Parliament comes to Ratanda community
The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will on Friday, August 18, conduct its nationwide public hearings on the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Bill in Ratanda.
The PDAL Bill seeks, among other things, to provide that the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (SALA) of 1970 applies to all agricultural land in the country, to provide principles for the management of agricultural land; to provide for agricultural land evaluation and classification; to provide for the preparation, purpose and content of provincial agricultural sector plans and to provide for the declaration of protected agricultural areas.
“The Bill further aims to address SALA shortcomings and other identified weaknesses. SALA is currently administered only by the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development and, as such, does not conform to the constitutional requirements of cooperative governance where national, provincial and local spheres of government have a role to play,” Parliament stated.
Furthermore, SALA is only applicable to privately owned land and thus, the Department cannot protect high-value agricultural land owned by the state, statutory bodies, communal land and land administered by traditional authorities.
The public hearings programme in the Sedibeng District will be held at the Ratanda Multipurpose Hall from 10 am.
The committee is conducting the public hearings to ensure that the final Bill reflects the views of the people and the affected stakeholders.
“Public participation is very important in the development and processing of legislation to ensure that laws that Parliament passes are progressive and responsive to the needs of every citizen and do not infringe on their rights,” the institution explained.
