We should not. It is wrong. It is not good leadership. No matter what your constituency may think, it is not good leadership. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
We have introduced a Green Paper on land reform. The reason is that we want a responsible handling of this matter. The three fundamentals for land reform that will apply are the following: the deracialisation of the rural economy; democratic land allocation and use across gender, race and class; and strict production discipline for guaranteed food security.
Another lesson learnt over the years is that the process of acquiring and distributing a particular piece of land is often lengthy, and this escalates the cost of redistribution because the former owner stops investing in the land. Many of the farms are therefore in a poor state of repair at the point of acquisition, with very low productivity. This led to the adoption of a recapitalisation programme in November 2010, run by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. By December 2011, about 600 farms were in the process of being rehabilitated through this programme.
The centenary of the 1913 Land Act is just a few months away. It is in the interests of all South Africans, black and white, and in the interest of national reconciliation that we proceed faster ...