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IDEAS ON THE CONCEPT : ONE WOMAN, ONE HECTARE OF LAND

IDEAS ON THE CONCEPT : ONE WOMAN, ONE HECTARE OF LAND. PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM BY COMMISSIONNER, DR. WALLACE AMOS MGOQI. INTRODUCTION.

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IDEAS ON THE CONCEPT : ONE WOMAN, ONE HECTARE OF LAND

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  1. IDEAS ON THE CONCEPT : ONE WOMAN, ONE HECTARE OF LAND PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM BY COMMISSIONNER, DR. WALLACE AMOS MGOQI

  2. INTRODUCTION - The Commission For Gender Equality originated the concept and has been driving it with the then Dept for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, as it then was, now the Women’s Ministry in the Presidency. Both CGE and the Ministry cannot implement any program, as their mandate and function is principally to monitor government departments and other public sector institutions , as well as the private sector and civil society, in promoting respect for gender equality, and the protection , development and attainment of gender equality in accordance with the Constitution.

  3. INTRODUCTION … cont. Gender Equality is buttressed in our Constitution in Sec 187 (1) which says: “The Commission for Gender Equality must promote respect for gender equality and the protection , development and attainment of gender equality”. The Commission For Gender Equality Act No: 39 of 1996 The Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act 4, of 2000 (PEPUDA). International and Regional Instruments also form the basis of the work of CGE in promoting gender equality.

  4. ADDITIONAL POWERS AND FUNCTIONS S 11 of the CGE Act No 39 of 1996, as amended confers the following additional powers and functions: Monitor Investigate Research Educate Lobby and Advocacy Advise Parliament and report on issues on gender equality.

  5. INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL PROTOCOLS In addition to the Constitution and domestic laws, The UN Convention on THE Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (Cedaw) provides as follows, in Article 14 (g): “ To have access to agricultural credit and loans , marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes .” The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People's Rights of Women in Africa, in Article 19 on the Right to Sustainable Development: “ Women shall have the right to fully enjoy their right to sustainable development. In this connection , the State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to …( c) promote women's access to and control over productive resources such as land and guarantee their right to property. (d) promote women's access to credit , training , skills development and extension services at rural and urban levels in order to provide women with a higher quality of life and reduce the level of poverty among women.”

  6. INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL PROTOCOLS… cont The Southern African Development (SADAC ) Protocol provides as follows, on Access to Property and Resources: “State Parties shall….review all policies and laws that determine access to, control of , and benefit from , productive resources by women in order to : (a) end all discrimination against women and girls with regard to water rights and property such as land and tenure thereof; (b) ensure that women have equal access and rights to credit , capital, mortgages, security and training as men, and ( a) ensure that women have access to modern , appropriate and affordable technology and support services.”

  7. Former President of Mocambique, Joaquim Chissano, recently made the point : “ Women and girls are Africa’s greatest untapped resource, and it is they, not diamonds or oil and minerals , that will be the foundation for solid , sustainable and equitable progress. … Expanding the freedoms, the education and opportunities for women holds the key to kick-starting inclusive economic growth. This is true the world over, and particularly true for Africa”. It continues to state: “ The leaders need to know that the young women and girls are here and they are not a statistic. The leaders need to create time to meet, dialogue , listen , and then act.”

  8. In 2011 the Commission for Gender Equality published a Research Report on SA’s Land Reform from 2000 to 2010. The findings, among other things , were that women constituted only 13 % of the total beneficiaries. Similar research in Zimbabwe, over the same period found that there as well, no more than 12% were women beneficiaries. In both countries land reform was not engendered. Communal Property Associations to this day are predominantly male-dominated. In 2012, CGE adopted the Concept One Woman, One Hectare of Land, as a Campaign .

  9. The CGE adopted it on the basis of its mandate, which goes beyond monitoring, to include lobbying and advocacy to promote gender equality Land and women CGE found, is one area where inequality has historical roots, all over the world. In the Bible, in Numbers 27, we read of the daughters of Zelophehad, whose father died and they were denied the right to inherit their father's land, purely because they were women The law was subsequently reformed, because they stood up The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has a primary responsibility to make this happen The Department for Co-Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs , to the extent that large chunks of land in rural areas falls under traditional leaders, could play a facilitative role in making some of this land available to women in some form of secure tenure, for themselves and an inheritance to their children.

  10. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has a mandate for promoting economic development, and has a track record of women economic empowerment. It has vast reservoir of information on business models. The Land Bank which in colonial times and under Apartheid made it happen for white farmers, by channeling State funds through Co-operatives can also make it happen for African women farmers now. Even today , the world over, the relationship between women and land is always via the father , or the male sibling , or the husband, if married, or an uncle, but never directly with the woman. Women constitute 70 % of farm labour, yet have a tenuous and precarious relationship to the land. This can change over night if the State were to have the political Will to do it.

  11. The Land Bank was also seen and was enthusiastic, as well as the Dept of Public Works, the latter as the custodian of all State land, the former funding land related projects. The basic tenets of the Concept of One Woman, One Hectare of Land is for the State to allocate a minimum of one hectare of land, to the most vulnerable, rural women, ready and able to use it productively. Land ownership in itself will not extricate women from poverty and dependence on men, but being assisted to turn their activities into businesses that provide sustainable incomes. The State has a critical role to play to make this to happen. There is unlimited potential that can be unleashed by the implementation of this initiative. There is no shortage of women farmers in the field, going by entries in Provincial and National Female Farmer of the Year Awards, every year.

  12. Civil Society, in general , and women land advocacy groups, like the Rural Women Assembly of Southern Africa, in particular, have embraced the concept of One Woman ,One Hectare of Land , as a demand from government. This demand resonates with women , all over the land, as it encapsulates their conditions of subjugation, when it comes to land. Naturally, the allocation of land to individual women or men, in communal land areas has to be approached with caution and circumspection. CGE does not advocate ,in all cases , full-blown individual ownership, but some guarantee of land allocation, something more than the Permission to Occupy, with a guarantee of financial support from the State upon the production of a plan. Otherwise, where feasible, land ownership should be extended to women, as individuals or heads of households. Experience from other countries, lists these as pre-requisites for farming:

  13. CHAPTER 7, ZIMBABWE TAKES BACK ITS LAND CGE is also not married to One Woman, One hectare, it can be called whatever, as long as it will extend land rights to women, with a secure form of tenure. If it is more palatable to call it One Household………it is in order. The Zimbabwean farmers have distilled these lessons: 1.Money and Knowledge are pre-requisites. 2.Training, Looking at others and Experimenting. 3. Having a plan for farming. 4.Reinvestment back in the farm. 5.Hard Work and Living on the farm. 6.Understanding farming. When all these are taken into account, there would be reasonable prospects of success.

  14. LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND TRADITIONAL STRUCTURES Municipalities have under their jurisdiction commonages which have not been utilized in a transparent manner, let alone to benefit the poorest of the poor. Equally in the rural areas traditional leaders have under their jurisdictions large tracts of land which have not really benefitted women or women-headed households optimally in the past .

  15. This presents an opportunity for these structures to redeem and vindicate themselves by stepping up to the plate, and make land available to women, in a fair, transparent and equitable manner. The African Union has declared 2015 as a year for equality for women, women’s rights, and women economic empowerment. AU state parties, private sector institutions and civil society formations are all expected to put their shoulders to the wheel and make it happen.

  16. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF ONE WOMAN, ONE HECTARE OF LAND IDEA? By way of example, the initiative is saying , given the tenuous and precarious nature of the relationship between A woman and land, always via a father, or a male sibling, or a husband or an uncle, the State should have a role in allocating a minimum of one hectare of land or more, to the very poor women, in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Private sector institutions may also participate in this by making land available for productive and sustainable use, in their own self-enlightened interest. The women can use the one hectare for a house, and for growing food, in a sustainable way and as an inheritance to their children.

  17. USING THE LAND IN THE CONTEXT OF FARM WORKERS AND FARM DWELLERS Farm workers and farm dwellers are one of the most oppressed and exploited sectors of our society, that could benefit handsomely from the implementation of One Woman/ One household, One Hectare of land. The State has so far used labour legislation, like the Labour Tenants Act and the Extension of Security and Tenure Act, but there has been no reciprocity on the part of farm owners. Instead they embarked on casualisation of labour, as well as externalisation of labour , through labour brokers. The time is ripe for government to use its muscle as did previous governments, by acquiring land on behalf of farm workers and farm dwellers .

  18. WHAT DOES RESEARCH SHOW CONCERNING WOMEN AND LAND? Nourished children, whose mothers own land are 33% less likely to be severely underweight. Safer women who own land are up to 8 times less likely to experience domestic violence. Prosperous women with strong property and inheritance rights earn up to 3.8 times more income. Healthy children in households where women own land are up to 10% less likely to be sick; Resilient –where women’s property and inheritance rights are stronger, women's individual savings are up to 35 percent greater; Educated families where women own more land devote more of their budget to education; All this contributes towards a better world

  19. MORINGA FEMALE FARMER Strengthening women’s land rights, promoting and protecting gender equality. A black female farmer and entrepreneur, Ms Mavis Mathabatha, has started planting Moringa in Limpopo. Her research partners are Fort Hare University, Wits, ARC, Dept of Sc &Technology, CSIR, SABS; Her supporters are Limpopo Dept of Agriculture, DAFF, DTI, and TIL. Her finance is from SA Trust, ABSA, the Ackerman Pick & Pay Foundation. Incubators are SEDA and Coca Cola Fortune Abafazi.

  20. WHAT ARE THE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES OF THIS INITIATIVE? This initiative has a huge potential for job creation, in that as soon as land is allocated, either on ownership, lease basis or use basis, members of that community, who are unemployed, but willing to work, will find work for themselves; It will be a black empowerment exercise, in so far as it will be targeting landless and poor communities, principally, women, with a view to transferring land rights, giving them an inheritance for their children; The initiative has the potential of uplifting the community, create a dynamic of vibrancy, and social cohesion, from the youth to the adult population in that community; The initiative will allow members of the family to acquire knowledge and skills, they can pass to the next generation.

  21. DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES CONT. The initiative presents opportunities for participants to learn about issues of environmental sustainability and climate change, thus conducting themselves appropriately; It presents an opportunity for preferential procurement for those members of communities. A whole new generation of women would be lifted up by their bootstraps to a completely new level.

  22. UNSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOAL 5 The UN has now adopted the SDG,s and Goal 5,Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women and Girls, Target 5.a states: “ Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws .“ This is a very important target in the promotion of gender equality, especially in the area of historic injustices suffered by women with regard to ownership and control of land and other forms of property. The time is now to take corrective measures, policies and laws.

  23. Introducing One Woman, One Hectare of Land, in the rural areas, and in communal land jurisdictions, may go a long way towards empowering large numbers of women, even helping in replenishing the loss of white commercial farmers producing food for the nation. As long as land allocation is accompanied by State financial assistance, and non-financial assistance to enable those allocated access to land to use it profitably, productively and sustainably. They may use it individually or corporately as a co-operative. The Baphiring judgment has some guidelines for the Land Claims Court, however these are gender-blind.

  24. DRAFT LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLEMENTATION With a view to creating a legislative framework, for the implementation of the initiative, CGE has taken the step of drafting proposed legislation, to safeguard the rights and interests of all the parties involved; from the state whose rights must be protected, to the women beneficiaries, who may not be overreached, to third parties who may become involved in this broad –based black women empowerment exercise of great magnitude. As soon as the political principals give a nod to the initiative to go ahead, the draft legislation will then be finalised for Parliament to consider and consummate.

  25. Once again , it will be said, something new always comes out of Africa. A new dispensation that will spread throughout the African Continent, empowering women, in their millions, something that will benefit generations and generations to come. Educating communities and changing attitudes of men, of governments towards women, and their entitlement to the same rights they have enjoyed, from time immemorial, will be an ongoing battle, women must fight, together with all the men who love them, those from whose eyes the scales have fallen. IT IS ONLY WHEN WOMEN ARE UNSHACKLED, THAT HUMANITY WILL BE TRULY FREE !

  26. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS ON 28 OCTOBER 2015 THE CGE MET WITH THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND LAND REFORM. THIS ENGAGEMENT HAS RESULTED IN THE FOLLOWING : THE PC ON RDLR IS SUPPORTIVE OF THE ONE WOMAN ONE HECTARE (1W1H) CAMPAIGN. IN ORDER TO TAKE THE CAMPAIGN TO THE NEXT LEVEL THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS WERE PROPOSED : 3.1 THE MODEL FOR OWNERSHIP OF LAND UNDER 1W1H MUST BE DEFINED.

  27. CNT… 3.2 FUNDING SOURCES AND AN APPROPRIATE MODEL FOR A SUSTAINABLE 1W1H PROJECT / INITIATIVE IS NECESSARY. 3.3 OVERALL SUSTAINABILITY OF 1W1H IS NECESSSARY THEREFORE, A PROPER POLICY FRAMEWORK / ACT MUST BE DEVELOPED. 3.5 KEY ASPECTS SUCH AS REVENUE GENERATION AND INCOME DISTRIBUTION MUST BE CONSIDERED. 3.6 THE CATEGORY OF BENEFICIARIES MUST BE DEFINED FOR MEANINGFUL BENEFICIARY IDENTIFICATION.

  28. 3.7 THE QUALITY AND LOCATION OF LAND MUST BE GIVEN SERIOUS CONSIDERATION. 3.8 THE MANNER IN WHICH LAND UNDER 1W1H WILL BE POOLED AND UTILIZED IS A VITAL REQUIREMENT FOR ITS SUCCESS. 3.9 THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS MUST BE IDENTIFIED AND WILL INCLUDE AMONGST OTHERS : GOVERNMENT AT ALL THREE LEVELS, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, SUPPORT STRUCTURES SUCH AS ELECTRICITY/ WATER, ADVICE BY SPECIALISTS AND OVERSIGHT.

  29. The End Every woman, in every village, in every hamlet, in every part of the country, who receives the allocation of land, will say: “This land you have given me is pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!” THANK YOU! Commission For Gender Equality.

  30. Thank You HAVE A GENDER RELATED COMPLAINT ???? REPORT IT TO 0800 007 709 TwitterHandle @CGEinfoFacebook: Gender Commission of South Africa

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