The ruling party's election manifesto points out that: "Rural development and agrarian reform is integral to the struggle to create a better life for all." President Zuma, in his state of the nation address, correctly accounts for the status quo as it obtains in these rural areas, because it is true that: "Unemployment in rural areas is disproportionately high ..." The rural masses represent the majority of this department's stakeholders. We have arrived at a point where we must listen to their voices.