M R O F E Midterm Review R of the Department of D N Rural Development & A L Land Reform & T N E M P O L E V E D L A R U R 2012 m r o f e R d n a L & t n e m p o l e v e D l a r u R Mid-term Reviewofthe Departmentof RuralDevelopment &LandReform 2012 Contents Contents Minister’s foreword .................................................................................... Comprehensive Background ..................................................................... Strategic overview ..................................................................................... Corporate Governance .............................................................................. PART I Land Reform .............................................................................................. • Background • Redistribution • Recapitalisation and Development Programme • Land Administration • Land Tenure • Land Rights Management Facility • Green Paper • Restitution Cadastral Survey ....................................................................................... • SPLUMB Deeds registration ..................................................................................... PART II Rural Development .................................................................................... • Background • Achievements and highlights per province • NARYSEC • Disaster mitigation Outcome 7 ................................................................................................. 4 DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT & LAND REFORM Rural Development & Land Reform 2 0 1 2 M f o i n r e i s w t e o r r ’ d s Rural Development & Land Reform 2 0 1 2 Minister’s foreword That is why the President of our Minister’s foreword country, Jacob Zuma has repeatedly stressed the strategic importance of rural development and land reform as a means of improving the lives of the disadvantaged. That is why this relatively new department has established and is implementing the Amongst the many noble factors Comprehensive Rural Development enshrined in our much-admired Programme (CRDP), by means of Constitution is a provision that obliges which, people living in rural the State to take reasonable legislative communities are given the opportunity and other measures, within its to overcome poverty. available resources, to foster conditions which enable our country’s The CRDP has been implemented in citizens to gain access to land on an all nine provinces and is already equitable basis. This is the least that bearing fruit in terms of meeting basic can be expected of a caring society in human needs, and providing for an era when globalisation threatens to essential infrastructure and enterprise expand the gap between those who development. This programme has have the wherewithal to compete, and simple yet vital aims; to ensure that those whose circumstances are rural communities are vibrant, handicapping any progress. equitable and sustainable, and is Accordingly, in May 2009, our constructed around three phases: democratic government announced the creation of a new branch of l Phase One. The incubator or government, to be known as the nursery stage of the programme, Department of Rural Development and aims to meet basic human needs. Land Reform, a Ministry I have the l Phase Two. The entrepreneurial honour to serve. development stage. This is where the department, on a large scale, I believe that this department is crucial uses infrastructure development to the further progress of our country. as a driver for change. Our mandate is to accelerate rural l Phase Three. The stage of the development and implement emergence of industrial and meaningful land reform, sensitive to financial sectors. This is driven by the fact that although some 18 years small, micro and medium have passed since the birth of enterprises and village markets. democracy, the damage and hurt caused by apartheid lingers stubbornly We have reason to be proud of our on in the lives of millions of people progress to date. We still have a living in rural communities; many of mountain to climb, but no one can them still enfeebled by the effects of dispute the fact that we have made a racial prejudices. visible impact on people whose lives MIDTERM REVIEW OF THE CRDP 7 Minister’s foreword have been structurally crippled through need to develop a broader skills base. inhumane policies over decades. Thus, our strategic decision to invest in Nonetheless, to have lasting effect, the the tertiary education of gifted bursary transformation of the social and students, enabling them to study in economic circumstances of the lives of fields such as BSc. in Geomatics, Land those most affected simply has to be Surveying, Cartography, and Town and accompanied by improved equity in land Regional Planning. ownership and increased household income. To finally lie to rest the The department has developed a new iniquitous legacy of apartheid our structure aligned to the key deliverables country had no choice but to overhaul of the new mandate. Key posts are the nation’s land policy and legislation, being filled to bolster the with specific reference to the land tenure accomplishment of this mandate. In system. The Green Paper on Land Reform is one of the tools at our disposal to implement more appropriate forms of land ownership together with best practice on the sustainable use of natural resources. The land restitution programme, which is implemented in line with the Restitution of Land Rights Act (Act No. 22 of 1994), is a key initiative which is contributing towards nation building. A decision was taken to ensure that all those who receive land through the restitution programme, must also receive support in line with the CRDP approach. This ensures that projects in this programme are sustainable, thus contributing to the objective of sustainable land reform. The regulation of proper land use, together with spatial planning and addition, partnership agreements spatial information management within with sector departments and the the public and private sectors, remains a private sector are helping to improve core responsibility of the department. the technical capacity required. The Geo-spatial, technology development “Back Office” which is the nerve and disaster management services also centre of the department has been feature prominently in the department strengthened. These changes are routine processes, and form the basis improving our planning, workflow for the facilitation of relevant research, processes, human resource and the adoption of innovative and management and corporate support appropriate technologies for rural to the service delivery arm of the development. As a department, we are organisation. also sensitive to the importance of preserving and promoting indigenous We are not involved in a game here. knowledge systems, and the sustainable Too often, those without homes and utilisation of natural resources. We will land on which to build are also those leave no stone unturned to reduce without hope. That is not the promise vulnerability and eradicate poverty in we have made to the people of our rural communities. Yet, like many country. Our promise is a better life institutions in our country, we detect the for all. 8 DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT & LAND REFORM Rural Development & Land Reform 2 0 1 2 C o m b p a r c e k h g e r n o s u i n v d e Rural Development & Land Reform 2 0 1 2 Comprehensive background home; and Comprehensive background l More than half of all households are headed by women. There are, however, some significant challenges still facing our country. Progress in urban areas stands in stark contrast to the often extreme South Africans have reason to be levels of poverty many South Africans proud of their achievements over the in rural areas still endure. Social past 18 years. Dating from the election deprivation and underdevelopment in April 1994, in which our country continues to haunt too many rural chose democracy as its badge and a areas. For nearly half a century, the rainbow as its symbol, our people heartless apartheid regime viewed the have set aside their previous divisions inhabitants of black rural areas simply and wholeheartedly embraced one as labour reserves, unworthy of another, united in a shared vision for development efforts, whereas the post national progress on an increasingly 1994 development paradigm was competitive international stage. premised on the assumption that Remarkably, the country has managed urban development would inevitably to achieve and sustain impressive cascade to the rural periphery. economic growth. Consequently, for years rural South Africa saw very little development. This Through targeted government eventually subjected social systems programmes, the following milestones and economic and infrastructural have been achieved: developments to enormous strain as, seeking a better future, many moved l Poverty has been significantly from rural areas to cities. reduced in terms of income, access to social services and South Africa’s cities have benefited assets; greatly from projects that developed l Over 12 million people have and improved infrastructure and social benefited from government’s services. Yet, the same projects social security assistance placed these areas under the programme; increasing strain of over-urbanisation. l The number of people with Clearly, the development paradigm of access to electricity and water the past 18 years, with its emphasis on services has dramatically urban development, in the expectation increased; that