Madame Speaker, Food security, poverty alleviation and job creation should be
high on the agenda of any government. If these three key aspects are well
planned, well-funded and well managed, then we will be able to achieve the
prosperous KwaZulu-Natal that we would like to see. Against this backdrop and in
full understanding of the difficult economic times that we face, I rise to
express appreciation on behalf of the Inkatha Freedom Party for the budget of
R2.2billion made available to the Department of Agriculture and Rural
Development. Having said that, I must hasten to add that this allocation, framed
against the backdrop of the challenges faced by the province, is far too little
to achieve food security, create jobs in the agricultural sector and reduce
poverty. What is important is how the Department utilises this budget to achieve
its strategic objectives.

Madame Speaker, I find it difficult to understand why this department fails to
achieve some of its obligations. Allow me to provide an example of what I am
talking about. On page 83 it is stated:

"The budget was slightly underspent by R946 000, mainly caused by under-spending
on the Land Care grant, largely due to delays in the procurement of fencing for
land care projects, and also the procurement of supplies for the nurseries which
form part of the land care awareness programme. The fencing material was
delivered and paid for by 31 March 2013, but there was insufficient time to
install the fencing. As such, the funding for the payment of stipends for the
installation using EPWP principles was not spent."

I am finding it very difficult to understand why is it that even though the
fencing was delivered and paid for in March 2013 and we are now in April 2015,
the fencing has not been installed and the reason given is that there was
insufficient time. Is this department attempting to fence off the entire
province? Where is this fencing now? After two years is the material still
available? We are also told that the payment of the stipends for the
installation was not spent. Why, when there are thousands of people out there
desperately looking for jobs? This boils down to poor management and bad
planning. I urge the MEC to ensure that this project be given priority and the
portfolio committee must perform its oversight function and go to see where the
fencing is being stored.

Poor planning and a lack of foresight is also evident on page 84 where it is
stated that in the 2013/2014 financial year that an amount of R8.847million was
budgeted for the provision of sheds for the mechanisation programme. Then again
in the 2014/2015 financial year a further amount of R8.5million was allocated
for the same purpose but this money was not spent because a decision was
thereafter taken to "reassess whether such sheds will still be required". This
means that over two financial years money is budgeted for a project that is not
well-thought out.

Also in the 2013/2014 there was under-expenditure of R38.465million and of this
amount R23million was for the liming programme under the Ilima/Letsema Projects.
This money was not spent because there were delays in the procurement and
delivery of the lime. This is unacceptable since in that financial year there
was a budget of over R320million in Programme 1 : Administration which money was
spent on managing the affairs of the department. This shows poor management and
a lack of leadership.

Madame Speaker, the IFP is concerned about the issue of tractors that were
purchased by this Department and given to certain communities. Those tractors
were handed out amid much fanfare and publicity.  We have submitted a question
to the Hon MEC last year but have not been given a response to date. Tax payer's
money was used to purchase those tractors and we would like to know who those
tractors were given to, where are they now, are they still being used, who is
paying for the maintenance and licensing and are those tractors benefitting the
communities they were meant for. The MEC must answer these questions in the
House because we must know if public money is again being wasted while
communities suffer.

The Hon MEC must also come clean and tell this House why the forensic audit
report into Mjindi Farming has not been released. The investigation has been
completed but the report has not seen the light of day. What is the MEC hiding?
Why is this report being kept a secret?

Madame Speaker, if we are truly serious about rural development, this Department
must be seen to be doing more for rural communities. The Hon MEC must inform
this House about what progress is being, if any on land reform that seeks to
integrate the previously disadvantaged into the mainstream economy. Land Reform
is a national priority and it needs to be driven vigorously in KZN. We should
not be seen to be sitting back and not attending to this issue.

Madame Speaker, Mjindi Farming has been well-known for its agricultural
performance. It is therefore of concern to the IFP that on page 81 we are
informed that:

"A lack of human capacity remained a challenge, impacting negatively on advisory
services to farmers, as well as the launch of farmer capacity building
programmes."

This must be of serious concern to us all if we want to maintain the standards
achieved by this entity. Food security will be endangered as predictable
production levels drop in the days to come. I do not see much in this budget
that speaks specifically to addressing this situation.

We are also told on that same page that:

"Theft and vandalism of the irrigation infrastructure and fencing continued to
be a problem during 2014/15."

If theft and vandalism is allowed to continue unchecked, Madame Speaker, then we
are in for more serious challenges. This Department must ensure that the
necessary funds are made available to protect and maintain the existing
infrastructure. This budget should therefore be directed at addressing these
challenges in a more aggressive manner in order to build confidence in the
production capability of Mjindi Farming.

Madam Speaker, The core vision of the Ingonyama Trust is to manage communal land
in Kwa-Zulu Natal and its mission is to improve the quality of life of the
communities living on the land it administers. It must further oversee that
people benefit from formal land tenure rights.

Ngqongqoshe iqembu leNkatha Yenkululeko Yesizwe lithanda ukunxusa intsha
yakulesisifundazwe ukuthi ayingene ngomkhono nesiphanga kwezolimo ukuze
izithuthukise iphinde ibambe iqhaza ekuthuthukisweni komnotho wezwe
lakithi.Kumele ufakwe umoya entsheni wokuthi ezolimo akuzona ebantu abadala
kuphela kodwa nazo zingumsebenzi umuntu angaba injinga uma ezimisele. Sithi
azibuye emasisweni Phezu komkhono.

I'm particularly impressed to note that there is a lot of enthusiasm from young
farmers, to grow and become future commercial farmers in Agriculture. Therefore
the IFP calls for the establishment of a ring-fenced Agri Youth Fund. This will
go a long way in empowering our young farmers across the province.

If KwaZulu-Natal too can begin to empower the youths, it would be preparing the
youths that will carry the nation to greater heights. Youth should be encouraged
in education. They should realize that youths that are not empowered would be
the ones to destroy the future of the country in future. Every area youths need
support should be looked into with a view to boosting their morale as well as
give them a sense of belongings. We call on all leaders in this province to be
more transparent to the public and do things to promote youth empowerment,
bearing it in mind that youths are the leaders of tomorrow, who will take over
after them.

Madame Speaker, For KwaZulu-Natal to achieve food self-sufficiency, governments
must give a greater decision-making role to African agriculture's most important
actors: Women. Women play a critical role in agricultural growth in developing
countries, yet they face persistent obstacles and economic constraints.
Therefore, we call for women's empowerment and harmonised policy action for
making agriculture more nutrition-sensitive. Without addressing women, we cannot
effectively and sustainably address global poverty and hunger.

I thank You,