NEWS
REFLECTIONS ON
MINISTER THOKO DIDIZA ’ S BUDGET VOTE SPEECH
Minister of Agriculture , Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza , delivered her budget vote speech to parliament on 13 May . In her speech she focused on land reform , agricultural land leases , agricultural expansion , finance , and the sectoral master plans .
Kefiloe Manthata Senwes Journalist
The Minister started off by asserting her earlier statements pertaining to the land allocation policies and processes . She confirmed that her department has committed to ensuring that fifty percent of the land allocation will go to women while youth will get forty percent and people with disabilities get six percent . “ Land is an asset that can liberate women , not only in terms of ownership but also in the productive use of this asset for economic participation and livelihood .”
The Minister ’ speech took on a positive tone when speaking about the overall outlook on the agriculture sector . She noted how , supported by favourable weather conditions and increased plantings , the future looks promising for growth and expansion prospects of the sector in the upcoming year .
Didiza afforded a special mention to the animal and plant health sector and noted the challenges that they have faced in recent times . South Africa has been experiencing frequent outbreaks of animal plagues ranging from avian flu , foot and mouth disease to African swine fever and blood kidney . These diseases tend to hamper agricultural trade and cause substantial financial losses for farmers . While there does not seem to be a plan in place yet that will address these challenges and provide some relief to livestock farmers , there is some acknowledgement that imminent attention needs to be paid to these challenges and the threats they pose . She further noted the near-term interventions being made by the state scientists and various programmes of the Agricultural Research Council and the Onderstepoort Biological Product .
Didiza outlined and gave updates on the Master Plans for agro-processing , cannabis , market access and management of resources .. Commenting on the prevalent questions around the legislation and commercialisation of cannabis , Didiza said that an inter-departmental team , comprising of representatives from various departments , was established , to guide the development of the National Cannabis Master Plan .
She rounded off the speech with a word of reflection , acknowledging the weaknesses in her own administration and confirming that they will be addressing these shortcomings in the foreseeable future . “ Building state capacity also means being able to implement consequence management where wrongdoing has occurred . We wish to assure members that we are acting , and we will not hesitate to act so that public resources are accounted for , and that the conduct of our officials is not questionable by citizens .”
SENWES SCENARIO | WINTER � 2021 9