Land will fix poverty

BRIEFING the National Council of Provinces in Parliament, Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said that since 1994, through the land redistribution programme, the department acquired 4.8 million hectares of land at a cost of R17 billion.

Of the 4.8 million hectares, 4 million is agricultural land and 779 000 hectares was land acquired for labour tenants and farm dwellers for tenure reform purposes.

The department has recapitalised 1 675 farms equating to 1.5 million hectares at a cost of R4.8 billion.

Since 1995 only 10.2% of the 82 million hectares of agricultural land has been redistributed.

This means we have not yet redressed landlessness. Lots of people are still hungry for land. There are farms which are still lying fallow. There are farmers who are not given support to be successful farmers.

As long as our people are been illegally evicted on farms, we are not free. Land ownership is a social right so people can grow their own food.

Landlessness causes poverty; hence most black people live in grinding poverty. We appreciate the enthusiastic energy and aggressive plans by the minister, but officials need to do more.