uMgungundlovu District Municipality residents have rejected Parliament’s proposed law seeking to prevent the use of agricultural land for housing and other purposes not related to agriculture, saying they cannot buy in to something if they do not own land first.

The proposed law, called the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Bill, on Thursday came up for discussion during the portfolio committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development hearings, held at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall, which scores of residents from the district attended.

According to the committee’s chairperson Mandla Mandela, the PDAL Bill will, if enacted into law, empower government to block the conversion of agricultural land into other purposes.

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However, most of the district residents who spoke during the hearing slammed the measure.

Sakhi Mchunu, a farm dweller from uMshwati, said government should first provide farm dwellers with land before discussing the Bill.

“We are being asked to say whether we support the Bill or not. But how can we support something [that is] talking about things we don’t have? We don’t have any agricultural land. The land of our ancestors was confiscated and given to big timber companies which up to this day are still using our land. Even though we have lodged land claims back in 1998, government is yet to give us back the land of our ancestors.

“It’s really an insult for government to expect us to protect the land which doesn’t belong to us.

Vumani Ngubane slammed the committee for failing to educate citizens on the contents of the bill.

“There have never been any workshops to help the public understand what the Bill is all about. We are just being called to hearings and asked to say whether we approve the Bill or not. As the public our views were not canvassed before the Bill was put together,” she said.

While the current Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act (Sala) of 1970 protects privately-owned land meant for agricultural use, the committee said the law has some limitations as it does not give the national government powers to protect agricultural land which falls under the state, the municipalities and that which is under the control of traditional leaders.

The committee said “The PDAL Bill seeks, among other things, to provide that this 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.”

“Public participation is very important in the development and processing of legislation to ensure that the laws Parliament passes are progressive and responsive to the needs of every citizen and do not infringe on their rights.”

The committee will continue with the hearings in other parts of KwaZulu-Natal before proceeding to other provinces.