The National Reference Group (NAREG), which is constituted of representatives from traditional leadership, organised agriculture, emerging farmers and government, met today in Johannesburg.
The purpose of the meeting was to receive progress reports on the work being undertaken in terms of the Green Paper on Land Reform. When the Green Paper was published in 2011, we established 6 work streams, which are aligned to the thematic areas within the Green Paper, these are:
- 3-Tier land tenure system
- Office of the Valuer-General
- Land Rights Management Board
- Land Management Commission
- Communal Tenure; and
- Legislative amendments.
The Department took the decision that the Green Paper development process will be a very interactive process, thus, the National Reference Group serves as a reference point and forum to discuss and formulate proposals for the Green Paper. Stakeholders have opted to refer to the process as engagement, rather than consultation.
During today’s meeting, the various stakeholders had the opportunity to engage on the above themes, and it is pleasing to note the depth and extent of engagement. The National Reference Group noted that a lot of work has been done, and that this work was undertaken collectively by the various role-players, which has ensured that all have an input into the way forward.
The meeting further noted that some work streams have not progressed as well as was anticipated, and agreed that urgent measures be put in place to assist these work streams.
The meeting set timelines for the work being undertaken to be finalised, and it was agreed that the work be completed by middle March 2012. The National Reference Group will meet during mid-March again, to assess the work done.
As His Excellency, the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr J G Zuma stated in Parliament yesterday, the land question is a very sensitive one, and will require responsible leadership in dealing with this matter. The National Reference Group was established to ensure that as a country, we deal with this matter as a collective, but more importantly in a systematic and responsible manner. We remain dedicated to ensuring that all processes related to the work being undertaken on the Green Paper are done within the context of the National Reference Group, which in turn reports to the National Consultative Plenary, which is a much broader plenary, constituted of all land reform beneficiaries, farmers, organised agriculture, traditional leadership and other stakeholders. The National Consultative Plenary will meet towards the end of March, to receive a report from the National Reference Group, and agree on the way forward.
Work on the Green Paper is proceeding at a rapid pace, and we thank all those who took time to submit their comments to us, as well as for participating in the various consultation workshops held across the country.
I thank the Members of the National Reference Group for their active and dedicated participation in the work being undertaken by the work streams, without your support the progress made thus far, would not have been possible.
Ministry Media Liaison:
Mtobeli Mxotwa
Cell: 083 578 9023
