Download PARLEMENTêRE VERSLAG: OKTOBER / NOVEMBER 2009

ABC PARLIAMENTARY REPORT: OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2009
1. On 27 October 2009, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and
Arbitration (CCMA) and the National Economic Development Council
(NEDLAC) presented their annual reports to the Portfolio Committee on
Labour. The CCMA presented the Committee with their vision for 2010.
Their intention is, among others, to resolve 70% of all disputes through
conciliation by 2010. The Commission also wants to ensure that fewer cases
are referred to the Labour Court. In addition, they strive for improved
compliance with arbitration awards. By the year 2010 all conciliations would
be finalised within the prescribed 30-day period and arbitrations would be
processed within 60 days. The CCMA had taken certain steps in response to
the economic crisis, such as developing guidelines for retrenchment and
severance packages and the introduction of a retrenchment training scheme.
NEDLAC provided an overview of their activities of the past year. They had
played a role in dealing with the electricity crisis, the debate on food prices,
international trade negotiations and the recession, as well as legislation,
including the Consumer Protection Bill, the Companies Bill, the Competition
Amendment Bill and the National Water Amendment Bill. In their
submission, NEDLAC provided an overview of the work performed by each
of the organisation’s four Chambers.
2. On 28 October 2009, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights presented
their annual report to the Portfolio Committee on Rural Development and
Land Reform. The Chief Land Claims Commissioner, Andrew Mphela, did
the presentation. He said that the price of land which, according to him,
amounts to R12 949 per hectare on average, was one of the reasons for the
lack of progress with restitution and that more money was being spent to buy
less land. During the year under review, 653 claims were settled. In total 75
400 claims had been settled since 1994 – which represents 95.5% of all claims
instituted. There are still 4 296 claims outstanding, most of them in KwaZuluNatal. The Commission had spent its entire budget. The Commission had
also identified approximately 200 struggling projects which will have to be
recapitalised – the Department of Agriculture will help with funding for this
purpose. The Commissioner indicated that the Commission was financially
committed to projects to the value of R21.5 billion.
3. On 3 November 2009, the former Department of Agriculture (now
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) presented their annual report to the
Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The acting
Director-General, Ms Moganjane, presented the report. She said that in the
past year agriculture had to contend with unprecedented challenges around
food security, such as changing weather conditions, international demand for
food, high food prices and outbreak of disease. She presented the Committee
with her department’s core objectives, which include the availability of
sufficient, safe and nutritious food, the eradication of inequalities within the
sector, the sustainable use of resources, bio-security and risk management.
She said the economic crisis had a minimal impact on the agricultural sector in
relation to other sectors. Exports had increased by more than 900 ton and
there was a positive agricultural trade balance of R5.9 billion. However, there
had been a 17.1% decline in the growth rate of the sector during 2009.
Furthermore, 26 000 jobs had been lost in the sector in the first quarter of
2009. The allocated budget for 2008/09 was R2 937 billion, of which R2 847
had been spent.
4. On 4 November 2009, the Department of Labour presented their annual report
to the Portfolio Committee on Labour. The department had trained a large
number of unemployed people and placed them with employers. In total
153 697 workplaces were inspected during the year. A total of 2 677
inspections were conducted in the agricultural sector. The department
received a qualified audit report from the Auditor-General.
5. On 10 November 2009, the National Agricultural Marketing Council and the
Agricultural Research Council (ARC) presented their respective annual reports
to the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The ARC
is experiencing funding problems. The allocation awarded to the organisation
had increased by only 4%, while their staff salary increases amounted to 6,8%.
It was mentioned that seven employees had been dismissed for corruption. The
ARC received a qualified audit report.
The Marketing Council provided an overview of their role, function and
objectives. In their presentation they provided, among others, feedback on the
funds that were available at each commodity trust. They also provided
feedback on the monitoring of food prices, which is one of their functions.
Information was also provided on the research projects funded by the Council.
6. On 11 November 2009, the Land Bank presented their annual report to the
Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and fisheries. The Committee
was informed of the Bank’s turnaround strategy. Feedback was provided on
the forensic inquiries being conducted with regard to the AgriBEE fund, the
MAFISA fund and the Land Development Funding Unit. The investigation
into the AgriBEE fund, in particular, was at a sensitive stage but it appeared as
if the problem was far bigger than initially suspected. It was mentioned that
the Bank was again starting to show a profit. It seems that the Land Bank is
applying a new definition to determine whether someone is an emerging or a
commercial farmer. Farmers who farm on more than 300 ha are considered
commercial farmers.
7. On 17 and 18 November 2009 public hearings were held on climate change.
These hearings were arranged jointly and the Portfolio Committees on Water
and the Environment; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and Rural
Development and Land Reform were in attendance. A large number of
organisations, including the Human Rights Commission, the SA Medical
Association, Agri SA, the ABC, trade unions, the Sustainable Energy and
Climate Change Project and others, made submissions.
The ABC said in its presentation that there was an urgent need to mitigate the
impact of climate change, which will have a big impact on the agricultural
sector and agri-business. This however had to be done in a way that does not
compromise other objectives, such as food security, competitiveness and
poverty alleviation. Innovation will need to play a key role for mitigating
emissions from agriculture. Adaptation was going to be necessary as well adaptation options in agriculture can involve a range of actions, such as
investment in flood protection, planting different crops, early warning
systems, etc. The ABC pleaded for a partnership-approach to deal with
climate change.
In its submission, Agri SA referred to the Sector Plan for Agriculture which,
among others, makes provision for sustainable use of resources. Although
agriculture contributes to the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere,
the sector also certainly participates in the management of the problem in that
plants absorb carbon. Agri SA asked that incentives be created to encourage
farmers to sequestrate carbon. Agriculture also differs from many other
sectors that contribute to harmful emissions in that farming processes that emit
carbon and methane are mainly of a biological nature. Research on new
cultivars and crops which are, for example, more drought resistant, is vitally
important. Agricultural productivity must be increased in a sustainable
manner to counteract food shortages caused by climate change. The issue of
water quality should also receive urgent attention.
8. On 17 November 2009, the Land Claims Commission and the Department of
Rural Development and Land Reform, at the request of the Portfolio
Committee on Rural Development and Land Reform, provided feedback on
certain issues of concern to the Committee – especially the budget and
possible postponement of the target date for 30% redistribution of land. The
Director-General of the Department said they would need R71 billion to reach
the 30% target by 2014. According to him, high land prices pose a huge
problem, with grazing land now costing between R7000 and R10 000 per
hectare. In response to a question regarding valuations, Mr Gwanya said they
make use of valuators who are registered with the Council of Valuators but
that the profession was still dominated by old white men. They often receive
three very different valuations for the same property. He said commercial
banks work with productive value, but farmers refuse to accept productive
value as compensation for their farms and want more money from the state
than they would charge when selling their farms to other farmers. Officials of
the Treasury who attended the meeting indicated that they were under the
impression that restitution should have been completed by 2008 and that the
Cabinet had made budget allocations based on that assumption. It now
appears that it would still require millions of rand to finalise rural claims. He
confirmed, however, that rural development was a priority for the government.
The chair of the committee, Mr Sizane, expressed doubt as to whether rural
development was indeed seen as a priority given the relatively small budget
allocation for this purpose. Mr Gwanya said he had, at Agri SA’s congress,
extended an invitation to farmer leaders to come forward with suggestions
regarding a formula for compensation that would be acceptable and fair.
Annelize Crosby