Communal land tenure will be a thorny issue as the new deputy minister of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) takes up his position.
Lechesa Tsenoli was previously chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA). As deputy minister, he will be responsible for the DRDLR’s “departmental communications and marketing” and “advising the minister (Gugile Nkwinti) on certain policy matters”, according to DRDLR spokesperson Mthobeli Mxotwa.
Mxotwa says Tsenoli will be expected to confront the thorny issue of communal land tenure. In 2010, legislation intended to extend land title to individuals and groups in the former homelands was scrapped after being successfully challenged in the Constitutional Court. According to experts, the absence of such legislation severely inhibits the DRDLR’s ability to fulfil its mandate.
Tsenoli is the DRDLR’s second deputy minister in two years. President Jacob Zuma recently reshuffled his cabinet and fired two ministers, including Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde, minister of public works. Tsenoli’s predecessor as DRDLR deputy minister, Thulas Nxesi, was appointed as the new minister of public works.
Nxesi was responsible for the consultation processes associated with the controversial Green Paper on Land Reform. Many feel he won’t be missed. “We felt that the department was playing a good-cop, bad-cop routine, with Nxesi as the bad cop,” said Agri SA’s Annelize Crosby.
“We hear that Tsenoli’s leadership style is less abrasive and look forward to seeing if this proves to be true.” Tsenoli is a former Free State MEC and one-time journalist. Opposition parties lauded his service as chairperson of CoGTA.
ID MP Joe McGluwa said, “He’s a dedicated man, an educated man, and he does everything with passion. It became clear on oversight visits that he’s very hardworking. I put his name forward for a minister or deputy minister post long ago.”
The DA’s Marti Wenger said, “CoGTA’s loss is land reform’s gain. I’ve worked under Tsenoli’s leadership for the last two years and found him very knowledgeable and caring. He never shied away from criticism and praised people liberally. I think he should have been made minister of CoGTA, on the strength of his knowledge and the legislation he helped see through.”
But according to the IFP’s Peter Smith, Tsenoli’s knowledge may not count for much.
“In our last meeting with Tsenoli as chair we were looking at the property rates bill. The question of rates in rural areas is very contentious within the ANC ranks. In the end, it comes down to whether the department, and not an individual, has the balls to tackle highly political issues,” Smith said. – Sean Christie
