There was a danger that quality could be sacrificed at the altar of speed and quantity as South Africa tried to speed up its land restitution process, National Land Commissioner Dr Wallace Mgoqi said on Wednesday.
Sustainability and quality settlements were critical for sustainable development, he told the National Council of Province’s land affairs committee.
”There is real danger in us ignoring this. One which will make this monumental effort, a monumental failure.
”As we are placed under tremendous pressure to hasten the land restitution process, we face the danger that we could so hasten things to a point where we sacrifice quality at the altar of speed and quantity,” Mgoqi warned.
One of the most daunting challenges was to ensure that as land was restored to restitution beneficiaries, they were enabled and empowered to use their land in the most productive and sustainable way.
A trilateral co-operation agreement involving the commission, the Land Bank and National Development Agency was aimed at all three using their collective resources, experience and expertise to impact positively on the development needs of those who have had their land restored.
Mgoqi also expressed concern about the attitude of some investors, especially those in the mineral resources sector.
They were only interested in doing business on terms most beneficial to themselves ”relegating those who are new owners of land to a position of beggars for employment and others to begging for crumbs that may fall from the masters’ table”.
Mqoqi emphasised that given the social, economic and political pressures in the land reform process, both locally and some neighbouring countries, it would be in the best interest of social justice to finalise the land restitution process within the next three years.
The national Treasury had been approached for more funds so that the process could be completed by this deadline.
There was hope that additional amounts of R330-million, R400-million and R600-million would be secured for the medium term expenditure framework period 2003-2005, he told the National Council of Provinces’ land committee.
The major challenge facing the commission was to increase its staff, as well as its capital and current budgets.
Linked to this was the difficult task of speeding up rural claims, which were much more complex than urban claims, Mgoqi said.
”They constitute the backbone of the land restitution programme. This is where the largest number of beneficiaries reside and where the bulk of the land, which is to be restored is found.”
Thirty-two percent (11092) of total rural claims had been settled, compared with 68% (24045) of urban ones. – Sapa