Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon premiers, hon members, guests, land and the use of it lies close to the hearts of all South Africans. It is the foundation of who we are and gives us purpose and a sense of belonging. That is why it is so important that we address this critical issue with caution and the necessary sensitivity. If we do this wrongly, we will rot from the root upwards as a society. It is very important that we address the legacy of past dispossession in a responsible, developmental and constructive way.
We need to ensure that all South Africans benefit from the productive use of this land, particularly in the rural economy. The National Development Plan, NDP, outlines how we can boost the rural economy and create a potential 1 million jobs in agriculture by 2030. Unfortunately the department has a terrible record with respect to land reform and rural development, as we have dismally failed so far.
Why did we fail, hon Minister? We failed because the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform thought that by throwing heaps of money at rural communities it achieved rural development. This is illustrated by the example of Makgoba Tea Estates, where the estates were bought for R104 million in 2006 and recapitalised. We have had over R76 million since 2010, but in 2012 the financial statements show that the estate had R121 million's worth of assets and a profit of only R80. Can we call this success and development? I don't think so, hon Minister. We failed, because the department does not grow and nurture security of land ownership. This harbours fear to invest in land that could create jobs for our people.
It is clear that we are chasing away investment if we reflect on the declining number of commercial farmers in South Africa. In the 90s we had 120 000 commercial farmers, whereas today we are left with about 37 000. This is a serious threat to our food security. In the 90s we were a prime exporter of food; today we are a prime importer of food. And then we scratch our heads, wondering why food is getting more and more expensive by the day.
The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries must start giving the necessary support to our commercial farming sector, to prosper and create jobs and opportunities for more development and job creation. The department can start by giving support through more research into crop and production methods as well as into climate change and how to adapt the industry.
Let us start working on a win-win farming partnership where we utilise the experience of successful farmers in creating opportunities for expansion where more and more people can benefit from agriculture. Does the hon Minister have a clear and specific plan for how to utilise high-potential agricultural land under state and communal control? I can't see such planning in this budget, hon Minister. What are we doing to ignite the potential of places like Umzimvubu Valley that are greatly underused?
I drive through the villages of Mogalakwena in Limpopo, where I live, and see all this high-potential land and thousands of struggling unemployed people in the vicinity. But I can't see any visible effort from these two departments to develop the potential in order to benefit these people. Hon Minister, are we really serious about rural development, while we have about 50% of our high-potential agricultural land underused? Let us stop throwing money around and start spending wisely, whereby we can ignite the potential of our land.
Hon Minister, when will the department be able to fill its vacancies, while you don't even have the budget to do so? And this while the department overspends on consultants as it is unable to fulfil its full mandate. It seems to have become a pipe dream. Hon Minister, are we really getting value for our money if we look at the large budgets for geometric services or is this just an easy way to direct money to the connected few?
What happened to the forensic audit in this regard, hon Minister? There are 8 733 outstanding claims from the previous claim period, hon Minister. And we settle between 260 and 380 of these claims per year. This means that it will take 30 years to finalise these current claims. Hon Minister, I don't wish to be part of your department when you start settling new claims while the current claims have not been settled yet. New claims are expected to be in the region of 397 000, which will cost the state between R125 billion and R175 billion.
I was wondering where the Minister plans to dig out this budget. Oh, but I forgot! Hon Minister Nkwinti responded to my statement on this matter in this Chamber and said, I quote: "We will settle it as we go along". So, hon Minister if I understood you correctly, it means you don't have a specific plan to handle these new claims. If this is how the department plans to handle land restitution going forward, I foresee chaos. People who lodge their claims today will be in their graves by the day when their claims are settled. [Interjections.]