Mashatile promises land back to the people
Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
Image: Independent Media Archives
Deputy President Paul Mashatile delivered a firm commitment in Parliament: the new government will return the land to the people - and ensure they don't lose it again to banks.
Answering questions in the National Assembly on Thursday, Mashatile said the government was determined to protect land reform beneficiaries from being trapped by commercial debt.
'Our role as a new government is to return the land to the people and do it in such a way that we protect them from the commercial banks,' he said.
'We don't want a situation where they lose land again because of loans.'
Questions about land ownership were asked by the DA MP, Willie Aucamp and MK Party MP, Andile Mngxitama.
Mashatile also explained that most land-related funding currently comes from state institutions like the Land Bank and other government financial entities.
But he acknowledged that commercial finance still plays a role - one that must be tightly regulated to prevent exploitation.
'We must also tap into resources in commercial banks, but with state support so people are not exploited. We are doing exactly that, he said.
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Addressing concerns over support for emerging farmers, Mashatile pointed to the estimated two million small-scale farmers already receiving government assistance.
'It's not enough to give land,' he said. 'You must support people to till that land. That's what we're doing with the Land Bank and other institutions.'
One of the key challenges, Mashatile admitted, is the lack of title deeds - particularly among older farmers and those in rural areas.
This limits access to credit, as commercial banks demand security. A programme is underway, he said, to issue title deeds to land reform beneficiaries.
Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act.
The Act aims to allow the government to acquire private property for public purposes or in the public interest.
But the government must tread carefully in traditional areas. 'Sometimes traditional leaders say they must hold the title for everyone,' Mashatile noted. 'We have to engage with them.'
Collaboration between the Ministers of Agriculture and Land Reform, he added, is ongoing to resolve these complexities and ensure land reform delivers real, lasting change.
Mashatile on Thursday also sent a clear and uncompromising message underscoring the government's intensified focus on consequence management in the water sector to combat corruption and inefficiency.
'We are stepping up consequence management. Water boards, municipal managers, and service providers will be held accountable - no exceptions,' Mashatile stated, addressing concerns over poor performance, criminal interference, and service delivery failures.
He acknowledged that many of the country's water authorities were managed at the municipal level, with oversight from the Department of Water and Sanitation.
'Their performance is under scrutiny. We cannot afford weak leadership in these critical institutions. When individuals don't deliver, action must follow, because failure costs lives and fuels corruption,' he said.
However, Mashatile spotlighted the growing threat posed by 'water mafias' - organised criminal networks that sabotage public infrastructure to profit from tanker contracts.
'They have embedded themselves within city systems, disrupting services so that municipalities are forced to rely on outsourced water supply. What began as a temporary solution for emergencies has become a captured industry,' he said.
Mashatile affirmed that these networks are being targeted.
'We are actively dismantling their influence. Protecting our cities from this kind of corruption is a top priority.'
Mashatile confirmed that a high-level task team, working with the Minister of Water and Sanitation, is developing stricter accountability measures and performance standards for all water institutions.
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They are standing on the frontlines of activism, raising their voices against discrimination, advocating for human rights, and holding the powerful to account. The youth of today are the engines of progress — collaborating, overcoming, embracing creativity and innovation, all while adapting and thriving amid challenges. Supporting them is essential; they are key drivers of societal evolution and positioned at the heart of our nation's development. When we see young activists, we should recognise them as exemplifying the spirit of the 1976 youth of South Africa. The fire that burned in the hearts of the June 16 generation still burns today. Young people are often the first to demand a just and free future. Steve Biko's message: 'The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed,' continues to resonate with today's youth. They challenge structures that tell them they are less and refuse to remain silent. The history of youth in South Africa is distinguished. To honour June 16 is to remember their sacrifice and fuel the revolution they began. Today's youth do not inherit a legacy but continue a revolution. As Winnie Madikizela-Mandela said: 'The power of the people is greater than the people in power.' * Tswelopele Makoe is a gender and social justice activist and the editor at Global South Media Network (GSMN). She is a researcher and columnist, and an Andrew W Mellon scholar at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice, UWC. The views expressed are her own. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media.
