Cabinet meeting: Cannabis ‘master plan’, land reform, lifestyle audits, Joshlin Smith and more

In her briefing on the outcome of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, 13 March, Minister in The Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, highlighted the progress made in the strategic collaboration between government and business, as well as making strides in the fight against crime and corruption.

Other key takeaways from the meeting include a progress reports on the cannabis and hemp sector, lifestyle audits of senior management and the acceleration of the implementation of land reform in the country.

Statement on the Cabinet meeting, 13 March

Safety and security

Cabinet expressed concern about the safety of children following recent cases of child kidnappings in different parts of the country.

⦁ Members applauded police and the community of Saldanha Bay in the Western Cape for the arrest of suspects in connection with the missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith.

• Cabinet calls on persons with any information on all missing children to contact their nearest police station or call Crime Stop at 08600 10111.

ALSO READ: Joshlin Smith: Court chaos, Pollsmoor fisticuffs, new leads and claims of two more suspects

Governance matters

Progress report on lifestyle audits of members of the senior management service.

• At the end of January 2023, a total of 24 national departments and 71 provincial departments reported that they concluded lifestyle audits.
• With further interventions, the number of compliant departments increased at the end of March 2023 to 36 national government departments and 89 provincial departments.
• The alpha version of the central register has been developed and tested on an existing web-based application, the process to finalise is underway.

Agriculture, land reform and rural development

Cabinet received a progress report on the development of the cannabis and hemp sector and the cannabis master plan as part of government’s strategy to industrialise the cannabis sector.

⦁ The aim is to provide a framework for the establishment, growth and development of the cannabis and hemp industry in South Africa to contribute to economic growth, poverty alleviation and job creation.

ALSO READ: Dagga: SA must ‘free the herb’ to tap into R50 billion goldmine

• The Agricultural Research Council continue to develop hemp varieties, with the support of DALRRD, to make the seeds available for the 2025 planting season.

• When the Department of Health through the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority is currently consulting on further changes to the Schedules of the Medicines and Related Substances Act for purposes of allowing the department to regulate cannabis for all medicinal uses.

• The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) will regulate the cultivation and processing of cannabis and hemp for all other legitimate uses, such as industrial, cosmetic, human and food products applications.

ALSO READ: High alert: National Assembly finally gives Cannabis Bill the green light

Land reform

The various land reform acceleration programmes continue to be implemented and the progress was reported to Cabinet as follows:
⦁ Through the provisions of the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act of 1998, so far 593167 hectares have been transferred.
⦁ Rapid Release of state land has been completed with the release and allocation of 659 602 hectares of agricultural state land.
⦁ The Land Claims Commission has settled 83 056 claims as at December 2023, a total of 3 889 701 hectares of land were acquired at a cost of R25 billion, and financial compensation of R23 billion was awarded to beneficiaries.

Government and business partnership

• The Resource Mobilisation Fund, which was established to support the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, has to date raised about R100 million.
• Work also continues to support the National Logistics Crisis Committee and the Joint Initiative on Crime and Corruption.

Tourism

Cabinet received progress report on addressing backlogs on tour operator licences.

• The Department of Tourism will partner with relevant institutions and structures, including the Department of Transport Interim National Public Transport Regulator Committee, to ensure improvement and more quicker turn-around times in the processing of tour operator licences

Trade matters

• Cabinet welcomes the adoption by the African Union Assembly of key protocols and decisions affecting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
• These included the first-ever protocol on women and youth in trade, as well as protocols on investment and on digital trade.
• Cabinet congratulated the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition for the work done to enable the start of trade under the AfCFTA preferences, with the first consignment of goods destined for Ghana and Kenya.
• It noted the outcome of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and welcomed the acceptance by the WTO of South Africa’s instrument of ratification of the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement.

Mega raw water resource augmentation projects

• Cabinet was informed that raising of the Hazelmere Dam project was successfully completed at a cost of R820 million.
• To enable this additional stored water to be treated and supplied to the City of eThekwini, the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board has completed a project to increase the capacity of the Hazelmere Water Treatment Works at a cost of R135 million.
• Umzimvubu Water Project: The project implementation was delayed for many years by lack of funding. However, the access road to the dam is expected to be completed by June 2024. The construction of the dam is expected to be completed in 2028.
• The raising of the Tzaneen Dam is expected to be completed in March 2025, at a cost of R555 million.