Chairperson, water or no water, it's true that the lives of the Muyee community have changed for the better. We need not worry about people who just criticise, even when it's not necessary. We need to learn to appreciate good things and make proposals on what more can be done to address the challenges identified. The work of the ANC government will speak for itself, whether criticised or not. People are not blind.
Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, the South African colonialist experience was based on the intersection of relations of power based on class, race and gender. These social and biological features have been used in human history to exclude, repress and stigmatise the progress of individuals and communities and manifested in the dispossession of land, marginalisation of the African peasantry, and reducing the rural areas into reserves of cheap labour. For the ANC government this was not acceptable and we immediately passed the Restitution of Land Rights Act, Act 22 of 1994, which provides for the restoration of land rights and equitable redress as contained in section 25(7) of the Constitution.
The progress that has been made so far in settling restitution claims is commendable, considering the fact that only 5% of the claims are outstanding. As we are aware, 95,5% of claims were settled by 31 March 2009. The highest number of outstanding claims, out of 4 296, is in KwaZulu- Natal, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, and some other provinces.
The challenges facing land restitution are land prices, mining and forestry activities and nature reserve claims, which are very complex. However, the budget allocation for restitution has been drastically reduced in the Medium-Term Strategic Framework, MTSF, period, which will not make it possible for the restitution commission to finalise claims within the targeted date.
In the 2009-10 financial year, 100% of the budget was spent within four months, which indicates the high demand on the programme. Besides budget constraints, the vacant posts of two regional commissioners are of concern, since the two provinces affected, namely Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, still have the highest number of outstanding claims.
The ANC has identified five priority areas for the next five years. One of those priorities is rural development, food security and land reform. The department has introduced new branches. It is crucial for the department to fast-track the filling of the critical vacant posts. The increased budget allocation for compensation of employees from R954 million in 2009-10 to R1,1 billion in 2010-11 is welcomed. It will enable the department to fill strategic positions in order to deliver on its mandate.
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme, CRDP, is critical. It needs people who are skilled and competent to drive it effectively. The challenge will be to retain skilled staff. Continuous human development is necessary for people to improve their capacity with regard to the processes and procedures of their work and to deal with insufficient staff capacity.
The provision of internship programmes in the field of BSc Geomatics and town and regional planning is one way of addressing the shortage of scarce skills. We welcome the initiative of the department to make sure that this area is being addressed. This will discourage the overuse of consultants in favour of the department building its own internal capacity.
We appreciate the engagement of universities of technology, agricultural colleges and further education and training, FET, colleges to assist in the training of students in rural development-related careers. The mobilisation of the private sector is also crucial. Rural infrastructure development and agricultural reform are at the heart of the ANC's plan to improve the country's food security. Insufficient funding for land reform and redistribution will make it difficult for the department to achieve the target. It is clear that with the allocated budget it will not be possible for the department to reach the target. In 2008-09, the department was able to transfer only 4,7 million hectares due to financial constraints.
The Comprehensive Rural Development Programme cuts across all departments. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is the catalyst, initiator, facilitator and co-ordinator of all the programmes, but that does not mean it must not be funded properly. We have realised the weakness of the department working in silos, but through the CRDP the government departments are fulfilling their responsibilities to communities in an integrated way.
The ANC government knows very well what needs to be done to address the apartheid past. It is the government that puts people first and it is building a participatory democracy by involving the people through house profiling. The department is using community development needs to ensure that the CRDP is people-driven. Mobilisation of communities is central to all its objectives.
The empowerment of communities to participate in socioeconomic growth will contribute to local economic development and will help rural people liberate themselves from poverty through participatory and representative democracy. That is because the CRDP is an anti-poverty programme which is aimed at addressing the challenges of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment, especially for vulnerable groups. Rural people were excluded from development, and the department is making sure that the rural masses face the task of taking an active part in defining and implementing strategies for rural development. The CRDP is about changing peoples' lives and enabling them to take control of their destiny and enjoy the dignity enshrined in the Constitution.
The lack of capacity within the land reform project is a threat. The initiative by the department to assist struggling projects, together with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the agricultural sector education and training authority, AgriSETA, and the agreement with the University of Fort Hare to develop dedicated training in projects and farm management for land reform beneficiaries, are appreciated.
For the productive use of land and to create sustainable livelihoods and decent work in rural areas, land reform beneficiaries have to be provided with technical skills, financial resources and access to markets. Therefore, to support the growth of a rural market, we need to build links with the formal-sector value chain and to co-ordinate their activities to realise economies of scale. Training will assist the people to be employable, self-employed and to be able to start their own businesses in order to sustain themselves.
Postsettlement support on infrastructural development, finance and extension advice is critical for sustainable land reform. For development to be meaningful and sustainable, beneficiaries should not be seen as spectators but contributors in their own development.
Projects are struggling due to many factors, such as postsettlement support, conflicts among beneficiaries and a lack of operational funding and monitoring. We appreciate the monitoring mechanism that will be put in place to ensure sustainable improvement in the livelihood of rural people.
Provision of capital for the sustainability of land reform projects is crucial. This calls for a review of the mandate capacity and operation of the Land Bank and Micro-Agricultural Finance Initiative of South Africa, Mafisa, to ensure that the state is able to provide direct credit and capital for investment support of a transformed agricultural sector and rural economy.
Land reform is aimed at redistribution of land to both urban and rural areas for the benefit of those who were denied access under colonialism. To address this, the department initiated the audit of state land to identify what the land is used for and by whom, and to ensure that the available and underutilised land is redistributed to needy people for profitable use.
In order to ensure effective and sustainable land and agrarian reform, effective measures must be put in place, bringing the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on board to assist emerging and small farmers and co-operatives to eliminate the monopolistic practices that contribute to high food prices which, in turn, undermine economic growth and the fight against hunger and poverty. [Time expired.] Thank you, Chairperson.