Reform Forum
26 August 2007
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs M E Mthimkhulu
will be officiating at the launch of the first ever provincial Land and
Agrarian Reform Forum which will serve as a platform for structured and
constructive communication, co-ordination, co-operation and information
sharing.
The objective of the forum is to facilitate co-ordination and information
sharing among its members and allied stakeholders on the implementation of the
land and agrarian reform in the province.
In addition the forum will also serve as a vehicle to identify early warning
signs of tensions within the agricultural and farming sector particularly
between commercial farmers and farmhands, farm dwellers, and farm tenants. It
will also be a mechanism to break the deadlocks that have, in the past several
months, been associated with the farming community wherein there has been
tensions when farmers deny burial rights to bereaved families who happen to be
farm dwellers as well as the status of farm dwellers in relation to the
existing legislation on tenure security and land reform.
"We hope that the constitution of this forum, which we believe is the first
of its kind among the nine provinces, will facilitate the harmonious resolution
of problems in this sector to avoid a repeat of past incidents where there has
been land invasions which has had fatal consequences as evidenced by the
Nkwalini incident where a farm manager was bludgeoned to death during 2006,"
said MEC Mthimkhulu.
Among the stakeholders involved in the constitution of the aforementioned
forum include the Department of Land Affairs, the Regional Land Claims
Commission, the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu), the National
African Farmers Union (Nafu), the Association For Rural Advancement (Afra), the
Landless People's Movement (LPM), the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development, the Provincial Department of Community Safety and Liaison, the
South African Police Service and the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture.
The details of the launch are as follows:
Date: 28 August 2007
Time: 10h00
Venue: Imperial Hotel, Jabu Ndlovu Street (ex-Loop Street),
Pietermaritzburg
For enquiries please contact:
Mbulelo Baloyi
Cell: 082 415 7277
Issued by: Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs,
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
26 August 2007
Source: SAPA
