TO: All EDITORS EMBARGO: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ON 12/07/2005 AT 14:00 PM

MEDIA STATEMENT

NORTHERN CAPE LAND SUMMIT GETS UNDERWAY TOMORROW

The Northern Cape Land Summit gets underway tomorrow with over - 580 delegates representing the landless, farm workers, land reform beneficiaries, land activists, organized agriculture, provincial and national government, business, political parties, federations and trade unions, decision makers and academics - expected to descend on Kimberley.

The Summit hosts; Departments of Agriculture and Land Reform, Land Affairs and the Regional Land Claims Commission placed a decree on requests for attendance in the wake of an upsurge in delegates. The Head of Department of Agriculture and Land Reform Viljoen Mothibi attributed the increase to the emotive nature of land and agrarian issues. “ It is unfortunate for us to place a decree but then there are logistical aspects and the carrying capacity of the venue that should be considered,” said HOD Mothibi with a firm believe that the summit would be hassle-free.

Northern Cape Premier Dipuo Peters will deliver the keynote address flanked by MEC For Agriculture and Land Reform Tina Joemat-Pettersson and the Executive Mayor of the Sol Plaatje Municipality Patrick Lenyibi. The Premier is expected to reflect on the strides that government has made in land and agrarian reform and the challenges thereof. The anticipated intense nature of the debates necessitated a late end of business for summit at 18h00 on its first day.

HOD Mothibi added that the Summit would assist government in expanding decision making within land reform. “It would further assist in raising the profile of South Africa’s land and agrarian reform as a yardstick of economic growth and poverty eradication,” he said. The Summit is being staged as a 50th year celebration of the Freedom Charter hence it is expected to cast light on how best to achieve the vision of the Freedom Charter through its clauses of; The People Shall Share in the Country’s Wealth; The Land Shall Be Shared Amongst Those Who Work It and that There Shall Be Work and Security. The clauses would be used as the key-messages of the Summit.

The resolutions of the Summit will be tabled at the National Land Summit to be held in Johannesburg from the 27 to 31 of July 2005 where the successes and challenges of land and agrarian reform would be further interrogated. The Northern Cape will select its delegates for the National Land Summit at the end of the provincial summit’s business.

The key issues that will come under discussion at the province’s Land Summit include among others:

• Examination of the pace of land reform – close to a million hectares of land has been transferred to black ownership in the province. The probing question is whether this is enough against the backdrop of government’s target of transferring 30 percent of agricultural land to black ownership by 2014; and

· · Other issues that have been have been flagged for discussion includes Restitution; Redistribution (LRAD, State land disposal); Tenure (Tenure rights, TRANCRAA, human settlement, ESTA and SLAG) and Land Reform Policy (willing-buyer-willing seller, foreign land ownership and land price).

HOD Mothibi further indicated that all the necessary logistical arrangements have been made to create a conducive environment for frank and honest discussion on one of South Africa’s most emotive subjects, the land question. A task team comprising of officials of the Departments of Agriculture and Land Reform, Land Affairs, Regional Land Claims Commission, Local Government and Housing, Provincial and National Public Works is steering the preparations under the custodianship of the MEC for Agriculture and Land Reform Tina Joemat-Pettersson.

Enquiries: Thabo Mothibi 083 255 8840 tmothibi@grand.ncape.gov.za

Lerato Jabane 082 712 9379 LTJabane@dla.gov.za