Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon Deputy Ministers, the department and my hon members, I will start with water. There are still towns, townships and villages in this country of ours that are being supplied with inadequate and unsafe water. This is a reality that the Ministry alone cannot address, but we are in this together and we all should play a role, especially Parliament.
Unclean water has in the recent months conduced illnesses such as typhoid in the Mpumalanga province, which, along with Limpopo, was hit hard by the cholera outbreak. The illnesses caused by unclean water killed people and that is a serious issue. Proper management of water plantations in all regions is the key to safe and healthy water. Technological advancement remains a need to be given attention to, since it is an essential part of cleaning our water if we are to provide the safest water possible to the society at large.
Municipalities should play an infrastructural and maintenance role and the department should play a management role. This separation of duties can assist with a clear focus on allocations and a decrease in the area of duties to be performed by the local government.
A R1 billion allocation for the bulk infrastructure of relieving backlogs of sanitation at schools is welcomed. The sustainability of water management is dependent on building skills and engineering capacity. The department has, in this regard, shown less consideration, because it has accepted the Treasury's decrease in its allocation to the cause and diverted it to poverty alleviation.
Let me welcome and admire the projected allocation of R8 billion for the six major water resource projects that are: the De Hoop Dam in Limpopo; the Berg Water Dam in the Western Cape; the Vaal River East and Subsystem Augmentation Scheme that supply sufficient water to Eskom power station and Sasol. The estimated R12 billion for the nine major water capital projects is also a sign of showing seriousness in infrastructural investment. The overall budget increase from R7 billion to R7,9 billion in the current financial year to the departments of water and forestry is however minimal. Considering the challenges and the plans for completing the new infrastructure projects by 2014, we will need a bigger allocation, also considering the forecasted droughts that the country will face in the future.
Masisibulele isabelo sakho samanzi kuba sihle kwaye siyancomeka, kodwa zisekhona zona iindawo ezithi zibe namadama babe abo bantu bengakwazi ukuxhamla kuwo. Umzekelo, eMpuma Koloni kuneLubisi Dam elalakhiwe ngexesha likaMatanzima kodwa libonelela abantu abakude ngaphezu kweekhilomitha ezilikhulu babe abantu abafanele ukuxhamla kumlambo babe bengazuzinto.
Ngoko ke ndicela isebe ukuba likhe liyise iso loo nto kuba la ngamanzi aba bantu kwaye nedama elo lakhiwe kumasimi abo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Let us welcome your outstanding budget for Water and Environmental Affairs, but there are still places with dams from which people who live nearby do not benefit. For example, in the Eastern Cape there is Lubisi Dam, which was built during Matanzima's regime, which is providing water to people as far as hundred kilometres away, leaving the rightful people without water.
I am therefore appealing to the department to take that into consideration because this water belongs to these people and the dam in question was built on their fields.]
We meet at this juncture whilst storms of the global economic recession are blowing across the globe and onto our shores. As a country, we are determined to ensure that all South Africans have a share in the unfolding South African promise of a better life for all.
While we recognise and pride ourselves on the strides and progress made, there is no doubt that the challenges remain immense, especially where our people remain without access to basic services, in particular those living in rural areas.
I welcome the good and visionary plan that the hon Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has tabulated on the occasion of Budget Vote No 23. Our role as the committee remains that of ensuring that we strive for the implementation of the department's strategy during this five-year term. We need to ensure that we represent and execute the mandate assigned to us by the electorate.
Last month the economist Mike Schssler commented that the agricultural sector is bigger than the mining sector. It is argued that it is more likely that the agricultural sector will create more jobs out of every R1 million of investment than any other sector. The Minister has warned in her speech on Budget Vote No 23 that as much as agriculture may seem better off in the global economic crisis, it is by no means shielded from its effects. For the first time in five years, agricultural imports have exceeded exports. This is not only unacceptable, but further vindicates our resolve to support local food production in communities; communities for communities. Already we are witnessing the blow where other sectors are suffering huge job looses. It is therefore becoming the primary responsibility of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to create jobs and contribute to poverty alleviation.
I am thrilled by and fully support the move pronounced by our President, his Excellency, Jacob Zuma, during his address at the World Economic Forum. He encouraged that there should be a conference of agricultural Ministers where these Ministers would meet to discuss and formulate strategies on food production and security. Commercial agriculture has also reacted to legislation intended to protect the rights of workers and farm dwellers by sharply reducing their number, resulting in significant job losses and painful evictions of people living on farms. Currently we have only succeeded in redistributing 4% of agricultural land since 1994, while more than 80% remain in the hands of fewer than 50 000 white farmers and agribusiness. A more equitable distribution of land is necessary, both to undo the injustices of the past, as well as to ensure higher productivity, shared growth, employment and sustainable livelihoods.
Voorsitter, die Departement van Landbou, Bosbou en Visserye is die hart van die land se ekonomie, en daarom mag ons nie fouteer wanneer dit kom by hierdie aspekte nie. [Applous.]
Ons is verantwoordelik daarvoor om te verseker dat ons mense, veral di wat in die armer dele van die land woon, die nodige dienste sowel as werk het. As ons mense werk en die nodige dienste het, sal hulle in 'n posisie wees om kos op die tafel te kan sit. Om hierdie doel te kan bereik, moet ons nie die bydrae van ons plaasboere vergeet nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is the heart of this country's economy, and therefore we may not err when it comes to these aspects. [Applause.]
It is our responsibility to ensure that our people, especially those who live in the poorer parts of our country, receive the required services, as well as jobs. If our people have jobs and receive the required services, they will be in a position to put food on their tables. In order to achieve this goal, we must not forget the contribution of our farmers.]
Chairperson, the Minister said that the broader mandate assigned to us is to ensure that government translates policy statements into practical business plans. That is why we are proud to welcome the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme.
Sihlalo, xa ndivala ndiza kucela kumphathiswa ukuba bakhe bazijonge ezi ndawo zazinamaziko okunkcenkceshela ezingakwazanga kuphila ixesha elide ngenxa yokunqongophala kolawulo. Sicela isebe ukuba lizame ukuwalawula, iindawo ezifana nooNcora Irrigation Scheme, Qamata Irrigation Scheme, wonke amaziko ukuba akhona. Ndiyabulela, siyasamakela isabelo sakho Nkosazana. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[In conclusion, Chairperson, I would like the Minister to take note of these places which had irrigation schemes, but could not survive because of maladministration. We would like the department to manage places like Ncora Irrigation Scheme, Qamata Irrigation Scheme and all other schemes if they exist. Thank you. I welcome your budget, Princess. [Applause.]]