THE REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO
COMMITTEE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM ON THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF LAND AFFAIRS FOR 2008/09, DATED 4 NOVEMBER 2009.
The Portfolio Committee
on Rural Development and Land Reform, having considered the 2008/09 Annual
Report of the Department of Land Affairs, reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
The
briefing on the 2008/09 annual report of the Department of Land Affairs (DLA)
took place on 21st of October 2009. The new Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform briefed the Portfolio Committee on this annual
report.
The
following members of the top management of the Department appeared before the
Portfolio Committee for the briefing: Mr. Thozi Gwanya - Director General (DG), Mr.
Vusi Mahlangu - Acting Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Mdu’ Shabane - Deputy
Director General (DDG) - Land Tenure Reform, Mr. A van Staden - Acting DDG
Corporate Services, Dr N. Makgalemele -
Deputy Director General - Land Planning and Information, Mr. Andrew Mphela -
Chief Land Claims Commissioner (CLCC).
The
Mission of the DLA was “to provide enhanced land rights to all South Africans,
with particular emphasis on black people, that would result in increased income
levels and job opportunities, productive land use and well planned human
settlement.” In order to achieve its mandate,
the Department was organized into six different but complementary programmes,
namely Administration, Mapping and Surveys, Cadastral Surveys, Restitution, Land
Tenure Reform, Spatial Planning Information (SPI) and Deeds Registry.
This
report is presented within a context of commitment to the programme for land
and agrarian reform and the target of redistributing 30% of white owned
agricultural land by 2014. The committee engaged with the report with an
understanding of the challenges facing the land reform programme and the
demands of the poor and landless people for prompt delivery of land and support
services to ensure that beneficiaries realize the development benefits of the
programme.
The
committee notes the enormity of the challenge of resolving the land question,
particularly with consideration to the legacy of racially-based land
dispossessions of the past, budgetary constraints to deliver land at scale,
existing capacity problems and the effects of the current global economic
meltdown. The committee regards the programme of land redistribution as a
significant and necessary project in order to enhance political stability,
transformation and redressing the inequalities in land ownership.
The
committee’s engagement with the annual report focussed on the administrative,
operational and financial components of the annual report. While other
programmes of the Department are equally important, there was an emphasis on
the restitution and land tenure reform during deliberations about the Annual
Report. Due to time constraints, the committee prioritised critical issues for
discussion whilst other important matters that emanated from the report would
be dealt with during the usual weekly program of the committee.
This
report provides a brief summary of the presentation made by the DG - Rural
Development and Land Reform, an overview of the committee’s findings on the
Annual Report and then concludes by offering the Portfolio Committee’s
recommendations.
2.
Presentation
of the 2008/09 Annual Report of the Department of Land Affairs by the DG, Mr.
Thozi Gwanya
2.1.
Overview of the strategic
context
The
strategic objective of the DLA encompassed ‘ensuring that land is utilized to
facilitate the investment potential for both rural and urban areas, thereby
empowering beneficiaries to participate in socio-economic growth; contribution
to poverty alleviation and economic development, and enhanced access to and
ownership of land’.
The
DLA set for itself the following key strategic objectives:
To redistribute 30% of white owned
agricultural land by 2014 for sustainable agricultural development.
To provide tenure security that
creates socio-economic opportunities for the people living and working on farms.
To provide land for sustainable
human settlements and industrial and economic development.
To provide efficient land use and
land administration services.
To provide efficient state land
management that supports development.
To provide a skills development
framework for land and agrarian reform to all relevant stakeholders.
To develop programmes for the
empowerment of women, children and older persons within the context of the
Department’s mandate.
The
programme of land reform, if properly implemented, has a potential to affect
many of the rural poor people, particularly those whose means of livelihoods is
dependant on land. Secure access to land can facilitate investment potential by
empowering beneficiaries to participate in socio-economic growth. A successful
programme of land reform can be determined by a range of factors, for example
complementing land access with support services such as extension services,
access to low cost inputs, capital, sound institutional mechanisms for
development and development of infrastructure to support producers, including
subsistence producers.
The
program of land redistribution in
Greater
challenge for the Department lies in its mechanisms to acquire land at scale in
order to achieve the target to redistribute the 30% white-owned agricultural
land to black people. By the 31st March 2008, the Department had
transferred 4, 7 million hectares against the 30% target, with a shortfall of
3.2 million hectares to be redistributed by 2014. To achieve these numbers of
hectares, the Department would require an average of R15 billion per annum for
land acquisition.
The
Department also developed a new approach to land and agrarian reform with a
focus on addressing aims of land and agrarian reform. With the new approach the
Department identified different target groups for land redistribution. The new
approach addresses household-level food security and provides the landless
people with an opportunity to access productive land. Simultaneously, the
approach also addresses transformation of agriculture by providing
opportunities to commercial-ready black farmers and existing black commercial
farmers.
During
the year under review, the department amended the Provision of Land and
Assistance Act, 1993 (Act No 126 of 1993) to provide a sufficient legislative
framework for continued implementation of the Pro-active Land Acquisition
Strategy (PLAS). PLAS has significantly
contributed to the number of hectares redistributed during the period under
review. Through amendments of the PLAS Implementation Framework, the Department
was able to put in place necessary procedures for acquisition, management and
disposal of assets acquired in terms of Act 126.
2.2.
Programme performance of the
Department of Land Affairs
2.2.1.
Programme
1: Administration
The
programme comprises the Office of the DG and Corporate Services. The Office of
the DG encompasses the chief operations officer, communications services,
executive services, internal audit, gender unit, Monitoring and Evaluation,
Policy and Legislation Development, Risk and Compliance Management, and
Security Management Services. The Corporate Services branch of the department
comprises Business Information Management, Human Capital and Organizational
Development, and Financial Management.
Some
of the major achievements under this programme are the completion of the Gender
Responsive Framework and the Older Persons Rights Framework. The Department
produced an improved Monitoring and Evaluation framework, the Programme
Performance Monitoring, and Statistics and Information Management guidelines to
ensure improved performance, accountability and informed decision making.
On
the policy development front, the Department reported the following
achievements:
A draft policy framework and a bill
in relation to the regulation of ownership of land by foreigners have been
developed.
A third draft of the willing buyer
willing seller review was completed. The Department is further developing a
compensation formula linked to the expropriation model.
The Provision of Land and Assistance
Bill was finalized and approved by Parliament, promulgated as the Provision of
Land and Assistance Amendment Act, 2008 (Act No.58 of 2008).
The Department completed the
interrogation and evaluation of submissions on the Draft Regulations under the
Communal Land Rights Act (CLaRA), 2004 (Act No.11 of 2004). The judgement of
the court case on CLaRA was still awaited as at the end of the financial year.
The
target to redistribute 30% of white owned agricultural land by 2014 presented
the Department with a daunting challenge to recruit additional staff. As at 31
March 2009, the vacancy rate of the department stood at 16.5%. Significant
number of posts were filled internally by means of promotions, hence failure to
achieve a decrease of vacancy rate to 10% as planned. However, the Department
recruited 246 interns during the year 2008/09 in order to increase its human
resource capacity. As at 31 March 2009, the Department also had 214 bursary
holders studying in the fields of BSc Geomatics, Town and Regional Planning and
Land Surveying and cartography, and a further 41 new bursaries were awarded. It
also implemented a Graduate Development Programme which hosts 128 graduates
(contractually bound) as at the end of the financial year. Many of these
graduates and interns are empowered in that when vacancies arise they often get
employed on a full-time basis. The Department is also committed to
mainstreaming and the institutionalization of Batho Pele. For example, it
trained 440 employees on customer care and 153 on complaints handling.
Personnel establishment and vacancy ratios as at 31st
March 2009
|
Programme |
No. of Posts |
No. of Posts filled |
Vacancy Rate % |
|
Administration
|
763 |
628 |
17,69 |
|
Surveys
and Mapping |
249 |
187 |
24,9 |
|
Cadastral
Survey Management |
587 |
517 |
11,93 |
|
Restitution |
1144 |
881 |
22,99 |
|
Land
and Tenure Reform |
929 |
766 |
17,55 |
|
Spatial
Planning |
99 |
78 |
21,21 |
|
Registration
|
1194 |
1079 |
9,63 |
|
Total |
4965 |
4136 |
16,5 |
Lack
of capacity within land reform projects is regarded as one of the threats to
sustainability of projects. The Department has entered into an agreement with
the University of Fort Hare to develop a dedicated training programme on
project and farm management for land reform beneficiaries as a pilot in the
2.2.2.
Programme 2: Mapping and Surveys
The
purpose of this programme is to provide national mapping, earth imagery,
integrated spatial reference framework and other geo-spatial information to
support national infrastructure and sustainable development. The Department has
attained the following key achievements under this programme:
The National Control Survey System
is made available to clients 99% of the time, an improvement from the 2007/08’s
98% time availability.
52 base Trignet stations were
installed; in addition the department also replaced the aging equipment and
software. As a result they have been able to ensure network availability on
97.5% of the time.
159 375 km2 of
geo-spatial data was updated, exceeding the target of 150 000. In addition, the
national mapping programme was on track and produced 2146 maps.
Mapping Africa for Africa and
African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF) projects were developed in support to
the development of projects for New Economic Plan for
2.2.3.
Programme 3: Cadastral Survey Management
The
programme’s (chief directorate) main aim is to ensure that cadastral surveys
are carried out accurately and cadastral survey information is provided to
support land delivery and orderly development. At the end of the reporting
year, the Department had six offices of Surveyors-General operating across the
country. Those offices (
The use of Auto E-mailer to enhance
the delivery time for electronic images
A centralized training unit
comprising four lecturers was established to train survey officers. During the
reporting year, 67 pupil survey officers were trained.
The
Department could not establish the North-West Surveyor-General Office because
of insufficient funding.
2.2.4.
Programme 4: Restitution
This
programme takes full responsibility for settlement of land restitution claims
submitted to the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights (CRLR) in accordance
with the Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act No. 22 of 1994). During the
year 2008/09, the CRLR settled a total of 653 land claims, including a sum of
108 dismissed claims. The Restitution component contributed 2, 47 million
hectares towards the total 5.5 hectares (ha) transferred to the black communities
and individuals under the land reform program. The CRLR was yet to settle 4 296
complex rural claims in the next four years. Four regional offices of the CRLR
aim to complete land claims in their respective regions/provinces by the end of
2009/10 financial year. Those provinces are
Sustainable
land reform relies on provision of post settlement support by a collective of
public and private sectors complementing each other’s development initiatives.
The area of post settlement support for restitution beneficiaries is a critical
matter. A review of all projects where land was restored to claimants found
that there are approximately 200 struggling projects and have since been
identified for recapitalization with the support of the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Lack of skills on the part of land
beneficiaries is a critical challenge. The Department has entered into
partnerships with AgriSETA to ensure provision of necessary training to enable
beneficiaries to make optimal use of land restored to them.
2.2.5.
Programme 5: Land Tenure Reform
The
purpose of this programme is to provide sustainable land reform programmes in
Redistribution
By
the end of 2008/09, 501 projects had been transferred to 14 457 beneficiaries.
In total, the programme redistributed 443, 600 ha of land. The number of ha
fell short of the revised target of 608 060[1]
by 164, 549. The target was revised from 1 500 000 to 608 060 in order to
ensure that it is aligned to the actual budget allocation when the Department
realized that the baseline budget allocation was not to be increased. Failure to meet the target is partly
associated with the general escalation of land prices and the nature of land to
be purchased.
Through
the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS), the Department provided
potential beneficiaries with access to land by means of lease or caretakership
agreements for a period of time. The Department was finalizing plans transfer
such properties to those with potential to farm. The land would then be
transferred to beneficiaries in terms of the three principal funding models,
namely; Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD), Settlement and
Production Land Acquisition Grant (SPLAG) and/or the Commonage Grant
(COMG).
The
Department has also submitted 3137 parcels of state land for confirmation of
vesting.
Tenure
Reform
The
Department Legal Services Project under the Land Rights Management Facility
(LRMF) continued to provide legal advice and representation to rural dwellers
living under insecure tenure conditions, especially farm dwellers. The LRMF
operates through a toll free number (0800 007 095) which the victims can call
for assistance. A number of people were assisted through court representation
and mediation of disputes. The LRMF has managed to restore rights of some of
the victims of evictions through court processes and successful mediation of
tenure disputes.
On
tenure security for people living in the communal areas, particularly the
former homelands, an application was brought before the Pretoria High Court by
communities who sought the court to declare the Communal Land Rights Act, 2004
(Act 11 of 2004) as invalid and unconstitutional. The Department awaited the
ruling of the court. However, the Department has, in the meantime, engaged in
extensive consultation workshops on regulations and implementation of the Act.
2.2.6.
Programme 6: Spatial Planning and
Information
The
Spatial Planning and Information (SPI) programme provides an effective and
efficient system of spatial planning, land use management and spatial
information framework to support national development and land reform. SPI comprises
two sub-programmes, namely Management Support Services and Spatial Planning
Information. Key achievements for the
Department under this programme are:
By the end of the year 2008/09 there
were SPI offices across the nine provinces in order to improve accessibility of
this service to the clients.
SPI continued to provide technical
support to South African Council for Planners.
The Department conducted public
hearings on the Land Use Management Bill (LUMB). The amended version was
presented to and supported by the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land
Affairs. Unfortunately, the LUMB could
not be debated in the National Assembly until the end of the term of the third
Parliament.
2.2.7.
Programme 7: Deeds Registration
The
objective of the programme is to provide a high quality deeds registration
system whereby secure titles are registered and speedy and accurate information
is provided. Deeds registration also provides support to other two Southern
African Development Community (SADC) countries, namely
2.3. Financial
Performance of the Department and Audit outcomes
The
Department has achieved a record of spending 99.9% of the adjusted budget
allocation of R6.659 billion for the year under review. The actual expenditure
for the year amounts to R6, 654 billion. An amount of R4, 76 million was unspent
(0, 1% of the total budget allocation). The two major operational programmes,
namely; restitution and land tenure reform were able to spend 99.9% of their
budget allocation. However, even if they spent almost 100% of their budget
allocation, the department is still far behind reaching the targets for land
redistribution. The kinds of properties to be acquired and the monetary value
attached make the programme expensive. Over the years, a trend around
escalation of land prices was emerging. At the moment the Department spends
large sums of money on less number of hectares.
For
that reason it is critical to seek alternative ways of acquisition of land at a
much affordable rate. The Department is further concerned that at times they
pay for land at a price that is three times higher than the market value.
The findings
of the Auditor-General
For
the third consecutive year the DLA has received a qualified audit opinion for
the 2008/09 Annual Report. The AG based the qualified audit opinion on the
following factors:
(a)
Rental revenue receivable from
leased land
The
AG could not obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence for the
receivables for departmental revenue as disclosed in the annual financial
statements. The audit therefore revealed significant shortcomings in the
management and control of lease revenue. The Auditors could not satisfy
themselves on the completeness and accuracy of information due to lack of
financial systems.
(b)
Tangible capital assets
The
AG could not obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to determine the
completeness and rights regarding immovable properties disclosed. Also the
department did not have a complete audit register of all immovable properties
belonging to the national government under the custodianship of the department.
The
Department has begun addressing some of the findings by the Auditor General
with concerted efforts to ensure that they clear all the queries before the end
of the financial year. The following are steps taken by the Department:
The Department introduced a new
debtors system (SLLDS) to provide a comprehensive, complete and accurate data
base of leased land. The department is also enhancing management of revenue and
debtors. Simultaneously, the Department is in the process of implementing a
PLAS trading entity due to the amendment of Act 126 of 1993.
The Department could not produce a
complete asset register of all immovable properties belonging to the Department
of Land Affairs. The Department is in the process of cleaning up the asset
register as well as verification of title deeds owned by the Department.
3.
The
findings of the Portfolio Committee on the 2008/09 Annual Report of the DLA are detailed below:
The
Portfolio Committee acknowledged the complexity of resolving the land question
under the current terms of the market-based land reform. Given the budgetary
constraints and land acquisition based on the willing buyer willing seller
approach, the unlikelihood of achieving the targets for redistribution by 2014
has become perceptible. The 15 years of implementation of the South African
land policy has proven that delivery of land at scale and realization of
benefits is a daunting task. A sustainable land reform program can not be
achieved by an ordinary de-racialization of land ownership but a program of
agrarian transformation that addresses all aspects of the rural space and livelihoods
by providing access to land and other productive resources, complemented by
appropriate support services and infrastructure. The committee also acknowledged
the efforts put by the Department to ensure that the set targets for land and
agrarian reform are achieved.
The
committee raised the following concerns:
The Department failed to fill senior
and strategic vacancies such the post of the Chief Financial Officer. Such
vacancies have adverse consequences like the recurring qualified audit opinion
which the Department receives. The committee was also concerned with the 16.5%
vacancy rate of the Department.
The pace of land redistribution is
still moving at an extremely slow pace to achieve the set target. For example,
the Department has only redistributed 5,5 million ha (5.5%) of the 24,6 million
ha (30%) of agricultural land to black communities. If the Department is to
achieve the target to redistribute 30% of white-owned agricultural land by
2014, a further 19, 1 million hectares is still to be redistributed. With the
current pace of land redistribution and the budget allocations for land
acquisition, it is unlikely that the Department will meet the target. The
Committee further raised concerns around the fact that at times the Department purchases
land at prices three times higher than the market value.
The Department has readjusted the
dates for settlement of all land claims. The various Regional Land Claims
Commissioners’ offices will settle land claims in staggered phases until 2014.
Whilst the Committee welcomes the commitment of the Department to finalize all
the land claims, it is concerned that the budget allocation for land
acquisition under land restitution does not correspond with the projected total
cost for land restitution (R60.5 billion). In similar vein, the committee is
also concerned insufficient budget allocations for land redistribution.
The
Post settlement support is a
critical element of a successful and sustainable land reform. The committee
noted lack of detail in the annual report with regards to the 200 struggling
projects. The committee was also concerned about the number of dysfunctional and
collapsing projects as well as collapse of strategic partnerships in land
reform projects.
The committee welcomes
categorization of land reform beneficiaries to ensure that relevant product and
resources are channelled to the right people. For example landless households
who need access to meet household food needs.
The Committee commends the
Department for setting up the Land Rights Management Facility to provide legal
services to the poor people living with tenure insecurities. It is however
concerned at the number of eviction cases taken up by the project, almost 80%
of all cases handled were eviction cases, signifying the vulnerability of farm
dwellers. The review of Extension of Tenure Security Act, 1997 (Act No. 62 of
1997) and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 1996 (Act 3 of 1996) need to be
expedited. The committee requested further briefing by the Department on this
matter because of lack of detail about the project in this Annual Report
Administration of state land is a
great area of concern for the committee, particularly with the qualified audit
opinion based on the fact that the Department did not have a complete audit
register of all immovable properties belonging to the national government under
the custodianship of the Department. The Committee was further concerned that the
Minister’s response to the question in the National Assembly stated that all
state land was audited. However, during the briefing it transpired that the
Department has not completed audit of all land belonging to national government
but only those owned by the Department. The Department told the committee that
the question was understood to refer to all land under the custodianship of the
Department.
Three years consecutively, the
Department received a qualified audit opinion from the Auditor General of South
Africa (AGSA). The Department has also been found to be characterized by some
wasteful and fruitless expenditure. The committee is especially keen to see
significant progress in addressing matters raised by the AGSA.
5. Recommendations
Having received a
briefing from the DG-Rural Development and Land Reform, further having engaged
with the DRDLR on the contents of the DLA 2008/09 Annual Report, the Portfolio
Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform hereby makes the following
recommendations:
(i)
The Department to find alternative and affordable mechanisms
of land acquisition for land reform purposes so that the state is able to
achieve the target for land redistribution to previously disadvantaged
communities and individuals and accelerate the pace of land redistribution.
(ii)
The Department should identify and fill strategic vacant positions
such as those of the CFO and DDGs in order to enhance its capacity to deliver
on its mandate, especially noting that rural development and land reform is one
of the key priorities of government. The
Department should report to Parliament on its plans for enhancing human
capacity by the end of November 2009.
(iii)
The Department to report to Parliament within two weeks on
the implementation of the Legal Services Project and the Land Rights Management
Facility in provision of legal advice and mediation services to farm dwellers
living under insecure tenure arrangements.
(iv)
To report to Parliament by the end of November 2009 on
performance of the Communal Property Associations (CPAs) and Trusts set up to
take up ownership of land given under both land redistribution and restitution
programmes.
(v)
To speed up the review of key policies such as the review of
the Willing Buyer Willing Seller approach to acquisition of land, policy on
ownership of land by foreigners, and review of legislation to protect the
tenure rights of farm dwellers.
(vi)
The Department to submit by the end of November 2009
evidence that support the view that government is acquiring land for land
reform purposes at prices that are three times higher than the market
value.
(vii)
The Department to report to Parliament on its plans for
finalization of audit of all public land belonging to the national government,
including support to the Ingonyama Trust on valuation of trust land so that it
also complies with International Accounting Standards (IAS).
(viii)
The Department to conduct an assessment of all land
transferred to communities as going concerns and strategic partnerships in land
reform projects.
(ix)
The Department and the National Treasury to secure
sufficient financial resources for land reform in order to achieve on the
targets for land redistribution. The Department to report by the end of
November 2009 on how they intend to achieve on the targets for land restitution
and land redistribution.
Report
to be considered.