Programme director
Honourable Premier
Honourable MEC
District and local mayors
Amakhosi
Labour tenants
Restitution beneficiaries
Ladies and gentlemen
I extend a special welcome to Amakhosi and the representatives of the beneficiaries of the Land Restitution Programme of KwaZulu-Natal present here today, and thank them for accepting our invitation to attend this very important meeting.
I am aware that some of you have had to travel long distances to get here, we thank you for taking the time out to be here.
The government has adopted the Outcomes Based Approach, which has 12 outcomes. The Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform is responsible for Outcome 7, namely, “vibrant, equitable and sustainable rural communities and food security for all”.
Restitution forms a critical part of the outcomes of department and as such beneficiaries must contribute to achieving these objectives.
The objectives of this meeting is to consult with the land restitution beneficiaries regarding challenges relating to issues of sustainabilityof projects handed over to them as part of the government’s land reform programme.
We want to give restitution beneficiaries, including Amakhosi, labour tenants affected by restitution programme, as well as members of the oncerned groups, platform to not only highlight their challenges, but also to come up with proposed solutions to the challenges affecting them.
The first question we must answer today is how land restitution can more effectively contribute to achieving the objectives of agrarian transformation, such as sustainable agrarian reform, de-racialisation of the rural economy for shared and sustainable growth; democratic and equitable land allocation and use across gender, race and class; and, strict production discipline for guaranteed national food security?
Ladies and gentlemen, we are all aware that land reform has not always produced the intended results.
It is, therefore, imperative that we find more pragmatic solutions for land reform, and that this will be done in conjunction with others. This meeting thus serves as a forum for finding solutions.
One such solution, which we have introduced as a means of responding to challenges of collapsing land reform projects, and defunct irrigation schemes in the former homelands, is a new programme called recapitalisation and development.
The objectives of the programme are to increase production; to guarantee food security; to graduate small scale farmers into commercial farmers; and to create employment opportunities within the agricultural sector.
The recapitalisation and development programme is accessible primarily, to farmers and communities that had received land from the state, but had not received the necessary support to sustain production.
We have identified the following problem areas with finalised land claims which will need our immediate attention during this meeting:
- Issues related to legal entities and governance:
Challenges relating to the legal entities, such as Communal Property Institutions and Trusts, which have been entrusted with custodian of the land on behalf of the communities, are contributory factors in the poor management of projects handed over to restitution beneficiaries.
- Post settlement support and customer care for beneficiaries:
As a result of inadequate post settlement support such as training and development; access to finance and markets, etc, a large number of those who have received land through the land reform programme have not been able to derive optimal benefit out of the process.
- Issues related to Amakhosi and the restitution process:
Coupled with disputes regarding boundaries on claimed land, tensions between Amakhosi and legal entities entrusted with custodianship of the land on behalf of the communities have stalled the progress on a number of projects handed over to communities as part of the land reform programme.
Most of the conflict between Amakhosi and legal entities relate to the issue of control and custodianship of the land. It remains a challenge in many communities to find a common ground between the two parties.
- Labour tenants affected by the restitution process:
Tensions often exist between the new land owners who have acquired land through the restitution programme, and the labour tenants.
- Issues raised by members of “concerned groups” within beneficiary communities:
Matters concerning the verification of claimants form part of the issues raised by concerned groups who feel left out of the process.
- Title deeds for beneficiaries:
Some of the challenges experienced by beneficiaries include the unavailability of title deeds for portions of land restored to them as part of the government’s land reform programme.
These challenges, and others, will form the bulk of the problems we will have to grapple with today.
Cabinet recently approved the draft Land Tenure Security Bill for public comment and consultation. I encourage you to actively participate during this process.
The bill will replace the ESTA and LTA, and further introduces a Land Rights Management Board to support and sustain agri-villages, which are intended to deal with tenure security, sustainable human settlements and food production.
The draft Green Paper, which is currently before Cabinet, contains new proposals on land reform.
This meeting is tasked with the duty of devising mechanisms to overcome challenges besetting the restitution beneficiaries.
As such, it is imperative that at the end of it, we should walk away having developed lasting solutions.
I wish everyone a happy and peaceful festive season.
Thank you.
