Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698930698809.pdf (South Africa)
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 1 WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 ____ PROCEEDINGS OF MINI-PLENARY SESSION OF NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES ____ The Council met at 14:00.

The Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

The Chairperson announced that the virtual sitting constituted a sitting of the National Council of Provinces.
POLICY DEBATE ON BUDGET VOTE 41: WATER AND SANITATION (Appropriation Bill) The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, Nyambose, [Masondo.
], hon Deputy Chairperson, Ms Lucas, Cabinet colleagues that are here, hon Deputy Ministers of the Department of Water and Sanitation, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi and Mr UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 2 Mahlobo, Mr Dodovu, hon members of the NCOP, the director- general and senior managers of the Department of Water and Sanitation, chairpersons of boards and senior executives in all our entities, leadership of the stakeholders and the sector and civil society and fellow South Africans, I want to start by expressing our sympathies with the people of South Africa affected by storms and fire in particular places or provinces of our country.
The Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape in particular.

KwaZulu-Natal was particularly ravaged by the recent floods which cost substantial damage to property and infrastructure.

The floods also regrettably claimed lives.

Many, many lives.

I wish to take this opportunity therefore and express my sincere condolences and that of our leadership in the department to the families of those who lost loved ones in the floods.
We would also like to express sympathy for all those who are without water and sanitation due to the floods and to assure them that we are working as fast as possible to restore this services.

One of the things we will immediately attend to was the establishment of the Water and Sanitation War Room.

This was done together with the worst affected ... UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 3 The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP.

Can I make an appeal!

Just a minute hon Minister.


Can I make an appeal to hon the Lehihi and the hon Mmoiemmang!

Let us please co-operate and ensure that there is no disturbance in this sitting.

Thank you very much and please proceed, hon Minister.

The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: The establishment of the war room was done together with the municipalities that were affected.
Our department quickly hired water tankers, together with municipalities hiring theirs to supplement those available in the municipalities and a team of engineers and other specialists who were seconded to the war room to assist with the implementation of emergency repair work and to assess quantity and damage.

We have stayed in that war room since today, where we meet every week.
Whilst progress has been made with regards to the restoration of water supply, there has been immense damage to water supply and infrastructure.

Together with municipalities that are affected, we completed the costing of this damage and submitted the application to the department of Co-operative UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 4 Governance and Traditional Affairs on national disaster finding.
Once funding is allocated, we will continue to be involved in the planning and monitoring of implementation of the reconstruction projects, with a stern focus of “building back better”.

Hon members, over the past nine months to be specific, since appointment, we have travelled the land and breadth of our country, meeting with those entrusted in supplying and treating water in our communities.
Ranging in municipalities in their capacities as water services authorities, to representatives of communities and industries which are the recipients of these services.

One of the glaring challenges, cited by municipalities was that of aging or even ancient and dysfunctional infrastructure which result in the inability to deliver water to the people and water loses.
Deputy Minister Magadzi will speak in greater detail about these challenges and the measures we are putting in place as the department to intervene.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 5 In February we convened a two-day National Water and Sanitation Summit which was attended by a wide range of stakeholders and experts.
As a result of these engagements, we have developed a though understanding of the water and sanitation challenges facing the country, as well as a high- level of consensus, regarding what needs to be done to turn the tide.

The main thing that we came out with from the summit, was to focus among other things on ensuring security of water for all people in South Africa in all provinces.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, one of our priorities as the Ministry of Water and Sanitation, is to ensure just that.
Water availability and provision which matches the demands everywhere and every corner in our country.

Currently, the demand exceeds provision.

We need to change that narrative and that scenario.

Match the demand and then ensure qualitative measures through incremental access and quality.

Now, water is a fundamental right.

Water is life, it is a necessity and it is a must have for everyone.

Whether you are rich or poor, rural or urban, young and old, water is a must.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 6 However, we know out there that we still have communities who have never had access to water.

Let alone water coming out from taps.

This ends in addition ensuring that existing infrastructure is maintained, we focus on projects which will guarantee water supply for South Africa.

So first, we are dealing with just bulk to as close as possible to communities all over in the country per province.

Let us start with Eastern Cape.


Currently, one of our main priorities there is the Umzimvubu Water Project which is aimed at providing water to 750 000 people at a cost of R25 billion.

The designs are 80% complete.

The first round of fundraising began in January 2022 through a Request for Information which is currently, being evaluated.
We are working with both the National Treasury and currently we are looking for the dates in which we will meet with the Minister of Finance and also with Infrastructure Fund to develop the funding model for this project, if not finalising it.

If it is found and it is not possible to raise private funding, we will apply for full or partial funding of the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 7 project through budget process through the Budget Facility Infrastructure.
We are closer than we were last year, on getting to grips with this particular project.

The next one is the Khuli Dam and Nooitgedacht Water Scheme Project are both long-term water supply assurance projects for the Nelson Mandela Bay area.

I must say that the most worrisome area currently in South Africa is the Nelson Mandela Bay where it is estimated that by the end of June we will be running almost completely short of water.

That is our most worry.


The R1,3 billion Khuli Dam Project is at procurement stage for design and the R534 million Nooitgedacht Water Scheme Project is at 98%, if not more, towards completion.

The breeding of the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works Project has resulted in an addition of 70 mega litres of water being supplied on daily basis to the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.

This has increased the supply of water to the metro by approximately 30%.
There is still a need for the metro to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 8 apply water conservation and demand management measures as well as develop other sources of water such as design.

Now I must emphasize this for Nelson Mandela Bay that even though there is this additional water via Nooitgedacht, that place is not out of woods.

Everyone there must conserve water.

It is a fact that all of us need to face.


In the O R Tambo Municipality, we were there to increase the supply of water in Mthatha with the support of the Amatola Water.

The first phase of upgrading electrical infrastructure at the Thornhill Water Treatment Works in Mthatha has been completed.

We have allocated a budget of R200 million for the upgrading of the water treatment facility and for building additional reservoirs.

So, we are on course in Mthatha in terms of security of water.
In the Free State, we have six priorities, following the Imbizo which was convened by the President of the Republic, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa.

One is the delivery of the Xhariep Pipeline Demons Water is a big project R10 billion and is a completion of 72 kilometre of the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 9 Wallbedadgte Dama pipeline to a nonsupply to Mangaung that has started.

We are on our way and on course.


Upgrading of the critical Rasfontein Water Treatment Works adding an extra 50 mega litres per day.

Dealing with Kopanong, yesterday, I signed the intervention verse and also signed an agreement with the premier and my colleague in the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to intervene in Kopanong.

The department is intervening in Machabeng.

We will be there in the next two weeks.

Well, currently, Machabeng is a concern.


We have to apologise to the people of Machabeng for the state of affairs with regard to water and sanitation, but we are heading there.

We are happy that the R36 billion Phase 2 Lesotho Highlands Water Project which is aimed at ensuring an adequate long–term water supply for Gauteng and the Vaal River System is taking route.
This project is funded through finance raised by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and is being implemented jointly by South Africa and Lesotho, through the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority.

We are at an advance state design of the dam and the tunnel bridge.

The bridge has also been completed.

To date 14% of the budget has been spent.

The UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 10 project is due for completion in November 2027.
We do not want to miss that date, because it will be dangerous in terms of security of water in Gauteng.

In KwaZulu-Natal, we have raised the wall at Hazelmere Dam for more water.

We are now at 96%.

We went there to see it.

We know what we are talking about, for sure.

The project is due for completion later this year, using R800 million.

UMkhomazi is not far, it is a project that we are square angling at to deal with for delivery of additional water in Ethekwini and in uMgungundlovu.
There are a number of other projects that we are dealing with that will service Ugu as well as Harry Gwala and other districts that are nearby.

That will include also dealing with R800 million Thukela-Goedertrouw Transfer Scheme, which we want to upgrade as soon as possible.

In the North, we are also going to be making interventions which we will announce in the North of KwaZulu-Natal in good time.
On 9 May 2022, we officially launched the R24 billion Olifants River Water Resources Development Project which will be implemented as a Public Private Collaboration with mining UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 11 companies, to fast-track water delivery to the communities and mines in the Sekhukhune and Mokgalakwena Municipalities in Limpopo by 2028, if not earlier.

Government and the mining companies will each fund approximately 50 of the project.
We are happy with this development, because it makes our quest for partnership with the private sector a reality and no longer a theory or a wish.

We are assured as late as last week that we are making a very quick progress in that particular direction.

The R4 billion Giyani Water Service Project has been repackaged and is being fast-tracked so that we put that matter to rest once and for all.
We will be going there for the whole week next week to camp there and to make sure that we live no stone unturned in terms of removing impediments of whatever way, so that we move with speed on that particular project.

In Mpumalanga, we know about the challenges and shortages of water.

However, we are now at the point where the Crocodile East Reconciliation including Mbombela has identified a need for a new dam.
The feasibility planning has been initiated and mine water reclamation has been implemented and so on.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 12 However, our main focus is the R1,2 billion Thembisile–Loskop Bulk Water Supply Project which is aimed at addressing water supply challenges in the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.

This is a project that will overlap to Limpopo.

This is a three-year project and it will start from May this year, to April 2025.
We are just at the point where we need to do the final chart sheets by end of this month so that the project starts as soon as possible.

In the Northern Cape, we are making progress in the Vaal Gamagara Water Supply Scheme which is another exciting partnership with the private sector.

We have removed all the impediments and all the lapses that were there.

We are now on course to deliver to the mining sector in the West of Kimberly and the West of the province.
However, to all communities on the route of that pipeline.

It is quite a big project and we are happy that we will soon deliver on it.

Vaalharts which is an agricultural canal going towards North West it is a challenge at the moment which we will attend to together with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
We are collaborating on this one to make UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 13 sure that it is upgraded and that it reaches all the people especially around Taung.

We recently commissioned a pipeline in Moretele South Pipeline in the North West.

It is a 60km pipe which will deliver water via Magalies Water Board, to the local areas there including the Carousel View, Dertig, Bosplas, Mathibestad, Makapanstad, just to name a few.
We are happy that we are no longer talking about the plan here, but we are talking about a complete project where now water is coming out.

Instead of receiving water twice a week, they are now receiving water seven days a week - 24/7.

The department is also upgrading conveyance infrastructure from Moloto eye to Mafikeng to increase the reliability of water supply.

The estimated cost of the project is R50 million and it will start this month and the project is due for completion this year as well.
We are also are refurbishing and upgrading Brits Water Treatment Works.

It has delayed a little bit, but we are pushing and applying pressure among others on Magalies to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 14 finally complete the Brits Water Treatment Plant this year.

Construction is underway and the project is due for completion in January 2023.
To increase water security in the west coast area of Cederberg in the Western Cape, we have resumed construction work to raise the wall of Clanwilliam Dam at a cost of R3,2 billion.

We are from there.

Work will start by the end of this month.

We are happy that we have reached this point, packaging and actually angling for starting.

It is due for completion in 2026.


The augmentation scheme to increase water supply to the City of Cape Town - we are dealing with the Bulk Voëlvlei Augmentation Scheme at a cost of R1 billion.

The Trust for Community Development, TCD, will be raising finance for this project and the Department of Water and Sanitation is currently completing land acquisition process and we will secure the City of Cape Town more water going forward.
There is also a Brandvlei Dam Project in the Western Cape which is a R21 million project which involves a construction of a feeder canal which will provide an additional 33 mega UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 15 litres of water.

We went there and we saw the dam.

People are at work and is due for completion on time in October this year.
Further, we are implementing a R43 million Tulbagh Bulk Water Supply Project Witzenberg Local Municipality in the Western Cape.

We should have gone there, last week.

However, work is starting and we will go there to monitor.

The project involves a construction of a dam at its first phase and the construction of a rise main as the second phase.

The first phase is 60% complete, with the planned completion time of 2022.

We will leave it there, hon members.


All these projects are bringing us to the limit of what we can draw from, our readily accessible surfaced water.

It is necessary that all these bulk supply water be a success and make substantial progress this year.

With regards to the budget – as I conclude - the Department of Water and Sanitation and its entities have been allocated a combined budget R111, 256 billion.

This is over three years.

It is packaged for each year.


I am not going to go to detail about that.

I want to make it clear that it is R111,2 billion, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 16 but not for one year, but for three years.

It is divided into those three years.

We will make sure that we use optimally, responsibly and in a manner that is efficient and monitoring every cent out of it.
I have said in the past that is a very worrying factor that up to now, we are allocating lots and lots of money to various water service authorities in the country every year, but the sad part of it is that water services continue to decline at the same time.

It is a contradiction, it is a worry and it is something that we have to work on.

I am repeating my words here that we will stop this together with the municipalities concerned.

We have started to a large extent.


It is now my honour hon Chairperson, to end by saying indeed we are honoured to be presenting this budget to yourselves.

We are looking forward to working together to optimise water security and water services to the people of South Africa, more than we have ever done in any other year in the past and working with you and having your co-operation and understanding.
Together with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and SA Local Government UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 17 Association, Salga, and we are hoping that we will do and make this thing happen.

Thank you very much, Chairperson.


Mr T S C DODOVU: Thank you very much, Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Masondo, Minister of Water and Sanitation, hon Senzo Mchunu and your Deputies, Chief Whip of the NCOP, permanent and special delegates, representatives of South African Local Government Association, SALGA, the struggle against colonialism and apartheid, and the building of a non-racial, non-sexist democracy in our land, has produced many outstanding leaders.

Leaders who have left an eternal ...


[Inaudible.]

... on their people, and made an indelible contribution to their country.

Leaders who are both products and makers of history, and when they passed, they remind us of our historic past and leave a vision of a great future and the tools with which to build it.

One of such leaders is Walter Max Sisulu.

A doyen of our struggle, who was born on this day, the 18 May 1912.
I rise to salute this freedom fighter, who has paid a deposit in our moral bank account so that as we move forward to address any challenges facing our country, including those related to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 18 water and sanitation, we must emulate his virtues and his exemplary leadership.

As we debate Budget Vote 41: Water and Sanitation, this afternoon, I rise to express our ...

[Inaudible.]
[Inaudible.]

... appreciation to Baba Walter Sisulu for the role he played in bringing about freedom in our land.

Accordingly, in his memory, I rise to dedicate this speech to him for the immense and immeasurable contribution he made in fighting for freedom and in galvanizing and rejuvenating the unity of our people.
As we battle to ensure that the country’s water resources are protected, managed, used, developed, conserved and controlled appropriately; and as we strive to actively manage the national water resources to meet the needs of current and future generations, we must do so in full recognition that we owe a special debt of gratitude to Baba Sisulu because he has enriched our lives with the magic of his words, the acuity of his insides and the magnitude of his vision.
As the Select Committee On Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, COGTA, Human Settlement, Water and Sanitation, we fully understand that as one of the water UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 19 scarce countries in the world, as South Africa, we need to urgently provide water, especially in rural areas of our country.
As a country, we continue to face challenges which include the unequal distribution and access to clean water, skills shortages in the sector, aging water infrastructure, shifting demand patterns, overwhelming water demands and lack of social innovation for emerging challenges.

We further notes that drought, water pollution, climate change and corruption, are the factors exacerbating the water resource problems in our country.
These factors cause towns and townships to run dry and have led to crumbling infrastructure and also affected municipal waste water treatment plants, resulting in sewage float in the streets, in rivers as well as ground water.

As such, we note that community protests in South Africa largely centre around water resource problems.
To compound these problems, until in the recent years, the Department of Water and Sanitation has had its own internal problems which impeded it from fulfilling its mission to ensure that indeed Water is life, Sanitation is dignity.

These problems included; failure to effectively deal with UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 20 allegations of corruption, fraud and other related financial maleficence.

Senior level positions remaining vacant for a very long time.
Slow expenditure on infrastructure, unauthorised expenditure, especially on unbudgeted War on Leaks Programme.

Accruals and payables on department as well as the water trading entity.

Contingency in liabilities, as well as instability within the Water Boards, also most characterised the department itself.

All these issues signify that not all was well in the department and in the Water Boards.

Today, we are pleased that most of these challenges are given the urgent attention they deserve.
Especially, after the new political leadership was appointed.

These include the following: filling of positions at management level, the reduction of unauthorised irregular, fruitless ad wasteful expenditure, improvement in the infrastructure delivery and expenditures, investigations on allegations of corruption and related financial misconduct and the discipline of staff for related matters.
We are also pleased by the prompt response of the Department of Water and Sanitation on the natural floods disaster which happened in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and North West UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 21 Provinces, during April this year.

KwaZulu-Natal was the most affected province.

It received between 200 and 400 millilitres of rainfall in a 24-hour period.
Taking lives of more than 443 people and completely damaging the infrastructure like houses, schools and bridges.

During our interaction with the Department of Water and Sanitation, as the select committee, on its Annual Performance Plan for 2022-23 financial year, as well as its Budget, we noted the performance indicators and targets which the department seeks to achieve.

These includes one on programme, and one on administration.
The committee noted that output indicators on the programme to include performance and financial information related to targeted performance, budget spent on youth, women and people with disabilities, as well as the implementation of Financial Recovery Plan.

On Programme 2 - water resource management, we noted as a committee and supports the department in its effort to ensure that the country’s water resources are protected, used, developed for the benefit of our people in a sustainable way.
On Programme 3 - water service management, the committee supports the department to develop, to rehabilitate and to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 22 refurbish the raw water resources and water services infrastructure to meet the socio-economic and environmental needs of our country.
Fourthly, on the programme allocation of infrastructure programme, the committee noted that in this regard, the department will ensure the allocation of the regional bulk infrastructure grant, Water Boards allocations, water service infrastructure as well as their implication to local government.
The select committee therefore has welcomed the 2022-23 Annual Performance Plan and Budget allocation for the Department of Water and Sanitation, and noted that the Annual Performance Plan, APP has been aligned and integrated with the Medium Term Strategic Framework and the 2022 state of the nation address by the President.
We have further noted that the main priorities of the department for this financial year, include the implementation of projects to augment bulk water resource infrastructure, as the Minister has alluded to.
To lead the development of water resources, to support municipalities on water and sanitation services, to strengthen regulatory interventions, to address pollution of environment and water, to improve revenue UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 23 collection across the water value chain, to reduce irregular, unauthorised and wasteful expenditure, as well as ensuring consequence management for financial misconduct.
The committee feels that the Department of Water and Sanitation must therefore attempt to the following other matters to ensure that we move forward and achieve our objective.

The resolution of all issues around the War on Leaks Programme, the bucket eradication has pull sanitation as a matter of urgency, water pollution, the functionality and stability of our Water Boards, the continuous fight against corruption and the implementation of forensic investigations report.
We also feel like all vacancies in the department must be filled.

Also improving the spending on water and sanitation infrastructure.

Lastly, ensure consequence management in the department and around allegations of corruption, and here we single out the Giyani Water Project.

As I pointed out from the beginning, today is the birth date of Tata Walter Sisulu.

He would have been 110 years old.

The same as his beloved organisation, the ANC.
When the trumpets summoned Walter Sisulu in 1944 to form the ANC Youth League, together with Anton Muziwakhe Lembede, Ashley Peter Mda, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 24 Mxolisi Lionel Majombozi, Oliver Reginald Tambo, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, Albertina Sisulu, Congress Mbata, Jordan Ngubane, William Nkomo, David Bopape, Godfrey Pitje, and many others, Walter Sisulu galvanised the ANC and declared themselves the brain-trust and power-station of the spirit of African nationalism.
They became a generation that was fired by determination to rid our people of a sense of inferiority, with motto of Africa's Cause Must Triumph.

In their manifesto, they called for Africans to occupy the rightful place amongst nation of the world, and wanted African youth to be united, consolidated, trained, disciplined, because future leaders will be recruited from these ranks.
If there was anyone who lived, slept and dreamt the liberation of its people 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it was Walter Sisulu.

He spent his better life of his adulthood serving humanity, and later in prison for 26 years.

Walter Sisulu was a fierce committed leader, who loved his country and his people.

He never lost sight of his people, especially their needs, their fears, their joys, their aspirations, their dreams and their homes.
That is why he was so much loved and UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 25 respected by his people.

And, that is why he will be forever be remembered.

Once more, may God receive his soul in peace and with joy.

In conclusion, in the honour and memory of Baba Sisulu, and in remembrance of his birth date, we as his living bears, especially as Members of Parliament.
We must do everything in our power to emulate his example by passing correct laws and by conducting oversight on all organs of the state under our jurisdiction in order to live by the dream of Water is Life, Sanitation is Dignity.

As the ANC, we support the APP and the Budget of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

Thank you very much.


Ms C VISSER: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, the Department of Water and Sanitation remains the custodian of South Africa’s water resources, ensuring that all South Africans gain access to clean water and dignified sanitation.
Tragically, over a period of 28 years the Department of Water and Sanitation has lost their vision of being a dynamic, people-orientated department, leading effective management of the nation’s water resources to meet the needs of current and future generations.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 26 Violent protests have become part of the South African landscape because communities are forced to live without water for days, weeks, months and years.
These destructive, violent protests were and are still managed by Public Order Police, stun grenades and rubber bullets because people are forced to fight for a basic human rights - shame on you for this!

Many areas in South Africa are still without any access to water, like the Kagisano-Molopo Municipality where Pomfret is without water since 2011, Bray and Piet Plessis since before the 2021 local government elections.
The media reports on a daily basis show cities like Johannesburg, Rustenburg and Bloemfontein, even country towns being without water for extended periods, which has become the norm.

Water boards, water authorities and water service providers are undercapacitated, unskilled, and untrained to functionally ensure effective water management is practised and maintained 365 days of every year.

Why?
Why?

Simply because the department together with the provincial governments, the water boards, the district and local municipalities all dismally failed within their mandates of authority, never mind to stop polluting.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 27 We need to face reality and acknowledge the reasons why the department failed to comply in its mission of being service and delivery oriented, to get it right the first time, on time ensuring all citizens are provided with water and the sanitation services they deserve.
The department lost another important part of its mission, which is having a heart to provide our nation with a caring environment by protecting our natural resources.

What happened in 28 years was focussing on all but the vision, mission and values, instead the department, as the custodian, turned a blind eye on the massive and continuous pollution of every stream, wetland, river and dam.
District and local municipalities are allowed to decant into the environment effluent from multimillion rand dysfunctional state-of-the-art wastewater treatment works plant, not complying with the said allowed values of the SANS General Legal Limits.

Industries are allowed to decant whatever toxic waste they produce in our environment, into our rivers with no consequences, without even getting a slap on the wrist.

No Directives issued, no fines, noncompliance with legislation - just like nobody cares.
This negligence destroyed our UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 28 environment, turned our rivers into sewer channels, our dams into sewer maturation ponds and killing our ecosystems and wetlands.

Barberspan is the oldest Ramsar site in the southern hemisphere and is slowly dying because of raw untreated sewer running into this wetland for the past 28 years and down to Schweizer-Reneke where bulk water is extracted for the people of Ipelegeng and Schweizer-Reneke.
The Marico River lost it pristine value of pure water flowing into Botswana, and polluted with raw sewer.

Towns, townships and villages are drowning in raw untreated sewer flowing through their houses, submerging their backyards, gravitationally flowing into private boreholes from sewer conservancy tanks and blockages on sewer lines.
The department dismally failed to issue directives for more than 10 years, to keep authorities accountable, to ensure consequences are faced due to negligence leaving the colourful “green and blue scorpions” toothless and redundant.
At the Department of Water and Sanitation portfolio meeting in February 2019 the committee was informed that the Weza Water UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 29 System water-use licence took 300 days, with no responses as to why the process took so long and needs to be expedited.
Currently North West lawyers are struggling for more than three years to obtain water-use licences from the Department of Water and Sanitation in Kimberley office, being sent from pillar to post.

The department needs to take urgent action since South Africa has a looming water crisis that will be more devastating than the Eskom crisis and negatively impacting on our economy and costing lives.
Due to inadequate maintenance of the past 28 years and a population that has virtually doubled, the infrastructure will not sustain the demand.

The department needs to claim its legislative space and do its job.

Thank you, Minister.

We know that you are in it for us.

Thank you.


Ms F NKOMONYE (Eastern Cape): The hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Masondo, the hon Minister Mchunu, hon Deputy Minister Magadzi, permanent and specials delegates to the NCOP, members of the Select committee on Water and Sanitation, ladies and gentlemen good afternoon.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 30 It gives me a great pleasure to debate on behalf of Member of Executive Council, MEC Kontsiwe on this very important budget vote which has constitutional imperatives.

Allow me hon Chairperson from the onset, on behalf of the Eastern Cape government, to welcome the Budget Vote for the Department of Water and Sanitation as presented by hon Minister Mchunu.
Hon Chairperson and members of the House, the Eastern Cape as you would know it, is very rural in nature.

And therefore, access to basic services is somewhat a challenge in some areas.

This is due to a number of factors which include geographical terrain which is not easy to service, particularly when we dealing with access roads that have been affected by the disaster that has been a consequence of the inclement weather having been noted before by the Chairperson of the select committee.
The province has also experienced a number of disasters that have destroyed our water and sanitation infrastructure.

It is a known fact, hon Chairperson, that the Province of the Eastern Cape, we have areas that have a lot of water challenges, Nelson Mandela Metro, in Amathole, in the areas of OR Tambo and as well as Alfred Nzo.

We had a lot of challenges UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 31 with respect to access to water.
And I am happy that Minister Mchunu has indicated on the progress that is being made on the projects that are working on in the province.

The recent storms in district municipalities such as, OR Tambo, Amathole, Chris Hani and parts of Alfred Nzo have reversed some of the progress made in as far as servicing rural areas in the province.

We however hope that they will be given an adequate support in restoring what has been lost due to the floods.
Hon Chairperson, the provision of water and sanitation is not a competence of the Department of Human Settlements it is however a competence and responsibility of municipalities in the province.

However, as the department we continue to support with the provision of some of the elements to maintain continuity in project areas since this has been seen as a health necessity.
In respect of rural areas, the department provides water and sanitation through Rural Housing Programme in a project for beneficiaries whose housing subsidy has been approved and in areas where the district municipality has not provided for UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 32 them in the following manner: We provide the ventilated improved pit-latrine as a form of sanitation and it is constructed in a specification and design that has been approved by the district municipality.
We also provide tankers and water tanks that are 2500-3000 litres as a form of water provision and those tanks have a standard that is compulsory in the rural areas.
Hon Chairperson and members of the House, in respect of urban areas, the department provides water and sanitation through Integrated Residential Development Programme: Planning and services in a project for beneficiaries whose housing subsidy has been approved, are provided with a water that would be in the areas of townships and in metropolitans and district areas.

Where it is the responsibility of those municipalities to provide bulk infra-structure support.
The department constructs water and sewer reticulation once the designs are approved by the respective municipality for the specific township covering all the sites.

The construction involves a situation where the appointed contractor provides connection points for house connections in respect of water as well as sewer system.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 33 Hon Chairperson, the department has an obligation to continue to provide above mentioned services, however, it will always be in areas where as a department we have projects as identified in the District Development Model.
Engagements with respective municipalities and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affair, CoGTA to provide bulk water infrastructure through Municipal Infrastructure Grant in areas of development will be strengthened in order to avert delays.

Hon Chairperson and members of the House, the hon Minister has approved funding up to 30% from the provincial allocations for bulk infrastructure to support human settlement projects with a clear motivation.
The department is engaging the respective municipalities particularly district metropolitans to effectively utilise Urban Settlement Development Grant, in provision of bulk infrastructure.

And, as a result a high number of impact projects are currently underway and are progressing very well.
These include Orange Grove which has 3500 units and Duncan UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 34 Village in Buffalo City and Zanemvula in Gqeberha in the Nelson Mandela Municipality.

Hon Chairperson and members of the House, the department collaborates with municipalities on utilisation of Urban Settlement and Development Grant, USDG for provision of bulk infrastructure for water and sanitation.
The Department also works with COGTA, local municipalities on how we can better utilise of Municipal Infrastructure Grant to provide for bulk infrastructure for water and sanitation for the approved designs by engineers.

The department is also collaborating with National Department of Human Settlements to provide funding for provision of engineering services in respect of water, sanitation and as well as construction of houses and services sites.
Hon Chairperson, in the 2022-23 financial year a total of 6205 sites of beneficiaries will be provided with water and sanitation in the province and out of that 6205 about 1368 will be in urban areas and 4837 will be in rural areas, as I have indicated earlier on hon Chair that our province is very UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 35 so skewness in terms of provision of bulk water and sanitation is in respect of that.
As a province we once again welcome the budget vote and we are really hoping that the challenges that we are having with respect to access to water and sanitation as it is the dignity of our citizens, will resolved.

Thank you very much hon Chairperson.


Mr L MAILE (Gauteng): MEC for Human Settlement, Urban Planning and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs): Hon Chair, Minister and Deputy Ministers, permanent and temporary delegates to the NCOP, colleagues, the Gauteng-City Region faces water risks which are aggravated by rapid population growth, high water loses and degradation of the quality of water resources, climate change effects and increasing demand for human settlements development.
The province is heavily dependent on imported water which comes from other provinces, schemes that augment the integrated Vaal River system.

The Gauteng provincial government has developed a water security plan in order to address all these challenges.
The plan aims to ensure that there is reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems and production, coupled with an UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 36 acceptable level of water related risks to the people, environments and economies.
The plan defines the critical areas that needs focus to ensure a water secure Gauteng City- Region, and it also outlines short, medium and long term interventions based on five cardinal programme.

With each of the programmes dealing with actions to be taken across government, business, households and communities, civil society, the media and researchers.
The five cardinal programmes of the plan are as follows, reduced water demand, water services providers like municipalities and water boards and their agents must reduce nonrevenue water, including and forcing payment for services and reducing both physical losses in their distribution systems and unauthorised use to target sets and agree with Rand Water, Gauteng City-Region and the Department of Water and Sanitation, social institutions as well as businesses, including property owners must be encouraged and incentivised to monitor and control their water consumption, and to reduce it by introducing efficiency measures, especially, but not only in new development.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 37 The second one is investing alternative water sources.

Alternative water sources such as ground water, water reuse and treated acid mine drainage, as well as rainwater harvesting should be a focus for intervention.

Improved environmental protection and water quality.

Poor water quality in the river systems that flow through Gauteng puts its people and downstream users at risk and may influence water availability.
At present, Gauteng Water Quality problems are the result of human activity.

The poor management of sanitation systems, dumping and littering and wide chemical pollution from mining and industries needs to be monitored and controlled, although poorly managed wastewater treatment works are problematic.

They may offer an opportunity to increase water reuse and mitigate supply constraints.

The fourth area is to strengthen institutions and institutional co-operation.
Effective institutions are essential to keep the system running.

Water security strengthened by institutional weakness and possible failure.

At all levels with most institutions in the water sector facing serious financial challenges in both the bulk water UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 38 resource component as well as in the provision of municipal water services.
The serious shortcomings in the management of the integrated Vaal River system needs to be managed closely through the Department of Water and Sanitation, Rand Water and municipalities, giving an acceptable level of confidence in contingency planning, both at water resource and distribution level.

Prepare for drought as the new normal, climate change is impacting on Gauteng City-Region’s water security.
By increasing the frequency and severity of both droughts and floods, effective water resource management will ensure that it aims to maintain reliable supplies even during periods of drought are realised.

The population and economic growth in the Gauteng City-Region means that the demand for water is likely to exceed supply in the short term.

So, water scarcity may happen outside of periods of extended drought.
The Department of Water and Sanitation as the custodian of water resources will need to improve its management of the integrated Vaal River system operating model, so that we can give water managers and users UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 39 early warning of potential shortages in Rand Water supply areas.

If this function effectively and its warnings are acted upon, the impact of drought can be dramatically reduced.
In the province, water security is spearheaded by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent within urban planning which is now situated in Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, whilst the province has no legislative mandate.

It engages in policy, strategy and management of water resources and water services.
Municipalities are responsible for the provision of water and sanitation services in terms of the Constitution and the Water Services Act, and nomination as Water Services Authority by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as a range of related infrastructure and urban planning and management functions.
A major challenge identified in the Gauteng City-Region water supply plan is the limited mandate that provinces have around water services and the fact that they are reliant on national development in terms of formulating and implementing strategies and frameworks.

Gauteng must never take its water security for granted.
The province lies high on the divide UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 40 between South Africa’s two great rivers with very limited local water resources.

It depends on suppliers from the large highly engineered integrated Vaal River system and a few local sources that draw water from five different river bases across the six provinces.

In conclusion, the climate that supports these supplies is extremely variable with a history of unpredictable multiyear droughts.
The thread of climate change compounds this uncertainty and adds long-term risks.

As Gauteng population expands and the economy grows, we must continually review the security of our city regions water supply if it has to continue sustaining its people and their economic growth.

Thank you very much, Chairperson.

Mr S ZANDAMELA: Chairperson, the EFF rejects Budget Vote 41: Water and Sanitation.

Water is a key resource which ultimately determines the quality of life which a society will lead.
Yet 28 years since democratic elections in South Africa, our people bear the brunt of the incompetencies of this department as millions of our people are still without this basic services.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 41 Statistics show that the availability and accessibility of water and sanitation is a challenge which many of our communities across South Africa grapple with on a daily basis.
The number of people without access to reliable water supply and decent sanitation remains unacceptably high as over 5,3 million households in the country do not have access to clean water services.

Communities across provinces experience access to water and sanitation in an unequal manner, with residents and learners in rural and semi-urban communities experiencing the far end of the stick as the department fumbles with reaching any solutions.
To date, there have been no impactful investments in water infrastructure to speak of, nor any forms of practical water conservation practices initiated.

There has been no realistic plan to speak of which will avert the water shortage disaster.

Instead the country is heading to yet another disaster which we have grown accustomed to under the leadership of the ruling party.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 42 We need bold action now as to date, technological issues and lack of up-to-date water management systems still remain a challenge in this country.

Infrastructure decay, lack of maintenance and lack of improvements hamper high quality safe water and sanitation provision in South Africa.

There has been a failure to improve the availability of water, therefore, resulting in backward and unhygienic living conditions for our people.
We know this to be true as our people in the rural and township areas still make use of communal taps, with women carrying the burden of this task since they are the ones who must carry water for household duties such as cleaning, washing and cooking.

Women still walk long distances to fetch water from remote points, often in the dark, facing a long walk home, exposing themselves to attacks, violence and rape.
Our people still rely on the use of natural water sources such as rivers and streams which they share with animals, exposing themselves to waterborne diseases and health-related complications.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 43 Communities in these areas use available water sources for multiple purposes such as drinking, crop irrigation, livestock and bathing.

Our people lack adequate sanitation as they still make use of pit toilets.
They defecate in open fields, bushes and forests, which is a critical aspect of polluting water sources.

The water and sanitation challenges in rural areas come as no surprise as these have been in existence for many decades under the apartheid era and continue into the democratic dispensation.
In the past, master plans have been presented, promising water and sanitation for all, with nothing said on how water will be provided for in rural areas, especially in areas such as Dr JS Moroka, Chief Albert Luthuli and Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga.

The ruling party has long abandoned any efforts in uplifting the quality of lives of our people.

For why else do such challenges still persists?


UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 44 The Department of Water and Sanitation appropriates billions of rands each year for built water and sanitation infrastructure, only to have all that money going down the drain.

Conditions such as corruption and slow economic growth has led to low levels of service delivery to poor and outlying areas.
Which means that the poor are least likely to have access to reliable and safe water supply and decent sanitation services, and are less likely to secure appropriate redress for the violations of such basic rights.

Inadequate drinking water, sanitation and hygiene have adverse effects in non-household settings such as schools, healthcare facilities and workplaces.

Since South Africa has been recognized as a water scares country, there is a need to act promptly to protect water resources.
The little water resources which we still have need to be managed in an efficient manner.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 45 The artificial separation between this department’s mandate and the municipality’s responsibility in delivering water has to be addressed.

Access to safe drinking water sources, appropriate sanitation facilities are fundamental to economic growth and the development of the country as a whole.
Which quality of life is this which is to be led by a community which lacks access to water?

Sanitation?

As the EFF we reject this budget as it does not speak to the improvement of water and sanitation systems at municipal and village levels, neither does it speak to a strengthened water and sanitation improvement programme.

We reject this budget as it does not guarantee that villagers will have piped water for use in homes and quality based sanitation systems.
We reject this budget as it does not make way for the improvement of water sources, to make them accessible and safe for humans.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 46 We reject this report, we condemn the incompetence and corruption of the ANC and we encourage our people to keep asserting their rights to water and sanitation by all means necessary.

Thank you, Chairperson.


Ms S SHAIKH: Thank you very much, hon Chairpersons, greetings to your good self, greetings to the hon Minister and Deputy Minister and greetings to all hon members, one the acts of our founding President of the democratic South Africa, Tata Nelson Mandela was to ensure that we become a member of the United Nations.

You will remember the role the United Nations had played during the struggle against the apartheid colonialism.
The United Nations not only declared apartheid as a crime against humanity because of its oppressive system, but also because of its denial of basic human rights, such as the right to sufficient water and adequate or basic sanitation for the majority of its population.
Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in part that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services ...” As the signatory to the United UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 47 Nations as a country our role is to ensure that these rights are achieved.
Hon Chairperson, the United Nations Subcommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had at its twenty-ninth session in November 2002 issued a General Comment No.

15 on The Right to Water, which states in part that “The Human Rights to water entitles everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses.
An adequate amount of safe water is necessary to prevent death from dehydration and to reduce the risk of water-related diseases and to provide for consumption, cooking, personal and domestic hygienic requirements.” Hon Chairperson, the Right to Water emphasises three things.

Firstly, the right to water means that water supply should be readily available to each person or household for both personal and domestic uses.
Secondly, the quality of the available water is important and it should be free of chemical substances or water borne diseases.

Thirdly, water supply should be physically accessible and no one person or group should be discriminated against.
Section 27 (1) (b) and sub section (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 48 Africa states that “everyone has a right to access sufficient food and water’ and that the” state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights.” In order for our government to realise the right to access to water, a number of policies and strategies have been put in place.
Hon Chairperson, our democratic government has developed a national guide which stipulates that each person is entitled to 25 litres of water per day or 6 000 kilolitres per household per month.

Majority of our people have access to tap water either through communal taps - within a 200 metre radius - or through tap water installed in their home or yards.

As the African National Congress, we acknowledge that there are still communities that still fetch water from rivers and dams.
Hon Chairperson, our government is committed for the provision of sufficient and continuous water supply for both personal and for domestic use.

The ANC government is committed to the provision of quality water supply that is free from chemical substances and free of water-borne diseases which might threaten one’s health.

This commitment is demonstrated by UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 49 governments reinstating the Blue Drop Status Programme.
The purpose of the Blue Drop Status is to ensure that local municipalities provide their citizens with safe drinking water.

The ANC government through the implementation of the Blue Drop Programme is striving to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.

But also to ensure that the country is compliant in relation to its international obligations, as it relates to the provision of safe drinking water.
Just recently, the Department of Water and Sanitation had released the Blue Drop Progress Report 2022 which had established that in majority of our municipalities the quality of water provided might be a potential health risk to residents.

By tabling this report, the government demonstrated its commitment to the principles of transparency and accountability, but also to ensure that those municipalities with poor quality water rectify the situation to conform to international standards.
Hon Chairperson, we all know the story of the Vaal River Pollution as the result of the Emfuleni Local Municipality’s inability to maintain its wastewater treatment plants.
The SA Human Rights Commission conducted a three-year investigation on the sewage problems that affected the Vaal River and in the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 50 report of the investigation highlighted the fact that 19 million of the South African population is depended on the Vaal river system for their water and it has posed a potential high health risk.
Minister Mchunu in his Ministerial briefing in the NCOP on the 29 March 2022, acknowledged the challenges that are faced by many municipalities whose infrastructure is failing and deteriorating due to “poor governance, weak asset management, billing and revenue collection, operations and maintenance; and lack of technical skills”.

He further outlined the various interventions that his department will take to ensure that our municipalities comply with the Green Drop Programme.
These measures are not only about compliance with international standards, but also in ensuring that people live a dignified life.

Hon Chairperson, we must internalise that Climate Change is our reality, or rather say it has become a new normal.

The impact of climate change in our country includes changing rain patterns and increased evaporation, and most importantly increased prospects of extreme droughts.
We have just witnessed the devastating effects of climate change in our UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 51 country as experienced by the people of KwaZulu-Natal and certain parts of the Eastern Cape, where there were heavy rainfalls resulting in disastrous floods.

We have witnessed the drying up of dams due to increased evaporation of water from the dams.

We have also witnessed two metropolitan municipalities almost experiencing day zero in our recent past.
Hon members, you will remember the Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape were forced to declare certain parts of their provinces disaster areas as result of the impact of drought of the 2018-2020 period.

Droughts have a huge socioeconomic impact in our society.

In the first instance, drought will result in increased food prices in particular maize, meat and poultry which are consumed by most of our people in the country.
But also, the impact of drought results in job losses which increase unemployment in the country.

It was reported that during the drought period of 2017 in the Western Cape alone had lost 20 000 jobs.

Hon Chairperson, if we all agree that water is life, therefore, it means all of us must contribute in water conservation and protection.
As the ANC, we call upon the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 52 Minister of Water and Sanitation, Minister Mchunu to reinstate the No Drop Programme which sought to ensure that we conserve, protect and use water efficiently.

We believe that by reinstating the No Drop Programme it will go a long way in ensuring that the water services authorities or local municipalities ensure that there are no water losses as results of water leaks.
The programme requires that municipalities “provide the South African public with credible and transparent results on the status of water use efficiency and the management thereof …” In other words, by providing credible and transparent water status to its residents, the municipalities will foster behavioural changes with regards to water use by its residents.
We are confident that Minister Mchunu and senior management in the department and its entities will respond favourably to our recommendation for the reinstating of the No Drop programme.

I thank you, hon Chairperson.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Thank you hon Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Deputy Chairperson Ms Lukas, Minister of Water and Sanitation Mr Mchunu and other Ministers on the platform, hon Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 53 Deputy Minister Mahlobo and other Deputy Ministers, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, Mr Mohai and other members of the NCOP and those coming from the provinces Dr Shaun Phillips, Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation and senior managers, leadership of our entities and chairpersons, board members, CEOs, senior executives, all distinguished guests fellow South Africans.
Mahatma Gandi once said: “The earth, the air, the land and water are not our inheritance from our forefathers but are on loan for our children.

So, we have to hand over to them as it was handed over to us.” The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: If we can just ask hon Lehihi there to ensure that we don’t disturb the proceedings.

Please proceed Deputy Minister The DEPUTY MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Thank you very much Chairperson.
Our department on course towards the achievement of the SDG 6, Sustainable Development Goal, which demands us to ensure availability and sustainable management UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 54 of water and sanitation.

We are also expected to achieve a universal and equitable access to save and affordable drinking water and ensure that sanitation is dignified by 2030.
The National Planning Commission in its 2016 report on the state of water in our country has identified the following six thematic areas.

The first area was water demand and supply, the second was the impact of climate change, the infrastructure asset management and functionality, infrastructure planning and development, institutional and regulatory framework and lastly the lack of human and institutional capacity.

These are the areas that were recognised by the National Planning Commission.
Water is a shared resource with many stakeholders.

As it is a shared resource, it is a shared opportunity and also a shared risk for everyone whether in public sector, private sector or social sector.

This is an opportunity and a risk that we all share.

Therefore, everyone must be aware that our responsibility is water and each and every one of us must know that water is a business for all of us.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 55 Hon Chairperson, the current conjuncture presents an opportunity to reset the South African water and sanitation and infrastructure to enhance the economy.

We are working with municipalities to achieve this imperative.

As we know, the distribution of water reticulation and water treatment is the municipality’s direct responsibility.
We therefore would want to say that this is a great challenge that the Minister of Water and Sanitation is focusing on and to ensure that water availability and water security is what we should be able to be speaking to focusing on our communities.

In our extensive travel throughout the country in the last nine months, we have identified and seen at first hand the challenges that the municipalities are facing with respect to water and sanitation.
These are some of the challenges that have been found in the municipalities.
The dilapidated infrastructure as it been has indicated that vandalism has been on the centre the water and sanitation infrastructure, lack of tactical skills, poor water quality combined with pollution and spillages in most of the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 56 municipalities, loss of water few leakages and most importantly, the billing systems and revenue management in many municipalities are found wanting.
Therefore, these are but some of the issues that one has seen though there are many that we have seen in those municipalities while travelling throughout the country.

As we strive as the department, to strengthen our support and intervention role at the municipal level, we will not neglect our core responsibilities of developing the national water resource and we are paying attention to accelerating the planning and the implementation of key water resource and augmentation projects around the country.
The department will continue to support the municipalities to develop and refurbish municipal water and sanitation bulk distribution by using available grants bulk infrastructure and water services infrastructure grants that are found in the department.

Hon members, the department will develop a necessary capacity to support and intervene [Inaudible.]

of both public and UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 57 private mechanisms appropriately funded and financed.
In implementing the programme, the department is currently working with the National Treasury, the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Salga and other stakeholders.

The department will continue to monitor performance of the municipalities and will on a regular basis publish information of this monitoring of the municipalities through a single national regulatory dashboard.
Chairperson, we are also planning to establish the water partnership office which will support the effective long term contracting by municipality with the private sector with the view to harness the private sector skilled, to harness the commercial and blended finance to improve the services outcome in our municipalities.
We made a commitment to Cabinet this year to develop and implement a water service improvement programme to strengthen the national support and intervention measures and to make them more effective.
The framework for this programme has since been developed and includes optimal use of legislation, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 58 legislative frame and reconfiguration of the water boards so that they can be able to work closer to the municipality and assist municipalities that are failing.

The Minister is in the process of tabling the National Sanitation Framework to Cabinet to ensure reputable minimal norms and standards for sanitation.
The National Sanitation Framework will ensure that we eradicate the bucket systems because as a department we see this as a moving target which we need to have norms and standards that can regulate that.

Hon members, for some time, the department has been engaged in reviewing legislation.
I can now talk about the National Water Act of 1998 and the National Services Act of 1997 that are being renewed but within the same breast, I will indicate that the Minister is in the process of making sure that we establish a national water resources infrastructure agency which actually all of this will be going to Cabinet and will be coming to Parliament in the not so foreseeable distance future.
Hon members we are also working in ensuring that the issues of catchment management areas particularly those of Breede- UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 59 Gouritz catchment management area is worked on so as to include the Berg-Olifant water management rea in making sure that we broaden the scope of our catchment management area.
To, accelerate the transformation, the department is currently busy establishing the transformation committees as a strategic and integral platform where meaningful resolutions and actions on transformation issues will be taken.

Transformation will ensure the targets of water and sanitation [Inaudible.]

are met in building programmes and jobs for women, youth and people with disabilities being placed at the centre stage.
To strive for transformation, we will resuscitate women leadership in water and sanitation in line with the sustainable development goals as I have indicated earlier on.

Nelson Mandela once said: “Freedom alone is not enough, without light to read, without time or access to water to irrigate your farm and UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 60 without the availability to catch fish and feed your children.” God bless South Africa, God bless her sons and daughters.
I thank you Chairperson.

Mr I M SILEKU: Good afternoon hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister and hon members.

Hon Deputy Minister, I hope that you conveyed our dissatisfaction during the meeting when we got the briefing of this particular department, when it was shared with us that the Minister had abandoned us as Parliament to attend a political programme.

However, I’m glad that today there are no congresses and the Minister is among us.
Chairperson, I worked through the analysis of the budget and annual performance plan, APP, of the Department of Water and Sanitation and I listened to the overview of the 2022-23 APP and the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, budget.
The verdict is still out as to whether the new faces will bring change to water and sanitation, but the hon Minister Senzo Mchunu and his new Director-General, DG, Dr Sean UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 61 Phillips seem to be a huge improvement on those who governed the department into the ground, namely utata Gugile Nkwinti, umama action Nomvula Mokonyane who coincidently was named in the third Zondo Commission Report which recommended that Ms Mokonyane be investigated and prosecuted for corruption in relation to allegations that she received cash and benefits from Bosasa during her tenure as Minister, ... recently the hon mama presidential ambitions Lindiwe Sisulu.
The Minister and DG know that they inherited a failed department but if anyone associated with the ANC — and that is a huge if — can improve the state of water and sanitation in South Africa, it could be them.

Hence, I will give them the benefit of the doubt in turning things around.

I read a description of the Department of Water and Sanitation.

It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa.
If this is interpreted literally and currently, it implies that the department is responsible for the implosion of the water and sanitation function in South Africa.

However, currently the department has developed a reputation for fraud, corruption and procurement irregularities.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 62 Let me remind the Minister and the DG that during the 2019-20 financial year, reports stated that billions had been squandered by the department.
At the time, the department admitted that widespread, large-scale and persistent financial ill-discipline prevented them from funding crucial water infrastructure projects.

This was echoed by Corruption Watch and the Water Integrity Network.

In 2022, the department admitted that most municipalities struggle with water-related service delivery due to aging and dysfunctional water infrastructure.
Inadequate maintenance and operations at local government level cause 40% of water to be lost before it reaches the end users.

So, clearly municipal water-related service delivery is a myth and it is the task of this department to set things right.

The latest plan captures key focus areas.


It rightly talks about alternative water resources; support to municipalities; regulatory interventions to reduce the effect of wastewater on the environment and communities; water-use efficiencies; irregular expenditure; and consequence management for financial misconduct.
This is an implementable plan that raises hope, but the reality is that for decades the ANC had UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 63 the uncanny ability to develop good plans but then with the benefits of their cadres and those politically connected to them in mind, decided to implement other plans.

What we need is that the implementation of this plan be monitored by the various parliamentary portfolio committees.
We have a department that has been separated from the Department of Human Settlements, a new Minister, a new DG and also a new chief financial officer, CFO.

However, we also have the same old problems.

It must change because water represents life to our people and sanitation ... dignity.

If this plan succeeds, the equation is easy.

It will give life and dignity to our people.


We can no longer sit in the comfort of our national and provincial parliamentary chairs and in municipal council chambers, whilst our people still cross the N2, risking their lives to relieve themselves or whilst millions are still exposed to pit toilets, especially at schools, where we are killing the future of this country.

We cannot afford one more pit-related death nor the corruption relating to water tanks and the pollution of farms.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 64 Two years ago, the hon President in his state of the nation address compared the strength and toughness of South Africans to the fynbos that can survive extreme fires and heat.

At the time I said that the metaphor was distorted because what the ANC did to us is worse than what fynbos has to endure.

Today I still say the same but there is another reality.
The fire caused by the Department of Water and Sanitation cannot be put out if there is no water to do the job.

Baie dankie.

Enkosi.

I thank you.

Mr M A P DE BRUYN: Hon Chair, we all know the saying, water is life and without access to water no civilization can survive.

Yet, this department obviously has no regard for the importance of access to clean water for every citizen in this country.
With record rainfalls and overflowing dams in most parts of the country, the taps are unfortunately still dry for many in South Africa.

This is due to only one fact, and that is the incompetence of this department and the ANC.

Almost every single bulk water supply project since 2007 is either still not completed or was completed years later than planned, while in some cases certain projects have never even left the planning table.
On the one hand we hear that South UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 65 Africa is a water-scarce country, but on the other hand, for example Mangaung metro admitted in a report tabled in February this year that the metro has an average water loss of 46% of the total distributed due to dilapidated infrastructure.
Clearly, this department isn’t capable of providing the necessary infrastructure needed for the future when it can’t even maintain the infrastructure that was inherited.

This, whilst the majority of South Africans still struggle to have access to clean water, and this in violation of their constitutional rights.
Afrikaans: Maar Agb Voorsitter, hierdie departement en die regering in geheel heg net erns aan Suid-Afrikaners se grondwetlike regte in verkiesingstye wanneer groot beloftes gemaak word om steun te werf, net om na die tyd die burgers van die land se basiese behoeftes gerieflik mis te kyk.

In Dewetsdorp in die Vrystaat kan jy jouself gelukkig ag as jy vir ’n week aaneenlopend water in die krane het, en so is dit al die geval vir meer as 10 jaar.

Maar dit is ongelukkig een van vele voorbeelde.


In die dorpe van Jagersfontein, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 66 Fauresmith, Trompsburg, Edenburg, Reddersburg en nog meer as wat ek tyd het om te noem, is dit presies dieselfde geval.

Selfs in die dorp van Gariepdam wat langs die grootste dam in die suidelike halfrond geleë is, kan die departement nie eens daarin slaag om volhoubare water in die krane te verseker nie.
Nou vra ek u, met hierdie enkele voorbeelde van honderde, hoe kan enige regdenkende mens enige vertroue in hierdie departement en sy begroting sit?

En asof dit nie erg genoeg is nie, word elke stroompie, spruit, rivier en dam waarvan ons noodsaaklik afhanklik is, daagliks besoedel as gevolg van gebrekkige en vervalle infrastruktuur.

Die Groen Druppel Verslag bevestig hierdie stelling, maar lê ongelukkig nie naby genoeg klem op hoe groot hierdie probleem werklik is nie.
Die verslag wys daarop dat slegs 22 van 995 riool suiwerings-aanlegte die Groen Druppel status ontvang het en dat amper 40% van riool suiwerings- aanlegte in Suid-Afrika in ’n kritiese toestand is.

Tydens die provinsiale week in die Vrystaat, waar talle dorpe se suiweringsaanlegte en rioolplase besoek was, kon ons nie op een enkele suksesverhaal afkom nie.

Die prentjie was oral dieselfde.


Rioolaanleg na rioolaanleg staan vervalle en rou UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 67 riool loop eenvoudig een kant in en anderkant uit in ons natuurlike spruite en riviere, net om vêrder in die lyn af weer gesuiwer te word met aanlegte wat nie daarvoor geskik is nie.
Geen begroting sal hierdie situasie kan omdraai as die departement nie met erns begin om kundige mense aan te stel wat akkurate impakstudies en die nodige werkbare beplanning kan doen om volhoubare water verskaffing te verseker nie.

Om dan nie te praat van die stryd om die ANC se vingers uit die till [kasregister] te hou nie.
English: Over the last 28 years, this department under ANC governance has failed to ensure that every person in South Africa enjoys the basic human right of having access to clean water.

Instead of blaming everything and everyone from weather conditions to global warming and even the past, rather get your house in order with qualified and honest staff and officials to do what they are paid to do, and that is to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all.

Thank you, Chair.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 68 Mr M P NDLOVU (Mpumalanga): Hon Nyambi, thanks you for your time, greetings to the Chairperson of the NCOP, the Chief Whip of the NCOP, hon members of the NCOP, Minister of Water and Sanitation, our beloved hon Minister Mchunu, Deputy Ministers of the Department of Water and Sanitation, hon D Mahlobo and D Dikeledi, all other hon members participating from various provinces, all stakeholders and our beloved people of our beloved country, it is an honour and a befitting choice that Mpumalanga province joins in this debate on the Department of Water and Sanitation Budget Vote.
In the recent years, the Department of Water and Sanitation has been visible in the Mpumalanga province through a number of inter-structures intervention projects, which have driven positive impact on the ground for our masses who were previously highly disadvantaged in their areas where both bulk and reticulation infrastructure for water and sanitation was just a violation of human rights by the previous non- democratic regime.
The collective efforts by the Department of Water and Sanitation, the province of Mpumalanga and municipalities in implementing water and sanitation infrastructure projects yielded positive outcomes.

At least in other areas of the province our people are no longer UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 69 complaining like they used to, water, water, is water every day but there is not a single drop of water.
The 2021 General Households Survey by Statistics SA indicate that there is a huge positive improvement of household with access to water in the province – 87,9% of the households have access to water by the year 2021.

A further improvement was registered were closed to 872 000 households have access to flush or chemical toilets by 2021, which is equivalent to 64,4% descent sanitation.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is applauded for funding the following completed bulk infrastructure projects.
I am not just talking about project.

We are talking about projects that they have been completed, Hoxani Water Supply Scheme, Balfour Waste Water Treatment Works, cheap more bulk water supply scheme, Methula Water Treatment Works, Davel Water Treatment Plants, Bulk Water from Sibange to Ntunda, construction of reservoir in Magudu and Bovenzi.
The Department of Water and Sanitation is commended for rolling out a highly impact project, which will provide relief on the water challenges in the province of Mpumalanga, which UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 70 include amongst others, Driekoppies and Sibange Water Supply Scheme, Loskop Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme, upgrading of Khulunsi Water Treatment Works and Branston Cluster 2 Bulk Water Supply Scheme.
Loskop Regional Bulk Water Scheme is a cross border scheme, which supplies both Thembisile Hani Municipality with 20 mega litres per day and Sekhukhune District Municipality in the Motse area in Limpopo province.
With three mega litres per day the Minister of Water and Sanitation has identify the laying of a pipeline from Loskop Dam to Thembisile Hani Regional Bulk Water Scheme as one of the catalytic project and as such has mandated his department to consider shortening the duration of its implementation to ensure that much work that could have been done in five years is rather completed in three years without compromising quality, thereof.
The first package which entails abstraction of 23 mega litres per day of water from Loskop Dam and the laying of bulk pipelines for distribution to Verona area where a water treatment facility intended to be constructed.

It is going to commence in June 2022.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 71 Let me confirm, hon Minister, that a total budget of R1, 2 billion was estimated as a total cost for the entire project.
This has to be completed within three years from the start date as was directed by the Minister.

The planning process for the augmentation of bulk water supply for Dr JS Moroka Municipality through the Rus Deventer source has already commence and the Nkangala District Municipality has been already appointed as the implementing agent on behalf of the Department of Water and Sanitation, which is working hard to ensure that the construction of this project commences not later than the year 2023.
The province has also directed all municipalities to set aside at least between 50% and 75% of their Municipal Infrastructure Grant, MIG, allocation towards water and sanitation infrastructure intervention project.

At this current year 2021 financial year, a total of R951 million, which is equivalent to 52% of the MIG was allocated for R118 million water and sanitation project.

This will help to expedite the eradication of the acute backlog in the remain areas where such water ...

[Interjections.]
[Interjections.]

... UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 72 The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr A J NYAMBI): MEC, you are muted, can you unmute yourself.

Mr M P NDLOVU (Mpumalanga: MEC for Cogta): Who muted me.

I did not mute myself.

I will never ...

[Interjections.]

...

I want to address and our people.

Operations and maintenance is one other area that requires close attention as I have indicated.
Addition to this positive intervention we pray that we should be a sufficient budget allocated to this department to enable it to further its mandate regarding the long-awaited construction of the Mbombela Mountain View Dam that is currently undergoing feasibility studies to help to augment bulk supply of water in the lowveld area thereby stimulating the expansion of economic growth and industrialisation through a reliable source of supply.
The release of water use rise by the Loskop Irrigation Board in order to acquire access to 9,6 mega litres per day should be finalised.

Out of these at least 3 mega litres per day will be made available for the three municipalities.

That is Dr JS Moroka, Thembisile Hani and Elias Motsoaledi in the Limpopo province, which will stand to benefit out of this release.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 73 We will also expert that the department shall issue the right of use for the City of Mbombela and Bushbuckridge for the specific identified model within the Hoxani Water Supply Scheme, which must be equitable shared between the two municipalities in order to carter for all communities within their jurisdiction as well as further upgrading of the critical Standerton Waste Water Treatment Plant from nine to 23 mega litres per day to curb any further spillages to Vaal River.
We thank the department for heeding a call made Bee John Robong who said that my suggestion is that we should first work to ensure that the Third world has clean drinking water and sanitation.

The introduction of the District Development Model is now providing government with an opportunity to partner with the private sector and the community-based organisation in addressing infrastructure challenges holistically.
It’s through the Divided Growth Model, DGM, approach that your government resources provided the private sector will mobilise as well to partner with government in addressing UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 74 infrastructure necessary to stimulate the economy across our municipalities in the province.
It is for this reason, hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, that Mpumalanga province strongly believe and is convinced that with adequate allocation of resources to the department more shall be done to close the gap between those who currently have access to water services and those that we have promised in terms of Bill of Rights enshrined in our Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Chapter 2 to also be equally said with these fruits of democracy in our land.
choosing this gap will mean that no a single household shall bear the brunt of surviving without the true benefits of being provided with quality water provision and access to descent sanitation.

The department must therefore be allowed to do its best through the resources to ensure it accelerate its work in assisting all provinces to meet this constitutional mandate.

We know you, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, you don’t open your mouth and talk about plans and projects that are not funded.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 75 We don’t make empty promises to claim easy victories.

Empty promises do not have life to stand all.

Let me join Comrade Doduver that said that in honour of Comrade Walter Sisulu we dare not say the people of South Africa.

Mpumalanga Provincial Government believes that any normal public representatives will support the approval of Budget Vote 41 for the Department of Water and Sanitation.

We welcome the Budget Vote.


Thank you very much, hon Chairperson.

Mr N M HADEBE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, one of the greatest challenges our country faces - and will soon bear full witness to - is a water crisis, compounded by the reality of climate change, pollution and sheer mismanagement of our precious water resources.

In terms of the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan, the country is expected to face a water deficit of 17% by 2030.

This alarming reality demands urgent action.


A critical contributor to this unfolding water crisis is a dilapidated state of our country’s water infrastructure.

The IFP has consistently raised the issue through the House as well as the department of Water and Sanitation’s complete incapacity to address the urgency of the matter.
The recent UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 76 horrific floods in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape exposed the extent of the government’s failure to address ageing water infrastructure.

As we understand, it has been estimated that the repair to water infrastructure in the eThekwini Municipality alone will cost only over R1 billion.
The serious nature of the situation demands much more urgent action from government and the financial commitment to address the situation.

The stark reality is that the estimated cost of mega water infrastructure projects is in excess of R100 billion, and the Department’s budget is less than one percent of this estimated cost.

The IFP strongly endorses the view that the department must urgently provide Parliament with plans and interventions to address this reality.
Furthermore, on consideration of the department’s 2022-23 Annual Performance Plan and Budget, the IFP remains highly concerned about the slow progress in the elimination of the existing bucket sanitation system.
As we understand, the Department of Human Settlements functions as the Department of Water and Sanitation’s implementing agent in this regard, and it is specially mandated to construct, refurbish and upgrade wastewater infrastructure in the elimination of these bucket UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 77 toilets.
However, no explanation is provided for the dismal progress in this regard and why only 1 409 houses of the targeted 12 221 in the Northern Cape and Free State received toilets in the previous fiscal year.

It is crucial that a detailed progress report on the National Sanitation Framework be provided to Parliament, as the people of South Africa deserve answers.

However, hon members, we cannot continue on this path.
We cannot continue to recognise, as the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan highlights, that “municipalities lack technical skills, institutional capacity and funding to operate and maintain water and waste water infrastructure assets properly.” Yet, there are no consequences for these failures.

Where are the consequences, hon members?

The water crisis will engulf us a country, and our children will pay the price unless we urgently address this situation.
With all the above said, hon Chairperson, the IFP accepts the Budget Vote.

Thank you.

Cllr N NUM (Salga): Thank you very much, Chairperson.
Hon Chairperson of the NCOP, Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Minister for Water and Sanitation, the Deputy Ministers for UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 78 Water and Sanitation, hon Chief Whip of the NCOP, hon Chairperson of the House, permanent delegates, hon special delegates and all protocol observed, we jointly congratulate the hon Minister on his maiden Budget Speech to the National Council of Provinces since his appointment as Minister of Water and Sanitation in August last year.
We have collectively enjoyed the energy and urgency which he has brought to the sector and the many engagements he has held with communities and multiple stakeholders across all nine provinces in an effort to fully understand the issues to be addressed.

The changes in national department leadership often results in a complete change of direction and priority to the detriment of the sector and local government.
We are glad this has not been the case for the Department of Water and Sanitation, and we believe that the challenges we face can only be resolved through collaboration, consistency and continuity.

The tragic floods in KwaZulu-Natal have underscored the devastating effects of climate change on our infrastructure.
The Department has shown leadership in the response effort and we particularly welcome the theme of Building back better, to ensure the resilience of our infrastructure given increasing climate variability and climate change.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 79 Simply rebuilding infrastructure without addressing resilience means that our communities remain vulnerable to calamities such as the one we have just witnessed.
We need to tackle the question as to how we are going to ensure increased infrastructure resilience going forward for both new and existing infrastructures that needs to be repaired or rebuilt.

We stand ready to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure infrastructure and services resilience and look to National government to fulfil its leadership role in providing policy and strategic direction to the sector.
Hon Chairperson, the Minister’s efforts to ensure collaboration and consensus are welcomed and valued, culminating in the National Water and Sanitation Summit which came up with solutions on what needs to be done.

As SA Local Government Association, Salga, we are fully behind these efforts and look forward to continued collaboration in implementing the solutions.
We are very pleased that the department is in the process of establishing the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency which will free up the department to focus on policy, planning, regulation, price setting and providing support to our water services authorities and providers.
We would welcome a business case on UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 80 how the agency will be financially sustainable and the impact on municipalities and look forward to further engagements on the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency Bill before it goes to Parliament.
Hon Chair, we note that earlier this month the department officially launched the R24 billion Olifants River Water Resources Development Project to fast-track water delivery to communities and mines in the Sekhukhune and Mokgalakwena municipalities in Limpopo by 2028.

Is this project limited to water resource management or is it also distributing water directly to the mines and communities?
We need to ensure that the project is not usurping the constitutional authority of the municipalities concerned and thus invite the department to engage SA Local Government Association, Salga, and the affected municipalities to ensure that the correct processes and mechanisms are put in place for water services provision.

Groundwater is a vital part of the water mix that must be responsibly utilised and strengthening regulation is both necessary and urgent.
We are also encouraged to hear that the department is taking steps to improve the issuing of water use licenses through a comprehensive improvement plan.

Such a plan UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 81 needs to ensure that the reserves are determined throughout the country and that the department establishes the necessary catchment management agencies.
Hon Chair, efforts to improve the governance and operational performance of water board, is particularly welcomed, since water boards play a strategic role in providing bulk water to municipalities and their bulk water tariffs directly impact on the affordability of water services.
We undertook as SA Local Government Association, Salga, a thorough assessment of the proposed tariffs received from water boards and held consultation sessions across all municipalities as well as joint sessions with the department and National Treasury to find a balance between bulk water tariff increases that ensure the water boards financial sustainability and ensure affordability to municipalities, particularly, the affordability to the end users.
This brings me to the debt owed by municipalities to water boards which is a matter of grave concern.
I would like to use this opportunity to share with you that SA Local Government Association, Salga, is working with the Department of Water and Sanitation, National Treasury, Co-operative Governance and UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 82 Traditional Affairs, Cogta, and all the water boards within a structure called the Multidisciplinary Revenue Committee for Water, to find solutions to the debt problem.
If municipalities are not financially sustainable, the sustainability of all institutions in the value chain, including water boards are negatively impacted.

Thus, we are taking a holistic approach which addresses all the dependencies that are integral to effective municipal revenue management.

The aim is to stop the increasing debts owed to municipalities, water boards and the water trading entities.
We can only achieve this through a full understanding of the structural and systemic issues underlying the debt which we aim to do through deep dive assessments as SA Local Government Association, Salga, collaborating with all stakeholders.

Such assessments include cost of supply studies, infrastructure and operational assessments and water services governance assessments.
The assessments will give a better understanding of the state of the water services function and what must be done in the short, medium and in the long term to ensure sustainability.

Working closely with the department and other key stakeholders we believe we can get to the bottom of the challenges and bring about positive change.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 83 The water services improvement programme takes a similar approach to the strategies the water multidisciplinary revenue committee has developed.

However, we would like to work with the department to develop concrete support plans for municipalities with clear targets, roles and responsibilities including accountability for actions and results.
Hon Chairperson, for many years we have lamented the absence of a dedicated intergovernmental platform for the water services sector.

Whilst other sectors have Ministers and members of the executive of executive councils, MINMECs, the water services sector lacks such a platform where we can take resolutions, monitor performance and hold the various stakeholders to account.
The SA Local Government Association prepared a terms of reference for a water services task force and inter- ministerial committee for water, where local government can come together with the relevant Ministers to speedily solve problems and take decisions.

We would like to engage further on this so that this structure can be set up as a matter of urgency.

Within the sector there is much talk about professionalising water services, yet there is no strategy as to what this means in practice.
Further, there have been discussions concerning UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 84 powers and functions for water services between district and local municipalities.

If our service provision arrangements are failing to provide the vital water and sanitation services to our communities, we need to urgently find workable and sustainable alternatives.
This should be part of the department’s section 154 obligation and be part of the department’s annual performance plan with sufficient budget to support municipalities in reviewing their service provider mechanisms and identify more sustainable alternatives where necessary.

While we support and affirm the department’s mandate to monitor and enforce compliance, the role of the department in supporting and providing capacity building for municipalities needs to be strengthened.
How best should this be achieved?

A sector wide collaborative approach, similar to the Masibambane programme launched in the year 2000, an approach which achieved excellent results and is perhaps an item for discussion at the water inter-ministerial committee.

The SA Local Government Association would willingly throw its weight behind such an initiative to ensure full participation of all our members and maximum results particularly in strengthening institutional resilience.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 85 In conclusion hon Chair, we appreciate the honest posture of the department, where challenges are openly identified and plans are being put in place to resolve the critical issues urgently.

We look forward to collaborating and working with the department to implement the solutions.

We further look forward to formal engagements on taking the water services improvement programme forward.
As SA Local Government Association, Salga, we would push for the support of ... [Time expired.]

...

I thank you.

Mr D R RYDER: Hon Chair, hon Minister Mchunu has said it today.

Water is a right.

Water is life.

Now, in his remarks the Minister gave a good indication that he understands the problems.

The question remains though as to whether he has the solutions.
As we leave a legacy of spoiled water resources to the generations that follow, we should be mortified that our gift to our children and grandchildren is to take away this life from them or at least to complicate it unnecessarily.

The Vaal situation, as most members in this House know, is very close to my heart and my home.
The inability of the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 86 Emfuleni Municipality and of the Gauteng province, under whose administration Emfuleni has fallen for the last four and a half years, to deal with the situation is causing untreated sewage to flow unchecked into our drinking water.

It is ironic that MEC Maile was here today, although he left as soon as he had finished speaking.

However, he talked out of the other side of his mouth.
We know that he’s on the campaign trail but one would’ve really expected him to try to make a better impression today; maybe be dressed appropriately, read his speech before he arrived and prepared properly.

The national department though had to intervene in Emfuleni and the Vaal situation, and even roped in the army to help.

The situation on the ground shows no improvement.


Mr Maile was quick today to list the players that need to act but he forgot that he is personally accountable through the section 139 intervention in Emfuleni, which speaks specifically to infrastructure and service delivery.

This budget that we are considering today offers some commitment in programme 2, albeit insufficient and probably more focussed on the medium-term expenditure.
However, experience has taught not mere caution, but downright UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 87 distrust.

The warning is that there are many other sewage reticulation networks and wastewater treatment facilities in South Africa that are at a similar state of collapse; the Northern Cape’s lake of sewage being just one example.

The return of the Green Drop report is welcomed.

Well done, Minister.


Let’s use it as a tool to urgently change our planning and prioritisation.

Business as usual cannot be accepted in this department and a total rethink of the construction of this budget, the key performance areas, KPAs, and key performance indicators, KPIs, is needed.

As hon Sileku noted, you’ve got a new plan but have you updated all of your measurements because that is what the technocrats and administrations respond to?
It is now common cause that when Minister Nomvula Mokonyane was in charge, she pillaged the War on Leaks programme as part of the state capture project.

The result of this is the current situation where municipalities across the country lose as much water as they charge for.

Even hon De Bruyn could quote a statistic on this.

In a water-scarce country, this cannot be accepted.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 88 Again, review the KPIs and measure the right outputs, Minister.

Pass the targets down the chain as well to water boards and municipalities.

Teach them how, if necessary, and get your staff to spend more time in the field rather than in their air-conditioned offices.

Get them out there to be seeing, teaching, upskilling and fixing.

Timeous interventions need to be made in places like Ugu Municipality and Nelson Mandela Bay.
Hon Visser listed numerous other ones as well.

Our people cannot be left without safe drinking water.

The current overspending on staff costs cannot continue as has been signalled in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, and the expenditure needs to start showing better results.

The water boards around the country are wobbling and showing signs of distress, some through poor collections by municipalities, as Cllr Num mentioned, but most from poor policy and even worse management.
The time for appointing friends to cushy board positions is over.

I was horrified to hear Cllr Num talking about the professionalisation of water services, as if it’s something new.

It should never have been in the situation it is in.

Minister, you need technically skilled people to head the institutions that provide us with this constitutionally prioritised resource.
This is not UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 89 impossible given the budget before us, but it will take political will.

Programme 3 needs a substantial overhaul in terms of measurements and consequences.
Hon Dodovu’s inputs today gave me pause for thought, not so much on the content that he delivered but more on the fact that bundling Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Water and Sanitation in the same cluster is perhaps convenient but it makes little sense when one considers the ...

[Inaudible.]

The importance of these two departments to our provinces and municipalities make them deserve much better focus.

Chair, perhaps our clustering should be reviewed.


Mr Zandamela correctly spoke about the new technology in water management.

We don’t see this from the department nor in the indications or intention shown in the budget.

They say an elephant never forgets, but MEC Ndlovu forgot that Mpumalanga has a terrible backlog of bulk supply when he praised the department today.

It is your maiden speech, MEC, but next time please represent your province and not just your party.

Demand better from the department.


UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 90 Cllr Num and the SA Local Government Association, Salga, I am pleased that you raised the issue of the unaffordable increases that are being forced down by water boards; increasing by more than the equitable share, and reducing the capacity for service delivery and eating into the limited funds that are available for maintenance so desperately needed for the war on leaks.
As I conclude, hon Shaikh and hon Magadzi both invoked Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi in their speeches.

Now, don’t these comments remind us that this resource belongs to our descendants?

Both of these leaders would be horrified to see the state of our water and sanitation in South Africa in 2022.

The Vote proposes in this year’s budget ... the purpose ...

Sorry.
Sorry.

The purpose in this budget states that the department must, “Ensure the availability of water resources to facilitate equitable and sustainable socioeconomic development and ensure universal access to water and sanitation services.” Deputy Minister ...

[Inaudible.]

... your own comments that you quoted from Gandhi, and to this vision that I just read out now, you need to get the Minister to add the words, now and into the future.

I thank you.
I thank you.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 91 Ms N E NKOSI: Hon House Chair, greetings to your good self, the Chairperson, Deputy Chair, Minister and Deputy, and all members present in the House.

Water is a finer resource and we should use it efficiently and effectively in our drive to resolving the triple challenges of persistent poverty, widening inequalities and massive unemployment in our country.
The ANC in the NCOP welcomes and supports budget vote 1 as presented by Minister Mchunu.

Access to sufficient and quality drinking water and water for domestic use is a constitutional right which our government should provide in an accessible, sustainable and sufficient manner.
There are two pieces of legislation which give effect to the right to sufficient water: The National Services Act, Act 108 of 1997, and the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998 The National Services Act provides mechanisms to ensure that every citizen in the country has access to safe or clean UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 92 drinking water and adequate sanitation.
And most importantly, the National Services Act is a mechanism to regulate the consumption of water by households to further ensure that this consumption is done in a sustainable manner.

The National Water Act on the other hand was enacted to regulate the licensing of water for commercial use, both the agricultural and industrial sectors of our economy.
Just like the National Services Act, the National Water Act regulates the sustainability of water consumption by the two sectors to ensure that water is available for future generations.

The biggest consumer of water in our country is the agricultural sector, which constitutes 67% of the total water consumption in the country.

[Sound glitch.]

[Inaudible.]

followed by domestic consumption such as drinking water and for cleaning, cooking and washing, etc.

with 15% of the water.


while the manufacturing contributes 5% and 3% for mining operations.

We must use the limited water as an important economic resource for the socioeconomic development of our societies.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 93 William Stafford and Kristy Faccer, authors of the Steering Towards a Green Economy, a reference guide published by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, states that the agricultural sector is a fundamental, yet undervalued, component of the economy.
Agriculture is well placed to contribute a green economy as it can significantly contribute to alleviating many of the social, economic and ecological challenges that world currently faces.

These challenges include the need to feed a repeatedly expanding population, the risk of climate change and meeting energy needs in the face of dwindling reserves of fossil fuels.
In other words, the agricultural sector has the capacity to create the much needed jobs, produce more food, to alleviate poverty and address extreme inequalities in our society.

In doing so, it is expected that measures and actions such as incentivizing those farmers whose catchment management areas use resources efficiently, but at the same time developing capacity to store water.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 94 For those that do not comply with water conservation measures which will be disincentives in the form of taxes, fines and levies.

Another measure identified by the authors is for actors in the agricultural sector in adopting code of farming to increase the availability of water but also by establishing on-farm water resources conservation areas.
History tells us that many times our government ignores research reports that they commissioned.

The legislation is clear on how to transform the water accessibility and ownership patterns in our country.

Unfortunately, 28 years later water rights ownership access is still characteristics of the ownership patterns under the apartheid government.

Water rights access needs a radical transformation programme.
Rebecca Peter and Phillip Woodhouse argue that white commercial farmers have been able to maintain their dominance in water use through exploiting their experience of water UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 95 management and their ability to use legal and financial service to their advantage.
We note the strides of the Department of Water and Sanitation to transform access to water rights when it used a circular in 2018 where it determined that water use entitlements could not be transferred from one use to other, as this will disadvantage those who have been excluded as a result of apartheid policies.

We have further noted that the matter was taken to the High Court and ruled in favour of the department.
However, AgriSA took the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal where it ruled in their favour.

We wish to recommend that the department consider take up the matter to the Apex Court, that is the Constitutional Court.

This is a matter of national importance in our transformation agenda in the water sector.

Water governance institutions derive their existence from the Water Services Act, Act 108 of 1997, which sets out the legislative framework to give effect to the constitutional right to access water.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 96 The water boards are organs of state responsible for managing and regulating the access and delivery of water services in the country.
In her address to the 7th Water Stewardship Conference, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, the hon Dikeledi Magadzi, said that we require water governance that could stand the test of time, we require strong systems and institutions to drive effective water resources management and expand access to water and sanitation services.

She also said we require good water governance that would allow sustainable good quality supply that in turn will give us an upper hand in terms of any future pandemic.
There is a recognition by our government that there are serious governance failures that need to be attended to in order to ensure that there is constant water supply for both households and businesses.
Minister Mchunu during his budget speech last week committed his department that it will ensure that people with the requisite skills, experience and qualifications will be UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 97 appointed in the various water boards, which have experienced governance challenges like the Amathole Water Board, while the Sedibeng Water Board is being de-established.
President Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address in February this year made a commitment that the process for approving water use license applications will be fast-tracked and that the approval process will be done within a 90-day period.

Our democratic government had, in 2007, issued regulations on financial assistance to resource who are farmers.

Our government had identified five packages as forms of grants to assist resource farmers.
The first grant is for capital cost for bulk water distribution infrastructure.

This grant is mainly for construction or upgrading of communal storage.

The second grant is for the resource [Inaudible.]

for use of operations and maintenance of water resource management and depuration.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 98 In conclusion, we call upon the Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure the transformation of the water sector.
We believe that water is an important economic resource for the socioeconomic development of our country for ravages of the global pandemic of coronavirus.

Transformation and socioeconomic development are the task of the moment of our government.

I thank you, Chairperson.

The MINISTER OF WATER AND SANITATION: Chairperson, I see you have a rejuvenation programme!
Firstly, I would want to assure this House that we are ready for the hard fight against the challenges of corruption and that it is a fight that we will win.

There is no doubt about that.

We will overcome that challenge, clean up the department and normalise it.

Secondly, we have put a lot of emphasis on the addressing the issue of vacancies.
We now have a fully employed director- general, a fully employed chief financial officer, a fully employed Corporate Services deputy director-general, a fully employed Water Services deputy director-general, and a fully UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 99 employed deputy director-general for compliance enforcement.

No-one acted in these vacancies before.

This is up front that we want accountability.


Every branch in our department must be accounted for by substantially appointed people, which is as it should be.

We will do more.

Issues like leaks, buckets, and pollution are a worry.

Members of the NCOP representing provinces are more that correct on these matters and we will be addressing them.

I noted issues from the Vaal.

We are up to making progress in the Vaal as one newspaper noted last weekend, and we were happy with that.
Finally, we heard the call for a structure that will be representative and just focussed on water.

We are aiming at calling such before the end of July – a kind of a ministerial water and sanitation council, even if it’s not a Minmec.

But at the summit it was fully recognised that we are at a disadvantage if we don’t meet and liaise and wait for summits.

At this point in time we want thank you and all the hon members of the NCOP for the kind of comments that they made.
We found them very constructive and empowering.

We are really looking forward to working together more.

Thank you.
Thank you.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 100 The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): As we conclude the Budget Vote on Water and Sanitation, I would like to thank the Minister, the Deputy Ministers, the MECs from our provinces, the Salga representatives, special delegates and their teams for availing themselves for participation in this very important debate.

Debate concluded.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Thank you very much hon House Chairperson.
Good afternoon to all.

We will now proceed to the second order: The Policy Debate on Budget Vote 29: Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Appropriation Bill [B-2022] Section 77.

I will now call upon the hon Thoko Didiza, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to open the debate.

Welcome Minister, you may continue.


POLICY DEBATE ON BUDGET VOTE 29: AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATION BILL The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, Deputy Ministers UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 101 Skwatsha and Deputy Ministers Capa, Ministers and Deputy Ministers present in this platform, hon members, ladies and gentlemen.
Deputy Chairperson and hon members, today’s budget vote debate takes place when the global environment has been experiencing shocks arising from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has raised concerns about potential escalating food and insecurity as the two countries are major exporters of grains, oilseeds, fertilizers, and crude oil products to international markets.
We have seen consumer prices on the rise in some commodities such as cooking oil despite the good season we are having on sunflower.

The grain prices, in particular wheat is concerning and we import over 40% to meet our local demand.

Although the availability of wheat is not a big challenge, the higher price in which we source the wheat from alternative markets is a concern.

In order to provide for food security, we have seen countries holding stocks which otherwise they would have sold.
This has raised questions hon members, whether as a country we should not create some temporary strategic reserve on commodities that are critical for food security.

This UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 102 provision is permitted within the prescripts on public stockholding of the World Trade Organization, WTO.

The impact of climate change even in our own country has heightened the need of improving our early warning systems and adaptation strategies.
Our climate scientist projects that the intensity of floods and drier weather conditions across the country will increase in the future impacting our food security.

We have seen the damages on crops in particular sugar following the KwaZulu-Natal, KZN floods last month.

Moreover, the outbreak of brown locusts in provinces such as Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape and Western Cape Provinces have once proved the importance of social partnership and agility in response mechanisms.
Our provincial departments have done sterling work in educating communities on these pests and control measures and wish to ask them to do more as we applaud them.

Our farmers have also been part of the response system.

We wish to extend our appreciation to some of the private companies such as Kumba Iron Ore, for their contribution in the control of brown UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 103 locusts in Northern Cape.
We will soon together with the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, work on additional locust control measures for the next summer season.

Madam Deputy Chairperson and hon members, the increase of animal diseases require a strong animal health system and a better command and control in our veterinary system between national, provincial and municipalities.

Animal diseases and plant pests do not know any boundaries and therefore swift responses and better coordination from all stakeholders is a must.
I wish to thank the Red Meat Industry Forum and traditional leaders of Limpopo for working with government in maintaining and controlling the foot and mouth disease, which is actually prevalent in that region as we speak.
It is also very important to highlight that foot and mouth disease, FMD, has shown certain weaknesses in our veterinary governance system and these include: - Inadequate handling facilities at community levels; declining numbers of public veterinarians; inadequate and at times non-functional public laboratories; inadequate funding of the veterinary services by a number of provinces; shifts in focus towards prevention UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 104 rather than curative animal health measures; and the weak command and control veterinary system.
Last year October, I established a task team comprising of Drs Shadrack Moephuli, Gideon Bruckner, Dr Kgabi Mogajane and Professor Kirsten to assist in examining our animal health situation in the country and make recommendations on what we need to do to strengthen our veterinary control measures.

As I speak I have already had an engagement on the draft report from the team which they will finalize and soon release.
I wish to extend the gratitude to these South Africans for responding to the call of duty when their country needs them most.

This team is finalizing the report and we will soon share it with South Africans.

Hon members, despite these challenges agriculture performance has affirmed the importance of the sector in our community.

This owes in a large measure to the policy and regulatory environment that is in place.
It also reflects the interventions made through research and innovation that ensures that our products are safe and of good quality that is sought after by many consumers here at home and abroad.

The resilience of the sector even during difficult times shows UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 105 that our farmers and farm workers are an important human resource that our country has had over the years.

It is this resource that we want to grow in an inclusive way.
The Agriculture and Agro-processing Masterplan that we signed last week Thursday, is therefore a planning framework not only with a vision of where we must go, but it has targets against which we can measure our progress and success.

This social compact requires us as partners to work together in resolving difficulties that confront the sector on an ongoing basis.
It builds on programmes such as the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative implemented in partnership with the Solidarity Fund, the National House of Traditional Leaders and provincial departments where we supported more than 100 000 households and small-scale farmers last year.

Initiatives such as the National Red Meat Development programme that have created 27 animal feeding and conditioning facilities across five provinces will be up scaled under this masterplan.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 106 The expansion of irrigation schemes and logistical infrastructure to produce and export high value products will also be prioritized amongst other things.

Hon members, any plan needs to be supported by financial and human resources in order to succeed.

Together with provinces we have been aligning our own plans in line with the masterplan.
Deputy Chairperson, research has shown that women living in rural areas play significant roles in supporting household food and nutrition security and improving livelihoods.

I must say that the benefits of the Beneficiary Selection and Land Allocation Policy will help us to address these imbalances in our respective sectors.

We have also decided to focus in a programmatic way to women in agriculture as well as young people.
Colleagues in the provinces the Members of Executive Council MECs have table in their legislatures will help us to make our contribution as stakeholder in the success of the sector.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 107 It is an honour and privilege that I table the budget of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The total budget is R17,3 billion.

This budget reflects the allocation to the functions that we perform.
As hon members know, one of the elements of our function is concurrent which means we share it with provinces.

The main budget allocations are therefore transfer to provinces through the Division of Revenue.

These programmes are Ilima/Letsema, Land Care, Comprehensive Agriculture Extension and advisory services and Comprehensive Agriculture Support Program that goes mainly towards infrastructure.
The other transfers go to public entities that support agricultural sector such as the Agricultural Research Council, National Agricultural Marketing Council and Ingonyama Trust Board.

Hon Deputy Chairperson and members, the value of our programs are measured by their impact on farmers, farm workers labour tenants and communities.
Deputy Chairperson, our priorities therefore for this financial year will be the following among others: Improving our animal health system; opening new markets for our products while retaining existing markets; UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 108 focus on farm and off farm infrastructure, particularly rural roads; and farmer support particularly the area of extension and advisory services; we also want to improve quality and accuracy of agricultural information and data.
The Comprehensive Agricultural Support and Ilima/Letsema programmes, have fared well in supporting women, youth and people with disabilities and the target for women is 50% of supported farmers.

In the 2022-2023 financial year, a total of 14 705 farmers will be supported with the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme, CASP and 36 906 with Ilima/Letsema.
On land care we take responsibility to restore our degraded and destroyed ecosystems across to ecologically healthy, diverse and resilient conditions, able to support economic, social, and cultural development objectives and wellbeing of our communities.

Through our land care programme, we aim to address land degradation and natural agricultural resources management.
This year our implementation will focus on the following five themes; VeldCare, SoilCare, WaterCare, JuniorCare and Conservation Agriculture.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 109 Deputy Chairperson, it is our view that this budget together with the budgets presented by the MECs will reduce inequalities through our transformation agenda to ensure efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.
My colleagues Deputy Ministers Skwatsha and Capa will speak in details on the areas under their delegation, on land matters as well as on rural development areas.

I thank you, Deputy Chairperson and I table Vote 29 for your consideration.

Mr A J NYAMBI: Greetings to you, hon Deputy Chair, Minister Didiza, deputy Minister Capa and Deputy Minister Skwatsha, members of the House, ladies and gentlemen.

The 1955 Freedom Charter said that the land must be shared among those who work it ...
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Hon Nyambi, if you don’t mind, can we see you on the video?

Remember they requested that those who are speaking must be on the video unless you’ve got challenges.

Mr A J NYAMBI: My video is open.

I don’t know because I see the ... is it fine now?


UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 110 The DEPUTY CHAIRPSERSON OF THE NCOP: I think you should continue because I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s definitely not showing the full face.

But I think you should continue.

Thank you.

there you are, thank you.

Mr A J NYAMBI: Maybe the picture will do if there’s a challenge, because of loadshedding.
The 1955 Freedom Charter said that the land must be shared among those who work it and further said farmers will be assisted with seeds and implements.

The 1992 ANC ready to govern policy guidelines said that the ANC government will pursue increased agricultural productivity, ensure food security and further pursue a policy of land redistribution to ensure that all South Africans have an equitable access to land.
It is a well-known fact that South Africa’s land reform policy has got three pillars as explained by hon Minister.

That is land restitution, land restribution and the security of land tenure.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 111 The ANC said in the 2019 elections manifesto that our land reform policy is about resisting the historical injustices of land dispossession and is also about the unlocking of agricultural productivity in our economy.
Our land reform policy has never been about vengeance for all the historical atrocities committed against our people by colonial and apartheid regime.

We went through a process of truth and reconciliation and committed ourselves to a reconciliation programme, healing of the past scars and committed our source in the ANC to building a truly democratic, nonracial, nonsexist and united South Africa.
We have forgiven those who have committed and perpetrated what the United Nations have labelled as a crime against humanity against us.

We know that many white South Africans are committed to working with us in building a South Africa that truly belongs to all who live in it.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 112 It is important that as we seek to heal the divisions of the past, we need to be honest in our co-operative approach towards the resolution of the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality caused by colonialism and apartheid.
We need to be frank, frank in acknowledging that there is the persistent legacy of colonialism and apartheid that needs to be addressed collectively by us through what the President, in his state of the nation address, called for a social compact.

This needs a frank reflection.

There is a difference between ourselves and the opposition parties.

And this difference skies in the manner in which we reflect on our current situation.
There’s an inability by the opposition to be frank and helping address our current challenges.

This inability is informed by this lack of frank reflection.

In other circles they would call it denialism, this is frank speaking.
To provide the poor with land for residential and productive purposes in order to improve their livelihoods, is the primary purpose of our country’s land redistribution programme, as UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 113 stated in the White Paper on South Africa’s land policy of 1997.

A frank reflection tells us that less than 4% of our total land in the country is owned by Africans.
A frank reflection says white South Africans own 72% of the total land in the country.

This pattern of land ownership on its own is a source of poverty and inequality.

As the ANC we are convinced that the land must be redistributed to the landless-less for the residential and productive purposes.

We reaffirm the aspiration of the Freedom Charter that land must be given to those who work it.
As ANC provincial delegates we welcome the allocation of R4,9 billion for food security, land reform and restitution, hon Minister.

Land restitution programme is about ensuring the equitable redress for the historical injustice of land dispossession.

The restitution programme is carried out within a legislative framework developed in line with section 25(7) of our UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 114 country’s Constitution.
It is for this reason that the ANC has never advocated a policy of land grabs.

In line with the provision of section 25(7) of our country’s Constitution, [Inaudible.]

communities disposed of their property after 19 June 1913 as a result of past racially discriminatory laws or practices were called upon for restitution of their land to an equitable redress.

There were no land grabs.

We, again, call for our communities to resist temptation of land grabbing.
We ask that you develop confidence in our Constitution and the ANC commitment to resolving the land question.

We totally agree with what you have presented today, hon Minister.

This vote allocated about R11,4 billion towards the finalization of the outstanding land claims, even though we feel that much more can still assist in dealing with the challenges facing our beloved country.
The 54th National Conference of the ANC held in 2017 emphasized on the land redistribution programme as one of the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 115 elements that will fast-track giving back the land to our people.

Over the medium-term land redistribution and tenure reform will receive an allocation of R2,6 billion.

It has been said that this allocation is not enough to assist all our farmers and more needs to be done.
This country is under fiscal consolidation framework and the economy is not growing enough to increase our fiscus.

This is a frank reflection.

The sub-programme on food security, hon Minister and Deputy Chairperson, and the agrarian reform will get an allocation of R6,3 billion; get the second biggest allocation after the restitution sub-programme.

There’s a need for a valuable development of the agricultural sector through the creation and support of smallholder farmers.
In 2018 President Ramaphosa said that the agricultural revolution should be embedded in land reform and that UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 116 redistributed farms should be active in production.

In order to realize the productivity of land reform, about R27 billion has been allocated over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, towards the food security, land reform and restitution.
The other allocation to take note of is this budget in the R3,7 billion towards the household expenditure through grant funding for land acquisition and farmer development support.

And R400 million will be transferred to the Land Bank while R2,4 billion will be in the form of transfer to the municipal and provincial governments.
In order to support the productive use of the land, an allocation of about R1,9 billion over the medium-term has been made towards the land development and for settlement support programme.

Our frank reflection starts with the last performance of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development since the start of this Sixth Administration.
We have taken note that although challenges still persist through the proactive land acquisition strategy, 170 254 UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 117 hectares of land have been acquired and restributed.

And of those, a total of 81 501 hectares has been restributed to women; of which we celebrate that.

44 216 hectares to youth and 489 hectares to people with disability.
In respect of extension of security of tenure and labour tenants, a total 18 864 hectares has been released to beneficiaries and in respect of land restitution.

A total of more 185 000 hectares has been restored to their rightful owners during this reporting period.

While R4,2 billion has been paid to those who opted for financial compensation; even though sometimes we’ve got a different view.

We as ANC support this budget vote presented by hon Minister Didiza.
Not because we are ANC but because of what we’ll be doing in rural areas and in our respective province and what has been presented at committee level.

In conclusion, I stand on behalf of the ANC to declare our support for Budget Vote 29: Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

I thank you, Deputy Chairperson.


UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 118 Mr C F B SMIT: Hon Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, fellow South Africans, farmers out there and the rural communities in South Africa.

I have listen to debates now of both the Minister of Water and Sanitation as well as the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
All I hear is all these talk shops, all these planning sessions, all these ideas, which is almost ...

[Inaudible.]

... to know exactly what to do and actual detail ...

[Inaudible.]

... on how to solve our issue.

So, we should be concerned.

The hon Nyambi said that the opposition are denialist and he doesn’t come up with clear ideas and is not frank.

Let me be frank here.


The ANC must take responsibility for the mess that we are in currently – the corruption, the state capture, the cadre deployment, the cadre enrichment.

If that wasn’t the case, people would have received what they were supposed to receive by now.

Let me go on.

We have to stand again and debate Budget Vote No 29 which is Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

Let’s just take a moment and reflect on what has changed since our last debate.
Farmers are still not supported but they are left to fend for themselves against a brown locust plaque which the department consider is UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 119 under control.

Well Minister, to take the ostrich approach and stick your head in the sand won’t make it go away.

It is a very serious matter and my colleague Nhanha will deliberate on this matter more – on the impact of this disastrous plaque.
The other problem farmers have to stomach, is the foot and mouth disease endemic spreading throughout the entire country as we speak while your department is still developing plans on how to fix Onderstepoort Laboratory services and the lack of vaccines in the country.

While the private sector stands ready to take over that function, Minister, as this is now your 180 degree turn economic policy as the ANC, which we as the DA obviously welcomes.
Minister, all this failure by your department to support our farmers is topped by the future insecurities caused by the war in Ukraine which has a major impact on our farmers in terms of fertilisers that we import from that region, as well as the impact on fuel prices that is skyrocketing while the ANC government pockets big time on the levy overload on fuel.

All this most definitely impacts on our food security and most definitely the poorest in our country.
For those who are narrow-minded with a political agenda to undermine our farmers UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 120 and make life difficult, think again – this will come back and bite us all.

I read an article this week that states that one in three South African farmers are seriously considering whether to quit farming or to downscale their farming activities.
This should concern us all and should trigger an urgent response from the department to engage farmers and convince them otherwise as food security and jobs are on the line here.

We are still in the dark about the so-called nonexisting pipedream Agri-parks.

I have seen some working agri-hubs, though, but unfortunately that does not justify the billions of rands spent on the Agri-parks initiative.
And the department is very evasive on giving clear specific figures on all the money that was spent and on what it was spent.

And there is clearly no co-ordination or communication between national departments and the various provincial departments on Agri-parks, instead, everyone steams ahead, falling over each other, implementing a chaotic plan that the others do not know about.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 121 I am really concerned about the capacity of this department and let me tell you why.

Just last week, our select committee had to deal with the Sectional Title Amendment Bill, and received a briefing on the Bill from the department.

Neither the Minister nor the Deputy Ministers found it necessary to sit and answer our questions.

We adjourned for a few minutes to get hold of the Deputy Minister Skwatsha.
He eventually joined us and opened the presentation wishy-washing, saying nothing but giving it to the department to present the Bill.

At the end of the presentation he made a statement on how progressive these amendments to the Bill is.

I asked him to please clarify his statement by stating the amendment he is referring to and why in each case he is saying so.

He then disappeared for a moment, but I persisted that he answers my questions.
He then waffled nonrelevance and actually exposed the fact that he never even read the Bill to start off with.

This must concern us because if a Deputy Minister does not find it necessary to even read a piece of legislation that will have an impact on the department as well as South Africans, what else is lacking in this department.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 122 I must say that the Minister is taking steps in the right direction in terms of tenure security by prioritising title deeds for black farmers.

It is just a pity that it took a few court case to help in the right direction.

We are a long away from giving economic freedom to communities living on communal and tribal land that has no title to the residential and business properties.
This matter must be prioritised as we are in an economic crisis and need to use all methods of stimulus for rapid economic growth and revenue generation.

As I travel through Limpopo in Tubatse around Burgersfort, I once again saw the mansions built on tribal land surrounding the town, and none of these people contribute a cent to the municipality’s revenue in terms of property taxes.

No wonder these kind of municipalities are unable to financially sustain themselves.
Lots of these mansions are of illegal miners and corrupt individuals who hide their fortunes in these areas as they know that no one can touch their assets as it does not belong to them.

Rural development will not become realistic if we do not do massive capital investment in our basic infrastructure like roads, railway, telecommunications and fast reliable and UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 123 stable data networks.
Still, I don’t see any real effort from this department to drive rural economy through growth, initiatives and collaboration with other departments and the private sector to do massive capital investment in for example, rail networks to link all our small towns, villages, mines, farming communities and industries.

Instead, I see our entire railway network from Gauteng to Musina on the Zimbabwean border vandalised through cable theft rail tracks being stolen.
That entire network is non-operational and would cause billion to repair.

But that inept Minister Stan will come tomorrow.

But not all is doom and gloom, there is light at the dark tunnel – a blue light of hope, a blue light of inspiration, a blue light of innovation, a blue light of real change.
And this will become a reality in 2024 when the DA leads a new coalition government into the Union Buildings and ... [Inaudible] ... rural community’s first on our agenda – a government that will create jobs and grow our economy and make South Africans ... [Time expired.]
Ms N PIETERS (Eastern Cape): Good afternoon to you, hon Chairperson and the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, the hon members, the Minister, Minister Didiza and the Deputy Ministers, Mme Capa and Deputy Minister Skwatsha, all UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 124 Ministers that are part of this session and the Deputy Ministers, all farmers that are connected to this and all the distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, let me take this opportunity to congratulate the hon Minister on her success in developing the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON (Ms S Lucas): You see, unless you have a problem, can we see your video.

Ms N PIETERS (Eastern Cape): I have a problem with load shedding, Chairperson.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON (Ms S Lucas): Is fine, then we continue.

Ms N PIETERS (Eastern Cape): Thank you, Chairperson.

Of negotiations between government, business labour and civil society organisations in the agriculture and agro processing sector.
This Agriculture Marketing programme, AMP, will help the country to sustain the sector growth of the past two years of 24% year on year in 2020 and 8,2% in 2021.

However, the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 125 Russian Ukraine conflicts is posing a risk to food security with an increase in production cost due to imports as this will result in most of our farmers struggling to secure inputs.
We welcome the Minister’s sector Task Team led by National Agricultural Marketing Council to monitor the impact of the conflict to our sector and guide government interventions.

The Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan, AAMP, is aligned and coherent our Eastern Cape Agricultural Economic Transformation Strategy, which seeks to commercialise funding and enable black farmers to generate income and create employment.
This plan will attract investment through partnership with private sector and social partners and create much needed jobs.

It will greatly contribute to the Economic reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
As a province, we are grateful for the division of revenue as well as transfers to provinces in the form of Elite Malaysia Commercial Grant, which drive our food security programmes targeting subsistence farmers to produce their own food trust to provide much needed infrastructure to enable our farmers to acquire equipment and facilities for their farming enterprise UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 126 and cast extensive services, which will help us to increase the number of incapacity of extension officers to improve the quality of support to farmers.
The provinces as part of the national sectoral programme of action will drive productivity and competitiveness in our district commodities, which will contribute to the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

The district commodity growth drive will be focused on the following corridors, citrus, residues and pineapple district corridors, which will increase export, generate foreign earnings and create much needed jobs in the Amathole and Sarah Baartman District.
Our farmers will be supported with infrastructure and production support to enable them to participate meaningfully in the citrus value chain.

We will work with the Department of Water and Sanitation to support citrus producers to access worker rights for irrigation.

Hon Chairperson, it must be acknowledged that over the past few years Sarah Baartman Region has experienced sustained drought.
We call on all stakeholders to work with government UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 127 to develop long-term sustainable plans to mitigate the effects of the drought.

Our cirrus producing region Sarah Baartman to be specific Sunday’s River Valley has of late experienced labour unrest and we appeal to all stakeholders to work together to find amicable solutions so that the industry and its employees can prosper.
Furthermore, the province will increase green production in our green district corridor, which cut across most of our districts, including Amathole, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi, OR Tambo and Alfred Nzo.

We will work with green commodity partners to support green producers to increase their area yield and links and to our agro-processing facilities of rural enterprise development hubs for processing and packaging for the markets.
Hon Chairperson and hon members, our livestock district corridor is still aligned to green and also inclde Sarah Baartman.

In this financial year, we will provide the much needed infrastructure in the form of dipping tanks, sweep shearing sheets, stock water system and Denice Google.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 128 Our farmers will also be provided with superior genetic quality of animals to improve productivity of their year.
The province is joining the piloting of livestock and identification feasibility system.

That is the backbone of livestock trade.

The Eastern Cape is endowed with cannabis and the legislative reforms are encouraging.

We are driving cannabis distribution in almost all our districts where farmers will have access to a licence control and supervise system to grow their cannabis store process and different products of the markets.

So far, we are working in two incubators in OR Tambo and Amathole District.
Furthermore, our farmers will be trained and exposed to market opportunities, local and international.

Hon Chairperson, irrigation development is critical in improving our productivity and competitiveness hence, we will be revitalising our irrigation schemes throughout the province.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 129 We are also appealing to the private sector, development finance institutions to work with government and communities by investing in our irrigation schemes to increase production.

The Eastern Cape has committed to open up procurement opportunities of government nutrition programme to our black farmers.
We are supporting black farmers to establish their food aggravators so that they can be able to supply required quantities and quality consistently to government institutions.

We have already signed Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with our Provincial Department of Social Development and the SA National Defence Force.

We are working with our Provincial Treasury, the Department of Health and the Education on the policy and prescripts that will enable the province to realise its programme.
Lastly, access to finance is critical to the success of the agricultural enterprises.

We support the agriculture blended finance, which is targeting priority commodities.

This programme must be accelerated and where possible be province specific so that farmers can access funding throughout the production cycle.
We also appreciate the Agri-Industrial Fund UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 130 and we hope that it will be biased towards the rural agro- processing enterprises.

Hon Chairperson, challenges facing our people and in particular farmers’ demand all of us, including private in the context of District Development Model so that whenever and wherever we deliver services, we make a huge impact.
Let us always remember that our people expectations from the freedom that we gain through their sacrifices are too high.

We must therefore, be ready to sacrifice all in defence of gains of our freedom by constantly delivering services to all our people as Nelson Mandela wrote: ‘Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.

Thank you very much, hon Chairperson’.


Mr A A ARNOLDS: Hon Deputy Chairperson, the EFF rejects Budget Vote 29 on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

It is an uninspired budget, which is out of touch with the reality of the land and agricultural challenges faced by this country.
Now, at the center of these challenges are uninspired efforts in understanding key aspects of agriculture, a landscape which is in dire need of transformation and should UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 131 be a priority, for purposes of rural development and job creation.
There exists a need to restructure the entire structure of the agrarian economy to ensure that land reform is widely redistributive, and that agriculture is largely responsible for sparking growth in the country.

Hon Deputy Chairperson the funding decrease in Programme 3 and 4 will not provide for the kind of restructuring which we envision.

Instead, it will negatively impact on the department’s land acquisition, farmer support infrastructure development and rural enterprises.
This is particularly worrisome to note, as despite promises made of “A better life for all”, South Africans, the youth in particular, continue to face significant challenges in agriculture and rural development.

Young and emerging farmers continue to face a number of challenges on their journey into the agricultural space, which limits their participation in agriculture.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 132 Only a few small holder farmers that are black and what we have in the country, struggle with basic resources such as water, agriculture infrastructure, while white farmers still enjoy the benefits of apartheid.

As white people still own over 70% of agricultural land in this country, while African people, own a little more than 4% of the land.
AS EFF, we have also witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of agricultural producers over the past decade, with the dairy sector being one of the most seriously affected, with about 73% decline in the number of dairy farmers in the country.

The result is that we now import basic products that we used to export as a country.

Under this department, the country is constantly struggling with animal disease outbreaks.
And under your watch, Minister, we are still faced with the challenges of exploitation of farm workers by white farmers, with little recourse.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 133 Hon Minister, your Farmer Production Support Units lacks clear timeframes to be functional, with low targets and outcomes, as they are service points where small-scale farmers and rural agriculture enterprises can access services from across all departmental programs.
In principle, agriculture should provide a vehicle for rural development as it holds tremendous potential in creating better employment opportunities for rural youth where they reside.

But the youth in rural areas struggle with lack of employment prospects and are pushed to migrate to the city in search of better work opportunities.

Your policies lack necessary mechanisms to address the socioeconomic challenges which they aim to resolve.
Programmes designed to create employment opportunities for the youth amount to nothing, but short term fixes which do nothing in the long term and do not provide for any skills development.

This department must improve on their audit outcomes, deal with the challenges of land administration, governance and supply chain management.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 134 There is a need for multi departmental approaches in overcoming the barriers to youth empowerment and participation in agriculture.

There is a need for institutional capacity at all spheres of government for better programme implementation.

We need to revisit the decision to deregulate the agricultural sector and provide subsidies for agricultural producers.
For there is no agricultural economy anywhere in the world that has developed without massive state regulation and investment.

State support is needed if we are to meet the demands of this generation.

The state support needed for a restructured agriculture must however follow a massive and unrepentant programme of land redistribution in this country.
Now as the EFF, we want to emphasize that we need to expropriate land without compensation to resolve the country’s old questions in this land question that we have in the country.

That is the only viable principle upon which a thorough program of land redistribution and rural development can happen.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 135 We reject the ANC government’s failure and unwillingness to radically transform the lives of the majority of the landless people in South Africa.

We therefore reject this Budget Vote.

I thank you, Deputy Chairperson.


IsiZulu: Nk L C BEBEE: Ngiyabonga Mama ukunginikeza leli thuba lokuthi ngibe yingxenye yale nkulumompikiswano yanamhlanje ... English: ... greetings to the Deputy Chairperson, and the Chairperson, Ministers, Thoko, Deputy Ministers Bab’ uSkwatsha and Mam’ uCapa and also delegates of all provinces.

It surprises me hon Smit when you say the ANC must clean up its mess whereas the ANC is cleaning your mess that you did during apartheid regime.
I am just going to give you an example.

IsiZulu: ... yokuthi umoba yisitshalo esiningi KwaZulu-Natal.

Into eniyenzile nenze ukuthi niqashe abantu bazokhehla umoba.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 136 Azange nabafundisa amakhono ukuthi utshalwa kanjani umoba futhi anazanga ukuthi ngelinye ilanga ukuthi ... English: ... the ANC could take over and teach those people how to grow sugarcane.

IsiZulu: Ngithi anginitshele kuleyo ndawo.


English: You must know that ...

I am just going to mention a few what ANC did.

IsiZulu: Ongqongqoshe bethu esabanikeza le minyaka ... ngizokunikeza nje isibonelo.

English: Firstly, handing over the ...

[Inaudible.]

... facility in uMkhuze in support ... of the small scale farmers in Makhathini ... [Inaudible] ... in Jozini.
Secondly, handing over the title deeds, implements, trucks and tractors to land UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 137 claimants in Melmoth.

Thirdly, the transfer of land by Transnet to the communities of Mandlazini and Mbuyazi in Richards bay.

IsiZulu: Ngithi angikubekele nje ukuthi okuningi ngalezo zikhathi azange nje nikwenze.

Kwenziwe uKhongolose njengoba esephethe manje.

Yivume nje induku ukuthi yithina esihamba phambili.
English: Chairperson, as the ANC, we have appreciated the inputs from the department regarding budget allocation.

Farmer support was another major concern, with the select committee wishing to know what the timeline will be for the completion and operationalisation of Farmer Production Support Units at Agri- parks.

Access to markets by small and emerging black farmers and producers is Central to the growth and the transformation of the agricultural sector.
It is this direct support to our black farmers that we can be able to deal with agricultural monopolies.

It is very important to ensure that all land reform projects are productive and they contribute to the country’s food UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 138 security.

It has been of great concern for the ANC notice that many of the land reform projects are faced with a number of challenges.
At its 54th National Conference in 2017, the ANC reiterated the importance of democratising the control of areas under communal land tenure, as well as the evaluation and appraisal of the CPA with an intention to help reconcile the right of rural communities to own land and to foster better relations between traditional leaders and their respective communities.
The communities under communal land tenure are faced with a number of challenges and this creates impediments to development and economic development and growth of these former homelands.

The committee further wishes to receive details about the outcomes of the detailed departmental audit of CPAs, or alternatively the date at which time an audit will be completed.
In terms of conditional grants, the committee highlighted that although it understood that there will be different allocations to provinces based on the agriculture potential of these, and there was still concern about the discrepancies between the allocations of some provinces.
We would like to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 139 therefore call upon the private sector to answer the call made by the President in the spirit of a new consensus to develop a new social compact ... that will ensure that ... there is an inclusive support for the agricultural sector, especially support aimed at small scale producers in the rural areas.
The committee was informed that the rate at which the department planned to complete and finalise land claim settlements was based entirely on the budget of the department, which prevents a faster pace of land reform at present.

We are encouraged by the proposed establishment of the Agriculture and Land Reform Development Agency within the Presidency that will supervise and oversee the ... acceleration of land reform programme.
We would like to again appeal to the private sector to donate land that is not underproduction to the state in order to realise our land reform goals and alleviate poverty and landlessness.
We have taken note of the deliberations on Expropriation Bill within the National Assembly and we hope the finalisation of the Expropriation Bill will help government to equitably redistribute land to all South Africans, especially those who needed for agricultural purposes, there's been in the light of UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 140 the fact that there is a greater need to create job opportunities and help growth economy.
We have taken note that some of these challenges are related to issues of good governance and administration.

We are encouraged by the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development in the development of a policy on land beneficiary and land allocation.

In terms of this policy, land reform beneficiaries will have to undergo skills development and training in agriculture – of which hon Smit you never did this before to think that black people can be trained in agriculture.
Now the ANC opened the training colleges.

To this end, hon Chairperson, agricultural colleges play a very critical role towards the skills Revolution within the sector.

We are therefore encouraged by the allocation of resources for infrastructure to let projects within agricultural colleges and with this is the creation of job opportunities.
IsiZulu: Ngakho ke Sihlalo wami engimthandayo akungabibikho umuntu ozokhuluma kabi ngo-ANC ingathi akazenzi izinto zibe izinto ... zenzeka njengoba kade ngizibala nje zonkana.

Siwabonile amaSekela omabili athe chithi saka kuzo zonke izifundazwe enza UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 141 umsebenzi owayekelelwa yini Lungu elihlonihpekile uSmit ngalezo zikhathi zenu zobandlululo.

English: Therefore, the ANC supports the Budget Vote 29.

I thank you.
I thank you.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (Ms R N Capa): Chairperson and Deputy Chair, hon Members of the NCOP, Minister Didiza, Deputy Minister Skwatsha, chairpersons of the select committees, members of our statutory boards and councils, farmer organisations and chief executive officers of commodity organizations, farmers and farmworkers, ladies and gentlemen, I greet you this afternoon.
Deputy Chairperson, it gives me great pleasure to address this House today, on the occasion of Budget Vote 29 of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.

The state of our rural communities is indeed a stark reminder of the oppression that once visited our people through the apartheid era government, which was characterized by high levels of poverty which still exist today.
Underdevelopment, and unemployment in rural areas continue to bear such scars of UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 142 brutal ... [Inaudible] ... which sought to strip black people of their dignity through among others, the theft of their land and livestock, and also condemned them to be a constant supplier of labour for the formal economy ... IsiXhosa: ... benziwa abantwana bezimba-mgodi.
English: Chairperson the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development is leading in charge of bringing much needed development and support to such communities, that will then achieve a sustainable economic growth in a rural space.

The COVID--19 pandemic had also a profound negative impact on these poor and marginalized communities.

The pandemic which remains a factor even today in the lives of our people, to earn a living and caused a deepening of poverty in their own rural areas.
More than 50 000 subsistence farmers applied for the second phase of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, PES which will bring further relief and ensure that jobs are created, and those which are already existing will be sustainable.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 143 Global warming and climate change are realities that we have to address as a collective.
This means, the government, traditional authorities, civil society, citizens and residents of our country need to come together.

We must change our living patterns and do all we can to reduce emissions and to improve settlement planning to actually avoid future catastrophic nature of disasters.

As if the outbreak of the pandemic was not enough Deputy Chair, ladies and gentleman, another disaster occurred which affected largely KwaZulu-Natal as well as Eastern Cape and North West.
Our hearts and prayers go out to all the families who lost their loved ones during the floods in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape in April.

2022.

The disaster, cost lives, property infrastructure and brought pain and sadness to families, communities and our own nation as a whole.

We extend our appreciation to every person and organizations who extended a helping hand to those affected negatively by such floods.
We know that subsistence agriculture plays an important role in meeting the needs of residents in rural areas and food security.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 144 The department in its plan, is to implement a number of projects that are aimed at increasing jobs as these jobs have been cited as being enormous.

Develop skills, and the provision of the infrastructure development to support rural economic transformation.
The creation of jobs is critical to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of our people.

Rural roads are going to be a priority as actually instructed by the President.

The department plays a critical role in contributing to the creation of an environmental conducive for growth of the rural communities.

In the 2021-22 financial year, the department completed a total of 30 infrastructure projects that support the farmer production support units.
That is what it has been called for, and I dare therefore Chair to say, this is what has been done.

It is a portfolio of evidence.

Sixty-four infrastructure projects were completed to support the Animal and Veld Management Programme.

This number will increase in the 2022-23 financial year, as we roll out projects to further support growth and development in rural areas.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development supports the proposed Eastern Seaboard Development UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 145 a multi nodal smart city development initiative, launched in November 2021 by the President of the Republic of South Africa, Ntate Matamela Ramaphosa.
This important development covers the jurisdiction of four district municipalities, O R Tambo District Municipality, Ugu District Municipality, Harry Gwala District Municipality and Alfred Nzo District Municipality in the Eastern Cape.

There are also the two ... [Inaudible] ... bridges the longest and the highest, that cuts in the heart of Pondoland, and the N2 that shortens distance between East and rural Kwazulu-Natal.

Successful consultation.


engagements were held during May 2022 between traditional leadership, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, Misa, the affected district municipalities and their traditional leaders, to ensure that we will be able to work together under the District Development Plan.
Chairperson, in the current financial year, more than R600 million has been allocated to Rural Infrastructure Development.

This allocation will be directed to UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 146 infrastructure projects, including those related to the Animal and Veld Management Programme, River Valley Catalytic Programme, farmer producer support units and the revitalization.

of rural development.


It is indeed talking to what MEC of Agriculture, Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Mama Pieters, who actually cited such programmes as well, and we are very grateful to be integrated.

As our country battles the scourge of gender-based violence.

Women and girls in rural areas have become more and more vulnerable.

They have not been spared from this despicable social ill. One could even argue that they are even more vulnerable than their counterparts who live in urban areas.
This is due to the underdevelopment in their communities.

This mess has not been created by ANC government, but by the apartheid.

Often it means, accessing services such as law enforcement and medical facilities, is even more challenging in rural areas.

However, the ANC will try whatever in order to ensure that they are also covered like the other South Africans.

Gender-based violence is a plight on the freedom for which so many of our comrades paid the ultimate price for that.
Women UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 147 and girls are not safe in their own homes.

They are not safe in their own communities, among men, among fathers.

This situation must change for better in must stop.
The department as a member of the National Rural Safety Forum has contributed to the development of the Rural Safety Strategy which aligns the National Development Plan Vision 2030, a call to build safer communities with particular emphasis on the protection of vulnerable groups such as elderly women, women, children and all rural communities in fact.
I therefore phone all societies, traditional leaders, religious leaders, political parties, law enforcement agencies, and men in our communities to come out, to defend and protect the rights of women to live in freedom and safety in their own country.
In his state of the nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the plan to upgrade 655 kilometres of rural roads in order to help assist the farmers, including commercial farmers so that these roads when once rehabilitated, it will be easy access to transport their logistics, their agriculture and therefore, to the agrimarkets and any agriparks that are available.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 148 The department also employed former National Rural Youth Service Corps, Narysec, youth and agricultural graduates on short-term contracts to assist farmers with the application during the implementation of the Presidential Economic Stimulus.

In fact, we will continue to do that Deputy Chair.


Through the District Development Model, more than 600 youth were trained through this Agricultural Research Council, and they have been supported with agricultural inputs and they are fully participating in the development of the agriculture as a sector.

It is encouraging that 610 Narysec participants who were established enterprises in all nine provinces, all have received support and were afforded economic opportunities.
In conclusion, Chair, Deputy Chair, Members of the NCOP, ... IsiXhosa: ...iinkosi zethu neekumkani zethu ... English: ... we will continue to collaborate with all social partners, while we implement targeted programmes and projects which will bring development, create jobs and job opportunities for rural UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 149 communities.

We will not rest until all frontiers of poverty have been reversed.
The Minister has already tabled and therefore I endorse ANC, this is their budget.

Thank you Deputy Chair.

IsiXhosa: Ndiyakuthanda.

Afrikaans: Mnr M A P DE BRYUN: Agb Adjunkvoorsitter, die President het in Februarie tydens die staatsrede die stelling gemaak dat daar groot potensiaal in landbou in Suid-Afrika is en dat hoewel voedselsekerheid steeds ’n probleem is, daar hoop is om die situasie om te draai.

Ek stem saam met die President.


Daar is potensiaal in ons landbou maar om hierdie potensiaal te kan benut moet boere kan boer ongeag sy velkleur, sonder om gebuk te staan onder onrealistiese beleid, begrotings en politieke magsbeheptheid.

’n Boer het ook ekonomiese sekerheid nodig om volhoubaar te boer en voedsel te voorsien, maar hierdie is ’n punt wat die President en die departement ongelukkig miskyk of nie verstaan nie.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 150 Siektes, plae, droogtes en vele ander ramptoestande kos die land en die boer miljarde per jaar met bitter weinig of geen hulp en befondsing van die regering se kant af nie.

Bek-en- klouseer het in 2019 die ekonomie sowat R10 miljard gekos en tot vandag toe is daar steeds geen daadwerklike plan of oplossing om dit te beredder nie.
Klimaatsverandering is etlike jare reeds ’n bedreiging vir voedselsekerheid en die ekonomie, maar die regering skrik nou eers wakker en besef die erns daarvan en wat die inpak daarvan op die ekonomie en landbou is.

Dit nadat jare lange waarskuwings aan die regering eenvoudig op dowe ore geval het.

Eerder as om die landbouer by te staan om hierdie aanslae te verweer, fokus die ANC eerder op politieke gewin as om voedselsekerheid en ’n gunstige ekonomiese klimaat te verseker.
’n Totaal van 20,6% of sowat R3,5 miljard van hierdie begroting word toegeken vir administrasie.

Dit terwyl befondsing vir ramptoestande aan die spit moet ry.

Die departement beplan om ’n verdere 130 000 hektaar grond te bekom teen ’n koste van sowat R3 miljard terwyl hy reeds die beskermheer ... as 2,5 miljoen hektaar reeds aan opkomende boere bewillig is.
Dit beteken dat die staat nog met sowat UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 151 8,4 biljoen hektaar grond wat gebruik kan word vir grondhervorming sit, maar steeds wil die staat miljarde onnodig bestee.

Dit is miljarde wat die boere kon bystaan om te kon boer tot die potensiaal waarvan die President in sy staatsrede gepraat het.

Die departement en die regering vaal nie net die landbouers van Suid-Afrika nie, maar ook die ekonomie en die opkomende boere.
Die agb Minister het tereg gesê dat om te boer behels nie net grond nie, maar steeds word opkomende boere nie genoegsaam bemagtig met die nodige kennis om volhoubaar te boer nie.

Dit help nie net om grond en selfs infrastruktuur en implemente te belowe terwyl die nodige opleiding nie aandag geniet nie.

Dit bemagtig nie ’n opkomende boer nie maar eerder die teendeel.
As die ANC regering werklik die potensiaal van landbou in Suid-Afrika ten volle wil benut, sal politieke agendas en onrealistiese begrotings verseker nie die antwoord wees nie.

Bemagtig en belê eerder in ons landbouers om voedselsekerheid en ekonomiese groei te bewerkstellig.

Dankie Voorsitter.
Dankie Voorsitter.

English: UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 152 Mr N M HADEBE: Hon House Chair, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has, for a number of years, let the people of our country down.

We have ...

[Inaudible.]


... for genuine means of reform and capacity-building amongst farmers, rural communities and informal settlements but have unfortunately witnessed a severe underperformance in this regard.

It is quite concerning that this department has had a reduction in its financial allocation, given the importance of food, bio- and job security in South Africa.
We cannot say all is bad, as we welcome and note the year-on- year positive developments within the agricultural sector, but there is much more capacity that needs to be unlocked in growing and contributing to the gross domestic product, GDP.

The line function departments and entities that now make up these departments are suffering.
Land reform and the restitution of land to the people of our country has taken far too long to effect change in the lives of millions who were left destitute and disenfranchised.

In fact, this department has a greater role to play given the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal.

Many people have become UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 153 displaced.
Although there have been relief funds allocated to the province, there are calls for a more sustainable outlook for the development of rural areas, land reform and support for agriculture.

The matters arising from the committee report on this budget are all noted and must be duly implemented in order to ensure that the process of land reform takes place as intended and that the development of rural towns ...

[Inaudible.]

... and communities take centre stage.


We have seen some change of ownership in terms of farms to people who have then been left to their so-called own devices.

Land that was once of substantial value, now lies barren.

We must endeavour to continue to capacitate local communities, give them an opportunity to further engage in the economy and reduce the level of support government provides through job and home security.
In terms of agriculture, we should be mindful of the devastating effects that climate change will have on this sector and its ability to feed South Africa.

We must ensure that in our funds ... are available for climate proofing our UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 154 farmers and for protecting the export market of our agricultural goods.
It is devastating to the people our country, our forefathers and to our beliefs that we accept and live alongside corruption, where stealing and looting of state resources has the biggest impact on our neighbour who is struggling to buy bread.

We must put a swift end to this and take a no-nonsense approach to those implicated.

With the abovementioned taken into consideration, the IFP supports this Budget Vote.

I thank you, hon House Chair.


The DEPUTY MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM (Mr M Skwatsha): Thank you very much, hon Chairperson, hon Minister Didiza, hon Deputy Minister Capa, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers on the platform, member of the executive council, MEC, Peters, hon chairperson of the Select Committee, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon to you all.
I would like to start with a quote by Steve Biko, and I quote: “The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness the game that they should be playing.

They want to do things UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 155 for themselves and all by themselves” Hon members, we would all have seen the participants during the public hearings on the proposed amendments to section 25 on land expropriation without compensation expressing this desire to see change.
It is now a matter of record that the proposed amendment did not make it through.

Our late leader forewarned us when he said these words; we need to work out common solutions to matters of national importance.

Although the amendments to section 25 was not successful, we still believe and are definitely sure that we are busy with other legislative prohibitions which once strengthened should fulfill the wishes of the majority of our people.
The point really, Chair, is this is an issue that cannot be delayed.

Hon Chair, I want to highlight to the NCOP some of our key programs as a department.

I want to start with the land redistribution.

Acquisition to achieve the goal of equitable access to land as enshrined in the Constitution, our department acquires and allocates land under the land registration program.

In 2020-21 financial year we have reported that we acquired 22000 hectares of land.
With improved our acquisition by over 100% from our previous financial year by acquiring just over 55 000 hectares of land through the proactive land acquisition strategies.

This spread UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 156 across all the provinces with the North West province dominating.

The breakdown of land redistributed per province is as follows: In the Eastern Cape, 1 546; Free State, 862; Gauteng 136; KwaZulu-Natal, 7 953; Limpopo 2 399.
Mpumalanga, 1 530; North West, 32 251 and Northern Cape 8 575.

Western Cape is work in progress.

In the current financial year, the budget of R366 million has been set aside for land redistribution so that we can acquire an extent of 35 182 hectares.
This amount will be allocated per provinces follows: Eastern Cape will be 33 972; the Free State will be 45 630; Gauteng, 34 600; KwaZulu-Natal, 61 454; Limpopo, 41 500; Mpumalanga, 65 547; North West, 42 900; Northern Cape, 5 985 and Western Cape will be 35 174.

On land allocation, our National policy for beneficiary selection.

And land allocation continues to ensure that land is allocated to target the vulnerable members of society and also young people and women.
We will continue to target these areas where there are huge length disparities, especially in the communal urban and rural areas.

On the rapid release of state land to enhancement reform in support of this initiative to release the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 157 underutilised and vacant state land, our department allocated 679 943 hectares.
Of 700 000 hectares of agricultural land to various farmers, co-operatives, entities, communities including vulnerable groups like farm dwellers and labour tenants.

The department will continue to provide support to these farmers, extension services that are inclusive of technical and infrastructure support.

The breakdown per province is as follows: Eastern Cape, 5 819; 6 407; Gauteng, 929; KwaZulu-Natal, 6 945; Limpopo, 10 954; Mpumalanga, 49 069; North West, 353 423 and Northern Cape 67 397.
On tenure reforms, we have set aside a budget of R217 million for the acquisition of land to address security of tenure.

In this regard, the department intends to acquire 5 000 hectares of land in the current financial year.

Under Communal Property Association, CPAs, the department recognises the challenges we face on this particular matter.

Last year we said that we will audit Communal Property Association over a two-year period.
This current financial year 2022-23, is the second year on that particular work.

In the past financial year, we supported 581 Communal Property Association against our target of 577 and will further train 585 members on governance of this Communal Property Association in the current financial year.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 158 Although we overachieved in terms of the target, Chair, we remain uneasy about the performance of Communal Property Association.
There is a lot of conflicts amongst them and in many instances executives do not service particular constituencies.

Having said that, there are those success stories.

What we would like to say to the NCOP, perhaps it is time for all of us to take stock of the communal property association and discuss whether these are necessarily the best vehicle for holding land that is to be restituted or redistributed amongst our people.
On farm dwellers, the department will prioritise a star awareness campaigns to create awareness and curb illegal farm evictions.

We will also provide legal representation to farm dwellers through Legal Aids South Africa.

On 25 March 2022, I was in Belfast, Mpumalanga, where we handed over 35 000 housing units to farm to farm dwellers and labour tenants.

These beneficiaries have been living in mud houses all along and are now staying in proper brick houses.
On communal tenure reform, the department together with the Department of Justice and Correctional Services and Co- operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta, have been working very hard to facilitate and shape a tenure reform for UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 159 our country.

I can safely announce on this House that over the past year went hard on this to happened.
On 27 and 28 May, next week we will be holding the customary land summit for a discussion amongst all of us on this.

We would like to thank in this regard the leadership of the Deputy President, our Minister, the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services for the guidance they had given in this regard.
On restitution, notwithstanding the challenges presented by COVID-19 virus and the attendant state of disaster admissions, the Commission was able to achieve and exceed its 2021-22 annual performance targets, achieving 103% on the settlement of land claims and 106% on the target of finalising land claims.

We congratulate the beneficiaries who recently resettled in District Six.
All stakeholders came to the party, the portfolio committee; the inter-ministerial committee, IMC, on land, the City of Cape Town and our department, on the 6 May 2022, more beneficiaries returned to where they were forcibly removed by the apartheid system.

More beneficiaries will be moving in as we speak.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 160 On land restoration in environmental sensitive areas, two KwaZulu-Natal communities being Okhukho and ...

[Inaudible.]
[Inaudible.]

... received title deeds to portions of uMfolozi Nature Reserve.

Ukhukho community was restored 135 05 hectares while Mlabaqcimba received 133 hectares in this regard.

We have also strengthened our work in the office of the values-general.

One of the issues that our Minister targeted, as she indicated last year, was in strengthening and making sure that the work of the, office of the valuer-general, OVG, is facilitated, empowered and beefed up in that particular office.
As we can now see that office is functioning optimally.

Of course, people are more interested in making sure that their turnaround time is very short.

In conclusion, I want to conclude again by sharing this quote from the January 8th statement of the governing party; Our mission has always been to serve the people of this great nation and to ensure that a better life for all steadily but surely becomes a lived reality.

2022 January 8th statement; Let us not leave anyone behind.
I therefore want to support the Minister and the Deputy Minister.

I don’t want to say that this is a mess created by the apartheid system.

We are UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 161 cleaning up a mess not created by us.

Thank you very much, hon Chairperson.


Mr M NHANHA: Hon Chairperson, hon Members of Parliament, in the early 1980s, as we grew up in my family, our late grandmother MamQwathi, a lady who was illiterate and did not know her date of birth, but she knew ...[Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon members!

Sorry hon Nhanha, I was protecting you.

You are highly protected.

Hon members, le t us not disrupt please, let us allow hon Nhanha.

You are protected.
You are protected.

Mr M NHANHA: Can I start all over again.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Yes, I will assist with the time, don’t worry.

Mr M NHANHA: Hon Chairperson, hon Members of Parliament, in the early 1980s, as we grew up in my family.
Our late grandmother ... IsiXhosa: UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 162 ... intombi yamaQwathi ... English: ... who was illiterate and did not know her date of birth, but knew she was born before the Great Plague ... IsiXhosa: ... ISibetho esiKhulu.

English: During evenings, she would either tell us iintsomi (folktales) or stories about the Great Plague or the ... [Inaudible] of Locusts, ... IsiXhosa: ... iSibetho seeNkumbi.
English: It now turns out; the Great Plague was the great influenza epidemic also known as the Spanish Influenza of 1918 to 1920.

In the 1930s, the Locust Plague.

All leaving behind unimaginable destruction of human lives and ploughing fields respectively.
As I think back of those of those days, all of UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 163 us sitting in front of granny, it never occurred in my mind that I will in my lifetime live to witness similar events, unfolding in front of my eyes.

Hon Minister, Northern Cape, Western Cape and parts of Eastern Cape are at war against millions of locusts who leave destruction in their path.
It was reported that, in in some cases, there swarms were as big as 10 000 rugby fields, which equals to 5 000 hectares of land.

I am surprised that the MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform in the Eastern Cape today, not saw it fit to mention the crisis that our province is facing.

Needless to mention that, this probably reflects on the MEC’s performance when it comes to this crisis.

I will deal with that performance at a later stage.
Farmers and communities in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Makana Local Municipality, Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality and Sunday’s River Valley Local Municipality to mention just a few, and most municipalities in the Karoo are being outnumbered and lesser resourced to put up a decent resistance against the brown locust.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 164 The Daily Maverick record of 15 March 2022, so accurately captured the story which was headlined, I quote: “SA farmers battle to control locust swarms of biblical proportions” Hon Chair, I have on two occasions drove through these swarms of locusts.

I can only sum my experience; I quote: “I have never seen any anything like this before.
I only saw destruction” Hon members, we are fast approaching winter, locusts have destroyed lots of grazing land in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.

As we know, no good rains are expected in the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape during winter.

Stock farmers will find it difficult and expensive to adequately feed their livestock.

Yes, the department and the organizations such as Agri SA have come to the party, and helped in spraying the swarms.

Such efforts should be applauded.


However, it is worrisome that it appears this plague caught us less prepared despite warning signs.

Experts argue this plague was expected in the Karoo belt, because after four plus years of drought and good rains in November 2021, an outbreak was a UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 165 logical next occurrence and should have been anticipated.
Whilst signs were there for all to see, the department chose to sit on its hands and hoped that, hope will turn to plan.

Hon Willlie Aucamp who is a member of this House, was last year on countless occasions raising alarm bells about this outbreak, at its early stages as far back as 2021.

As expected, he was dismissed as being alarmist, and apparently all was in control and his pleas is fell on deaf ears.
What is not alarming hon members, is the snail’s pace at which the department reacted to a vividly clear state of disaster erupting right under their watch.

The development stages of a locust being as an egg, it goes on to become a hopper and an adult.

I am the first one to consider it.

It is difficult to spot these eggs, but it is not so difficult to spot them before they grow wings, and that is the best time to control locusts.
To prove that the department slept on the job, when resources were mobilized, it was discovered that in fact, we did not have sufficient stock in the country.

According to the Daily Maverick, Christof Vermeulen who was contracted by the department to do the spraying, described the situation I quote: UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 166 The biggest challenge was getting supplies of the poison.

We do have poison on a Tuesday, but there is no poison on a Wednesday.
Service providers were made to work with substandard personal protective equipment, PPEs exposing themselves to the deadly poison.

They went for weeks unpaid and they simply stopped working whilst locusts were fast multiplying.

The deadly patch of these insects should be recorded because it is now infested with millions of eggs in wait for yet another suitable condition to hatch.
The department should read the signs, listen to voices such as that of hon Aucamp and plan better because, we live in hope but hope is not a plan.

Hon members, I am not surprised that MEC Pieters did not mention a word about the crisis of locusts in the Eastern Cape, because quite frankly - hon Nyambi because I will be frank, it sums up her performance when it comes to this plague.

She is reported to have told the media, but part of what she did as the MEC when this plague was raised, she issued an alert.
That was never enough MEC.

She ran awareness campaigns.

We don’t need awareness campaigns MEC, we can see UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 167 locusts in front of our eyes.

We need a plan to deal with them and deal with them in the future.

Hon MEC boldly proclaimed that they are busy training extension officers in management of the locusts.

Wow!

Only now MEC really?


How on earth can you train your soldiers to go in to go into a middle of war and expect success?

Hon Arnolds of the EFF, you started very well.

You said: We have witnessed the decline in in the farming industry.

But the biggest question is whom to blame?

The answer resides with you.

It is you who are chasing farmers away from farming because of your land policy, nobody else ...

[Interjections.]
[Interjections.]

Now that chickens are coming home to roost, you want to blame everybody else, except yourself.

Poopoo has now hit the fan and hon Arnolds.

You want to shift the blame, ... [Interjections] ... it is a problem as the EFF.

Hon Nyambi, you asked us to be frank.

You and I serve in a number of committees in the NCOP.

You know as the DA we pride ourselves in being frank and saying things as they are.

But guess what?
But guess what?

Every time we are being frank with you, you shut us down with the majority.

Who is in denial between me and you in this House?

Surely, it is you and not any member of the DA.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 168 Mama Bebee, out of respect, you know, I love you very much.

Out of respect, I thought I shouldn’t respond to you.

But I think, because you have spoken in your language which is your right, it is my responsibility to defend hon Smit.
You said in your contributions that, the ANC is opening agricultural colleges.

Please show us one.

You had 15 miuntes, enough time to tell us ...

[Interjections.]

Which of those colleges ...[Interjections] ... because back in the Eastern Cape ... [Interjections] ...that is specialising in agriculture are being closed or are being shifted.

Thank you very much.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): Hon Jola, I have even given you the two minutes because you were disrupted ...

[Interjections.]
[Interjections.]

Mr M NHANHA: thank you very much.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr A J Nyambi): I ... [Inaudible] ...that disruption.

[Interjections.]

Thank you.

I now invite hon Ntsube.

Hon Ntsube is our next speaker.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 169 Mr I NTSUBE: Thank you very much hon House Chairperson of the Council, Chief Whip of the Council, Minister and Deputy Ministers, all the MECs present and permanent delegates.
The goal of the ANC is to create a national democratic society and this constitutes the ideal state we aspire to as the ANC and the Mass Democratic Movement.

As the ANC we believe that the national democratic society should be founded on a thriving economy and the structure of which should reflect the majority of our people.
It should be, the ANC that teaches us an economy in which the cutting edge technology, labour-absorbing industrial development, and a thriving small businesses and co-operative sector, utilisation of information and communication technologies and efficient forms of production and management all combine to ensure national prosperity.

The progress and prosperity of any nation is based on the productivity of its people, as its greatest resource.
Colonialism has created an unsustainable society that was never based on the will of the majority, and as a result it collapsed.

It was never the intention of the apartheid regime UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 170 to develop and enhance the productive capabilities of the African majority in this country.

The creation of the former Bantustans was never meant to uplift the living standards of our people.
They were created in furtherance of colonialism and a system of capitalist exploitation of Africans as mere cheap labour.

The legacy of apartheid is the legacy of underdevelopment for the black majority in this country and a legacy of development for the South African white population.

By giving birth to a new democratic South Africa as commitment was made to ensure that the skewed patterns of development were not only unsustainable but inhumane.
Since the last 28 years, the government led by the ANC has developed a number of progressive pieces of legislative aimed at redressing the historical injustices of land dispossession under colonialism and apartheid.

Hon House Chairperson, the prosperity of this country depends on our ability to transform our poor rural landscape.

Most of the rural areas in the country are poor and lacking the kind of infrastructure to stimulate the rural economy.
Since the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 171 advent of democracy, a lot of progress has been achieved towards the development of our rural areas, such building of houses, electrification and water supply, and all these are important achievements towards the unleashing of our people's productive capabilities.
In order to unleash the productive capacity of the rural economies, there's a need to ensure that adequate support is given to the rural areas with a potential for growth and job creation.

Most rural areas have a great potential for agricultural productivity and to unlock this productive capacity.
The Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development has a programme that facilitates rural development strategies for socio-economic growth with an ultimate goal for an integrated and inclusive rural economy.

There is a clear commitment by the department towards rural development and this can be witnessed in the department's commitment towards infrastructure led projects.
We as the ANC see this Budget Vote 29 of the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development as progressive UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 172 towards ensuring the development of our rural landscapes.

The vote will ensure the completion of about 69 rural infrastructure projects meant to support rural economic transformation.
Hon members, over R200 billion of the biggest allocation under Rural Development Programme has been budgeted for rural infrastructure development over the MTEF, Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, period and for 2022/23 a total of more than R600 million has been allocated for investment in infrastructure development.
The Department has indicated that over the MTEF period, concentration on key infrastructure will be on rural roads in agricultural producing areas, fencing, dipping facilities and livestock handling.

Without infrastructural support our rural areas will not be able to realise their agricultural productivity.

The construction of roads ensures that there are market linkages between the rural areas and the urban centres.
This can lead to the creation of value and supply chain industries that will create job opportunities for the unemployed people in these UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 173 former Bantustans, most of whom are women and youth, and people living with the disabilities.
The investment in rural infrastructure in line with the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan can help ensure that the agricultural sector creates the much anticipated million job opportunities as per the National Development Plan.

The National Rural Youth Service Corps, NARYSEC, is a youth skills development and employment programme, with the aim to provide social organisation, youth development and economic upliftment.
Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, NARYSEC, has been allocated over R300 million, and about R129 million has been allocated for the 2022/23 financial year.

Hon Chairperson, as the ANC, we believe that rural development should include the promotion of technology and research development, and we welcome the allocation of about R56,577 million over the MTEF.
Investment in new technology and research development directed towards helping rural small- scale farmers to create new varieties of agricultural products can improve market entry into the agricultural sector.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 174 This investment in technology and research development can and should be increased in order to rapidly realise our rural developmental objectives.
This is important in order to ensure that young people in the rural areas get attracted to farming and agriculture, especially the opportunities to be found in agro-processing.

This can be done through the adoption of a district development model.

We would like to reiterate that that rural development cannot be achieved by the government working alone.

There is a need for increased attraction of direct foreign investment to improve rural infrastructure, especially agricultural infrastructure.
Improved rural agricultural competitiveness can be attached through skills development and innovation, improved productivity, industrial infrastructure development using the district development model.
We enter this budget vote conscious of the fact that government has presented to our country the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, and within the government’s plan, agriculture is seen as one of the sectors that can UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 175 create the much needed job opportunities, especially for low and semi-skilled workers in the rural areas.
Given the fact that agriculture remains one of the most important sectors of our economy, not only for food security but also for the creation of job opportunities, investment in the improvement of rural infrastructure is welcomed in this vote 29 and it is seen as one of the positive steps towards the realisation of an effective agrarian reform and rural development programme.
Hon House Chairperson, in conclusion, access to water and electricity by rural farming communities is very essential for the desired growth and development of the agricultural sector.

The infrastructure led-investment in agriculture must be directed towards the construction of water dams and water harvesting initiatives in order to create a sustainable irrigation system for improved rural agricultural activity.
In order to realise an inclusive agricultural economy, government needs to support rural farmers and help create sustainable rural agribusiness through improved intergovernmental relations, ensure that there is adequate UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 176 support to ensure that small-scale farmers are provided with the necessary information to help them prepare and deal with effects of climate change and its impact on their production.
Hon Chairperson, the ANC supports this budget vote.

Thank you very much.

The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, LAND REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Thank you very much, House Chairperson.

Firstly, I would like to thank all members for their participation in this debate.

We acknowledge the contributions that they have made, which were helpful in order for all of us to appreciate where we need to improve, particularly in the manner at which we deliver our services to the people.
I would like to thank hon Nyambi for your interventions because, indeed, you raised critical issues of addressing the land inequality in our country.

As you would appreciate, the formation of the ANC in 1912, was precisely in response of land disposition that was finally put into law in 1913 when the Land Act was promulgated.

You are correct to call on us as government to ensure that we continue to address this matter until land equality is realised.
Hon Skwatsha indicated what UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 177 we are doing in that regard, including the Budget requirement.

I have noted members saying that there are concerns, including yourself, about the declining Budget allocation towards this programme.

We are as government, as you know, concerned that it’s important that we address the issue of land equality - not only for agriculture purposes - but also for human settlement.
It is for this reason that Minister De Lille and myself, have released a number of state land, both towards agricultural development through allocation of 700 000 hectares, as well as 14 000 pieces of land that Minister De Lille released for human settlement.

These are part of the contributions that government is making precisely to address that issue.
The Land Donations Policy that was adopted by government, creates an enabling environment for those South Africans who would like to donate land in order to support land reform.

We call on a number of South Africans to do so.

As much as the state continues to acquire land, we also need South Africans to appreciate that this is not only the problem of government, but the problem of all of us as South Africans.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 178 I also want to indicate that some of the means that government is undertaking through the amendment of the Expropriation Act of 1975 to provide for expropriation in the public interest, is another indication of government’s seriousness on land reform.

This legislation as it is in Parliament now in the committee, also provides for expropriation without compensation.
Hon members, I also want to say that the issue that you have raised, particularly hon Nyambi and the others, about the need for agricultural support for those farmers, particularly the beneficiaries of land reform remains critical.

But farmers support is critical to all farmers at different levels.

Our programmes as government, both nationally and in the province, seeks to endeavour to do just that.
Our land development support, which is one of our programme, supports the commercialisation of black farmers.

The Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme and Ilima/Letsema, as well as the other programmes of provinces, do support farmers and these are some of the things that we are doing to ensure that we address the issues that you have raised of concern.
UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 179 Hon Smit, allow me to remind you of the 1932 Carnegie Commission Report on the Poor White Problem in South Africa, where some have argued it would later serve as the blue print for apartheid.
According to the memorandum that was sent to Mr Keppel, the President of Carnegie Foundation, one of the sentences says: Little doubt that if the Bantu were given full economic opportunity, the more competent among them would soon outstrip the less competent whites.

I am reminding of this report in order to remember where we come from.

Remember the mess that was created by the colonial and the apartheid government.
Remember that the government of the time, segregated people, emasculated their capacity to produce, emasculated them of their skills that they had, such that the generation that follows, would only be the ones who serve their masters.

I think that it is important for us to remember that as South Africans, collectively, if indeed we seek to change, we should not forget this past and appreciate that in transforming our society, we need to do so with an open heart.
Yes, where there are problems even with the UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 180 democratic state, we must call them out, but let’s not shield what happened in the past.

On brown locusts, for instance, you said that nothing has been done, which is not true as you all know.

We have continued working with farmers and communities to address this outbreak.

Money has been expanded in this regard.

Some of which comes from the private sector to assist.
And I think it is really an insult to those farmers who have been working day and night with government to deal with these locusts.

On food and mouth again, the same applies.

As I speak here today, we have depopulated the farms that were affected in Free State and Gauteng.

We are now busy with surveillance.

In North West, we are vaccinating with an aim to depopulate, and all of these we have done with the livestock industry, the meat, Red Meat Industry Forum, the ...

[Inaudible.]
[Inaudible.]

... and the auctioneers because all of them appreciate that there is a need to work with government.

I think that the work that we are doing in partnership with local level and nationally with farmers, you will be amazed, where some of the members in their interventions comes from.

UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 181 On Onderstepoort, we are the first to admit that there are challenges with current board and management are addressing them.
Particularly on vaccine availability and transparency in terms of what is available, at what time.

But also, it is true, private sector companies are not prevented from producing vaccine and selling them.

We have said as government that we are willing to work with those who want to partner with Onderstepoort so that we address the scarcity that our farmers do have on some of the important vaccines that are required.

Hon Arnolds, I have noted your concerns as well as your proposal.
Some of which will indeed take us in a progressive direction, rather.

But I must say that I am concerned that having made all these proposals, you end by saying you are not supporting the Budget.

How then will these be addressed if this Budget which we seek to do exactly that is not supported?

Hon members, there are many things that our provincial departments have been doing in addressing the issue of food security, as well as supporting farmers.
Which if hon members engage with the provinces, and some members of the provincial government like hon Peter spoke here, hon Ndlovu also spoke UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 182 here, articulating what is being done at a provincial level to address the challenges of agriculture and land reform.

I think it is important for me to indicate that; yes, 28 years is a bit longer, but 1652 to 1994?

I don’t know how many years is that.


That we are actually redressing, the impact of so many years of disposition and stripping of dignity of our people.

We will continue, as this democratic state, not only to be concerned about the matters of the few, but of all South Africans, because we can never repeat what the colonial and apartheid did to our people.

That is why in our own Constitution, we took leave from the Freedom Charter that says, South Africa belongs to it, black and white.
We didn’t just say that as a slogan, we meant it and in practice, we do precisely that.

And there are many South Africans, black and white, who are willing to hold hands and work in a collaborative manner, who understand the pain and their responsibility too, of redressing that.

I thank you, House Chairperson.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr A J Nyambi): Thank you, hon Minister.
Hon members, allow me to take this opportunity to thank the hon Minister Didiza, Deputy Minister Skwatsha, UNREVISED HANSARD NATIONL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES WEDNESDAY, 18 MAY 2022 Page: 183 Deputy Minister Capa, and our hon MECs from our beautiful provinces, special delegates.

Thank you very much.

Debate concluded.

The Council adjourned at 18:35,