Dear Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development,

I do agree that agricultural land should be protected against urban housing development as I have personally seen this happen in the Lowveld with land held under Traditional Authorities. It has been almost a free for all to sell this type of land for housing development which has been aggravated by the large influx of illegal immigrants who have created a massive demand.

What I would like to bring to Committee's attention is that mining development should not be put in the same basket as housing development and renewables. Viable mineral deposits are also scarce and increasing legislation which would potentially hinder mining development in South Africa will further undermine foreign investor confidence in RSA. One must bear in mind that it was the mining industry who contributed taxes on windfall profits during the pandemic which saved the National budget of RSA.

South Africa needs to introduce legislation that will make foreign investment in mining more friendly so that we can compete with other countries but I fear that this legislation will further impede this objective.

One thing that the bill does not address is the current use and management of agricultural land in South Africa.

There are many millions of hectares of agricultural land in South Africa which has been severely degraded by poor management with over grazing and soil erosion. One just needs to drive into Northern KwaZulu Natal to see massive areas of soil erosion which have totally destroyed the agricultural capacity of the land. The government should be making a massive effort to address this issue as this is the biggest danger to productive agricultural land in RSA.

This has by far the largest impact on agricultural land in RSA and if legislation is proposed to protect agricultural land in RSA then this should be the focus and not on the few mining projects which have destroyed agricultural land as these mining projects have brought massive investment and job opportunities to the country and will positively contribute to the taxes in future.

South Africa has a reducing tax base and with the governments mandate for social upliftment, the country needs new investments to develop mining and industrial projects which can contribute to the tax base.

I would like to kindly urge you to think carefully on my comments to this new proposed legislation and amend accordingly

Kind Regards

Michael Bryant