Presentation to the Portfolio Committee on
Rural Development and Land Reform
Further deliberations on the Strategic Plan and the Annual Performance
Plan of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform
15 May 2013
Mr P Sekawana
Acting Deputy Director-General: Corporate Support Services
1
INTRODUCTION
The Purpose of this presentation is to respond to follow-up questions from
the Portfolio Committee on the Department of Rural Development and Land
Reform’s:
•
Amended Strategic Plan: 2011-2014
•
Annual Performance Plan: 2013-2014
2
Programme 1: Administration
3
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
Responses
1
Draft Human Resource Development Strategy
2013 -2016 (version 1/2013) was presented
before the Committee. The Committee notes the
following:
Attachment 1:
Presentation explains that the
Branch Social Technical Rural
Livelihoods and Institutional
Facilitation (STRIF) has been
replaced by the Branch Rural
Enterprise
and
Industrial
Development (REID)
Finalisation of the Draft HRD
Strategy will form part of the
CD:HR and D:HRD Operational
Plan
and
Performance
Agreement for 2013-2014
“The HR Development programmes should be
aimed at furthering and supporting the strategic
goals and objectives of the Department and to
improve the skills levels in the Country as a
whole”. The Committee notes that there are
indications of non-alignment of the HRD Strategy
and the Organisational Structure. For example,
The HRD Strategy’s strategic goal 4 targets two
branches REID and RID. According to the
Strategic Plan and the APP, the Department has Attachments 2&3:
no branch know as REID.
Indicates that STRIF to REID
changes were made in the
The HRD Strategy is in its draft form and there is document, glossary and old
nowhere in the Strategic Plan nor the APP where presentation of 23 April 2013 for
this strategy should be finalised and be easy reference
implemented.
Programme 1: Administration
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
2
The Committee has not been briefed about Attachment 4:
the Organisational Renewal Plan nor does it See Attached Annexure
have in its possession the same plan. For Organisational Renewal Plan
purposes of Parliamentary oversight, the
Committee should be provided with the
mentioned plan in order determine what the
55% or 60% (quarterly targets) of the plan
represents.
3
4
The Committee has asked for information
about the branches which managed to
receive bonuses. This information still
outstanding. Need to assess performance
plans for those branches.
Responses
on
Attachments 5,6,7 & 8 :
Attached Annexure 5 on Updated
Performance
Agreements
2011/2012, Annexure 6 Status
report on payment of performance
Bonuses, Annexure 7 Circular 31
of 2013, Annexure 8 SMS Status
report
Programme 1: Administration
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
4
The reports by the Public Service Commission, the TO BE DEALT WITH BY
Auditor-General and the DPME raises, as the BRANCHES DURING THEIR
Committee has done in its budget review PRESENTATIONS
recommendations reports (BRRRs), the concerns
about the Department’s inability to meet some of its
targets. For example, the state land audits,
redistributing 30% of white-owned agricultural land,
finalisation of Project Kgolaganyo, settlement of all
land claims by the 2013. The committee concluded
that there are a range of reasons for this failure to
meet the set targets; one of those is the capacity of
the department to implement the programmes.
5
Responses
Programme 1: Administration
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
Responses
5
Recommendations of the Public Service Commission
and the Auditor-General to address issues of
financial management and governance as well as the
failures of land reform are vitally important. Analysis
of the Strategic Plan, especially the APP, it is unclear
whether the Department has considered the
recommendations of the Public Service Commission
and the Auditor-General. The Committee, therefore,
wishes to further engage in discussion with the
Department about its responses to the presentations
made to the Committee as well as identifying how the
planning processes of the Department could improve
on these matters
The Department has indeed
considered
the
recommendations of the Public
Service Commission and AG’s
report on the improvement of
service.
The involvement of DPME and
Treasury in the development of
our MTSF is well underway with
meetings having taken place
and a few more planned.
6
Programme 3: Rural Development
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
6
What are the plans for rural development in the 23 Annexure 9
District identified for intervention in terms of the rural Detailed list
development programme? The Committee requests attached
the Department to present particular projects (including
sites) that will be implemented in this financial year. It is
known that there are 65 CRDP sites across the
country. The APP lacks clarity in relation to the
particular location of projects in the 23 District sites.
7
Responses
of
projects
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
Responses
7
Strategic objective 5.3 “Recapitalisation and development support provided to land reform
beneficiaries and rural communities by 2014”.
The Department should provide further details
about recapitalisation of land reform projects,
as implemented within this programme of rural
development. It would help the Committee to
specify how many land reform projects are going to be supported under the programme
of rural development. For example, social
facilitation and support to CPAs and Trusts as
identified by the Department’s own Annual
Report
on
the
Communal
Property
Associations Report (2009).
Branch REID is using NARYSEC
youth to do household profiling
on identified land reform and
restitution farms to identify
interventions
needed
and
address accordingly through
REID and RID.
Programme 3: Rural Development
8
Branch REID also through the
assistance of NARYSEC will
ensure social facilitation through
the establishment of functional
Councils of Stakeholders in rural
development programme and
together with land reform and
restitution
address
social
facilitation issues where required
on these farms.
Programme 3: Rural Development
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
Responses
7
The Department, having implemented
CRDP for the last three years, should be in
a position to measure the outcomes and
impact of the programme. What is the
impact of CRDP interventions on
beneficiary households? An in-depth
qualitative research on this aspect is
needed.
The Department in conjunction with the
Department of Performance Monitoring
and Evaluation in The Presidency is
currently undertaking an evaluation of the
CRDP as to whether it is achieving its
policy goals and how the programme can
be strengthened and up-scaled through
learning from what has been done. In this
process the impact of the programme on
beneficiary households would necessarily
be considered. Both Branches REID and
RID are participating in this evaluation
process.
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Programme 4: Restitution
No
Portfolio
Committee Responses
Question/remarks
9
The President announced the
reopening of the lodgement of
land claims during this year
(2013)
which
marks
the
centenary of the Natives Land
Act of 1913. An elephant in the
room is that we do not know
how many of the settled land
claims
are
finalised.
The
Commission should provide this
information.
10
Claims are fully settled only when the full extent of all
the portions claimed in a claim have all been signed
off by the Minister in a S42d memorandum or
memoranda. A claim is only counted as settled when
it is fully settled i.e. when the full extent has been
dealt with in a S42d.
Due to the physical extent of certain claims (i.e. the
high number of property parcels under claim), it is
often necessary to deal with sections of the property
under claim in a phased approach (to restore at least
a portion of the land under claim faster) and deal with
more complex matters in future phases. This is
necessary as it is often difficult to negotiate with a
great many land owners concurrently, some land
owners need longer period to conclude on
negotiations or demand further research, investigation
or valuations to be done. In certain cases one or
more properties may need to be expropriated on order
to fully settle a claim.
Programme 4: Restitution
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
Responses
9
The Committee has also found out that
land claims are being settled in phases (in
part). The Commission states over 95% of
lodged land claims are settled. Of that
95% settled, how much is settled 100%
and how much is settled in phases.
The 95% of lodged claims referred to has
been fully settled, i.e. the full extent of the
claim restored.
11
The 5% (i.e. 2716 up to end October 2012)
has not been counted as settled. The 5%
are therefore the claims that are claims that
are currently being dealt with as “phased
claims” as well as those claims that are yet
to be researched. There are 750 claims
that have been given to the HSRC to
research in 2013/14.
Programme 4: Restitution
No.
Portfolio
Question/remarks
9
The APP shows that the Department
will only complete a research report
during the last quarter of the 2013/14
financial year. There is no indication of
processes toward the reopening of land
claims in this year.
The only thing is that under legislation,
the Restitution of Land Rights Act
Amendment Bill will be tabled before
Cabinet. Further than that there is no
information.
12
Committee Responses
Of the 76 980 claims that have been settled
fully, as per the description above and
counted up to October 2012, 59 513 has been
finalised.
A claim is finalised when the full extent of the
settled claim has been executed e.g. if 10
properties were to be restored in terms of the
S42d, all 10 properties have been transferred
to the beneficiaries.
Alternatively, if 96
beneficiaries were to be paid an amount of
R12,5million, all 96 beneficiaries have been
paid and the full amount of R12,5million has
been disbursed.
Portfolio
Committee Responses
Programme
4:
Restitution
Question/remarks
No.
10
13
Other projects: The Department has
been working on Project Kgolaganyo,
APP to relocate all of its Tshwanebased staff and operations to a single
office campus. It anticipated taking
occupation in April 2013.
The APP indicates that R96, 000.00 has
been allocated for this project. The APP
fails to state when the project is likely to
be concluded, all that is stated in the
Strategic Plan is that the Department
intended to take occupation of the new
campus in April 2013. The Department
should provide update on this project,
costs incurred so far and future plans ,
when the project would be finalized,
and the occupation of the new
offices/campus.
In terms of the department’s initial plans of the
PPP project, it had envisaged to take
occupancy to the new building at the
beginning of the financial year 2013/14.
However, disputes on the appointment of the
preferred service provider for the construction
part caused serious delays on this project.
Currently, the department is in a process of
obtaining Treasury Approval (TA) 3 which will
lead to the signing of the contract with the
appointed service provider to commence
construction on site. This process will also
concretize details regarding completion date
of the entire project and the date of
occupancy by the department.
The department had anticipated that it will
spend R96 million for unitary payments in the
financial year under review . however, due to
earlier mentioned delays it is unlikely that
same will be spent."
Programme 5: Land Reform &
Recapitalisation
No.
Portfolio Committee Question/remarks
8
Strategic Objective 5.4; “Tenure security for people Annexure 10
living on commercial farms and communal areas Detailed
provided. The Committee noted that the Draft Policy attached
Framework on Communal Land Tenure would be
completed during the fourth quarter of 2013/14. Against
the backdrop of the Constitutional Court decision on
CLRA, the Committee wishes to further discussion with
the department about this plans and lack of clear
indicators which shows proactive ways in which the
Department will ensure tenure security on communal
areas.
What is the link between recapitalisation work done
under this programme and the work that is done under
rural development?
14
Responses
presentation
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