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1. Editorial "Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never die but once". I remember one of my cousins, Robbie, a scrum-half, shouting to inspire his forwards way back while preparing for what was to be a battle royal between our school and Izeli High in King William’s Town. Later I was to hear that he actually stole from Shakespeare through Julius Caesar. I do not remember the lines but I am sure that there is talk about death being the necessary end. Lately, there have been a number of deaths in the Department for one reason or another. Many have resulted from natural causes. But what I have noticed is that every time a death is announced in the Department, it comes as a shock. I know that some of the people who died had been ill. But I always think that they will recover and be with us again in the passages and the corridors of these buildings. Strangely, I never think about anyone dying even though I know that death has to come some time. I will not mention all the staff members that died. As I now write I think about Girley Mokwena. I became associated with her through her involvement with the National Office netball team, the "Spice Girls". I understand that she was the one who initiated the formation of the team at National Office. I am sure through the games that the "Spice Girls" played with other teams they have been able to build new friendships, surely, not enemies, perhaps rivals. The netball tournament in Cape Town in 2000, I am sure must have been a dream come true for Girley and her colleagues. The "Spice Girls" did not win the tournament. However, the camaraderie that prevailed there was the winner which displayed to everybody that whether you are at the Deeds, the Commission or a Land Reform Office, you belong to one big family, the Department of Land Affairs. I must be honest I was shocked when I heard about Rose Kheswa’s death in the Free State Land Reform Office. I was not aware that she was not well. I had never met her. We began talking to each other over the phone and via the e-mail because of a commonage hand-over in Rouxville. What resulted was whenever I wanted something from the Free State Land Reform Office she would be my first contact. She would also do the same whenever she was trying to get something from National Office. In all these deaths I notice that people care about others. They show their sympathy for the bereaved and console each other. I have seen some crying. The crying touches even those perceived to have hearts of stone. At times like these, management of the Department makes sure that there is time provided for a memorial service for those who will not be able to attend the funerals. It does not end there, transport is also provided for those attending funerals. To crown it all, Top Management has always been represented in these funerals. In ending my message I say the DLA is a very big family and sometimes some of its children really need a shoulder to lean on. Then, it is very heartening to know that one has a father or a mother to "drown his/her own tears", if I may rephrase Raymond Charles Orbison. In returning back to Robbie and Julius Caesar. Perhaps you may wonder whether or not I fear death. Not intending to be rude, your guess is as good as mine.
Hoyozela Reminders come in all forms. On 11 November I was reminded that South Africa has eleven official languages in a strange way. I was reading some French words written by one of the managers of the Department. As soon as I remembered, I shouted out loudly, "Hoyozela". In the same vein, as I did before I wish Human Resource Development the best of the best in their attempts to implement multi-lingualism in this Department through their partnership with UNISA. 2003 The year 2003 will be with us before long. We do not know what it has in store for us. Our hope is that it will bring the best for everybody.
2. Opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of the past This article is an abridged version of the address by Dr Wallace Amos Mgoqi, Chief Land Claims Commissioner (SA) on receiving the Sir Sydney and Lady Kentridge award in Johannesburg on 03 October 2002, at a ceremony hosted by the General Council of the Bar of South Africa in recognition of exceptional service to the law in Southern Africa. I have chosen to speak on the subject of "Opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past". I want believe that, those who are on the margins of our society are yearning for the opening of the doors of opportunity. I want to begin with the words of President Thabo Mbeki, on the occasion of the settlement of the first part of the land restitution claim of the Khomani-San People, on Human Rights Day, 21 March 1999: He said: "We shall mend the broken strings of the distant past, so that our dreams can take root. It is by acting together, by that dreaming together- by mending the broken strings that tore us apart in the past, that we shall, all of us, produce a better life…." Opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past, is in essence about improving the quality of life of all citizens and freeing the potential of each person. This duty is not just for government alone, but there is a critical role for private citizens as well. Those of us who were born into an environment where the government of the day was hostile to our development needs, we would not have made it, had it not been for the inventiveness and creativity of private individuals. Those persons who saw the need for the establishment of bursary funds to assist those of us who could not continue with our education, because our parents were too poor to keep us going in education, form just one example. Those private citizens, who after our graduation from law schools throughout the country, saw the need to establish institutions like the Legal Resources Centre, (a public interest law firm, which offered young black law graduates an opportunity to undertake some legal training, thus enhancing our chances of obtaining articles of clerkship), form yet another example. In the case of Lady Felicia Kentridge it is said that some people inherit the title of Lady, while others are awarded the honour. Felicia Kentridge has actually lived it. Her thoughtfulness, her compassion, her sensitivity, her commitment to justice, her appreciation of justice and for being a person of principle, in her own right, eminently qualifies her for the title of Lady. We thank you Lady Felicia, Kentridge. As for Sir Sidney Kentridge, who incidentally was admitted to the Johannesburg Bar in 1949, the same year in which I was born, I do not qualify to say anything about him. His towering figure as a lawyer in this country and abroad is something for generations of law students and legal practitioners to study, in years to come. It is the greatest honour to be a recipient of an award bearing his name. Another critical dimension to the historic duty to open the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past, is public legal - education. Our Constitution, splendid as it is, will remain worthless, until each and every citizen, knows and understands the content of the rights it confers on the citizens. I am sure we would concede that not enough work has been done, since the adoption of our Final Constitution in 1996, by way of public legal education, in the sense of making individuals and community groups aware of the law and to give them greater confidence in asserting their rights. Public legal education can help to inform and empower individuals and communities so that they can make significant improvements to their living conditions or their local environment. We can never do enough of the work of making every citizen to be imbued with the values of our Constitution – in a sense the spirit of liberty. We have to make every effort to keep that spirit burning in the hearts and the bosoms of every South African. The late and former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe, Judge E. Dumbutshena, once shared with us the words of Justice Learned Hand, in his book, The Spirit of Liberty: "I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, they are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it." The memories of decades of oppression are so etched on our consciousness, that we must cherish only that which represents liberty, justice and human dignity and honour. Political freedom, we certainly attained when the new dispensation was ushered in. Sadly, there are still millions who must still experience economic freedom. The greatest challenge facing this nation is widespread and deeply rooted poverty, in both urban and rural areas. As I travel the length and breadth of our country, from North to South, from East to West, I can only agree with words of the First Nations Chief, describing the conditions of his people; He says: "When I look around me and see it is there, the human misery that afflicts my people, the agony of hunger etched on our children’s faces, the blank look in the eyes of our young people, the despair of adults growing old before their time, the bewilderment of old people cast aside. All of these afflictions are consequences of the racial prejudice and discrimination that my people must contend with on a day to day basis." Closer to home, our Constitutional Court, dealing with the same phenomenon, in the Soobramoney case, had the following to say: "We live in a society in which there are great disparities in wealth. Millions of people are living in deplorable conditions and in great poverty. There is a high level of unemployment, inadequate social security, and many do not have access to clean water or to adequate health services. "These conditions already existed when the Constitution was adopted and a commitment to address them, and to transform our society into one in which there will be human dignity, freedom and equality, lies at the heart of our new Constitutional order." It is against this backdrop that in his state of the Nation Address President Thabo Mbeki, expressed himself thus on 8 February, 2002: "We know this as a matter of fact that the struggle to eradicate that poverty and underdevelopment on our own country is fundamental to the achievement of our own national goal to build a caring and people –centered society… He encouraged all of us to push back the frontiers of poverty. In doing this, like in all tasks we must all figure out as to what our particular contribution is going to be – we cannot be vague and general about this. We too, at individual level, family level up to the institutional level, we must have a clear, practical and concrete plan for pushing back the frontiers of poverty, as we plan for opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past, mending the broken strings of our past, so that the dreams of all our people can come true. Upon our shoulders, as this present generation of South Africans, history has placed the daunting and immense responsibility of picking up the pieces, and of opening the doors of opportunity for millions who are without food, shelter and security, without jobs or justice. Where we find ourselves in a situation where there is public poverty in the midst of private affluence, our citizenship must direct us to find ways of changing that state of affairs. Opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past, means among other things, our direct intervention in the conditions of the poor. We cannot just leave it to government alone. All of us are called upon to do something, however, little or insignificant. I am saying this not unmindful of the fact that our Constitution imposes positive duties on the state to address the legacies of the past, by directing that it must take actions to achieve the progressive realisation of socio-economic rights to housing, health-care, food, water and social security. The values of our Constitution must live in our hearts. They must come alive in us on a daily basis, in all we do, if we are going to be true and honest to the task of opening opportunities and breaking the chains of our past. Beyond national, citizenship, regional citizenship, continental citizenship challenges us to be part of and contribute to initiatives such as the New Partnership for African Development. As we engage in local, grassroots initiatives, let us have our eyes on the bigger picture, of where the African continent wants to go. Our horizons have become wider now, as national boundaries are breaking down. Contact among African nations and peoples has reached alarming proportions and is to be welcomed. Events such as the launch of the African Union and its social action plan before our own eyes tell us, indeed, that the late former Prime Minister of Congo Patrice Lumumba, was prophetic when he said; in 1961 in the hands of his assassins: "Africa shall write her own history It shall be a glorious and dignified history." Today, twenty five years after his dramatic and tragic death which sent shock waves throughout the world, the words of the late Steve Bantu Biko still ring and continue to inspire, when he said: "We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the horizon, we can see the glittering prize. Let us march forth with courage and determination, drawing strength from our common plight and our brotherhood (and sisterhood). In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift-a more human face." Opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past for millions of our suffering people, will indeed be a glorious and dignified historical task for us to carry out in this African Century. We must do so with great energy and a sense of commitment to our country, our region, and our continent, make our contribution to a better and a caring world. It would be remiss of me, not to acknowledge publicly, the role-played privately, and in the background, by my dear wife, Dolly, and our children. They are all a source of inspiration. Dolly in particular is a tower of strength. As I receive this award, I know it is not just my own hands, which are extended. I know the hands of my father, who never reached standard six and those of my mother who went as far as standard six are also extended. The hands of my grandfather and grandmother are also extended and those of my brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, and in laws, are also extended to receive this award. The eyes of the Nation bear testimony to this. Let us keep opening the doors of opportunity and breaking the chains of our past, until every South African citizen can say: "Indeed, the freedom that has been spoken about, so much, over the ages, for which thousands, here and abroad, lay down their lives, has also reached me. I am also enveloped by it. It is my sustenance, and I will pass it on to posterity." I thank you all.
3. COM with a strong managerial and human rights background appointed to the DG’s office By T K Sonjica The new Chief Operations Manager (COM) at the Director-General’s Office, Ms Maureen Tong, is a legal practitioner with a strong human rights background. She did her B.Iuris degree at the University of Durban-Westville and both her LLB and LLM degrees at the University of Natal. She is currently a PhD candidate at Lund University in Sweden. Among her string of certificates, Ms Tong holds one on Accessing International Courts and Tribunals awarded in 2000 by the Centre for Human Rights. She also holds a certificate from the Effective Director Programme 2000 offered by the Kagiso Leadership School (now called Adcorp Leadership School) in collaboration with Delloitte and Touche. The modules for the course included Corporate Governance, Strategic Management, Financial Management and Board Effectiveness. Her current position entails managing the following components that are part of the DG ’s office:
Her previous work includes working for the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) at the University of Natal Durban, as well as serving as legal adviser to the Electoral Code of Conduct Observer Commission (ECCO) during the first democratic local government elections in KwaZulu-Natal in 1996. She served as voter educator, election enumerator and administrator during the first democratic parliamentary elections in KwaZulu-Natal in 1994. She also lectured at the University of Natal, Durban, where she also served as a part-time Residence Manager for three years. While in KwaZulu-Natal she worked part-time for NGOs like the Institute for Multi-Party Democracy (IMPD), Independent Projects Trust (IPT), Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR). Before her appointment as COM in the DLA, Ms Tong was Deputy-Director of the Centre for Human Rights, a human rights organisation based at the University of Pretoria, whose focus is ‘human rights in Africa’. While working for the Centre for Human Rights, Ms Tong was appointed as a research assistant to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People, Professor Rodolfo Stavenhagen from Mexico in 2001. This was for the purpose of assisting the Special Rapporteur to prepare his first annual report to the Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations. The work she did for the Special Rapporteur saw her appointed by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, an organ of the African Union, as an expert adviser to the Working Group on Indigenous People and Communities in Africa. In January 2001 Ms Tong delivered two papers at the first World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil. While she was Deputy Director at the Centre for Human Rights she was also a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Pretoria, teaching human rights, land rights and land reform at both LLB and LLM level. In August 2001 Ms Tong served as a member of the Secretariat to the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa. In May 2002 she was appointed by the International Bar Association (IBA) to join four eminent jurists from three other continents to serve on an official Mission Delegation to Malawi to investigate the threat to the independence of the judiciary in that country. This was in the light of the efforts by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) party to amend the constitution of Malawi to allow the current President Bakili Muluzi to stand for a third term of office. The release of the report by the IBA in August 2002 received local and international media coverage. Locally it is contained in the September edition of De Rebus, a newsletter of the legal profession in South Africa. It was also discussed at the recent international conference of the IBA held in October 2002 in Durban. The October 2002 edition of De Rebus covers the Woman In Law Award 2002 ceremony presented on 29 August 2002 by Centre for Human Rights to Judge Navie Pillay, Judge President of the United Nations Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR). Ms Tong officiated at the award ceremony. The award is presented to outstanding South African women in the legal profession who have distinguished themselves by making a contribution to a culture of human rights and democracy in South Africa. In April 2001 Ms Tong joined students from all over Africa who did the LLM on Democratisation and Human Rights in Africa, jointly offered by the universities of Pretoria, Western Cape, Makerere (in Uganda) and the Ghana, on an excursion to the ICTR. The ICTR sits in Arusha, Tanzania. Writer Ms Tong is a very keen writer. The International Working Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) has already published her work. She has ‘refereed’ an article on Aboriginal Title in South Africa to be published by the South African Journal on Human Rights (SAJHR), a highly respected human rights publication internationally. She has also ‘refereed’ an article to be published by the Minority Rights Group International. Juta Publishers (South Africa) have accepted for publication her work as editor, in collaboration with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, to be published as the latest update of Juta’s New Land Law. It contains summaries as well as a commentary on all restitution cases heard by the Land Claims Court from the inception of restitution in 1995 to October 2002. Her book entitled: ‘Lest we Forget: Restitution Digest on Administrative Decisions’ has gone for printing. The work is a historical record of land dispossessions, from pre-colonial times to apartheid. The book focuses on the process of land reform in South Africa, mainly the administrative process of land Restitution. Not new to DLA Ms Tong is not a new face in the DLA. Between July 1997 and May 1999 she was Chief Planner in the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Land Reform Office. She was responsible for managing and co-ordinating a team of planners implementing projects in terms of the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act 3 of 1996 and the Extension of Security of Tenure Act 62 of 1997. This was at a time both the Labour Tenants Act and the ESTA were very new and systems and procedures for implementation were being designed and developed. She played an important role in this process. She spent a lot of her time in Vryheid, where the majority of the projects were based. The District Office had just been formed and Ms Tong often acted as the manager for the District Office. She later on became a Deputy-Director in the Legal Unit in the office of the Chief Land Claims Commissioner (CLCC) responsible for providing a Legal Advice service and support to the CLCC. She also facilitated policy formulation in the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights. Role On her role she said the Department is divided into branches, namely Branch: Financial Management and Corporate Services, Branch: Land and Tenure Reform and Branch: Land Planning and Information. The position of Chief Operations Manager (COM) is new to the Department of Land Affairs. The establishment of the position is a very positive move. Ms Tong is the COM and Chief Director: Executive Support. Her function is to support the Director-General (DG) in carrying out his functions as the most senior manager and administrative head of the Department . The COM’s duty is to pick on all managerial responsibilities of the Department that do not fit in with the 3 Branches. She is responsible for assisting the DG to draft complex documents like the Strategic Plan, the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) document, the Annual Report. While her role is mainly managerial, she also advises the DG on key strategic issues facing the Department. It if for this reason that she has to attend all strategic meetings concerning the Department on behalf of the DG and for the purpose of advising him, through one of the Directorates and sub-Directorates she heads. Ms Tong also represents the DG in external fora to which he delegates her, for example Cluster meetings, etc. It is for that reason that the Directorates that form part of the CR are Monitoring and Evaluation, Policy Development, Internal Audit, Executive Services, International Relations, etc. Challenges Like any new post, she said, the COM is going through the ‘teething problems’ of allocation of budgets, delineating roles from those performed by others, as well as takeover roles previously performed by others on behalf of the DG. Her previous experience of working for the Department and the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights means that she has been able to take over her responsibilities from day one. Her previous engagement with land issues, as an academic, a project implementer, legal adviser and policy facilitation makes her appropriately suited to take over her responsibilities. She is aware of challenges that the Department faces. Among such challenges are how to co-ordinate the work of all Branches of the Department better to ensure more efficiency and ultimately improve the pace of land reform in South Africa. One of the main characteristics of the new way of doing things that Dr Mayende has introduced is the move away from the ‘silo mentality’. This means that there should be more integration and improved co-ordination of the work of all the Branches. It is the responsibility of the COM to ensure such improved co-ordination. This will reduce the risk of duplication of efforts and forever ‘re-inventing the wheel’. This will also help to ensure more efficient and effective engagement with outside fora and structures, for example international bodies, which include donor organisations, NGOs, the business sector, agricultural organisations, etc. A number of inter-Governmental structures, like the Clusters, have been established to ensure There is a need to streamline the reporting process of the Department to several outside fora, for example the FOSAD, different clusters, the South African Human Rights Commission and other human rights bodies. There is room for improvement in ensuring that the process of compiling information and the drafting of the many documents is more efficient and less time-consuming. One of the components of the Chief Directorate: Executive Support is the Sub-Directorate Secretariat Support Service. Through this structure the COM has to improve the co-ordination of meetings like EXCO, STRATCOM, Top Management and Senior Management Committee meetings and other meetings that the DG may call. There is a need to streamline the issues brought to each of these structures and ensuring that the meetings feed into each other more effectively. This will in turn lessen the time spent at each meeting of these structures. One of the challenges facing the COM is to get the Policy Directorate becoming functional and effective as soon as possible. The need for a proper functioning structure dealing with policy formulation and facilitation cannot be over-emphasised. The current Minister of Land Affairs, Ms Thoko Didiza, has taken the Department on a new, and most will agree, appropriate policy direction. A number of policies have been developed in a less co-ordinated manner. Different components of the Department have developed policies within their areas of operation. The Policy Directorate has to undertake an audit exercise to ascertain how the number and status of all policies, review existing policies and identify policy gaps. The Directorate will offer technical support to the Policy Committee, which is to be revived soon. Through the Policy Directorate, the COM has to advise the DG and the Minister on policy matters. The Directorate: Monitoring and Evaluation, one of the components of the Chief: Directorate Executive Support, is establishing a strong Statistical Unit to ensure that statistics generated by the Department are more accurate and reliable. This will help to answer frequent questions from the media and from Parliament on how well, or not as others believe, the Department of Land Affairs is implementing its constitutional mandate to ensure more equitable distribution of land, implementing the restitution process and ensuring legally secure tenure of many South Africans. The DLA also has to incorporate gender issues in project implementation. The sub-Directorate: Gender Unit deals with gender both internally and externally. The Unit has migrated a number of times from different components of the Department. The pattern needs to come to an end to ensure that the Gender Unit is able to give effect to its mandate in ensuring that the Department incorporates gender in its work, both internally and externally. The COM has taken the lead in facilitating the work of the Gender Task Team (GTT) to ensure that the issue of the location of the Gender Unit and its status are resolved, once and for all. The GTT is assisting the Gender Unit to workout/ clarify the gender strategy for the Department as well as the implementation strategy of the Gender Unit. Women The Department of Land Affairs is doing relatively better than other Government departments in appointing women to important positions. For example, of the 3 Deputy Director-Generals, two are women. These are not ‘token’ appointments as these women are highly qualified and skilled. Of the 9 Directors of PLROs, three are women. Some of the offices of the Commission, for example the RLCC for Eastern Cape, boast large numbers of women in managerial positions. That the COM is a highly qualified, experienced and skilled woman is a very good thing indeed. On hearing of her appointment, some of the women in the Department said: ‘You go girl!’ Hobbies Ms Tong is a ‘compulsive’ reader who, once she finds a piece of writing informative and interesting, will not rest until she has completed reading it. This is not surprising, seeing that she is also a keen writer. While she may not qualify as a ‘fitness fanatic’ Ms Tong spends most of her ‘spare time’ at the gym. Her favourite activity there being doing ‘Katabox’. When she does not find time to go to the gym she does ‘Taebo’ at home with the help of the VCR. She also likes playing Squash if the facilities are in close proximity, which is not always the case. Ms Tong likes travel, including international travel, depending on time and availability of resources. She joked that she hopes her work at the Department will include some international travel, which she enjoyed a great deal at her previous job. Ms Tong loves the outdoors and adventure. In April 2001 she prolonged her official trip to the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania, by one week to make time to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. She is one of very few people, especially women, who successfully made it to Uhuru Peak, which at 5895 metres in altitude is the highest point in Africa! She proudly exhibits in her office the certificate, which she obtained from Tanzania National Parks, as evidence of this achievement. Ms Tong has a love of languages. She has competencies of varying degrees of 9 of the 11 South African languages. She has successfully completed the beginners class in the ‘French Experience’ at UNISA in 2000. This spurred her on to take ‘Beginners Intensive’ course at Alliance Fracaise de Pretoria, which she successfully completed in July 2002. Her understanding of the French language has helped her to understand the Creole language spoken in Seychelles and Mauritius where she travels annually as part of her PhD studies. Ms Tong has a basic understanding of the Portuguese language. She ended the interview by saying, Obrigado Senor Sonjica, in French, merci beaucoup, Monsieur Sonjica.
4. GITO comes with IT advantages By T K Sonjica The recent announcement from the Director-General’s office that Mr Kgabo Hlalefi Hlahla has been appointed as the first Government Information Technology Officer (GITO) for the DLA may have sounded just like any other appointment of a Senior Manager for the Department. But, this one is different and carries some advantages because on the 08 October, he was appointed the chairperson of the GITO Council of South Africa, and that will enable the DLA to be abreast of government Information Technology (IT) developments. To clarify, the GITO Council is a strategic organ of the state, approved by Cabinet to look at IT in government and to give proper advice to Ministers on IT issues. It is composed of nine Provincial and National Government Departments GITOS. Mr Hlahla’s training centres around teaching and IT. In that training, there is a special emphasis on IT, which sees him with qualifications from the University of the Western Cape and the Peninsula Technikon. There are postgraduate studies on IT that he has done at the Pretoria Technikon. Hopefully, next year he will be completing other post graduate studies at the University of Pretoria. He began working in IT as an Information Technology Support Officer and rose through the ranks to his recent appointment at DLA. The institutions he has worked for include ESKOM and the Department of Social Development. On his arrival Journal spoke to him about the weaknesses and strengths of the DLA IT. He told Journal that the IT component is not positioned to deal with IT challenges. He said there are many vacant posts. "The job titles and the actual responsibilities are not aligned. So you cannot tell by the job title what one does", he said. He continued and said that the core business of IT is actually run by consultants and the Department is exposed to a high risk. He said there is no proper IT contracts management. "I am currently meeting with the different managers to understand what each of their businesses and priorities are. This also entails getting their expectations from IT. I need to understand their expectations from us", he said. On the morale of his staff he said it seems very low. "I am going to be meeting with each one of them and get to understand and know their expectations, their aspirations, their concerns and their suggestions. I will organise team building sessions before the end of the year and a number of continuous motivation efforts to boost the morale and improve productivity". Mr Hlahla believes in the slogan that, "We as IT do not exist for the business, but because of the business". After the consultation, he said he would have to reposition DLA IT. That includes redesigning the IT structure to be relevant to the Department. "We must enhance the DLA Strategic Plan, enhance the IT Strategic Plan and allign it with that of the Department". He also plans to build capacity and ensure that there is money to execute the Strategic Plan. "I will design the IT structure within the MTEF budget circle". On the strengths of DLA IT, Mr Hlahla said top leadership of the Department identified the need to establish the position of GITO and place it at a strategic level. "A committee has been established to deal with information and knowledge challenges faced by the Department in this information age characterised by PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), ECT Act, digital signatures, e-governance as well as gateway. This emphasis of IM by Top Management is a positive sign that our Department meets all challenges", he said. Mr Hlahla added that, "The environment at DLA IT looks much more stable as manifested in low server down-time, shorter turn around times and the existence of the IT Strategic Plans as well as internet, e-mail, and desk-top policies".
5. Eddie's sudden death shocks By T K Sonjica The sudden death of Kedifentse Kagiso Seremane came like a thunderbolt to all who knew him at National Office. Eddie, as he was popularly known, worked as analyst programmer in the development section of IT. At his memorial service in the Old Building of National Office, his uncle Gaby Magomola said Eddie died in a car accident. Three friends who were with him in the car also died. One of the managers at IT, Nikiwe Mosoeu described Eddie as a hard worker. "He was always ready to work the extra mile and would even be working after hours when everybody was going home", she said. His colleague Cecilia Zitha said she had accepted him as a brother, and that made it difficult to talk about him in that service. She concurred with Ms Mosoeu that he was dedicated to his work. "He would sacrifice without expecting something back", she said. Ronald Muller also a colleague, said, "Eddie had a unique approach to life and he had high aspirations and ambitions; such that he inspired all his friends and colleagues." He added that Eddie was one of the best developers that he had had the pleasure of working with. Mr Magomola said Eddie's death was a major setback. "As a parent it is sad when you lose a child. It becomes worse when the one who dies should have led the other children", he said. "It is the peers and friends who know the other side of the child that the parents don’t know. I was glad to hear what you were saying about him", he said. "I am glad to hear that he was diligent and dedicated to his work. I am glad to hear about his constant smile", he added. When he said Eddie had a making of the leader, many a head in the audience nodded. Eddie, the son of Joe and Esther Seremane, was born in Potchefstroom in 1970. He began his Information Technology expertise by venturing into computer science in 1995. He has worked for Hill Cunning Associates, Quantum Technologies and Business Connections. He began working for the DLA in 1999. Eddie was an enthusiastic lover of debate, literature, writing and music. In his spare time, he loved spinning the discs and gave tuition to mathematics and information technology students. Apart from his parents, he left behind his fiancee¢ Itumeleng Mphahlele, and his two brothers Sobukwe-Lembede and Mkhuseli-we-Sizwe Segatlhe.
6. We remember Kenneth and Girley By Nthateng Lebethe Kenneth "Majozi" Matome Kenneth John Matome popularly known as "Majozi" at National Office passed away on September 12, 2002. A memorial service for him was held at the National Office lapa on September 19, 2002. Staff members and National Office management attended his funeral. He was born on the 21 December 1965 in Atteridgeville. He is survived by his mother, brothers and sisters and two sons (aged 11 and 15). After completing his Std 8 he was appointed as a General Assistant in the Department on 1 December 1988 (14 years) and progressed to the level of Senior messenger in April 1999 and was transferred to the Directorate: Management Advisory and Support Services, Division: Office Services where he worked until his death. He was popular at National Office because of his jokes and interaction with all people in the department. The Department will surely miss him.
Girley Mokwena Girley Mokwena is no more. She died on 17 September 2002. She was born on April 25, 1972. On the September 2002 a memorial service for her was held at National Office. She started to work as an Accounting Clerk at the Department of Education in 1996. In 1999 Girley joined the Department of Land Affairs as a Senior Accounting Clerk. During the SARS tax returns submission period, her office would be flocked by all levels of DLA employees seeking advice on them. At that time she would be a pillar of strength to all and sundry. Girley, together with people like Joan Viljoen, Kgomotso Mothate and others can be described as the "reason" for the existence of the DLA netball team, the "Spice Girls". She was among the group that first toyed with the idea of having such a team in the DLA. Naturally, when the team was established she became its chairperson. She is survived by her parents and one child.
7. The children of South Africa (Anonymous) We are the children of South Africa We are the future of this land And we are carrying a burden No one begins to understand We are the children of South Africa The up and coming generation Are you conspiring to destroy The very essence of our nation? We are the children of South Africa We are the ones who must compete Is there one finger raised to help us? Can no one save us from defeat? We are the children of South Africa And our society depends On doing something more constructive To bring our problems to an end Who thinks the children of South Africa Will suffer on without complaint Knows nothing of the kids of Africa, We will not falter, tremble, faint … We are the children of South Africa Our hopes are high, our spirits strong And we demand immediate action A way to put right all the wrongs For then the children of South Africa Will get up off their knees and fly We’ll write the future of South Africa Clean across the Southern sky! We are the children of South Africa We are entitled to enjoy The expectation of a future For every single girl and boy.
By Dr Wallace A. Mgoqi When the Western World, Conspired to have Europe’s Foothold at the tip of Africa When the Cape Colony became the Launching pad for countless Encounters between black and white. I was already there. I was already there, When the Portuguese sailed Past the Cape and called it The Cape of storms, Later followed by the Dutch On their way to East India for their temporary stopover, To gather some fresh water and vegetables. I was already there. I was already there, When the first early settlers Came into contact with The indigenous people, The Khomani-San, Who were the first to suffer The millitary-colonial frontier wars, Waged for their land and their possessions. I was already there. I was already there When the Colonial forces Became greedier and greedier, And penetrated the land, Deeper and deeper into the Eastern frontier, waging, No less than nine wars against the Xhosas Turning the Khomani-San into slaves using treachery and chicanery Leading mayhem in their wake. I was already there. I was already there, When the frontier line, The Great Fish River was fixed As the boundary between the Cape Colony and the Xhosa peoples. When the boers and the British combined their forces to crush Ndlambe, Chungwa and Ngqika and Hintsa Though Ngqika tended to collaborate, As did the Khoikhoi for fear of reprisals, I was already there. I was already there, When Ndlambe, as old and weary Of war as Chungwa, Rolled forth the anger of a son of Rarabe, a rage of possession, The display of which no white man had hitherto witnessed and shouted: it, I will cross the rivers Sunday, Coega and Swartkops, this Country is mine, the land lying between the Gamstoos River and the Greater Fish River." I was already there. I was already there, When the trekkers moved North East, Traversing the Sneeuwberg Mountains. The Winterberg Mountains up to Drakensberg Mountains. Another column crossed the Caledon River Into Transorangia. Yet another Proceeded to westward and the Discovery of Diamonds started, A Scramble and population explosion Around Kimberly in the Northern Cape. I was already there.
I was already there. When the Boer and the British Entered land of the Zulus Claimed the best parts of that land as their own, Started wars against the Zulu, people They suffered humiliation at Isandlwana though, When the Zulu army said-enough was enough. Today the lie of the land tells this story of greed and conquest. I was already there. I was already there, When the Boer republics were Established beyond the Vaal River, When African people were denied The right to own any land. When a Boer could ride a horse, Mark the land he wanted to occupy, And registered it as his own. Issue trek Passes to those who lived on it. And were unwilling to work for him for fokol. I was already there. I was already there When in present day Mpumalanga, Battles were pitched with Sekhukhune, Makgoba right up to Present day Limpopo against giants Like Makhado and their people. When good land was taken away And bad land given to Natives For they were presumed to know nothing, About good land, I was already there. I was already there, When land dispossessions were Consolidated and legalised, Under the 1913 Native Land Act, Ending systems of share cropping And land ownership by African people, Vesting large tracts of land in The hands of white people. For no reason, other than that They were white. Assumed the position of supremacy Purely on that basis, I was already there. I was already there, When the scourge of land dispossessions Spread into the North West and The Northern Cape. Where large numbers of communities, Were systematically made landless And homeless over many years, Until they could no longer Hold their own on the land And became vagrants and beggars. Discovery of diamonds spelt nought As it brought them nought. I was already there. I was already there, When from Mbangweni in the East To Namaqualand in the West, From Musina in the North To Cape Aghullas in the South Useful and fertile land Was snatched away from its occupants To benefit the new master and madams I was already there. I was already there. When the rolling action of delivery On land restitution started, Returning ancestral land to Hundreds of thousand of people. The Mamatlhola, the Makuleke, Reboile, The Manavhela, Botshabelo, The Dinkwanayana, Bakolobeng ba ga Ramodiana Bakwena Bafokeng ba Magokgoane, I was already there. I was already there, When the people of Botshabelo, Rejoiced for the return of Their land. When they sang, Koloi ya Thoko Didiza Ya tsamaya ka lobelo. I was already there. I was already there, When Cator Manor, District Six, Alexandra, Lady Selbourne, Claremont and Eastwood Gujini, Mbila Mabaso, Esibongweni, Marantha, Palmietfontein Majeng, Kono, Khomani-San-Mier Chatha, Dwesa-Cwebe, Elandskloof, Were celebrated. I was already there. I was already there, When in eighteen eighty most Of the Continent was still ruled By Africans, and barely explored Over two centuries so much Devastation has taken place The entire continent nurses deep wounds. In two thousand and two Africa is poised to rule itself. I want to be there. I want to be there, As the New Partnership for African Development, unfolds, under The auspices of the African Union, As Africa is poised to write her own History and it will be a Glorious and dignified history, I want to be there. I want to be there, As Africa strives for less poverty, Less disease, less corruption, And dictatorship. As Africa strives For more justice, More freedom, more human dignity, More sustainable development And more prosperity. I want to be there.
By Kgafela Sebelebele Keep on walking proudly Never turning back Reach our borders Keep on singing proudly. Proudly for inclusion Inclusion of community with disability This simple statement is being spoken Whispered and shouted by people of all ages. If you keep on excluding me Because of my disability You are programming for the fight of my. To get in and to belong. Yes everything to gain In the battle to belong. Teenagers join gangs because They are desperate to belong. To have meaning Even when the gangs kill Youth join, the gangs meet their needs Gangs are logical responses to society's failure. To make teenagers feel belonging Yes the need to belong When our youth literally die to belong It is a scaring warning for us to look Hard at the system in which we live. Our society is crisis Maintaining the barricades And defend our turf. Our world is rife with conflict The more conflict - the more disabled people We produce to exclude Yes conflict is illegitimate We can agree to disagree Restoring violence is no longer viable It will be our destruction With the advent of new technology The critical issues of this new revolution Of compassion will be to learn how to live with one another. If we are to survive We will enter an era of a high touch And genuine personal communication Who better to instruct us in this new venture Than those who have been excluded And rejected in the past. Teenage suicide Random violence Drive by shootings and gangs are simply Thinking or slick packaged answers. We must think deeply We must make tough decisions and be willing To work hard Inclusion makes us think deeply. What we want our world to be Who do we want as neighbours? What do we want our communities, Churches and schools look like? We believe communities of diversity are richer Better and more productive places In which to live and learn. We believe inclusive communities have The capacity to create the future We want a better life for everyone We want inclusion and nothing else. The need to belong Inclusion is welcome Inclusion is truly and simply a matter of will.
10. Limpopo teams successfully invade the Free State By Nkele "DIKS" Tselane The Limpopo DLA netball and soccer teams successfully invaded the Free State DLA netball and soccer teams were thrashed on home ground in Bloemfontein on 12 October. The The Limpopo teams left Polokwane at around 21h00 on the evening of 11 October 2002 for and arrived in Bloemfontein at 06h00 the following morning. Limpopo teams are composed of players from the Provincial Land Reform Office and the Regional Land Claims Commission while the Free State teams are composed of players from the Provincial Land Reform Office and the Deeds Registry. Despite the night vigil on the bus, the likes of Phindile Mabule, Mamotshabi Sediane, Lorraine Mabotja and Lucy Makgobatlou were in good form. This led to the Bloemfontein girls being hammered 26-8. Veronica Matlala, the number one fan and caretaker coach for the Limpopians, "Banyana ba Kgotso", was pleased by the performance of her girls. The Bloemfontein boys in trying to sooth their girls promised to avenge their defeat, but they did not know what was in store for them. Before the soccer match started, war songs from the Bloemfontein boys reverberated over the field while the Limpopians, "Bafana ba Kgotso" just warmed up for the match. "Bro" Steve Seolwana, the caretaker coach, was cool as usual. On the other hand Dr. Lesiba Madubanya and his crew, Arthur Leshaba, Ndivhuho Mulibana and Yeye Sethaba made sure that their box was in place. The match kicked off at 14h55 and Ike "Ngwana-wa-tshwenya" Madikoto opened the score in the 24th minute of the first half. A few minutes before the end of the first half, the same striker increased the score to 2-0. What a goal! The second half came with a lot more knockouts. Within a few minutes, Joel "Fire" Hlakola scored a third goal for "Bafana ba Kgotso". Thabo "Oh Captain my Captain" Maubane rubbed salt into the Bloemfontein wounds with a fourth goal. Bafana ba Kgotso, indeed felt it was enough and started entertaining the crowds. This was a mistake because this led to Bloemfontein decreasing the deficit by one in the dying minutes of the game and the score became at 4-1. On leaving the field to the Bloemanda Section of Mangaung Township (Pereng e tshweu, Sengangata Ha Ntate Molemela), the Limpopo teams started singing their war songs. But they concentrated mostly on the hymn: "Tsohle –tsohle di entswe ke Morena" which is the Limpopo Provincial Offices’ Anthem. I had an opportunity to ask the coach (Lesiba "Bon" Ramashala) how he felt about his boys and he replied with a wide smile: "I tolt my boyz to atak end atak and indeed dei ataked Bloemfontein. Hauever, I tolt dem to enjoi de geime es wel. Look at hau de laikes of "Yster" Mampone Maleka and Kenny "Madlingosi" Neguyuni took kontrol of de midfilt; I’m praud of dem. Jerry "Batsee" Keetse was ekselent in kiping de goal pose. I also fil so gepi for our gerls es wel. Dei perfomense was so ekselent. I lakit ". We congratulate our boys for having cleaned the slate and our girls for being so brave. Bloemfontein boys kept our boys out of the departmental annual knockout tournament by beating them 4-1 in 2001. This was pay back time; and we are glad they paid back on their home ground. The support of both the management of the LPLRO and the LRLCC played a motivational and an inspiring role in both teams.
11. DLA policies presented for foreign service students By T K Sonjica Officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs being trained to represent South Africa abroad also need to know South African land policies. In July 2002, the Department of Land Affairs was invited by the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs to make a presentation about its policies to its students. In that week, there were a number of government departments addressing the students. The presentation for the DLA was done by Mr Hilgard Matthews and Ms Carmen vander Merwe. Hilgard and Carmen took the students through restitution, redistribution and tenure. They also introduced other components of the Department that support land reform, which are:
The presentation included the history of this country since 1652 when the Dutch East India Company sent Jan van Riebeeck to establish a refreshment station at the Cape of Good Hope. It ran through the years and there was an emphasis about 1913 and 1936 because of the:
The foregoing acts were described as the first pillars of segregation and land dispossession entered into the South African statute books. The classification of labour tenants as squatters and the formation of homelands were also highlighted. Some of the acts focussed on were those that entered the statute book after the 1994 general elections and they included the following:
During question time there were questions about land grabs and land invasions. Zimbabwe also came to the fore. At a certain stage relations among the DLA, the National Land Committee and the Landless People’s Movement were interrogated. There were questions about Riemvasmaak, the Land Bank and a special interest in the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development. As it is, one and half-hours was not enough to explain in detail all the policies of the Department. The students were advised to visit the DLA web site.
12. Sharing African land reform ideas fruitful By Lerato Jabane Sharing ideas and experiences can be very fruitful, more especially if it is between different countries. Many African countries are doing land reform but in different ways. Obviously, South African land reform policies are different from Zimbabwe’s. What the Ethiopians are doing with their land might somehow be helpful to us and vice versa. Having this in mind, the United Kingdom based NGO Farm Africa recently undertook a study tour to Ethiopia and Kenya. Farm Africa specialises in innovative agricultural development projects with poor communities in Eastern and Southern Africa. Farm Africa spokesperson in Northern Cape, James Keetile, says the purpose of the study tour was to visit well-established Farm Africa projects in Ethiopia and Kenya and to interact with key players in order to learn from their experiences relating to issues like natural resource management, extension services, participatory methods, land use planning and women groups. "We strongly believe that this team will be able to apply the lessons they learnt to their own projects/communities in South Africa’’, Keetile said. Currently Farm Africa has two projects in South Africa. One in the Eastern Cape, a smallholder support project and the other in the Northern Cape a capacity building in community natural resource management. The Northern Cape project seeks to strengthen community management of natural resources, which in turn is expected to lead to a reduction in poverty in land reform communities. In this project various government departments, NGOs and land reform beneficiaries are involved. The direct beneficiaries of the Eastern Cape project are poor, black families totaling up to 10 communities from the former Transkei homeland. The purpose of the project is to optimise community management of natural resources. This is expected to lead to increased food production and higher household incomes. However the most important expected change is increased self-determination of the target communities. The study team comprised of representatives from both provinces. The Director of the Provincial Land Reform Office in Northern Cape, Mr Obed Mvula was amongst the representatives. Whilst in those countries, the team interacted with people from the following Farm Africa projects:
When asked what did the South African team learn, Mr Mvula listed the following lessons:
Hopefully if some of these principles can be incorporated into our processes, we can see proud and self-reliant beneficiaries with sustainable projects. This will in turn bring about reduction in poverty and better life for all. I guess the challenge is up to the South African team that undertook the study tour to make ‘the powers that be’ to revisit some land reform issues.
13. Launching the Limpopo Workplace Gender Forum By Solomon Kgosi Phetla The Limpopo Land Reform Office and Regional Land Claims Commission launched the Provincial Workplace Gender Forum which was integrated with Gender Workshop I September 2002. Mr Lekalakala from the Limpopo Land Reform Office welcomed all the guests especially gender fora members from other provinces. Bafana Khumalo from the Commission on Gender Equality in the province highlighted the challenges facing the transformation agenda in South Africa. "Gender equality is critical for a successful transformation process. The Commission on Gender Equality takes this opportunity to congratulate the Department of Land Affairs on having the foresight and commitment to ensure that gender equality is indeed mainstreamed in your department through the launch of the Workplace Gender Forum. Issues around land access and provision are key to tackling poverty in the province. It is our hope that in the delivery process on your mandate these concerns take high priority", he said. Ms Matsebe Phasha from the Office on the Status of Women in Limpopo also congratulated the department on the great effort to launch the workplace gender forum. She said the 1994 breakthrough presented a number of significant developments for women in South Africa. "The elections saw more women being put in positions of responsibility and power both in the legislature, in government departments and parastatals. The National Policy Framework alludes to a number of efforts by this department, including the Provincial Workplace Forum that is launched today. Experience has proved that however good one’s intention, the challenge always remains in implementation and outcome", she said. She added that it was encouraging to see that the Department has made significant progress in ensuring that women benefit from its land reform programmes during 2001/2002 period. She said the challenge now is to proceed from poverty alleviation to wealth creation. Dr Alfred Nevhutanda from the Legislature said in the past the institution of law-making was used to pass laws that reinforced the oppression and marginalisation of women. He said now beyond the fact that women are members of the Legislature from all walks of life they can converge in the Legislature, to review with committees the work done by the government with regard to women empowerment. Dr Nevhutanda added that as a province, Limpopo is doing quite well with regard to women empowerment. He cited as an example that 50% of councillors in all the councils are women, departments having employment equity targets regarding women at senior levels of the administration. "Four of the ten portfolio committees of the Legislature are chaired by women and 15 of the current 46 members of the legislature are women", he said. Ms Sarah Manthata, the Department’s chairperson of the Gender Forum, shared her experience in the gender struggle and how gender has come to be recognized in the Department. She highlighted the mandate and the programmes of the workplace gender forum of the Department of Land Affairs. In her talk she included the following objectives:
Kgafela wa Sebelebele read a poem dedicated to the day. 14. Celebrating our 5th AIDS partnership On 30 September 2002 the DLA celebrated the fifth birthday of the "Partnership Against Aids", a day the Department has been celebrating since its inception. Colly Carey co-ordinated the activities of the day. Deputy Director – General, Sarah Choane was present and read the commitments that the department has towards helping in the partnership against AIDS. She received a puzzle that indicates the strong commitment that the DLA has for AIDS and a tree that symbolizes strength, health and a long life. The achievements of the 2002 commitments are as follow: Commitment 1 (To establish linkages between implementing land reform projects for beneficiaries and AIDS programmes)
Commitment 2 (To develop a support programme for HIV/AIDS infected and affected staff).
Commitment 3 (To sustain the involvement of a person living with HIV/AIDS (PWA) in order to strengthen the DLA AIDS programme).
Commitment 4 (To establish community outreach programmes with National and Provincial AIDS service organisations).
The following is a new commitment for 2003: Commitment In honour of the Partnership Against HIV/AIDS the Department of Land Affairs is committed to implement an Intergrated Care and Support Programme. After the speeches of that day a drama group performed a play with its theme: "Live On - Live Long", encourages and urges people in a positive way to be tested for HIV/AIDS. It also shows them the importance and benefits of knowing one’s status. "Live On- Live Long" is aimed at promoting life and therefore hope, whether you are HIV positive or HIV negative, you still have a full and productive life to lead or live. This is a story of a man called Umpilo-which means "Good health" The Interdepartmental Committee on HIV/AIDS (IDC) and a number of DLA staff marched to the Department of Justice to hand over the puzzle to the Mr Dan Molousi of that Department. There was a big feast at the Old Canteen- Ground Floor, South Block afterwards.
15. Spatial information affects land delivery This article is an abridged version of a paper presented by Brian Patrick Engel of Surveys and Mapping at the Regional International Geographical Union which took place in Durban in August 2002. Introduction "The delivery of land rights" is stated as the core business of the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) in South Africa. At the same time, translating this statement into practice remains one of the greatest challenges facing our country. It is the conjecture of this paper that the effective use of spatial information is a crucial cog in the wheel driving the delivery of land rights to the people of South Africa. More specifically this paper focuses on the use of the national mapping series produced by the Chief Directorate: Surveys and Mapping (CD:SM), South Africa’s national mapping organisation, together with the diagrams, general plans and compilation sheets of the Surveyors General (SG) offices. Five years ago CD:SM identified the need to promote spatial awareness and map use. The MapAware Project was established to address this issue on two levels. On the one hand the project is supporting education to promote map literacy at schools level, and on the other hand it seeks to build capacity for life long learners in the workplace using aerial photographs and maps to assist effective decision-making in matters related to land. The role of CD:SM and the SG Offices in supplying Spatial Information By law CD:SM is charged to collect spatial information and revise maps of the national mapping series and to acquire aerial photography and other imagery for the State. This can be applied to great effect in the land reform process. We specifically think of the following in this regard: aerial photography, 1:10 000 orthophoto maps, 1:50 000 topographic map series, 1:250 000 topo-cadastral map series. The SG offices are the custodians of the cadastre of South Africa. South Africa’s cadastral survey system accurately identifies the position of each land parcel and the extent of rights over it. The SG offices examine and approve all cadastral surveys for the registration of ownership of property and real rights in land. The Spatial Information for Land Administration Workshop Overview The two-day workshop seeks to build through the promotion of the use of aerial photographs, maps and related spatial information in decision-making in all matters related to land. This has a direct bearing on adding value to the work of all people in the DLA dealing with Land Reform issues and addressing the core business of the DLA. The question of ownership of land and rights on land (security of tenure) is central to all land issues. For an individual, a group of people or any other legal entity to have security of tenure over land, the land parcel must be identified, have a legal description and be registered in a Deeds Office. No land parcel can be registered in the name of an individual, a group of people or any other legal entity unless the land can unambiguously be described and identified. The legal document describing a parcel of land is called a Diagram or in certain cases a General Plan. No land parcel can therefore be registered in the name of an individual, a group of people or any other legal entity unless the land is described on a Diagram or a General Plan. In the final stages of the implementation of the majority of Land Reform projects, the security of Land Rights are dependent on this, the cadastral component, making it the major issue. Despite all the Land Reform related Acts, Land Reform cannot be finally implemented until new landowners have security of title. This is not possible until their land parcels have been surveyed, diagrams drawn and deeds registered. It is self-evident that the delivery of Land Reform cannot possibly be effected without the use of spatial information. At the same time, there is a need to bridge the divide between the availability of spatial information and the application thereof. The Participants During the period April 2001 to March 2002 19 workshops were facilitated with a total of 319 participants. They were from various government departs both national and provincial. These included Department of Land Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Local Government and Housing, Traditional & Local Government Affairs, Department of Transport and Working for Water Projects. Not all are directly involved in Land Reform, but they all use spatial information for land management in some way or other. The application of the spatial information with regards to the various components of land management overlap substantially. The general response to the workshop in terms of the programme, materials used and the facilitation has been extremely positive. There is a definite demand (76% of participants) for a more advanced follow-up workshop. We are currently in the planning phase for such a workshop. Methodology We start out by using the local aerial photography for an orientation exercise. Experience taught us that using photographic images as a point of departure works most effectively. This enables participants to directly relate the image to the surrounding area. From here we introduce the 1:10 000 orthophoto map series. The area covered by the orthophoto map is then drawn on to the appropriate 1:50 000 topographic map sheet as a step towards the next level. The 1:250 000 topo-cadastral map is introduced last. Normally this map is mainly used for regional planning and administrative purposes. Participants are shown how to use these maps to determine the specific 1:50 000 topographic maps covering the geographical areas they work in. All these maps depict the local area. Apart form the local aerial photography and maps we also use a specially adapted 1:50 000 topographic training map of the Gordon’s Bay area in the Western Cape. This area was chosen specifically because it excellently depicts a wide variety of both the natural and constructed landscape. Geographical features such as contour lines, slopes, valleys, watersheds, catchment areas, infrastructure, settlement, etc. are easily explained and illustrated by using a three dimensional model of this mapped area. This model comes apart in contour layers enhancing the visual aspect of the training and aiding the understanding of relief representation. Map reading forms the foundation upon which the building blocks analysis and interpretation follow. The foundation is getting to grips with the conventional signs of the 1:50 000 topographic map series. We anaylise these symbols by classifying them mainly according to the five colours of the map i.e brown (topography), blue (water), green (vegetation), red (roads) and black (the constructed landscape). There are of course a few exceptions to this rule. On the analysis level we cover aspects such as location, scale and assessing height. The map and photo interpretation exercises as client-specific as possible. Here participants use the spatial information directly related to their work situation. In the case of Land Reform much emphasis is placed on the spatial information obtained from the SG offices, applied in conjunction with the spatial information from the CD:SM. The diagrams and general plans are essential to an understanding of cadastre. If a land parcel cannot be located spatially, then the planning for any Land Reform programme cannot go ahead. It is crucial to relate all the relevant spatial information to the actual parcel of land in question when bringing all the role-players together. In this regard a site visit often proves to be invaluable in the process. Stated differently, the spatial information must be related to the actual Land Reform issue on the ground. And this is by no means an automatic process. Whether we are dealing with the transfer of unregistered state land or the subdivision of existing registered land parcels, it is crucial that the correct boundaries and beacons are established. Once this has been done through the mutual agreement and to the satisfaction of all parties involved, the land parcels can be surveyed and the diagrams framed. This will then be followed by the conveyancing and the final registration of a title deed in the Deeds Office before the land can be legally transferred to the beneficiaries. An understanding of the cadastre is thus pivotal in all issues related to Land Reform. In turn, anybody dealing with Land Reform must be able to ground the cadastre represented spatially on the diagrams and general plans, to the actual land parcel on the landscape. There are a number of ways in which the available aerial photography and related maps can be used in conjunction with one another. Aerial photographs are historical documents and CD:SM have aerial photography dating back to the 1930’s. On aerial photographs claimants can thus verify where they lived before being removed due to pre-‘94 legislation. An internationally known example in this regard is District Six in Cape Town. People in this area were dispossessed as a result of the Group Areas Act and their properties demolished. If we compare aerial photography of this area over the last four decades the picture becomes very clear. The orthophoto maps have a distinct advantage over aerial photography. Orthophoto maps are true to scale and they are also geo-referenced. This allows for the plotting of the cadastre from the diagrams and general plans on to the orthophoto maps. Immediately the cadastre is visually grounded for the observer. This is important to note, as the ordinary citizen is not always skilled in relating the SG information to the reality on the ground. This is of great assistance when establishing boundaries and beacons in order to effect security of tenure. Presently there is a restitution case underway in Macassar, southeast of Cape Town, that illustrates the usefulness of orthophoto maps together with the cadastral information. In this case the spatial information was used on site to point out the actual land parcels in question to the claimants. One definite disadvantage is that, at present, only about 30% of South Africa is covered by orthophoto maps. This brings us back to the use of the topographic map series covering the entire country. The topographic map series does show cadastral information. This is, however, limited to the original farm boundaries and thus does not show subdivisions or consolidations. The latest cadastre must therefore be obtained from the relevant SG offices and then be super-imposed on the corresponding 1:50 000 topographic map sheets. An interesting example in this regard is a restitution case near Keiskammahoek, Eastern Cape, where beneficiaries are claiming land that is at present partially covered by the Sandile Dam. Using aerial photography, topographic maps and an overlay of cadastre it can be shown that people actually lived on and farmed the land in question before the dam was constructed. Applying the necessary spatial information makes this visual validation of the claim possible. The Way Forward It is only through the application of spatial information that a government can provide for the needs of its people. As such, the agencies producing this information have a responsibility towards the social and economic development of any country. Spatial information is the canvas on which Land Reform must be mapped. It should never be an end in itself, but rather a building block in securing the rights of all people in this country. We believe that this training workshop is making a positive contribution to securing spatial information its rightful place in the process of Land Reform.
16. Grappling with inclusion of the disabled, an inside view By Kgafela waSebelebele The slogan which says, "Nothing for us without us", directly calls for the inclusion of the disabled in all matters that affect them. Many disabled are making the request to be included in decisions affecting them, for themselves while others are asking for their friends or ageing relatives. It is a simple request and the answer is equally easy. ''Welcome, we want to include you. Come and be part of us and our community". Why does this humble proposal evoke such reaction? Why is welcoming people labelled ''disabled'' seen as an activity of the radical fringe? There is always a tendency of discussing and deciding for the disabled as if they have nothing to say or contribute. It would be good if they were included in all talks about their future. Inclusion is yearned for by the disabled of all ages. Hospitality or caring for our families and friends is not a radical gesture. In fact, hospitality and caring are foundations of our culture. So why the intense reaction about inclusion? We believe that the inclusion issue cuts directly to the core of our values and beliefs. Inclusion seems so simple, so full of common sense, and yet it is complex. Inclusion is about how we deal with diversity, how we deal with differences, how we deal with mortality. It does not mean we all agree. Inclusion celebrates our diversity and differences with respect and gratitude. The greater our diversity, the richer our capacity to create new visions. Inclusion is an antidote to racism and sexism because it welcomes differences, and celebrates them as capacities rather than deficiencies. Inclusion is a farce when it only means "white, bright and middle class". Inclusion means all- together- supporting one another. A child or an adult with a disability is a symbolic personal crucible where we face our feelings about differences head on. Inclusion is how we tolerate other people. Why does one not tolerate people with disabilities? Yes, I know that inclusion can be deeply disturbing for it challenges your unexamined notions of what ordinary and normal really mean. Our hidden values are paraded before us in action and reaction. Some of what we see is discomforting. The questions become very personal. How would I feel if I were unable to walk, talk or move? How would I feel if I had a child who was labelled? How would I feel about myself? How would I feel if I were disabled by an accident? And ultimately, the one common issue we all face (or deny) is how do we feel about growing older? Where will I live? With whom will I associate? Will my family and friends care for me when I need help, or will they cast me aside? Will I live an endless death waiting hopelessly, helplessly, uselessly in a nursing home ward? What will become of me when I am old? Inclusion instigates this kind of reflection. No wonder people react. Reflection is vital to everyone. Life must be examined to be lived fully. It may be painful, but the inquiry can be the beginning of building new personal futures. We owe a debt of gratitude to people who present us with this magnitude of a challenge. Thus, welcoming people with challenging differences into our schools and communities is not simply for their benefit; it is our health and survival. The best partners will be rich in diversity with a wealth of creative energy. Inclusion is messy by definition, but it will build new models for the next century. The values are:
Inclusion is not a new programme or something one does to or for someone else. It is a deeply rooted spiritual concept that one lives. It is not a trendy product. It is not a new label. It is not a bandwagon. People are either included or excluded. One cannot be a little bit pregnant or a little included. One is either in or out. One either belongs or doesn't belong. If you keep on excluding people with disabilities, I am telling you, you are programming them for the fight of their lives - to get on and belong to. Most excluded people feel they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain in the battle to belong. Top
By Levina Du Toit The DLA Internet Editorial Committee invites comments and inputs on the DLA’s revamped web site. The aim of the new web site is to:
The following information structures were laid down, per Directorate:
Further DLA related information on the following topics can also be found:
Visit http://land.pwv.gov.za and let us know what you think of the DLA’s new image. Also keep in mind that this site portrays the image of the Department of Land Affairs and its employees, and we cannot achieve our mission without the valued inputs from you, the information owners of the DLA. All comments and / or inputs can be forwarded to LHDUTOIT@dla.gov.za.
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