution programme in the
KwaZulu-Natal.

UGU District Municipality is falling on the nodal areas of the Integrated
Sustainable Rural Development Programme (ISRDP). The ISRDP is the commitment of
government to ensure that we address the serious levels of poverty in our
depressed rural areas. Today we are giving this community a restitution award
worth more than R3,5 million. I am now challenging the Hibiscus Coast Local
Municipality and Ugu District Municipality to bring something to this community
in the spirit of the ISRDP.

Let me conclude by saying that the present government is committed to the
speedy resolution of all land claims. We want to assure you that ours is an
orderly and peaceful land reform founded on the rule of law, equity,
reconciliation and justice. We therefore owe it to ourselves to use this
natural resource productively. The world is watching upon us in awe for what we
have achieved in just over a decade of our democratic dispensation. Let us use
our land as a tool to unlock economic development and poverty eradication.

Ngiyabonga, amandla!

Issued by: Ministry of Agriculture and Land Affairs
15 July 2006