ABC Parliamentary report: 4 - 18 June 2009

  1. On 4 June 2009 the new Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Affairs, in the form of a brief submission by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs, Mr GE Nkwinti, provided elucidation on the mandates, priorities and proposed approach of the new portfolio. He said the new ministry and department had been created as a result of decisions taken in 2008 at the ANC’s Polokwane conference.

The mandate of the ministry and department (formerly known as the Department of Land Affairs, and now as the Department of Rural Development and Land Affairs) includes the following: rural reform, access to land, an increase in production on land, infrastructure, poverty relief, basic training, assistance to farm dwellers, access to markets, agri-processing, rural finance, small-farmer development, water resource management, skills development, access of housing and job creation.

The ministry’s objectives are as follows: acceleration of the restitution process, acceleration of tenure reform, support to land reform programmes through proper planning information, an increase in production, food security, improved economic infrastructure, dignity and better quality of life for rural inhabitants.

The Minister placed strong emphasis on partnerships, firstly with other state departments (especially Agriculture and Fisheries) but also with the private sector. At this stage the budget available to the department is relatively small, but the ministry is in discussion with the Treasury regarding more funds. He also stressed the importance of co-operation with traditional leaders who exert considerable influence in rural areas.

  1. A joint meeting of the Portfolio Committees on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and Land Affairs was held on 9 June 2009. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ms Tina Joematt-Pettersen and Mr Nkwinti, as well as the two Deputy Ministers, Dr Pieter Mulder and Mr Joe Phaala. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the budget votes of the two state departments which will be debated on 17 June. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries made their submission first. The Director-General, Ms Nduli, provided an overview on the department’s core functions and priorities for the year. The budget was also presented briefly to the Committee. The Director-General had to answer questions relating to disease control, disaster aid, agricultural training and the impact of mining activities in Mpumalanga in the production of food. With reference to a question regarding the Land Bank, the Minister said she was in discussion with the Minister of Finance regarding the bank. She indicated that the Land Bank’s interest rates were too high and that repayment arrangements were often unreasonable. Moreover, the bank took far to long to approve loans.

The Director-General of Land Affairs said in his presentation that there were 82 million hectares of high-quality agricultural land in the hands of white commercial farmers. The target for land reform was to transfer 30% of this land (24,6 million hectares) to black people by 2014. This means that more than 3 million hectares must be transferred to blacks annually before 2014. He said ever-increasing land prices posed a challenge in this regard. The department has now decided to divide land reform beneficiaries into the following categories:

  • Landless households;
  • Commercially-ready subsistence farmers;
  • Small commercial farmers who wish to expand / grow;
  • Well-established black commercial farmers.

The Department of Land Affairs and Rural Development’s policy priorities for 2009/10 include a policy on foreign ownership of land; willing buyer, willing seller policy options; a comprehensive rural development programme and the development of a White Paper on rural development. The department’s rural development responsibilities include improved economic and social infrastructure as well as improved institutional infrastructure.

  1. On 11 June 2009, the South African Revenue Service and National Treasury briefed the Portfolio Committee of Finance on the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill. Public hearings on the Bill will be held on 24 June and written comments can be submitted until 26 June 2009. The Bill is intended to give effect to the tax proposals announced in February 2009 in the national budget. Proposals for the exemption from VAT for agricultural trusts that provided services to emerging farmers, was discussed amongst other things. There are also proposals or a “green tax”in the Bill, aimed at supporting environmental initiatives and energy efficiency.

4.The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Petterson made her budget speech on 17 June. She referred to the currunt global economic crisis and stated that the government is concerned about job losses and the potential of the agricultural sector to contribute to job creation. She said that government would be implementing a comprehensive rural development programme, aimed at eradicating unemployment, poverty, hunger and divisions in measurable terms.. She said that: “The vision of the CRDP is about enabling rural people to play a meaningful role in an inclusive economy, thereby dealing effectively with rural poverty through productive use and management of natural resources at their disposal. To do this we adopted a three-pronged strategy of Agrarian Transformation, Rural Development, and Land Reform.” She committed her department to train 1000 new extension officers and recruit 1000 over the medium term. She announced that the different funding schemes such as AgriBEE Fund, CASP, Ilima/Letsema and Land Care would be combined into a single national facility. She stated that: “The current allocation for the Comprehensive Agriculture Support Programme (CASP) is R715 million, for Illima/Letsema it is R50 million, for Agri-BEE it is R100 million and for Land Care it is R48 million. The total allocation for development support through the new funding facility is almost one billion rand. “

  1. The Minister for Rural Development and Land Affairs, Mr Nkwinti, also presented his department’s budget to Parliament on 17 June 2009. He spoke about the three programs of land reform and progress made with each of these. He also referred to the rural development mandate, which is the responsibility of the new Department of Rural Development and Land Reform and stated that the aims of rural development for the new few years included the following:

In the debate that followed the issue of the willing-buyer-willing –seller model of land reform was hotly debated. The Minister said that it was decided at the ANC Polokwane conference that this model needs to be revised, but that this will be done in consultation with stakeholders such as organised agriculture.

6.On 18 June 2009, Minister Sonjica presented the budget vote for the environment. She said that her department will support rural development objectives. She also referred to the issue of climate change: “Honourable members, climate change is a threat to the stability of our country and, if left unattended, can cause serious damage not only to the environment but to the entire ecosystem and our ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There is a great need to demystify the climate change debate and ensure that our people have a full understanding of human activities that contribute to climate change.”

Annelize Crosby