On Government efforts to accelerate agricultural support, and assess the extent to which commercial banks can contribute towards growing the agricultural sector by adjusting their qualification criteria to smallholder farmers in rural and underdeveloped provinces:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker,

Before answering the question, let me join those who have extended condolences to the families affected by disasters in the Eastern Cape! Our hearts are with you. Government will do everything in its power to assist you! Thank you Hon Speaker for the endulgence!

Honourable Ntuli is correct that agriculture is one of the most important sectors of our economy.  We need to support it to promote economic growth, ensure food security and employment creation, particularly in rural communities. 

Government is playing a crucial role to ensure that small farmers become sustainable and thriving enterprises, aligned to the country’s land reform and rural development objectives. 

Government also supports smallholder farmers in rural areas through the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP). The Master Plan aims to enhance agricultural production, promote agro-processing, and enhance market access by creating capacity, accelerating land reform, and offering financial assistance to farmers.

Through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) we are enhancing collaborations between government and private entities to boost productivity, service delivery, and sustainability. Growth, infrastructure, and technology adoption depend on these collaborations.

To this end, I had an opportunity to engage with the agricultural sector at the Nampo Harvest Day held at Nampo Park on 15 May 2025 in Bothaville, Free State Province. 

During this visit, we engaged with AFGRI, an important organisation that protects and promotes the interest of the farming community in South Africa. AFGRI, through Lemang Agricultural Services offer both farmers and corporates a variety of training and development choices. In essence, Lemang unlocks the potential of new era farmers and their land through training, mentorship, technical assistance and exposure, increasing agricultural productivity and-access to markets. 

We also witnessed the latest technologies and products and emphasized the government's commitment to agriculture's role in job creation. 

Together, with the private sector, we agreed that we must speed up support of new era farmers, through support and mentorship programmes, particularly in rural and underdeveloped areas.
 
Honourable Speaker,

Furthermore, in order to address the challenge of access to funding by small-scale farmers, government is implementing supporting instruments to allow qualified potential producers to participate in the agricultural sector. 

These instruments are provided to eligible producers in the form of grants, loans, or a mix of both. These include the grant-based Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and the loan-and-grant-based Blended Finance Scheme (BFS).

The CASP is administered through Provincial Departments of Agriculture, while the BFS is managed in collaboration with financial institutions. Partnering financial institutions include the Land and Agricultural Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), ABSA, and the Industrial Development Cooperation (IDC).

Through the Blended Finance Scheme (BFS), the Land Bank, DBSA and the Department of Agriculture offer blended finance, where grants are combined with loans, to provide a more manageable financial package for emerging farmers, particularly targeting majority black-owned enterprises in the agricultural value chain.

These interventions are implemented to ensure optimal participation of smallholder farmers, particularly from rural areas, and other producers in the agricultural sector, regardless of their scale of operation.

In this regard, several strides have been made towards improving access to funding and resource support for small-scale and smallholder farmers in terms of production support and market access.

Honourable Speaker,

We are also committed to leveraging trade agreements in agricultural products through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to boost intra-Africa trade, eliminate trade barriers and promoting regional value chains. If we effectively utilise regional structures like AfCFTA, our smallholder farmers will have a platform to access larger regional markets and potentially benefit from increased demand for their products.

In this regard, continuous industry consultations and reporting is taking place through the Agricultural Trade Forum (ATF). The Department of Agriculture is a member of the AfCFTA National Implementation Committee (NIC). This committee plays a crucial role in coordinating government work and monitoring the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

Similar arrangements are currently in place with the European Union and our BRICS partners. We will fast-track export protocols, enhance biosecurity to meet international standards, and ensure our international outreach is professional, responsive and strategic.

To this end, we have undertaken a working visit to Japan, Minister of Agriculture, Steenhuisen was part of the delegation. Japan is one of our strategic economic partners and has already invested heavily in the South African economy, with the potential for additional investments. 

We are actively seeking to expand agricultural market access to Japan, particularly for citrus fruits and avocados.

I thank you Honourable Speaker!

On strategies the Justice, Crime-Prevention and Security Cabinet Committee has implemented to dismantle organised criminal networks:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker

The question raised by Honourable Petersen is important considering the high levels of gang-related violence in urban and peri-urban areas. 

Through the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cabinet Committee, we are coordinating efforts of various departments involved in justice, crime prevention, and security to employ a multifaceted approach to combat organised crime. 

As part of a comprehensive strategy, SAPS has developed the National Anti-Gang Strategy to dismantle organised criminal networks and address socioeconomic conditions. This strategy, supported by the Anti-Gang Action Plan, focuses on gangsterism through intelligence gathering, proactive policing, community engagement, and stakeholder collaboration.

In this regard, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is enhancing its Anti-Gang Units to investigate and finalise gang-related cases, including drug trafficking, shootings, and murders, as part of its efforts to combat gang-related crime.

Furthermore, the SAPS National Crime Combating Forum (NCCF) has developed a new Overarching Crime Combating Strategy, Operation Shanela II, for the period 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2029.

Operation Shanela is actively shaping the landscape nationwide, and it has persisted throughout regions with concentrated, strategic law enforcement efforts based on intelligence. Between 26 May and 1 June 2025, 2,214 wanted suspects were apprehended for various crimes, including murder and business robberies. 

Honourable Speaker,

As part of the integrated policing, Cabinet approved the National Policing Policy (NPP) on 15 May 2025. This policy aims to strengthen police service delivery to communities by ensuring professionalism and efficiencies in policing. The NPP is supported by the Integrated Crime and Violence Prevention Strategy, which seeks to address crime and violence at its root cause.

Integrated policing is indeed paying off. For example, in the Olerato Mongale case, the SAPS mobilised a multidisciplinary team, including the Crime Intelligence Unit, the Anti-Kidnapping Task Team, and the Durban Metro K9 Unit, to track down the suspects. We were able to achieve a breakthrough in this instance.

 
Integrated policing involves a multifaceted approach to crime prevention and management, encompassing various stakeholders and strategies. The goal is to address crime effectively by integrating resources, sharing information, and working together with communities to develop and implement comprehensive crime prevention plans.

As a result, according to the latest statement released by SAPS, the ongoing operations which are focusing on combating and preventing crime including gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) has led to the arrest of 13 633 suspects.

Honourable Speaker, 

As Chairperson of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cabinet Committee, I will continue engaging engagements with the Minister of Police, the National Commissioner and  MEC’s for Community Safety in Provinces to strengthen our efforts in dealing with organised crime and gang-related killings,  especially in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape where this is rife. 

Our ultimate goal is to eliminate immediate threats posed by crime and gangs in identified high-crime areas while fostering a safe and secure environment for long-term stability. As a result, our interventions are making significant progress in combating gang-related crime and other forms of criminality, with the latest fourth-quarter statistics showing significant decreases in most crime categories compared to the previous financial year. However, much more still needs to be done.
 
Honourable Speaker,

Dealing with gang-related criminality also entails eradicating illegal guns and increasing control over lawfully acquired firearms. According to the Minister of Police, 4,023 incidents of unlawful possession of guns and ammunition were reported during the 4th quarter of 2024/2025. Through Operation Shanela, 128 illegal firearms were seized, and 82 individuals arrested as at 23 May 2025.

In this regard, the Minister of Police has confirmed that one of SAPS’s immediate priorities is to eradicate illegal firearms and the tightening of control over legally owned firearms.

Furthermore, SAPS is positioning itself to tackle crime more effectively by examining its organisational structure. To this end, SAPS is dividing its Visible Policing (VisPol) into two distinct divisions: VisPol and Operational Response Services (ORS). This restructuring is part of a larger process to optimize resources and improve service delivery.

We will continue collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to dismantle organised crime syndicates, rebuild trust through this multi-faceted approach, and ensure sustainable safety outcomes.

I thank you Honourable Speakers!
 

On interventions the Water Task Team has taken to hold municipalities and provinces to account for failing to provide adequate water supply to their respective communities and addressing water shortages:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker,

The Water Task Team is working with municipalities to deal with the water challenges. In addition, The Water Task Team has also looked at the state of water supply services in the 105 non-performing municipalities where municipalities are unable to deliver on their mandate for this service. In terms of this, the Department of Water and Sanitation has submitted short-, medium- and long-term solutions to turn around the declining water services to these struggling municipalities. 

The Water Task Team's recent meeting emphasized the need to enhance municipal service management and financial stability in the water sector by ring-fencing revenue from water sales and separating Water Services Authorities from Providers through Operation Vulindlela reforms, aiming to accelerate governance and infrastructure improvements.

The Department of Water and Sanitation has also significantly strengthened its controls to ensure funding is allocated to projects that add maximum value to address water service needs. For large projects of strategic nature, the department has established oversight structures in the form of Project Steering Committees and Technical Steering Committees that comprise of all stakeholders to monitor projects and to collectively address and resolve project blockages. 

In addition, the Department of Water and Sanitation has established a specialist unit with engineers who closely monitor and oversee the implementation of priority and large intervention projects. These are projects are identified by the Department as requiring more stringent oversight based on impact, risks and past delays. 

To this end, the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has recommended that the Department of Water and Sanitation, National Treasury, the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs collaboratively develop a comprehensive Water Debt Management Plan. This plan will implement strategies like top slicing the equitable share and the Municipal Infrastructure Grant to address rising municipal water debt.

The National Treasury is also considering invoking Section 216 of the Constitution against defaulting municipalities, meaning their upcoming equitable share payments will be withheld while repayment agreements are negotiated with the relevant water boards.

In addition to these mechanisms, the Department of Water and Sanitation can withhold or stop grant funding where there is poor performance by municipalities that are implementing agents in line with Section 17 of the Division of Revenue Act (DoRA). In cases of continuous under-expenditure, funding is reallocated to other struggling municipalities according to Section 18 and 19 of the DoRA. By the end of the municipal financial year, municipalities are required to have spent the allocated funding, and any unspent funds are returned to National Revenue Fund.

Honourable Speaker, 

We are not only addressing water related service delivery challenges at local government level, last week we launched a new initiative called the Clean Cities and Towns Campaign at Kliptown in Soweto. This campaign is also aimed at accelerating service delivery. We will be expanding this campaign to all provinces in the country. 

Through collaboration with various sectors of society and all levels of government, we will effectively tackle issues unique to cities and towns, including the provision of clean drinkable water, electricity connectivity, etc.

I thank you Honourable Speaker! 
 

On whether the Government will be able to continue with the combating of HIV/Aids which has resulted in a huge negative impact on the health of South Africans:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker, 

The withdrawal of PEPFAR and other funds by the US Administration will deprive SA an amount of about R8 billion per annum. These are funds that are critical to support people suffering from HIV/AIDS, STI’s, TB, and other illnesses, particularly in rural and poor communities.

Let me assure Honourable van Staden that our government has started drawing from its own  capacity to fund its HIV/AIDS programme, especially after the withdrawal of PEPFAR fundng by the US Government. The Minister of Health has, on a number of occassions, indicated that the withdrawal of PEPFAR will therefore not have a dire impact in the purchasing and the distribution of the anti-retrovirals. 

In this regard, government, has developed contingency plans to address the gaps resulting from this funding withdrawal to sustain the delivery of health services. Through SANAC, we are engaging with the Minister of Finance to discuss the possibility of funding these gaps from the fiscus.

The South African government is intensifying efforts in the HIV and AIDS response, providing HIV prevention, treatment, TB, and STI services across all public health facilities in the country.  

For instance, under the auspices of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), the Minister of Health launched the 1.1 million “Close the gap” campaign on the 25th  of February this year. 

This Campaign seeks to initiate 1.1 million people on Anti-retroviral Treatment by December 2025, in an effort to help the country attain the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets. It aims to do so by complementing and leveraging other SANAC Campaigns, such as the “Better Man 4 Tomorrow” Men’s Campaign, “Zikhala kanjani” National Youth HIV Prevention Campaign, as  well as the “End TB” Campaign.

Honourable Speaker, 

We continue to work with various partners in coordinating and implementing these campaigns. At the present moment, the PEPFAR colleagues who are paid through the Centre for Disease Control are still operational in the country.

Last month, I reassured this House that as government we are taking the necessary measures to prevent the negative effects that could result from the withdrawal of the PEPFAR support. In this regard, SANAC is finalising a country sustainability framework, to ensure sustainability of our HIV, TB and STI response. 

Our top priority is to ensure all South Africans on anti-retrovirals continue to have access to these life-saving drugs. Similarly, those who still need to be initiated on treatment must be initiated as per our plans.We will continue in our efforts to ensure that this objective is realised.

I thank you Honourable Speaker!

On performance targets set to achieve land reform and agricultural development and the integrated approach being developed by the Inter-Ministerial Committee to holistically support infrastructure development in the rural areas that supports the growth of the agricultural sector:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker,

The Government is accelerating Land Reform Programme through the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Agriculture and Land Reform to improve agricultural production, ensure food security, and expedite land redistribution, aiming to tackle inequality, poverty, and unemployment through increased agricultural output and economic participation.

To this end, the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development has allocated more R500 million for the 2025/2026 financial year to acquire and allocate 44,000 hectares of land for redistribution and security tenure programs. 

Land redistribution efforts will concentrate on rural and urban areas with high levels of landlessness and poverty. Furthermore, for the 2025/26 financial year, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights aims to settle more than 280 (281) claims. 

Through programmes like the Backlog Reduction Strategy, government is focusing on expediting the resolution of outstanding land claims, particularly old-order claims. This strategy aims to improve policies, standard operating procedures, and increase funding to reduce settlement times. Additionally, it involves enhancing turnaround times, streamlining processes, and implementing efficient systems, ultimately improving service delivery to claimants.

Honourable Speaker, 

Infrastructure development is a crucial component of our comprehensive land reform strategy, especially in rural areas, as it fosters land redistribution and agricultural support initiatives, laying the groundwork for economic and social development.

Government is implementing infrastructure development programmes particularly in rural areas, focusing on key sectors like energy, water, transport, digital infrastructure, and human settlements, with specific emphasis on agricultural development. 

These include programmes like the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), the Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme, speared-headed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and the South African National Defence Force. 

Over the medium term, government will continue focusing on improving agricultural production and revitalising infrastructure, accelerating reform finalising land restitution claims, and increasing research and development capacity to improve agricultural outputs.

I thank you Honourable Speaker!

On the outcome of the police disciplinary inquiry that found eight men who are members of the Very Important Person  Protection Unit of the SA Police Service not guilty of assaulting a man on the N1 highway:

REPLY:
Honourable Speaker,

I have always affirmed my confidence in the independence and impartiality of our law enforcement agencies, and the judicial system. I have also vehemently condemned any interference with legal, including disciplinary processes, and emphasised the importance of maintaining the rule of law, regardless of whether it is advantageous to us. 

Let me emphasise that the Office of the National Commissioner of Police was responsible for the disciplinary processes of the eight members of the Presidential Protection Services. I was not involved in these procedures at any point. In addition, I have never attempted to arrange a meeting with the complainant to allow the justice process to take place without any interference. 

Honourable Hlope would know very well that our jurisprudence allows for both sides of the story to be heard. In this regard I welcome the outcome of the police disciplinary inquiry that has acquitted the eight members of the Presidential Protection Services. Honourable Hlophe I have not met with the victim because the matter is sub jdicare. The protectors are still due to appear in court again. Any engagements with any of the parties to  the case could be prejudicial to them.  Let’s allow the courts to complete their work.

I must reiterate that our country is committed to the rule of law, which is a cornerstone of our democratic constitutional order. I must also reiterate that I am against police brutality, including any form of violence directed to members of our community. Violence against members of the community, especially by those entrusted with upholding the law, is unacceptable and contrary to our values.

I thank you.