Mhlalingaphambili ohloniphekileyo, ndicela ukuqala ndise umyalezo apha kohloniphekileyo uMazibuko wokuba abanye bethu apha kule Ndlu basenezivubeko zalo Mthetho nanamhlanje kuba zenzeka kubazali bethu kwaye nathi sisaziva ezo zivubeko. Asithethi ngomsebenzi owenziwe ngumphandi. Ayingomsebenzi wophando lo. Sithetha thina ngelivonto eyehle ebantwini bakuthi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Ms B N DAMBUZA: Hon Chairperson, may I start off by giving a message to hon Mazibuko that like, our parents, some of us in this House are still feeling the effects of this Act to this day. We are not talking about research findings here - this is not research work - we are talking about something that happened to our people. [Applause.]]
The President of the Republic of South Africa remarked during the 2013 state of the nation address that this year marks the centenary of the 1913 Natives Land Act which turned black people into wanderers, labourers and pariahs in their own land since its promulgation and commencement. The Act became law on 19 June 1913, limiting African land ownership to 7%, which later increased to 13% through the 1936 Native Trust and Land Act.
Le nkqubo yokuthathwa komhlaba igqibele ngokuthi ucalucalulo lususe uninzi lwabantu abaNtsundu ngenkani kwimihlaba yabo kuquka abeBala namaNdiya kangangokuba izigidi zabantu zasuswa ngokupheleleyo kwimihlaba yookhokho babo. Amaxesha amaninzi basuswa ngenkohlakalo yangabom nangaphandle kwembuyekezo. Umbutho ongekhophantsi kolawulo lukaRhulumente ogama lithi Surplus People Project uthelekelela ukuba phakathi kowe-1960 ukuya kowe- 1983 zizigidi abantu abasuswa ngenkani eMzantsi Afrika ngeMithetho eliqela efana neGroup Areas Act kwiminyaka yowe-1950 nangenkqubo ezazenzelwe ukulalwula ukuhamba kwabantu abaNtsundu ebizwa ngokuthi yi-Influx Control ngesiNgesi. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[The process of land dispossession, which was based on racial discrimination, culminated in the forced removal of millions of black people, including coloureds and Indians, from their ancestral land. In most cases they were removed with deliberate cruelty and without compensation. An NGO known as the Surplus People Project estimates that between 1960 and 1983 millions of South Africans were forcibly removed from their land through a number of Acts such as the Group Areas Act and through policies that were aimed at controlling the movement of black people into urban areas such as influx control.]
The Natives Land Act, however, did not come about in a historic vacuum and its roots may be traced back steep into the South African colonial history. Indeed, it may be said that the elements of dispossession in the Act were merely an extension of South Africa's long history of dispossession throughout the colonial era, whether through conquest or the application of law. They were forced to leave behind any buildings they had erected, for which they were not compensated. The physical manifestation of the 1913 Natives Land Act also included scores of African families and their livestock roaming the countryside in search of accommodation. The consequence was a level of dispossession and lack of security of tenure never before experienced by African sharecroppers, whose choices diminished with each passing day.
The living conditions on farms were generally poor and often the accommodation offered would be on condition that the former tenant's spouse and children also be employed on the farm. The prevailing conditions of Africans living on white-owned farms after 1913 were recorded by renowned author W M Macmillan.
Yiyo ke le nto sibona urhulumente okhokelwa yi-ANC emaxhaphetshu ethabathela kuye uxanduva lokuphucula iimpilo nokulwa inkxwaleko nentlupheko kubasebenzi kunye nabahlali basezifama. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[That is why we see the ANC-led government taking upon itself the responsibility to improve lives and fight poverty amongst farmworkers and farm dwellers.]
The lack of security of tenure as a direct consequence of the Natives Land Act resulted in former African tenants being unable to erect substantial dwellings capable of providing adequate shelter to protect them from severe weather conditions. Instead, as farm labourers, they were condemned to run- down dwellings, which had a marked impact on their health. Another hardship brought about by the Act was that children of former tenants were deprived of any level of education due to the unwillingness of farmers to grant permission to erect schools on their land.
The racialised approach to spatial planning was also embodied in various legislative measures regulating group areas. The concept "group area" was a technical term indicating that an area of land was reserved for either white, black, coloured or Indian persons. Essentially this meant that in relation to a declared white group area, for example, only white persons could have vested rights and occupy land within that area.
Therefore, the declaration of a group area meant that not only was the racial background of the occupiers delineated, but also the kind of rights that could be vested and the concomitant development that could occur in these areas. Despite the existence of the influx control measures and squatting regulations, urbanisation increased in the mid 1980s. Increased riots and the declaration of various states of emergency finally led to the abolishment of influx control in 1986.
Apart from the racial dimension to urbanisation and settlement patterns, other factors also contributed to the increasing demand for housing, especially within urban areas. The population growth, rising costs of material labour, and the shortage of available land within commuting distance of city centres underlined the necessity to develop other forms of tenure that were not based on single-title individual ownership.
Although fragmented ownership began in the 1970s in South Africa, it became increasingly important, especially following the abolition of influx control in the 1980s and the official demise of apartheid during the 1990s. There was a conscious policy not to build low-income houses in order to both discourage urbanisation of Africans and to prevent any form of interracial mixing.
The rapid growth of informal settlements around urban centres was highlighted in statistics from 1980. The statistics revealed that almost 5,2 million South Africans were already living in informal settlements, with forecasts of an annual population growth rate of 2,5%. A report released by the South African Cities Network revealed that as much as a quarter of South Africa's households could be classified as informal in nature.
Post-1994, the ANC government adopted progressive policies to transform apartheid settlement patterns by developing integrated human settlements. As a result of the predominant delivery patterns of new housing in the Greenfield Project, the value of the assets transferred to poor households through the housing programme is being fully realised. Sesisazi ukuba abantu abangaphezulu kwezigidi ezi-3,3 baxhamle kule nkqubo yezindlu evele kwimigaqo-nkqubo karhulumente. Namhlanje sithetha ngokuba kunatyiswa iinkonzo ezingundoqo, kukhutshwa amanxiwa ukwenzela ukuba abantu bakwazi ukuba babeneencwadi zemihlaba, [title deeds.] ukuze bakwazi ukuba bazakhele izindlu abafuna ukuzakhela zona, kwiindawo abathanda ukuzakhela kuzo.
I-Arhente yoPhuhliso lweZindlu, "Housing Development Agency". liqumrhu ekwavunyelwana ngalo ngumbutho we-ANC, ePolokwane ngowe-2007, ukuba lisekwe, ukwenzela ukuba likwazi ukuba lichonge iindawo, lifumane umhlaba emakwakhelwe kuwo abantu izindlu. Siyavuya ke namhlanje ukuchaza ukuba noko ubuncinane bomhlaba ozihektare ezi-7,25 sowufunyenwe leli qumrhu. Sivile ukuba urhulumente seqalisile ukunabisa inkqubo ebizwa ngokuthi yi-Finance- Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, Flisp, ukuze bonke abantu abangootishala, abongikazi amapolisa, njalo njalo abangakwaziyo ukufumana izindlu ze-RDP baxhamle. Loo nto ithetha ukuba bafumana umhlaba ukuze bakwazi ukuzakhela izindlu. Urhulumente we-ANC uzama kangangoko ukuba lo mcimbi womhlaba ulungiswe ngendlela efanelekileyo.
Ukongeza apha, iKhabhinethi ikwazile ukuba kulo mcimbi womhlaba ikhuphe isibonelelo esibizwa ngokuba yi-Urban Settlements Development Grant. Esi sibonelelo sincedisa ekubeni kuthengwe umhlaba ngoomasipala nangamaphondo, ukwenzela ukuba kwakhelwe abantu izindlu. Loo nto ke siyayincoma kakhulu singu-ANC.
Xa ndiyivala ndifuna ukutsho ngomyalezo othi, asisayi kuyivuma, nangona siluxhasa uphuhliso, asingekhe sivume ukuba sibone kusakhiwa udederhu lweevenkile. Ngobani abaxhamlayo kolo dederhu lweevenkile? Sibone kukho imiyezo yokulondolozwa kwendalo [Nature reserves], amabala okudlala igalufa, ngobani abaxhamlayo apho? Sithi nangona siluxhasa uphuhliso nenkqubela, kodwa makubekho ukulingana, kungathi kungekho nje kwanto, kulithafa nje apho, kuthiwe kuza kwenziwa ibala lokudlala igalufa, babe abantu bedinga umhlaba wokwakhelwa izindlu. Ndiyabulela kakhulu, Mhlalingaphambili. [Kwaphela ixesha.] [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[We already know that over 3,3 million people have benefited from government's housing programme. Today there is a roll-out of essential services, and sites are allocated so that people can have title deeds and are able to build houses of their own choice in areas of their own choice.
The ANC took a decision in Polokwane in 2007 to establish the Housing Development Agency, which would identify and secure land on which to build houses. We are happy to report today that this organisation has secured at least 7,25 hectares of land. We hear that government has already started rolling out the Finance-Linked Individual Subsidy Programme, Flisp for short, to benefit teachers, nurses, the police, etc, who cannot access RDP housing. They get land so that they can build their own houses. The ANC-led government is trying by all means to make sure that the issue of land is handled correctly.
Furthermore, in relation to the issue of land, Cabinet has come up with a grant known as the Urban Settlements Development Grant. This grant helps local governments and provinces so that they are able to buy land on which to build houses. We highly appreciate this as the ANC.
In conclusion, I want to make the point that, although we support development, we will never allow a situation where malls are built everywhere. Who benefits from the building of such malls? We see nature reserves and golf courses being developed all over the place, and who benefits from those? Although we support development and progress, there must be equality, so that golf courses are not prioritised over housing in the face of scarcity of land. Thank you very much, Chairperson. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]