National Assembly - 05 June 2001
TUESDAY, 5 JUNE 2001
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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The House met at 10:01.
The Chairperson of Committees took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Ms G L MAHLANGU: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I will move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that South Africa and the rest of the world is today celebrating World Environment Day and that this day was established by the United Nations in 1972, to remind people across the globe about the importance of conserving the environment;
(2) further notes that -
(a) every year a theme is identified to focus world attention on a
particular development issue and that this year's theme is
``Connect to the World Wide Web of Life''; and
(b) the intention of this theme is to link humanity's development
and ultimate survival with the delicate balance of the natural
world, and to serve as a reminder that the earth is our common
heritage and that the bounty of nature is one and indivisible;
(3) commends the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the provincial environmental affairs departments for their launch of a wide range of sustainable environmental initiatives aimed at giving effect to the environmental rights expressed in the Constitution;
(4) calls on all organs of state to give full effect to our citizens’ environmental rights by adherence to the principles contained in Chapter 1 of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No 107 of 1998), not only on this day, but in all their policies, plans, programmes and projects throughout the year;
(5) commits itself to uphold all the principles of the international conventions for the protection of the environment to which South Africa is a signatory …
[Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr A J BOTHA: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) expresses alarm at the increasing acts of arson at Mangete in KwaZulu- Natal in support of land claims; (2) recognises that this defiance of authority is leading to a state of anarchy;
(3) acknowledges that repeated calls over several years by the community of Mangete to the authorities, including the Office of the President, have gone unheeded;
(4) censures the Minister of Safety and Security for this state of affairs, which has already encouraged land invasions elsewhere, most recently in Krugersdorp in Gauteng; and
(5) calls upon the Minister to prioritise the identification and apprehension of the culprits involved, so that they can be prosecuted and sentenced in the interest of the rule of law.
[Applause.]
Mrs L R MBUYAZI: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that the UN-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that global warming is occurring and has been substantiated by scientific research findings;
(2) further notes that the IPCC found that greenhouse gas emissions from industrial operations are a major contributing factor to global warming;
(3) recalls that the 1997 Kyoto Protocol binds signatories to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 2008; and
(4) calls on the countries with the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions, most notably the United States, members of the European Union, Russia and China, to implement the emissions reduction requirements of the Kyoto Protocol without delay.
[Applause.]
Dr E A SCHOEMAN: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that farmers and their families continue to be subjected to brutal attacks and murder;
(2) recognises the indispensable role of the farming community in feeding and clothing the nation;
(3) accepts that crime and violence in any sector is abhorrent and must be eradicated;
(4) notes with shock the murders of Mr and Mrs Visser on their farm near Ceres, Mr and Mrs Dennis of King William’s Town and Mr and Mrs Schoonwinkel of Groblersdal;
(5) endorses the call of the ANC mayor of Ceres that local government, the SAPS, farmers and farmworkers develop plans for the safety of farming communities; and (6) extends its sincere condolences to the bereaved in these and all other farm attacks.
[Applause.]
Mnr J J DOWRY: Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem van -
(a) die voortgesette plaasaanvalle in die Boland wat die lewe van
die egpaar Visser geëis het, en dat dit die tiende plaasmoord in
die Boland sedert April verlede jaar was;
(b) die plaasmoorde in Mpumalanga en die Oos-Kaap wat die lewe van
nog twee egpare geëis het, en dat daar vanjaar reeds 31
plaasaanvalle meer as in 2000 was; en
(c) dat elke plaasmoord talle werkersgesinne werkloos laat; (2) verder kennis neem dat Japie Grobler, president van AgriSA, gesê het
dat dit duidelik is dat wraak, en nie misdaad nie, die rede vir die
plaasaanvalle is; en
(3) ook kennis neem dat die DA alle vorme van geweld en moord in Suid- Afrika veroordeel; en
(4) ‘n beroep op die Regering doen om -
(a) sy steun toe te staan aan boere en plaaswerkers wat saam die
sinlose plaasaanvalle wil beëindig; en
(b) maatreëls in werking te stel om plaasaanvalle te voorkom. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Mr J J DOWRY: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) notes - (a) the continued farm attacks in the Boland which have claimed the lives of the Visser couple, and the fact that this is the tenth farm murder in the Boland since April last year;
(b) the farm murders in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape which have
claimed the lives of two more couples, and the fact that this
year there have already been 31 more farm attacks than in 2000;
and
(c) that each farm murder leaves many farmworkers' families
unemployed;
(2) further notes that Japie Grobler, President of AgriSA, has said that it is evident that revenge, and not crime, is the reason for the farm attacks;
(3) also notes that the DA condemns all forms of violence and murder in South Africa; and
(4) appeals to the Government to -
(a) give its support to farmers and farmworkers who jointly want to
end the senseless farm attacks; and
(b) implement measures to prevent the occurrence of farm attacks.]
Mr T ABRAHAMS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the UDM:
That the House -
(1) calls on Government to urgently address the management of the ailing road system in South Africa;
(2) expresses its condolences to the bereaved families of the 12 people who died on Monday in a collision between a truck and a minibus taxi;
(3) calls on the Government to urgently institute programmes that are devised to co-ordinate traffic, health and environmental concerns, thus resulting in less traffic congestion, minimising the frequency of collisions and decreasing pollution; and
(4) calls on the Minister of Transport to institute a prohibition on the movement of trucks, tractors and other heavy, slow-moving vehicles in all metropolitan areas between 06h30 and 08h30 on weekday mornings.
Mr N N KEKANA: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the ruling by the Constitutional Court on Tuesday, 29 May 2001,
affirms the constitutional responsibility of Government to
provide shelter to the poor;
(b) the 200 displaced Alexandra flood victims, and many other
homeless people throughout the country, will greatly benefit
from this ruling;
(c) the Department of Housing is already doing a sterling job of
providing housing to our people; and
(d) the Minister of Social Development is turning empty buildings
into shelters for homeless children in Johannesburg and
Pretoria;
(2) calls on residents, especially those in upmarket suburbs, to work closely with Government in the progressive realisation of adequate housing for all South Africans; and
(3) further calls on the people of Alexandra to work with Government in rebuilding the township.
[Applause.]
Ms C DUDLEY: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ACDP:
That the House -
(1) recognises that -
(a) the economic and political cancer of President Robert Mugabe's
regime in Zimbabwe undermines the entire region; and
(b) this regime has ignored rulings by the Supreme Court and forced
the chief justice to resign, closed radio stations, bombed the
only independent daily newspaper, arrested leading opposition
figures, brutalised and killed opponents, including thousands of
Matabeles, assaulted lawyers, human rights activists and
democratic reformers, invaded factories, universities and farms,
rebuffed Secretary-General Koi Annan of the United Nations, the
president of Nigeria and the British and American governments;
(2) acknowledges that as a result South Africa has seen its own currency depreciated, its economic growth compromised and its race relations endangered;
(3) notes that nearly a million immigrants have walked into South Africa from Zimbabwe, an exodus that critically impacts on South Africa’s economic future;
(4) further notes that Hitler Hunzvi died in Zimbabwe yesterday and that Mugabe has been invited to address a land invasion rally in Mpumalanga by the labour tenants committee …
[Time expired.]
Dr C P MULDER: Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis -
(1) sy skok uitspreek oor die drie dubbele moorde wat op plase in onderskeidelik die King William’s Town-, Ceres- en Groblersdal- distrikte plaasgevind het in die bestek van drie dae;
(2) die beplande verset-aksies deur boere en hulle werkers wat voortspruit uit hierdie wreedaardige moorde, heelhartig ondersteun; (3) kennis neem daarvan dat hierdie sinnelose moorde besig is om daarin te slaag om die boerderybedryf, wat nie net aan duisende mense werk gee nie, maar ook kos voorsien aan miljoene mense, te destabiliseer;
(4) die Adjunkminister vir Landbou en Grondsake, mnr Dirk du Toit, daarop wil wys dat hierdie moorde nie net gewone misdaad is, soos hy die afgelope week beweer het nie, waar dat getuienis aandui dat dit ‘n berekende poging is om boere van hulle grond af te dryf; en
(5) daarom ‘n beroep doen op mnr Du Toit om nie boere onregverdig te kritiseer vir hulle reaksie op hierdie moorde nie, maar dat hy eerder sy tyd en aandag daaraan sal bestee om die Regering te oortuig om onmiddellik ‘n daadwerklike plan op te stel om ‘n einde te bring aan hierdie vlaag van plaasmoorde en -aanvalle. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF:
That the House -
(1) expresses its shock at the three double murders which took place on farms within the space of three days in the districts of King William’s Town, Ceres and Groblersdal, respectively;
(2) wholeheartedly supports the planned protest action by farmers and their workers arising from these cruel murders;
(3) notes that these senseless murders are beginning to succeed in destabilising the farming industry, which not only provides work to thousands of people, but also supplies food to millions of people;
(4) wishes to point out to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Mr Dirk du Toit, that these murders are not just ordinary crimes, as he maintained last week, but that evidence indicates that they represent a calculated attempt to drive farmers off their land; and
(5) therefore appeals to Mr Du Toit not to criticise the farmers unfairly for their reaction to these murders, but rather to devote his time and energy to convincing the Government immediately to put in place a decisive plan to bring an end to this wave of farm murders and attacks.]
Mrs T J TSHIVHASE: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that Advocate Dikgang Moseneke has rejoined the legal fraternity as an acting Judge in the Pretoria High Court;
(2) welcomes his decision; and
(3) wishes him good luck in his new position.
[Applause.]
Mr S B FARROW: Chairman, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the DP:
That the House -
(1) notes that the taxi in which 12 people died in Gauteng on Monday had been found to be unroadworthy and unlicensed;
(2) recognises that this vehicle should not have been on the road;
(3) expresses its shock at these unnecessary deaths and extends its sympathy to the families of the deceased; and
(4) calls on the transport and traffic authorities to take the scourge of unroadworthy minibus taxis seriously and to -
(a) stop merely issuing traffic tickets, which are never followed
up;
(b) impound unroadworthy taxis and arrest the owners and unlicensed
drivers of such vehicles; and
(c) speed up the taxi recapitalisation project in the interest of
saving lives.
Dr R RABINOWITZ: Chair, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) an independent survey into medical schemes revealed that -
(i) in 1999, most were operating with less than 13% of cash
reserves; and
(ii) most schemes are operating on increased contribution and
decreased benefits;
(b) fewer young and healthy people are opting for medical cover;
(c) a more recent survey reveals that companies are reducing their
percentage contribution to medical schemes; and
(d) the Medical Schemes Act (Act 131 of 1998) is having the opposite
of its intended effect; and
(2) calls on the Ministers of Health and of Finance to -
(a) facilitate more up-to-date research on the status of medical
schemes and the impact of the Medical Schemes Act; and
(b) review health funding policy in South Africa, looking to
countries such as Taiwan and Israel, where government subsidises
medical schemes but requires all citizens to have health
insurance of their choice, and Belgium where the state provides
a minimum package but requires every employed person to acquire
health insurance of their choice. Dr J BENJAMIN: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the Fikelela Children's Centre for HIV-positive children in
Mandela Park, Khayelitsha, was opened yesterday; and
(b) that the children's centre was a brainchild of the Yabonga
Children's Project in Africa which was started in Germany three
years ago, and of women in Khayelitsha;
(2) commends all the stakeholders involved in making child care facilities available for children living with HIV/Aids; and
(3) calls on business and communities to work together in establishing these child care facilities.
[Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Voorsitter, ek gee hiermee kennis dat ek op die volgende sittingsdag namens die VF sal voorstel:
Dat die Huis, aangesien jeugdagvierings nasiebou moet bevorder -
(1) die inhoud van ‘n omsendbrief deur die Vrystaatse LUR vir Onderwys ten sterkste veroordeel, aangesien dit aan haatspraak en rassisme grens;
(2) die Minister van Onderwys versoek om die betrokke LUR te dissiplineer omdat hy afgedwing het dat genoemde brief hardop tydens saalplegtighede voorgelees word; en
(3) alle skole versoek om Jeugdag op so ‘n wyse te vier dat dit versoening sal bevorder en rasse-polarisasie sal teenwerk. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day I shall move on behalf of the FF: That the House, since Youth Day celebrations should promote nation- building -
(1) condemns most strongly the content of a circular by the Free State MEC for Education, as it borders on hate speech and racism;
(2) requests the Minister of Education to discipline the MEC in question for insisting that the aforementioned letter be read aloud during school assemblies; and
(3) requests all schools to celebrate Youth Day in such a way as to promote reconciliation and counteract racial polarisation.]
Prof L M MBADI: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move on behalf of the UDM:
That the House -
(1) expresses its concern that one of the SAPS’s biggest successes, Operation Neptune, was suspended because funds have dried up; (2) notes that the Marine and Coastal Management Services’ need for assistance and the suspension of the operation is a serious regression by the Government with regard to the protection of marine and coastal resources;
(3) expresses its disgust that the Government is incompetent in identifying real budgetary concerns and dealing with them; and
(4) calls upon the Minister of Safety and Security and the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to urgently set aside funds so that Operation Neptune may continue.
WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY
(Draft Resolution)
Mr D H M GIBSON: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that today is World Environment Day; and (2) urges all South Africans to take this day seriously by recognising that the environment encompasses the world in which we live, which needs to be protected, promoted and cared for.
Agreed to.
BIRTHDAY OF THE PROPHET MOHAMMED
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that according to the Islamic calendar today is the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, who was born on Monday, 12 Rabi-ul-Awwal, or 20 April 571 AD;
(2) also notes that Muslims across the world will be commemorating his birth until the end of the lunar month by participating in a variety of intimate community events at mosques; and (3) wishes all Muslims, both inside and outside our country, a blessed Moulood-un-Nabi.
Agreed to.
POINT OF ORDER
(Ruling)
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, just before we come to the Orders for today, I wish to rule on a point of order which was raised in this House some time last week.
During the Provincial and Local Government Vote debate, on Thursday, 31 May 2001, the hon Mr M J Ellis raised a point of order on a remark made by the hon B M Solo, in reference to the hon member Mrs G M Borman.
I undertook to study the Hansard and to rule on the matter at a subsequent sitting of the House. Having had the opportunity to study the relevant Hansard, I wish to rule as follows: The contested remark is contained in the following sentence ``She is so obsessed with the notion: `What can one expect from a black person?’.
Even though Mr Solo refrains from directly calling Mrs Borman a racist, he does infer that she holds racist views, which is tantamount to calling her a racist. In view of a ruling by the Speaker, that it is never parliamentary to call another member a racist, regardless of the context, I call on the hon member Mr Solo to withdraw his remarks.
Mnu B M SOLO: Sihlalo, ngendlela ebekwe ngayo le ndaba lapha eNdlini, iyezwakala. Njengesizwe esimpisholo, sizimisele ukulwa nobandlululo ngazo zonke izindlela, ikakhulukazi ngokwebala, njengalokho umgomo wenhlangano usiyalela. [Ubuwelewele.] [Uhleko.] (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[Mr B M SOLO: Chairperson, the way this issue has been discussed, is understood. As a black nation, we are prepared to fight apartheid with all means, especially racism as the policy of our organisation stipulates. [Interjections.] [Laughter.]]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Solo, could you withdraw the words? I have heard your statement. You concur with what I say, but could you withdraw?
Mr B M SOLO: Sihlalo, ngiyahoxisa. [Chairperson, I withdraw.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Ngiyabonga kakhulu. [Uhleko.] [Ihlombe.] [Thank you very much. [Laughter.] [Applause.]]
ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER
REVENUE LAWS AMENDMENT BILL
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move:
That the House, subject to the concurrence of the National Council of Provinces, establishes a joint committee in terms of Joint Rule 111 to consider the Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, 2001.
Agreed to. APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 19 - Correctional Services:
The MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Chairperson, can I just be indulged and request that I remove the overcoat? [Interjections.] No, I wanted to do that because I wanted to surprise the House, because I am still nice even if I take it off. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Mr D H M GIBSON: You look like Jackie Selebi.
The MINISTER: Mr Chairperson, our theme this year will be corrections in partnership with the community for prison reform.
Never in the history of the department, certainly not since I became the Minister of Correctional Services, have we, as a department, been faced with such tremendous opportunities and challenges to set the department on a radically new course, building on what is good and jettisoning what is bad for our new democracy. There has been tremendous willingness from all sectors of society to co-operate and collaborate with the department, in support of our vision of delivering excellent Correctional Services in partnership with the community. It is our strong belief that Correctional Services must be a collective social responsibility.
The Department of Correctional Services is the custodian of people who offended the community and transgressed the laws of the state, as we all know. It represents a conglomeration of people with diverse backgrounds and cultures. It is a community with its own culture. Most importantly, it is carrying the responsibility of correcting behaviour which society has failed to deal with so far. An obligation is therefore placed on the department, the Government and society at large to shift the focus and the emphasis from incarceration to the enhancement of rehabilitation.
Let me just quickly run through the budget allocated to the department to carry out its mandate. Although the budget is not sufficient to provide for all the needs of the department, it is pleasing to see an increase of about 8,8% from the previous budget. Therefore, we are saying that the total budget, for instance, allocated for the years 2000-2001 was R5,6 billion, and for 2001-2002 it is R6,1 billion, which is that increase of 8,8%.
This budget allocation is intended to fund the operation of about 238 prisons countrywide, which are made up as follows: eight prisons for female prisoners only, 13 youth correctional facilities, 114 prisons for male prisoners only, 99 prisons accommodating both male and female prisoners, and four prisons that are temporarily closed down for renovations. All these prisons accommodate 170 959 prisoners, of whom 56 422 are unsentenced and 114 537 are sentenced prisoners.
At this juncture, I also wish to take the opportunity to indicate some of the programmes that the department will embark upon in the current MTEF period. I will also indicate to the House later the successes that have been achieved by the department in the previous financial year. However, a full account of the achievements will be provided in an annual report that will be issued later this year.
As regards enhancing rehabilitation, in terms of the priority programmes presented by the crime and justice cluster to the Cabinet Lekgotla held on 22-23 January 2001, the Department of Correctional Services committed itself to stepping up its campaign to put rehabilitation at the centre of all its activities by identifying the enhancement of rehabilitation programmes as a key departmental objective for this current financial year, and the forthcoming MTEF period.
This is a result of a re-examination of the department’s strategic role in the fight against crime within the broader context of the criminal justice system. The critical role played by the Department of Correctional Services in crime prevention is the reduction of recidivism through the provision of effective rehabilitation services to offenders.
Despite the human rights culture brought about by the new democratic dispensation in our country, the immediate post 1994 transformation of the department focused its attention mainly on safe custody. However, the more recent integrated justice system approach towards crime prevention persuaded the department to re-examine its core objectives and reprioritise its resources.
The focus is now on transforming our prisons from being so-called universities of crime or criminal headquarters into effective rehabilitation centres that produce skilled and reformed individuals who are capable of successful re-integration into their communities as law- abiding citizens. The department has, therefore, identified the enhancement of rehabilitation programmes as a key fundamental starting point in contributing towards a crime-free society. The development phase of the enhancement process will take place during this current financial year, and the implementation phase will take place in the course of the forthcoming MTEF period.
This enhancement process will be realised through the implementation of, amongst others, the following strategies within the allocated budget of about R453,22 million: the development of individualised need-based rehabilitation programmes; marketing rehabilitation programmes to increase offender participation; the establishment of formal partnerships with the community to strengthen the rehabilitation programmes and to create a common understanding; promoting a restorative approach to justice to create a platform for dialogue for the victim, the offender and the community to facilitate the healing process; combating illiteracy in prisons by providing adult basic education and training to offenders; increasing production to enhance self-sufficiency and to contribute to the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy; and, lastly, increasing training facilities for the development of skills. These strategies will be translated into the following themes: education, training, reskilling, personal development, spiritual enlightenment and preparation for release.
Turning to prisoner accommodation, the recently held departmental strategic planning session for the forthcoming MTEF period managed to identify a number of opportunities which will help to provide solutions to a number of problem areas. The main challenge facing the Department of Correctional Services is the development of sustainable strategies to cope with the ever- increasing prison population, which puts tremendous pressure on our limited financial resources.
One thing I have learnt in the more than two years I have served as Minister of Correctional Services, is that there are no quick fixes to the problem of overcrowding. Despite the interventions between September and October 2000, which led to a reduction in prison population, from 172 271 during April 2000 to 160 807 by the end of October 2000, the prison population stood at 170 959 on 31 March 2001. It is obvious that, however important, these interventions did not have a long-term effect on the prison population.
The strategic planning session has therefore served to strengthen our resolve to continue in search of durable, sustainable and long-term solutions to the problem of overcrowding. The department will continue to pursue prison population reduction strategies to combat overcrowding, with our partners in the integrated justice system.
In this regard, and flowing from the strategic planning session, we have unequivocally made the necessary link between the effective utilisation of the community corrections system and the implementation of viable reduction strategies. We have, therefore, identified the enhancement of the community corrections system as a key departmental objective to address overcrowding by diverting low-risk awaiting-trial prisoners to community corrections, and employing the following strategies to improve the quality and effectiveness of that system: The improvement of the quality of visitations to probationers and parolees by correctional officials; the involvement of the family of the offender in the visitation and rehabilitation process; bringing community corrections reporting offices closer to communities by increasing the number of community corrections satellite offices and sub- offices; and the implementation of electronic monitoring to ensure continuous around the clock monitoring of probationers, parolees and awaiting-trial prisoners.
Furthermore, the department is engaged in the following projects to alleviate overcrowding: In November 2000 we opened the Qalakabusha Prison in Empangeni, with an accommodation capacity of 1 392 beds. Ebongweni Maximum Prison in Kokstad, with a capacity of 1 440 beds, should be open sometime in July. The Devon Pre-release Centre in Springs, with a capacity of 600 beds, is on schedule. The APOPS prison, Mangaung Maximum Prison, in Bloemfontein, with an accommodation capacity of 2 928 beds is also in an advanced stage of completion, and is due for occupation on 1 July this year, which is three months ahead of schedule. This project was undertaken by a black empowerment consortium called Bloemfontein Correctional Contracts. The contractual obligations for the employment of previously disadvantaged individuals have been exceeded during the construction phase of this prison. Up to about 1 500 people have been trained and deployed during construction, and some 60% of the managers and supervisors are PDIs. Around 90% of the frontline staff are also PDIs.
The construction of Kutama-Senthumule Maximum Security Prison, the APOPS prison in Louis Trichardt, with an accommodation capacity of 3 024 beds, is going according to schedule and its occupation is expected in February
- This project is being undertaken by another black empowernment consortium called South African Custodial Services.
At this stage, 33 prisons have been identified for repair and maintenance work, and an amount of about R214,55 million will be spent this year. These prisons have been divided into three priority groups, each in various stages of progress.
We now turn to the implementation of a unit management system. The strategic planning session identified unit management as the missing ingredient in the transformation of our prison system. Thus, we have set ourselves a target to implement unit management in 80% of our prisons by the end of the forthcoming MTEF period, that is, 31 March 2005.
Unit management is an approach that makes provision for: firstly, the division of the prison into smaller manageable units; secondly, improved interaction between staff and prisoners; thirdly, improved and effective supervision; fourthly, increased participation in all programmes by prisoners; fifthly, enhanced teamwork and a holistic approach; and lastly, the creation of mechanisms to address gangsterism.
In a recently televised BBC documentary on gangs in Pollsmoor Prison entitled, Cage of Dreams, a gang member boasted that it is not the warders who are in control of the prison, but the ``numbers’’ gangs. This was confirmed by a correctional official who has expressed his fear of being stabbed by gang members, stating that nearly half of his colleagues at the maximum security section had been stabbed at least once. Another official stated that correctional officials were natural targets of gangs and that they are underpaid and outnumbered by 100 to 1 by the numbers gangs. Some of the people that I am talking about, those who face that type of difficulty and atrocity daily, are here.
It is useful to note that over a 40-year history, since its inception internationally, unit management has demonstrated its effectiveness as a strategy to reduce prison violence and control gang activity while contributing to achieving prisoner rehabilitation. The implementation of unit management will result in improved service delivery and will lay a solid foundation for the enhancement of rehabilitation. The lessons that we have learned in our implementation of this concept have taught us that the future prison facilities must be designed and prototyped in such a way that they are capable of meeting the department’s needs over their projected life spans.
This reminds me of Sir Winston Churchill who once said that we design our buildings to meet our needs and then find that the buildings that we have designed define our needs. New facilities must be designed completely along unit management lines. At the same time we fully recognise the high cost we have been paying for recent prison projects. In response to this concern, we have undertaken a major effort in conjunction with the National Treasury and aided by a US government grant, to develop low-cost solutions to prison facility construction.
The vision of the department, as outlined above, necessitates the development of an effective human resource strategy that will address at least the following aspects: firstly, the multiskilling of correctional officials through needs-directed training to support the implementation of unit management and enhancement of rehabilitation strategies; secondly, promoting correctional services as a profession and a career of choice; improving the working conditions and remuneration of frontline staff; and lastly, transforming our work ethic to enhance service delivery.
Let me take this opportunity to report to this House the highlights and major activities of our department in this past financial year. A series of workshops involving community organisations and rehabilitated former offenders, were held between September 2000 and March 2001, to develop a common understanding of the concept of rehabilitation and to define the role and responsibilities of stakeholders. The workshops assisted in identifying policy gaps, and also initiated the development and intervention model for assessing rehabilitation needs.
On 31 March 2001 the department launched a historic partnership in Mpumalanga in which Nkosi Mthethwa donated a piece of land for crop production by the department and the community of Piet Retief. [Applause.] This project, called the Amakhaya Farm Project, is intended to facilitate the re-integration of prisoners into the community.
The St Albans production workshop is part of an initiative to increase the department’s capacity to enrol more prisoners into its rehabilitation programmes. We have opened a new production workshop at St Albans Prison, situated in Port Elizabeth. The St Albans production workshop will be utilised to manufacture woodworks, steelworks and textiles. A feasibility study is also currently underway to evaluate the possibility of erecting a shoe production factory on site. They gave me shoes yesterday but they did not fit well, so I am still using my old ones. [Laughter.] The prisoners earmarked for training in the St Albans production workshop will be taken from all the provinces to ensure that the new training facilities benefit the entire country. Just to indicate some statistics of the income generated by the department, I wish to state that, out of the total revenue of R72,4 million during the 2000 financial year, R2 million was generated from the sale of products manufactured by prisoners. All this money goes into the State Revenue Fund. I think they have also tried to display some of the products out there. [Applause.]
In respect of the President’s Award Youth Development Programme, the patrons of the President’s Award Programme, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and former President Mr Nelson Mandela, awarded the President’s Gold Award to 47 young offenders who excelled in the youth development programme, that is, at one of the prisons here in the Western Cape.
Then, regarding the national symposium, the department hosted a national symposium on Correctional Services on 1 and 2 August 2000, attended by approximately 160 participants representing approximately 70 stakeholder organisations, which recognised the need to promote a collective social responsibility for the rehabilitation and re-integration of offenders into the community and recommended the establishment of a partnership forum for Correctional Services.
As regards of the Howard University-South Africa partnership, the department co-hosted an international conference in July 2000 with the Medical Research Council and Howard University of the USA on HIV/Aids, crime, substance abuse and violence as consequences of poverty. The conference was opened by Deputy President Jacob Zuma and attended by policy- makers, academics, professionals, researchers and scientists from South Africa and the USA. I remember Prof Asmal was down with a cold that week, as we tried to get hold of him.
As a result of this conference, the following projects were conceived: the Ahanang youth project with the SA National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, intended to focus on the reduction of substance abuse by youth in prisons; and a post-apartheid study into health issues in prisons with the Medical Research Council and Emory University, USA, intended to research health services, including that for HIV, in South African prisons.
Going on to HIV/Aids and health issues in prisons, the department’s HIV/Aids policy strategy has been reviewed, amended and circulated to all relevant stakeholders. The purpose of its review was to make provision for the inclusion of the following latest HIV-prevention strategies: the promotion of safe sexual practices; the prevention of mother-to-child transmission; the management and control of STDs and the distribution of condoms; access to voluntary counselling and testing; and treatment, care and support.
Since the appointment of the new inspecting judge for the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons there has been considerable progress in giving effect to the provisions of the Correctional Services Act, 1998, relating to the establishment of an independent office to inspect and report on the conditions in prisons and the treatment of prisoners.
Following a strong campaign by the newly appointed inspecting judge, Justice Fagan, we released 8 451 low-risk awaiting-trial prisoners that were granted bail of R1 000 or less, but were unable to afford it. We also made a significant reduction in numbers by bringing forward the release date of parolees by a maximum period of nine months, achieving a total reduction of 17 000. This was indeed a significant achievement, considering that this figure is almost twice the accommodation capacity of all the recent prison construction projects put together.
The Judicial Inspectorate has also made good progress regarding the appointment of independent prison visitors in terms of section 92 of the Correctional Services Act, 1998. It is envisaged that independent prison visitors will be appointed in all provinces before the end of this financial year.
In the process of drafting subordinate legislation and implementing certain aspects of the Correctional Services Act, 1998, which is the principal Act, it became apparent, based on practical considerations, that certain amendments would be necessary in order to fully implement the principal Act, as well as to be more compliant with the provisions of the Constitution. Central to the amending Bill are the following: The treatment of prisoners; accommodation of disabled offenders and gender considerations; disciplinary procedures for prisoners; a new parole system; the treatment of child offenders; and, lastly, the use of firearms and non- lethal incapacitating devices. The NCOP’s Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs approved the amending Bill with minor amendments.
With regard to employment equity, we in Correctional Services continued to make strides in addressing the imbalances of the past, by promoting affirmative action to create an equitable workplace without compromising service delivery, and substantially increasing the number of women and persons with disabilities in our staff component.
Ms N E HANGANA: Where are these women?
The MINISTER: Following the developments in corrections and democratic changes after the promulgation of the Correctional Services Act, our White Paper of 1994 formulated a holistic policy formulation process to review existing policies with a view to identifying policy options that incorporate international best practices and provide the greatest value for public money spent.
To the hon Hangana I wish to say that this is not the yardstick. I could bring more women to the House than this Government could afford. This is not really the yardstick.
Ms N E HANGANA: We would like to see these women.
The MINISTER: The member will see these women.
Both the National Council on Correctional Services and the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services support this policy formulation.
In 2000 the department managed to decrease the number of prison escapes by 46%. The number of prisoners who escaped from custody in 2000 is 250, compared to 459 who escaped from custody in 1999. In order to fully appreciate the extent of this improvement, it is important to make a comparison between escape rates of the past five years, as well as the increase in the prison population. In 1996 the number of escapes was 1 244 and the prison population was 118 731, and in 2000 only 250 escaped with a prison population of 160 063.
With regard to corruption, in terms of the priority programmes presented by the crime prevention and justice cluster to the Cabinet Lekgotla held on 22 and 23 January 2000, the Department of Correctional Services committed itself to step up the fight against crime and corruption in South African prisons.
In this regard, I have tasked the National Council on Correctional Services to conduct a thorough research, based on international best practice, and advise the Ministry, taking into account the unique circumstances of the South African correctional system, on the best model for an independent anticorruption unit to investigate corruption and crime in our prisons.
In conclusion, I can, without fear of contradiction, assure this House that the Department of Correctional Services is ready to assume its rightful place in the criminal justice system and make a real contribution to the fight against crime in our country. It will do everything in its power to strengthen its partnership with all stakeholders, state departments, business, NGOs, parastatals, CBOs, and employee organisations in grappling with the challenges of change. I wish to thank the management and all staff of Correctional Services for their dedication to toil daily, under difficult conditions - I must emphasise that - bearing in mind that appreciation of our circumstances has become a rare commodity with the public.
My appreciation also goes to the various nonstate actors who have willingly involved themselves in assisting us to fulfil our mandate and mission. It is a historic fact of life that as long as crime is the persistent badge of human activity, prison facilities and prisoners will remain an eternal reality. It is, therefore, this kind of co-operation with the sectors of our society that will enable us to carry this burden with reasonable ease.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the National Council on Correctional Services for the work they have done under the leadership of the hon Judge Kumleben, whom I wish to thank in absentia for his role in setting up the council and congratulate for a job well done. In January this year, I appointed the hon Judge Desai as the chairperson of the council, and he too should be commended, I must say, for the striking features of leadership he has shown so far, and I also wish him well in this new challenge.
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services for their support, and to congratulate the new chairperson, the hon member Ben Fihla, on his recent appointment. [Applause.]
Let me also take this opportunity to present, I must say with approval, a carving of the Coat of Arms as a donation to the Speaker, which she has accepted, manufactured by prisoners as part of our rehabilitation programmes. Where is it? [Applause.] Well, she said she will decide where to hang it.
With these words, I would like to thank all the hon members. May God bless them, South Africa and Correctional Services. [Applause.]
Mr N B FIHLA: Chairperson, hon Ministers, hon members and comrades, rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration - the 3Rs of contemporary prison reform - are the stated objectives of the South African prison system that has dictated imprisonment policy. The rehabilitation strategy, in particular, has suffered a number of serious attacks in recent years. The most serious attack followed the discouraging observation of repeat offenders. This also accounts for the rising prisoner population, which dominates spending trends in the Correctional Services budget. This growth in spending on development of offenders has often been a limiting factor. However, the importance of rehabilitation has been noted and this has meant that the development of the offenders programme has since been increased by an average of 14% a year from 1997/98 to 2000/01.
Arguably, prisoner rehabilitation appears to have had a major impact on contemporary thinking about imprisonment policies. It is for this reason alone that within the arena of prisoner rehabilitation there is still room for improvement. Any crime control policy, however, involves a trade-off between the crime control effectiveness and the social cost associated with implementing it.
One must also be concerned about other aspects of the costs associated with imprisonment. These costs include the costs of building, maintaining and managing prisons, which include the food, warders, rehabilitation programmes, correctional management, welfare costs associated with supporting prisoners’ families, the loss of economic capacity resulting from the removal of workers from the labour force and the results of removal and the dehumanising effects of imprisonment on the prisoners, warders and prison officials as well as on society at large.
One may view the increase in the prison population from 109 756 sentenced prisoners in the year 2000 to a total of 170 168 sentenced prisoners as at 28 February 2001 as one of these conflicting costs associated with crime control effectiveness. Necessary solutions to the problem of overcrowding in prisons have resulted. Five new facilities will be built in the next three years, of which two will be constructed by private-public partnerships.
In terms of the Asset Procurement and Operating Partnership System or APOPS, prisons are constructed and operated by private companies. A total of 5 988 additional places will be created through the two pilot APOPS projects. The capital costs of the remaining three new prisons will amount to approximately R1,5 billion over three years. These additional facilities will increase prison accommodation by about 14,5% by March 2004, making more use of noncustodial alternatives and limiting incarceration in internal institutions to those convicted of more serious crimes.
Within this arena, community correction has seen a significant budget overhaul. Figures projected on spending on community correction have increased dramatically from R95,1 million in 1997/98 to R246,4 million for
- It is estimated that it will be approximately R334 million in 2003/04.
A major initiative within the Department of Correctional Services has been in connection with the future implementation of electronic monitoring. Although the programme of electronic monitoring has been beset by some initial teething problems, it looks set to be a promising and productive programme. The department aims to be able to monitor 8 850 probationers and parolees by March 2004.
The primary aim of electronic monitoring is to supervise probationers, parolees and awaiting-trial persons subject to community correction. It also aims to increase the efficiency of the system by ensuring compliance with home confinement where that is ordered by the court. The department foresees the advantage of such a programme in reducing the average costs of supervising parolees and probationers.
The accommodation of youths and disabled prisoners has been placed under review. At present, there are a total of 66 216 sentenced and unsentenced youths in our prisons. This is unacceptable. The more positive aspect of dealing with juveniles will be clearing the prison of juveniles and handing them over into the care of the Department of Welfare and Population Development.
Mother-and-child units were established in five provinces during the past two years and it has been put forward that such units will also be established in prisons in the remaining provinces over the medium term. With all these aspects and proposals focused as possible means of easing prison overcrowding, the department intends to manage the prison population down to 150 000 over the next three years.
In addressing the prevention of the spread of the HIV in prisons, we have seen a rush to develop and implement preventive measures. Much attention has centred on such controversial issues as compulsory or voluntary blood testing, isolation versus integration of HIV-infected inmates into the prison mainstream, provision of condoms and effective educational measures for specific groups within the prison.
What has been missing from much of the debate has been an in-depth analysis of the perceptions and positions of the two main groups affected by Aids in prison, that is, prisoners and prison officials. These perceptions rather than an imposition of conceptual frameworks from outside provide a critical basis when formulating guidelines and strategies for the effective implementation of Aids prevention measures and Aids educational programmes in prison. It is encouraging to note that the department is reviewing an HIV/Aids management strategy for both members and prisoners in order to direct policy and strategy development within the prison environment.
According to a 1977 documents of the United States’ Bureau of Prisons, unit management is defined as a small self-contained inmate living and staff office area which operates semi-autonomously within the confines of the larger institution. The South African Department of Correctional Services, which lists unit management as one of its policy developments, sees the prison divided into smaller, more manageable units to allow for more individual attention through a carefully considered individual case plan. This new policy aims to provide expert support in the rehabilitation process.
The Department of Correctional Services has been the subject of a Public Service Commission investigation into management practices. Corruption among departmental staff emerged as one of the irregularities. This is indeed regrettable. Numerous proposals have been put forward by the commission and it is heartening to note that remedial steps have already been taken to redress these irregularities.
The establishment of a strategic management team by President Mbeki to address the findings is at an advanced stage. The Department of Correctional Services has already undertaken certain correctional actions, such as the establishment of a good governance unit which will conduct inspections and audits, as well as run anticorruption programmes. A commendable initiative by the Department of Correctional Services and the Centre for Conflict Resolution has seen the institution of a prison transformation project. The primary goal of this project is to contribute to the transformation of prisons from a militaristic organisational culture to a culture of growth and development where human rights are respected and people are treated with dignity, and to equip and empower management, warders and prisoners to manage conflict more effectively.
One of the successes of this project during the 1999-2000 period has been a series of workshops on conflict resolution for awaiting-trial prisoners while in prison. Also, communities, gangs, staff, prison management and inmates held strategic planning meetings on the restoration, empowerment and reintegration of inmates and a series of conflict resolution workshops were held with trial gang members at Pollsmoor Prison.
The prison transformation project closely adheres to the Department of Correctional Services’ restorative justice programme which will be adopted in the rehabilitation of offenders in order to facilitate the mediation and healing process between offenders, victims, families and communities.
In conclusion, South Africa faces a daunting challenge. On the one hand we must continue to expand the economy to improve the standard of living and the infrastructure; on the other hand, we must update societal institutions such as the criminal justice system. Hard decisions lie ahead.
To begin with, improvement in policing must be implemented, and courts, community programmes and prisons must be both physically and organisationally improved. In the area of correction, a decentralised approach is suggested that draws upon the expertise and entrepreneurial spirit of all organisational members.
Clearly this is work in progress and more work needs to be done. The question remains: Why are people punished for their wrongs? The philosopher Hegel concluded that people are punished to acknowledge them as human beings. By punishing people, pain is inflicted for a wrong deed in much the same way that good behaviour is rewarded. If people are not punished, their rights as individuals to be treated as humans are not accepted. The ANC supports the Vote. [Applause.]
Mr H A SMIT: Chairperson, the DA will vote in favour of the adoption of this Vote, although we do have certain reservations. The hon the Minister, as well as the previous speaker, referred to the programmes on South African television, as well as on the BBC, on the excellent work that has been done, and is still being done, by the Centre for Conflict Resolution of the University of Cape Town. I want to compliment them, and I also want to welcome in the public gallery here today, the person who is heading that programme, Joanna Thomas. I think she deserves a compliment on this. [Applause.]
I think we are all committed to the primary goal of protecting communities against the recurrence of crime through an effective and affordable correctional services system. The prison service should be overhauled so that criminals can be kept behind bars. A lack of cells may never be an excuse for not catching and locking up criminals in this country.
The Department of Correctional Services is facing a crisis characterised by
- and I only want to name a few factors -firstly, severe prison overcrowding; secondly, serious breaches of security; thirdly, escapes of prisoners; fourthly, too many awaiting-trial prisoners; fifthly, a lack of discipline and corruption, and I want to say, specifically by some personnel; sixthly, low morale on the part of some of our personnel; and seventhly, the rapid transmission of HIV/Aids in prisons. We all know the figures that were mentioned in the report by Judge Fagan. The last factor concerns juveniles in prison.
The alarming increase in the crime rate in South Africa has resulted in a huge influx of convicted criminals and awaiting- trial prisoners into our prison facilities. I am not going to dwell on figures; these have already been mentioned by previous speakers. But the community at large must be protected by the state against recurring crime.
To achieve this, the DA says the following: Ensure that prison terms are served for the periods intended by the sentencing judicial officers; secondly, constantly monitor the parole system to secure strict control; thirdly, maintain a healthy balance between punishment and rehabilitation with the emphasis on rehabilitation; fourthly, empower a professional, motivated and loyal staff component to provide quality service.
HIV-negative prisoners and staff members must be protected against infection by HIV-positive prisoners. It must be ensured that adequate correctional service facilities are built and maintained. There must be continuous liaison with the Departments of Justice, of Safety and Security and of Social Development in order to effectively reduce the number of awaiting-trial prisoners. The Minister also referred to that aspect. There must be effective antidrug programmes.
Prisoners should be taught the ethics of honest, hard work, and should, through the intervention of the Department of Correctional Services, be committed, where possible, to an intensive skills programme. This will have the added benefit of producing, upon their release, productive members of our society. I think the Minister will agree.
Four of the most crucial areas of concern relate to - and I am not going to dwell on them - again firstly, overcrowding, secondly, breaches of security and escape, thirdly, the high number of awaiting-trial prisoners and, fourthly, the morale of our Correctional Services personnel.
The Minister should note that the DA proposes building more prisons by speeding up privatisation of new prisons, although I do not believe this to be the final solution. I want to compliment the Minister on his latest initiatives in this regard, that is, immediate measures to tighten prison security and that of prisoners in transit, expediting trials of unsentenced prisoners and rewarding outstanding services by our personnel - personal merit should serve as the only criterion for promotion - the intensification of the process of correctional supervision and also, as mentioned by the Minister, the electronic monitoring system.
Lastly, I also want to compliment the Minister on his uniform here today
and call on him to bring back discipline in our department. Government
officials and prisoners must be subjected to a much stricter code of
conduct, and any deviation from it should be dealt with in a swift and
appropriate manner. We say no prisoner should be eligible for early release
or parole of any kind who is not drugfree, able to read and trained in a
skill which will land him or her a job outside. We say bad crime equals
bad time''. We also saya hard time for armed crime’’.
Lastly, there are other aspects, like the nonfilling of the post of the National Commissioner, that I would have highlighted, but because of a lack of time I am not going to do that. However, I think our Minister is doing an excellent job under difficult circumstances. I also thank the personnel who are still rendering an outstanding service. [Applause.]
Mrs S A SEATON: Mr Chairperson, Minister Skosana, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is time once again to look to the budget allocation for the Department of Correctional Services, and in doing so reflect on the progress of the department in previous years and those improvements that have been realised in the past seven years specifically.
Whilst we are looking at an increase of 8,8% over last year’s budget, we in the IFP are concerned that the budget allocation is far from adequate to deal with the issues that face the Department of Correctional Services. Looking at the statistics released recently, reflecting prisoners in custody as at 28 February 2001, it is commendable that the Minister and his department officials have been able to function at all on the previous year’s budget allocation, given the pressures and circumstances imposed on this department through no fault of their own.
This is the ``cinderella’’ department within the justice delivery system. It is the end of the line in a system that I believe is still fraught with problems, problems that place greater demands on the Department of Correctional Services every year.
The prison population continues to be on the increase year by year. It currently stands at almost 170 000 people, as we heard, and still a large portion of the inmates - 58 000 to be exact, or in excess of one third of the prison population - are awaiting-trial prisoners. They are there because of delays in court processes. This continues to create major problems for the department, and the IFP calls on the Minister of Justice urgently to address the backlog in his department that is a cause of serious overcrowding in the system.
There is also still an urgent need to readdress sentencing options, especially for minor crimes. This would ease the prison population by approximately 12 000 prisoners. Courts should be imposing more community service under supervision, and of course, once implemented, the new electronic monitoring system as opposed to imprisonment.
There are currently very few prisons that do not exceed their capacity and a vast number that accommodate almost double the capacity. We are concerned that not only does this pose a serious security and health problem for the department, it creates major difficulties in implementing discipline, providing education, training and rehabilitation programmes and assisting prisoners with reintegration back into their communities.
I attended the first National Symposium on Correctional Services we heard about earlier last year, and this concentrated to some extent on the overcrowding problems. Certain recommendations emanated from that symposium and have subsequently been introduced. One such measure was the release of some 8 000 awaiting-trial prisoners accused of less serious offences that were granted bail of R1 000 or less. This symposium was a great success and I sincerely hope that it will be repeated in the future.
The Minister and his department really listened to the portfolio committee during last year’s budget debate and implemented or at least attempted to implement many programmes that cater for the concerns that were raised by members during that debate. We are encouraged to see an improvement in the production and agricultural targets, although they still fall far short of what I would like to see, because it is still my contention that it is through such programmes that we can best achieve rehabilitation and reintegration into our communities.
I believe that far more emphasis still needs to be placed on developing more industrial workshops and farms through the department, and that they can supply their own equipment to produce and at the same time provide opportunities for individuals to develop work skills and keep themselves busy. We have heard from the Minister about the sort of income that is realised from such projects. It is a fact that these prisoners who are actively engaged in any work or ongoing educational activity are far more positive in their outlook and create much less of a threat to society because they develop self-respect.
I am particularly pleased to see that the Mangaung Maximum Security Prison situated in Bloemfontein, which is South Africa’s first joint venture between the Department of Correctional Services and a private prison operating company - Group 4 Correction Services SA, has a 25-year contract to manage the facility on behalf of the Department of Correctional Services. This facility is due to open on 1 July. We encourage more private partnership ventures, as we believe that this is the best and most cost- effective way to ensure adequate and acceptable facilities that are available to cope with the crime problem that does exist.
It is these projects that will ultimately bring about change that is so desperately needed for the department to realise that its aims and goals are reached. It is projects like Amakhaya Farm Project and the Birdmen of Pollsmoor that give one hope that there will be more rehabilitation in South African prisons. As the proverb says: `` Where there is life there is hope.’’
The provision of additional prison accommodation through a system of partnerships with the private sector will go a long way towards alleviating the inadequate facilities that presently exist. We also eagerly await the official opening of the Ebongweni-Kokstad Maximum Security Prison which has been somewhat delayed due to the fact that the municipality was unable to provide the services. We believe that that has now been sorted out.
We also believe that our prisoners could, to a large extent, carry out the maintenance and the upgrading of our existing prisons. There are skilled persons amongst them that can assist the department by providing these services and, at the same time, create a training ground for others. Most certainly this would keep prisoners occupied and would assist the department in achieving some of their goals as, at present, they have to rely on the Department of Public Works, which do not necessarily prioritise the Department of Correctional Services above any other department.
It is of some concern that the reintegration programme is rather low in priority and allocated very little extra funding, given the importance of this programme. There is still a fair amount of criticism that the department does not do enough to assist the reintegration of prisoners back into the community. Both the prisoner and his family need to adjust to their return to normal society.
Likewise, although the department is committed to providing comprehensive health care, there is, in our opinion, insufficient funding set aside to deal with the substantive increase in the HIV/Aids problem that we are facing. The department faces the ever-increasing numbers of prisoners who are HIV-positive or who have contracted Aids. These figures have risen from 596 in March 1995 to 3 960 as at March 2000. The projections for the future are mind-blowing.
The department has indicated that there is a need for a coherent intervention strategy to effectively deal with the pandemic. Whilst we appreciate the efforts being made by the department, we believe that more money needs to be ploughed in to assist the department.
We will be pleased to see the introduction of the long-awaited electronic monitoring system, and there is no doubt that the much-needed inmate tracking system will assist detention management and enable the officials to monitor the whereabouts of offenders at all times. The implementation of the unit management system has certainly assisted the development and rehabilitation potential of the prison population.
The commitment of the department to stamp out corruption is obvious, and we are of the opinion that this has contributed to a better system of corrections over the past year and a more positive attitude amongst prisoners and staff. Sadly, public perception is that crime revolves around the Department of Correctional Services. There is a misconception that all problems related to criminals are the result of inadequate management by the Department of Correctional Services. Little is understood about our integrated justice delivery system, and the various role-players, and this creates much unnecessary and unfair negative criticism of the department, hence its position the Cinderella in the system.
The department has in fact played a very meaningful and substantial role in the justice delivery system. Of note is the fact that there has been a dramatic decline in prison escapes over the past five years, and specifically since 1999. This certainly can be attributed to more efficiency on the part of the Department of Correctional Services.
The matter of children and youths in prison still remains a bone of contention with the IFP, not that we believe that those who have committed crimes should not be dealt with, but that they should not be placed in prisons along with hardened adult prisoners. As at 28 February this year, there were 3 621 children under the age of 18 years, and 66 000 youths between the ages of 18 and 25, both sentenced and unsentenced, and almost half of them were unsentenced.
These young people, especially the unsentenced, are of the utmost concern to me, because of the lack of adequate schooling or training at the most critical stage of their lives. And it is this category that the Department of Justice should be concentrating their efforts on. Notwithstanding the fact that they have or may have committed crimes, they are still young people with most of their lives ahead of them. The sooner they are dealt with, the sooner they can be on the mend and make a contribution instead of being a liability to society.
I look forward to our planned visit to New Zealand in a few weeks’ time, where we will study the restorative justice system which we hope to apply in this country as well. We hope that this will be an alternative method to sentencing.
I am pleased that the portfolio committee, now under the chairmanship of Mr Ben Fihla, is once again active and playing a role in the ongoing transformation process in the department, as for close on a year this committee seldom met and certainly was not actively contributing to the improvement of the system. This has now been changed around and once again we have an enthusiastic portfolio committee rising to the numerous challenges of the department.
Having expressed some of my concerns and those of my party, I would again like to commend the Minister and his departmental officials for being proactive in all respects and having brought the department a long way from where it was seven years ago. We support the Minister when he says it is a group effort, that society and the department need to look together to move from incarceration to rehabilitation.
We in the IFP commit ourselves to making an ongoing contribution to the development and improvement of the department and the rehabilitation of prisoners of all ages, but particularly those young people who could still offer a great deal to the community, given the opportunity.
We believe that there is still a need to secure criminals as there is to protect the innocent public. But there is also a need to assist those who have stumbled to get back on their feet if they can find it in themselves to get up.
We owe it to them and to society at large to provide opportunities for them to grow and to become persons that society could be proud to have back. The presentation of the recent President’s gold awards to 47 young offenders who have excelled in their development programme is just an indication of what can be achieved.
We wish the Minister and his department well. His efforts and the transformation thus far are much appreciated. We appeal to the Minister of Finance to assist this department with an additional allocation, that will make it possible to create more educational, training and working opportunities that would lead to rehabilitation that would otherwise not be possible.
We support the Vote. [Applause.]
Mr L N DIALE: Chairperson, President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki, Deputy President Jacob Zuma, Minister of Correctional Services, members, and comrades …
… dumelang. Ke a leboga go ema mo ke tlo tsea karolo mo ngangisanong ye ya sekhwama sa bagolegwa. [… I salute all hon members. It is indeed a privilege for me to stand at this podium and participate in this debate on the fund for victims of crime.]
My own experiences as a political prisoner have given me valuable insight into the nature of South African prisons. Under apartheid, prisons were used to dispose of political opponents of the apartheid regime and pass-law offenders apprehended by the state. The system operated behind high walls and was shielded by draconian press legislation which kept these operations secret.
Our prison system, along with all state institutions, was therefore used to preserve the apartheid system as one of the security institutions which were foremost in implementing apartheid. The prison system was characterised by racism and the killing as well as torture of prisoners. Prisoners came out of prison worsened by the experience of imprisonment. They were not given opportunities to improve themselves and they were not encouraged to prepare themselves for return to their communities.
I am glad to say that this is no longer the situation. Our transition to democracy has given us the opportunity to transform all apartheid institutions, including our correctional services system, and to make them responsive to the needs of a democratic society which is based on human dignity and respect. Most of our prisoners are from the previously disadvantaged groups and are poor. Given the historical role of the ANC as the champion of the interests of the poor it is logical that the transformation of our correctional services system will place greater emphasis on the development of our prison population.
We have implemented a new Correctional Services Act which extends basic human rights to prisoners. The Act places a lot of emphasis on the humane treatment of prisoners and the need to focus on the development of prisoners through rehabilitation. Rehabilitation programmes for prisoners have proved to be an effective way to instil in offenders the cognitive skills essential to social adaptation and to reducing the rate at which prisoners fall back into a life of crime.
However, for rehabilitation programmes to work they need the environment inside prison to be conducive to their implementation. In other words, we need to address issues such as the lack of personnel and resources, overcrowding, prison warders who are inadequately trained in the rehabilitation of prisoners, gangs which manipulate the environment in prisons, prison warders’ attitudes and racial tensions amongst the Department of Correctional Services staff.
This will require of the department to reassess the kind of programmes it implements in prison and to determine whether these are successful or need to be adapted. Equally important is the fact that we need to be supportive of the social and economic environment outside prison which will help ex- prisoners to reintegrate peacefully into their communities. This is of particular significance in our rural areas where support structures and economic opportunities are lacking, which makes it difficult to absorb rehabilitated prisoners.
The challenges facing the Department of Correctional Services cannot be divorced from the enormous challenges facing us as a nation. Most people, especially the young men who today are in prison, may well have had problems in their family relationships, in personal relationships at their schools, in their personal lives with alcohol or drug abuse or in finding employment. These problems are all a legacy of our apartheid past and will not be solved by merely locking people up in prison. We need to undo these apartheid legacies because it is in part these legacies which are driving our people to criminal behaviour.
Ke leboga go menagane. [Many things.] The ANC supports the Vote. [Applause.]
Mnr D V BLOEM: Voorsitter, Minister, Nasionale Kommissaris, provinsiale kommissarisse en lede …
Mnr M J ELLIS: Van die DA. Mnr D V BLOEM: … veral die baie, baie belangrike lede wat op die galery sit. Ek kan nie die DA eer nie. Ek wil praat oor transformasie. Vanoggend toe ek inkom, het een van die lede my gevra, wat se klomp koppies en braaipanne en dinge is daar in die gang. Ek dag eers hy is ‘n bandiet en werk nie hier in die Parlement nie.
Ek het teenoor die agb Moss genoem dat daar transformasie in die Departement van Korrektiewe Dienste is. Daardie persoon is gewoond aan tsommos en puzamandlas. Daar word nie meer daardie dinge in die Departement van Korrektiewe Dienste gekry nie. Die agb Fihla, die voorsitter van die komitee, is dik geëet en dik gedrink aan tsommos en puzamandla.
Daar is verandering in Korrektiewe Dienste en ek wil net oor twee dinge praat. Tydens die opening van die Parlement het die President gesê dat transformasie in hierdie departement net eenvoudig moet plaasvind. Ons is op pad om dit te doen. Ons slagspreuk is Operasie Skoonmaak. Dit is toepaslik veral wanneer lede van hierdie departement aangaan met smokkelary, aangaan om dinge in die gevangenis in te smokkel. [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek het geweet die opposisie gaan praat van selfone. Daar is mense van die opposisie wat daar sit en wat mense se geld gesteel het daar binne in die tronk. Die opposisie praat nie van hulle nie. Daar is mense van die opposisie wat gemaak het dat mense huil. Daardie lid is een van die mense wat in die tronk moet sit. [Gelag.] Hy hoort nie hier nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, Minister, National Commissioner, provincial commissioners and members …
Mr M J ELLIS: Of the DA.
Mr D V BLOEM: … particularly the very, very important members who are sitting in the gallery. I cannot honour the DA. I want to talk about transformation. When I came in this morning, one of the members asked me what the assortment of cups and pans and things in the passage were. At first I thought he was a prisoner and did not work here at Parliament.
I mentioned to the hon Moss that there is transformation in the Department of Correctional Services. That person is used to tsommos and puzamandlas. Those things are no longer found in the Department of Correctional Services. The hon Fihla, the chairperson of the committee, has eaten and drunk his fill of tsommos and puzamandla.
There has been change in Correctional Services and I want to talk about just two things. During the opening of Parliament the President said that transformation simply must take place in this department. We are on our way to doing that. Our slogan is Operation Clean-up. This is particularly appropriate when members of this department continue to be involved in smuggling, continue to smuggle things into prison. [Interjections.] I knew the opposition would talk about cellphones.
There are people from the opposition who are sitting there and who stole people’s money in prison. The opposition does not talk about them. There are people from the opposition who caused people to cry. That member is one of the people who should be in prison. [Laughter.] He does not belong here.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Chairperson, on a point of order: I am sure you will agree that what the hon member has just said about the hon Donald Lee is absolutely and totally unparliamentary. [Interjections.] Mnr D V BLOEM: Ek sal my woorde terugtrek. Ek sal dit anders stel. Ek het dit klaar teruggetrek. Maar ons moet versigtig wees as ons dinge gooi na lede toe, veral in hierdie Huis. Die DA se vriend Abe Williams sit daar in die gevangenis. Abe Williams sit daar in die gevangenis en die opposisie skree hier, maar niemand gaan vir Abe besoek of help nie. My plig as ‘n lid van hierdie portefeuljekomitee is om te gaan kyk wat gaan aan daar in die gevangenisse. Ek sal en moet dit doen, sodat mense nie mishandel word nie.
Ons kom van ‘n verlede waar die bewaarder net ‘n knuppel geken het. Die opposisie weet nie van knuppels nie. Hulle was nooit daar waar ons was nie. Ons weet wat gaan aan binne in ‘n gevangenis. Die lid het by die televisie gesit, en ons mense die hele tyd uitverkoop. Dit is hoekom ons kan sê wanneer iets nie reg is nie. Ek wil een punt opper, naamlik die salarisse van daardie mense wat daar op die galery sit. Daardie mense doen uiters belangrike werk. Daardie mense se lewens is elke minuut van die dag in gevaar. [Applous.] Ons moet sorg en toesien dat ons daardie lede tevrede stel, want dan gaan ons beter diens uit hul kry. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [Mr D V BLOEM: I will withdraw my words. I will put it differently. I have already withdrawn it. But we must be careful when we level accusations at members, particularly in this House. The DA’s friend, Abe Williams, is in prison. Abe Williams is sitting in prison and the opposition is screaming here, but nobody has been to visit or help Abe. It is my duty as a member of this portfolio committee is to look at what is going on in the prisons. I must and will do this, so that people are not mistreated.
We come from a past in which the warder only knew a baton. The opposition does not know about batons. They have never been where we were. We know what happens inside a prison. The member sat in front of the television, and sold our people out the entire time. That is why we can say when something is not right. I want to raise one point, namely the salaries of those people who are sitting in the gallery. Those people are doing extremely important work. The lives of those people are in danger every minute of the day. [Applause.] We must see to it that we satisfy those members, because then we are going to get better service from them. [Time expired.]]
Mrs P W CUPIDO: Chair, hon Minister and members of this House, as we debate the budget of Correctional Services today, we must not lose sight of the fact that this Minister actually deals with the symptoms of the failure of several other Ministers, such as Trade and Industry, Labour, Safety and Security as well as Justice and a few others. [Interjections.]
In January 2001 the hon the Minister announced ambitious plans to reform South African prisons, and rehabilitation programmes for prisoners. He also appointed Judge Siraj Desai as the new head of the council, and planned to appoint his deputy shortly afterwards. We welcomed these appointments.
Die Minister het vroeër hierdie jaar gesê dat hy sy geveg teen geweld en misdaad in tronke gaan verskerp en dat hierdie saak hoog op sy prioriteitslys is. Ek moet die agb Minister gelukwens met die goeie voorneme en beplanning, maar daar is iets ernstigs verkeerd in hierdie land sou hy besig wees om geweld en misdaad in tronke te beveg. Ons beveg reeds geweld en misdaad op straat en plaas die misdadigers dan in sy sorg vir bewaking en rehabilitasie.
Die Minister word verder belas met grootskaalse bedrog en korrupsie in die departement self. Dit is ‘n departement waarvan die personeel en ander verantwoordelike persone opgelei is om ‘n geloofwaardige diens te lewer. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The hon the Minister said earlier this year that he was going to intensify his fight against violence and crime in prisons and that this matter was high on his list of priorities. I must congratulate the hon the Minister on his good intentions and planning, but there is something seriously wrong in this country if he is fighting violence and crime in prisons. We are already fighting violence and crime in the streets and are entrusting the criminals to him to keep them in custody and rehabilitate them.
The hon the Minister is further burdened with large-scale fraud and corruption in the department itself. This is a department whose staff and other responsible persons have been trained to provide a reliable service.]
An investigation into Correctional Services as well as the Department of the Public Service and Administration was launched by the Public Service Commission. They investigated allegations of serious irregularities in the human resources management practices, and there had been allegations of bribery, corruption, sexual harassment and incompetence.
The investigation produced its findings in March 2001 and found, inter alia, inadequate recruitment selection procedures, poor verification of qualifications and instances of potential nepotism in staff appointments, a backlog of filling of advertised posts, insensitive application of the department’s affirmative action policy, bursaries not properly awarded, disciplinary action and dismissals compromised by a lack of preparations and planning, the arbitrary handling of staff transfers, unprocedural staff performance-based cash awards, officials occupying state quarters whilst still receiving home owners’ allowances and the abuse of remunerated overtime …
Mr L M KGWELE: Mr Chairperson, on a point of order: I wanted to ask the member … [Interjections.]
Mrs P W CUPIDO: No, I am not answering a question.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, if you want to ask a question, it can only be by leave of the speaker at the podium. [Interjections.]
Mrs P W CUPIDO: Chairperson, I am not answering any questions. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Proceed.
Mrs P W CUPIDO: Chairperson, R68 million was lost to sick leave in the department during the period from 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000, and there were shortcomings in human resources management. In addition to 279 cases of alleged corruption, maladministration, bribery and sexual harassment that were reported, there were a further 79 cases under investigation.
However bleak this picture looks, we must still commend those officials who see their responsibility as a calling and who strive towards job satisfaction in sometimes very difficult circumstances. My prayer for them is that they will be rewarded as they deserve, and they must keep on doing that. It is unfortunate to have to say that the problems that were exposed in this department can also be found in several other departments and Ministries.
Waar en wanneer gaan dit tog eendag eindig? Ons bevind ons in ‘n situasie in hierdie land waarin ons nog steeds geen lig aan die einde van die tonnel sien nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Where and when is this then going to come to an end one day? We find ourselves in a situation in this country in which we still do not see any light at the end of the tunnel.]
Some of our main strategic policy objectives in the Department of Correctional Services are … [Interjections.] You must listen! … to keep prisoners in safe custody in a safe environment and humane conditions, rehabilitation programmes, and reintegration into the community.
I would now like to address the matter of children and women in prisons, as well as the problem of HIV/Aids. How do the strategic policy objectives affect the lives of children in prisons? I recently visited Pollsmoor Prison and was shocked to see the conditions under which the children in this prison live.
By die verhoorafwagtendes is daar amper dubbel soveel kinders in die selle as wat daar beddens is. Gevolglik word seuns geforseer om saam op ‘n bed te slaap. Kan agb lede hulle die seksuele wanpraktyke indink waaraan hierdie kinders blootgestel word? Kinders loop die risiko om met die MI-virus besmet te word. Toiletgeriewe is kommerwekkend. In die een sel waar daar baiekeer 50 kinders is, was daar vier toilette, waarvan net een in ‘n werkende toestand was. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Daar is kinders wat al meer as twee jaar lank verhoorafwagtend is. [Tussenwerpsels.] Besef agb lede dat ‘n verhoorafwagtende kind geen voordele in ‘n tronk het nie? Hy het nie ‘n bed waarop hy aanspraak kan maak nie, en hy kry ook geen klere om daagliks om te ruil of basiese benodigdhede nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Daardie agb lid reageer soos ‘n dwaas. Hy moet liewer stilbly!
Sommige kinders bestee lang tydperke in die tronk en baie word nie noodwendig skuldig bevind nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Among children awaiting trial there are practically twice as many children in the cells as there are beds. Consequently boys are forced to sleep together on a bed. Can hon members imagine the sexual malpractices these children are exposed to? Children run the risk of being infected with HIV. Toilet facilities are a cause for concern. In one cell which often accommodates 50 children, there are four toilets, only one of which is in working order. [Interjections.]
There are children who have been awaiting trial for more than two years. [Interjections.] Do hon members realise that an awaiting-trial child has no benefits in a prison? He does not have a bed that he can lay claim to, and he does not receive a daily change of clothing or any other basic necessities. [Interjections.] That hon member is behaving like a fool. He should rather keep quiet!
Some children spend long periods in prison and many are not necessarily found guilty.] Could hon members perhaps see this as sentencing without trial?
Die kans bestaan dat hulle in die tronk leer om geharde misdadigers te word. Inligting wat ek van die departement aangevra het, lui dat daar 1 984 kinders onder die ouderdom van 18 in Suid-Afrikaanse tronke is. Die Minister sê egter in die Business Day van 31 Mei 2001 dat daar 3 621 kinders onder die ouderdom van 18 in tronke is. Op wie se statistiek is ek nou veronderstel om te werk; die Minister of die departement s’n? En dit is die mees onlangse inligting wat ek kon kry.
Ek bring verder onder agb lede se aandag dat ons tronke vol jongmense is. Daar is 4 600 agtienjarige kinders, 3 484 neëntienjariges, 3 651 twintigjariges en meer as 15 000 jongmense in die ouderdomsgroep 21 tot 25 jaar. Vir so ‘n aantal kinders van skoolgaande ouderdom het ons ongeveer 20 skole met hostelle en veilige bewaringsgeriewe nodig om hulle te rehabiliteer, ‘n opvoeding te gee en hulle bekend te stel aan ‘n beter lewensgehalte. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[There is a chance that they will learn to become hardened criminals while in prison. Information that I have requested from the department states that there are 1 984 children under the age of 18 in South African prisons. However, the Minister said in Business Day of 31 May 2001 that there are 3 621 children under the age of 18 in prisons. Whose statistics am I supposed to use; the Minister’s or the department’s? And that is the most recent information I could get.
I also want to bring it to the attention of hon members that our prisons are full of young people. There are 4 600 eighteen year olds, 3 484 nineteen year olds, 3 651 twenty year olds and more than 15 000 young people between the ages of 21 and 25 years. For such a large number of children of school-going age we require approximately 20 schools with hostels and safe custody facilities in order to rehabilitate them, provide them with an education and introduce them to a better quality of life.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, your speaking time has expired. [Interjections.]
Mrs P W CUPIDO: Bloem, jy moet ‘n bietjie luister, dan sal jy hoor wat die feite daar buite is! [Tussenwerpsels.] [Bloem, you should listen, then you will hear what the facts are out there! [Interjections.]]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, are you receiving your translation clearly? I am having a great deal of difficulty. I wonder if the translation service could attempt to improve the quality of their sound?
Bishop L J TOLO: Mna Modulasetulo, mohlomphegi Tona ya tša Dikgolego, Mna Skosana, maloko a Ngwako, pele ga ge nka tšwela pele ka polelo ya ka, ke rata go lemoša mohlomphegi Tona gore: [Mr Chairperson, hon Minister of Correctional Services Mr Skosana, hon members, before I proceed with my contribution, I should like to say this to the Minister:]
Wat ek vir die Minister wil sê, is dat as ‘n mens dwalend is, is jy dwalend, vernaam as die spook jou laat dwaal het. As ‘n mens byvoorbeeld vir hom of haar wys ‘n rivier is vol, kan die persoon dit glad nie sien nie, want hy of sy is dwalend. So, vir die mevrou om so te wees is heeltemal dwalend. [Gelag.] Die spook wat haar laat dwaal het, is die DA. Ons is die regte mense wat van hierdie probleme kan praat, want ons was daar. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[What I want to tell the Minister is that if one is confused one is confused, especially if a ghost caused one to become confused. For example, if one shows that person a full river, the person cannot see it at all, because he or she is confused. So, for the lady to be like that she has to be completely confused. [Laughter.] The ghost that caused her to become confused is the DA. We are the right people to talk about these problems, because we were there.]
Lehono ke tla bolela ka ga bommagwe-bana bao ba swarago thipa ka bogaleng, boBoledi le ba bangwe bao ba re belegego. Ke rata go gopotša Tona gore, ge re bapetša le tulo ya borwa bja Afrika, palo ya basadi bao ba lego dikgolegong mo nageng ya gaborena e ka ba dikete tše nne goba go feta, mola ya bana ba banyenyane e ka ba lekgolo le lesome.
Go bohlokwa gore re tloge re ntšha mahlo dinameng, gomme re hlokomeleng taba ye ya basadi bao ba lego dikgolegong. Ke tla fa mohlala ka mosadi yo a lego kgolegong a le mmeleng. Mosadi yo mongwe le yo mongwe ge a le mmeleng o na le go nyaka dilwanalwana tsa go swana merogo le dikenywa tša go swana diapole le tše dingwe. Gabotse dilo tšeo ga di nyakwe ke yena, eupša di nyakwa ke leseana la gagwe. Basadi ba bangwe ba ya dikgolegong e le baimana. A ke re mosadi o imišitšwe ke monna gomme o mo tšhabetše ka bana ba babedi goba ba bararo, gomme ga a sa iša felo ka yena.
Nna ke šišinya gore go ka ba bjang ge Kgoro, mo tekanyetšong ya yona, e ka lebelela gore tše dingwe tša dilwana tša go swana bomerogo, diapola, dipšere le tše dingwe di ba gona, gore ge baimana ba di kganyoga ba kgone go di hwetša? Ke rata go gopotša maloko a hlomphegago gore ge mosadi wa moimana a sa fepege ka tshwanelo, mohlang a yago madibeng o na le go fiwa ngwana wa hlogo ye kgolokgolo le maotwana a masesesese, a go lekana le monwana wo wa ka. Se, se ra gore ngwana yoo o be a sa fepege ka tshwanelo ge a be a sa le mmeleng wa mmagwe. Le ge e le gore mosadi yoo yena o goga sekwebo bakeng sa molato wo a o dirilego, eupša seo se lego mmeleng wa gagwe, go bolela nnete ga se sa dira molato. Go bohlokwa gore re lekeng go se hlokomela.
Ke rata go lemoša Tona ka mohlala wo mongwe gape. Ka 1998 re be re etetše Engelane. Ke ile ka kgahlega kudu go bona dingatangata tša mašela le metšhene ya go roka gomme bagolegwa ba basadi ba rutwa go roka. Ditšweletšwa tšeo ba di tšweletšago di a rekišwa, gomme kgoro ya tša dikgolego le yona e hwetša setseka. Se bohlokwa gagolo ke gore mo šomo wo bagolegwa ba o dirago o ba thuša gore ge ba tšwile dikgolegong ba kgone go itirela.
Bontši bja bagolegwa ba basadi ba palo ya go ka ba 4 700 go leno la Afrika Borwa ga se bo hlahlelwe ka melato ye megologolo. Ba bangwe ba swerwe ba utswitše borotho, mola ba bangwe ba swerwe ba utswitše nama. Ka ge basadi ba ba na le bana ba e ka bago ba bane go iša go ba bahlano malapeng a bona, gomme banna ba ba tlogetše, go tlo ba bohlokwa gore ge kgoro e ka ba hlahla, re ka ba tšwela mohola gore mohlang ba e tšwa kgolegong ba kgone go itirela ka diatla tša bona.
Gapegape ke rata go lemoša Tona gore re lemoga gore tše dingwe tša dikgolego gabjale di gare di gatela pele ka ditlhabollo gomme re a kgotsofala ka kgoro ya gagwe. Se, re se bone ge re ntse re thetha le dikgolego. Efela mosadimogolo yena ge a duletše go sola bjalo, ke ka gobane o boditšwe gore a sole. Re swanetše go kwišiša, beng ba ka, gore ge mosadimogolo a ka se ke a sola, mohlomphegi Tony Leon o tlo mo raka. Ka gona, o a gapeletšega gore a sole. [Disego.] Ke rata go le botša gore botsebotse pelo ya gagwe e hlatsela gore ka kgonthe dilo di tloge di sepela gabotse.
Go mohlomphegi Tona ke rata go šišinya kgopolo ya gore go tše dingwe tša dikgolego go be dipre-school le barutiši le barutišigadi bao ba kago hlahla bana ba banyenyane ba mengwaga ye mebedi go iša go ye mene. Seo se ra gore bana ba rena ba gole ka tlhaologanyo ya gore ba ka sekolong, ba se ke ba gola ka tlhaologanyo ya gore ba ka kgolegong gape le gore mohlang batswadi ba bona ba lokollwago kgolegong, ba hwetše e le gore ga go na phapano le kua ba bego ba le gona. Ke bona gore se se ka re hola e le ruri.
Ntlha ye nngwe gape yeo ke ratago go e tšweletša ke gore ka tšatši le lengwe re be re etetše Athlone, Cape Town. Gona fao go na le moago wo motelele moo go lego bana ba masome a senyane. Bana bao ba lego moo ke bao ba selekago gomme ba bangwe ba bona ba re ba kwebilwe. [Nako e fedile.] [Legofsi.] (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[The subject of my speech today is focused on mothers who protect their children by every means at their disposal - the Boledis and others who have nurtured us in this world. I want to remind the hon Minister that, compared to prison populations in other countries in Southern Africa, there are more than 4 000 female prisoners in our country while it is estimated that there are 110 children in prison with their mothers.
It is therefore important that we remain vigilant with regard to this matter of female prisoners. Let me give an example of a female prisoner who was imprisoned whilst pregnant. Of course, it is common knowledge that a pregnant woman tends to crave fruit, such as apples, and vegetables. Quite frankly, the nutrients in that fruit are needed by the little baby within her. Some women are convicted whilst they are pregnant. Let us consider the case of a woman who is impregnated by a man who then deserts her with two or three children.
I propose that the department must, within its available resources, make provision for nutritional food such as vegetables, apples, pears and other fruit, so that they are on hand for pregnant women who are serving prison terms. Hon members know that a malnourished pregnant woman tends to give birth to a baby characterised, inter alia, by an extremely oversized head and very thin bowed legs. This is the result of maternal malnutrition. Even though the mother-to-be is rightfully serving her prison sentence, what is within her is indeed innocent; and it is incumbent upon us to care for it.
I would like to give the Minister another example. In 1998 we visited England. I was fascinated to see rolls of material and sewing machines where female prisoners were being taught sewing skills. The products of their handicraft are sold and the department of prisons benefits financially from that. What is important is that the work done by prisoners whilst they are still incarcerated will definitely help them fend for themselves when they are released from prison.
Most of the estimated 4 700 female prisoners in South Africa were not convicted of serious crimes. They were convicted after committing such minor crimes as stealing food or meat. Since these women have four to five children each to feed, and some of them were deserted by their spouses, it is important that the department should train them so that by the time they are released from prison they will be in a position to fend for themselves.
Furthermore, the Minister should note that some of the prisons are already developing, and we are satisfied with the work done by his Ministry in this regard. We saw this when we were visiting prisons around the country. However, the old lady over there will continue to criticise the Government because she was told by her boss to do exactly that. We should understand that if she does not criticise the Government, her boss, the hon Tony Leon will fire her. Therefore, she has no alternative but to keep on criticising, criticising and criticising. [Laughter.] I want to tell hon members that deep in her heart she is satisfied that things are going very well in Government.
My honest appeal to the Minister is that we should consider setting up some pre-schools with suitably qualified educators in some of the existing prison institutions so that they could cater for the education of children of two to four years, who are with their mothers in prison. This will help our children to grow up knowing that they are at school and not in prison, and that by the time their mothers are released from prison they should see no difference between the education they received in prison and the education they receive at school. I think this can help them greatly.
Another point I want to raise is that one day we visited Athlone in Cape Town. There is a huge building which accommodates about 90 juveniles. These are naughty children, and some of them told us that they were serving prison terms. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Dr S E MZIMELA: Chairperson, in a debate such as this one, one is tempted either to complain and condemn or to commend and congratulate. I shall try to do neither, because we are dealing here with a human tragedy.
If Correctional Services was a capitalist business, certainly, today we would be rubbing our hands and praising ourselves because our customer base has increased so rapidly, from 96 000 in 1994 to over 170 000 in 2001. That is phenomenal growth, and if one were to take into consideration the number of prisoners who have benefited from the various concessions which have been granted by the Government, remissions etc, then the figure would be well over 250 000. But, that is only one set of figures. If we look at another set, the cost of those customers has also increased rapidly. It now stands at R6,1 billion, up from R5,6 billion last year, an increase of 8,8%. That is a high increase indeed. As businesspeople then, in terms of our paradigm, we would soon realise that we were operating at a loss.
Fortunately, today the Minister has given us a new approach. He said we are to move away from incarceration to rehabilitation. That is to be accepted and welcomed. But it, too, comes at a price and it needs the full support of this House, not mere talk but real support, for if we are going to successfully rehabilitate, then the people who are going to do the job of rehabilitation must be trained as rehabilitators. They cannot receive the same training as people who are going to be mere warders or those who are going to lock and open the doors.
The budget will, then, have to be substantially increased, for rehabilitation includes various skills which are costly. It includes various programmes and participations by outside organisations, which are costly. This means then that this whole Parliament will have to stand behind the Department of Correctional Services in approaching the Ministry of Finance’s Treasury to present a unified programme of rehabilitation and to ask for more funding.
This makes common sense. This increase between 1994 and the present has been money virtually thrown away. There has been nothing in return. The people who come out of prison - most of them - after being on the streets for a few months, go back. It is a losing battle. So rehabilitation must not be taken lightly. We must give it our full support.
There is also another more important angle to rehabilitation, and that is the community at large. Our people, downtrodden by crime and suffering and victims of crime, do not want to see people released. They want us to incarcerate them and throw away the keys.
If people are going to be rehabilitated they must be able to return to an environment which will accept them, people who will understand that they have paid for their crimes, that they have been rehabilitated, that they are new people fit to serve in the new South Africa. That means a massive programme to educate our communities, and only then will this programme of rehabilitation, which deserves our support, succeed. We support the budget, but ask for more money. [Applause.]
Ms E NGALEKA: Chairperson, hon Minister of Correctional Services and hon members, our history has been a bitter one, dominated by colonialism, racism, apartheid and repressive education policies. The result is that every sphere of our society is confronted with serious problems. There is not a single sector untouched by the ravages of apartheid.
As a partner in the criminal justice system, Correctional Services is not only responsible for the detention of the offender for the duration of his or her sentence, but ultimately also for the successful reintegration of the offender into the community.
This is what Karl Menninger has to say about imprisonment:
After a solemn public ceremony we pronounce them enemies of the people and consign them for arbitrary periods to institutional confinement on the basis of laws written many years ago. Here they languish until time has ground out so many weary months and years. Then with the planlessness and stupidity only surpassed by that of their original incarceration, they are dumped back on society, regardless of whether any change has taken place in them for the better and with every assurance that changes have taken place in them for the worse. Once more they enter the unequal tussle with society. Proscribed for employment by most concerns, they are expected to invent a new way to make a living and to survive without further help from society.
For many prisoners released after a term of imprisonment, the reality is: No plans, no direction and no assistance. To continue with this strategy is futile. Society cannot incarcerate people for periods of time and then expect them to have transformed themselves.
There is growing evidence that alternatives to long-term confinement are just as effective as prison for many offenders. We need to get public support and to change public attitudes through education for these alternatives to work. Community corrections have fewer return customers than do prisons. The probationer stays within the community and is exposed to the normal influences of the community. He is not exposed to the negative influences of hardened criminals, he is able to care for his family and he can accept responsibility for himself and his family. He keeps his job and still contributes to the economy.
In terms of the South African Constitution, prisoners enjoy a number of special rights, such as protection from torture and cruel and inhuman punishment. In terms of the approach to offender reintegration, this is important as it has formally established the position of the offender and prisoner in society. He or she is a member of society with human rights but specific rights are temporarily curtailed.
Community involvement in prisons requires the active and voluntarily participation of the public and it requires prison officials to respond to problems in the community in a different way. This involvement assumes a need for greater accountability by prison authorities, greater public participation in decision-making and greater concern for civil rights and liberties by prison authorities. In terms of section 92(1) of the Correctional Services Act, independent prison visitors must be appointed for various prisons throughout South Africa, primarily to deal with complaints of prisoners by regular visits, private prisoner interviews, recording complaints and monitoring the manner in which they have been dealt with. Parole is the release of a prisoner after serving a specific portion of his or her sentence under continued supervision of the state with limited freedoms. Since March 1994 parole boards have been established. Their work revolves around making recommendations regarding paroling prisoners. However, there is a great need to involve the entire community in this process. Currently the composition of these boards does not reflect a balanced representation of all races within the South African context. Few blacks, if any, are serving in such structures. The structures were created under the apartheid system of government and their creation was undemocratic, because those most affected were not consulted. These boards should be community boards rather than bureaucratic boards.
The RDP, which is regarded as the vehicle towards nation-building, also underpins the concept of accountability and the role of civil society in influencing Government policy and programmes within it. The reconstruction of society should also extend to the upliftment of prisoners as members of the entire society. We need to transform the prisons in creating a better life. [Applause.]
Mr S N SWART: Chairperson, hon Minister, clearly the most serious challenge facing Correctional Services is that of overcrowding in the prisons. The President of the Constitutional Court recently expressed his deep sense of shock at the appalling conditions occasioned by overcrowding at Diepkloof Prison, particularly amongst the awaiting-trial prisoners.
The inspecting judge, Judge Fagan, has similarly drawn attention to the inhumane conditions in certain prisons, and the urgent need to curtail the spread of disease, while still manageable. The number of deaths in prison attributable to disease has increased by 584% over the past five years, most of which were caused by HIV/Aids. Of a total prison population of approximately 170 000, 57 695 are awaiting-trial, many of whom may well be acquitted. Many thousands of these awaiting-trial prisoners are exposed to these deplorable conditions and run the risk of becoming infected with HIV, resulting in an indirect death sentence.
Judge Fagan has suggested various methods of reducing the number of awaiting-trial prisoners, as well as of sentenced prisoners. Prime amongst his recommendations is the usage of restorative justice principles, such as pre-trial diversion, especially for juveniles.
The appeal of this model, particularly when considered against the huge backlog of criminal cases, lies in the acceptance of blame by the offender and the recognition of the need to make restitution to the victim. Once this stage has been reached, the restorative justice process can commence. Unfortunately, this has not been the traditional approach where the offender has sought to evade accountability, and the legal process has degenerated into a lengthy contest between the state and the defence lawyers to establish guilt or obtain an acquittal. The ACDP welcomes the approach and would encourage the Minister to pursue this in the safety and security cluster.
In conclusion, the ACDP commends the hon the Minister and all members of the department for the work they have performed under extremely difficult conditions of overcrowding. [Applause.]
Mr M M Z DYANI: Chairperson, Minister of Correctional Services and august House, it pleases me to take part in a debate on Correctional Services. What pleases me is the capacity I now have to influence changes in Correctional Services.
Prison and imprisonment are very bad for the physical and mental health of humans, but because of the unacceptable and horrible behaviour of some people in society, we are unable to totally dispense with imprisonment. As we reward those members of our society who do good, we justifiably punish those who do bad through tampering with the equilibrium of justice and peace. However, we do not punish the wrongdoers to satisfy our retributive tastes, but we do so as a just method of correction and rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation means the successful psychological and philosophical readjustment of the offender to the best values and norms of the offender’s community. Rehabilitation and successful reintegration into the mainstream of society of an offender are the ideal that constitutes the only justification for the existence of the institution of prison. We are keenly aware that imprisonment alone cannot and does not positively change the behaviour of a person and that imprisonment alone cannot deter potential offenders from committing crime. Contending or believing otherwise is pathetically idealistic in the philosophical sense.
Starvation and poverty are the primary causes of crime. I do not say that starvation and poverty are the only causes of crime. There cannot be any argument about the connection of starvation and poverty to the commission of crime. It therefore forcefully means that any endeavours towards correction and rehabilitation of offenders are doomed to fail if the social causes impelling people to break the law are not taken into full account. Because of socioeconomic reasons, there are very few women in our prisons compared to the number of women in this country. There are very few white males in our prisons compared to the number of white males in this country.
South African prisons are dangerously overcrowded. They are bursting at the seams. They are pregnant with black males, the breadwinners of the majority of our population - the poor people. Let hon members go to the low courts now and see the class of people they will find there. Let hon members go to the prisons now and see the class of people who are there. The only sure way of reducing crime and correcting offenders is through more efforts at correcting the economic imbalances that remain intact in our society due to the crazed attitude of those who enriched themselves through violence and inhuman means, including racially articulated capitalism, of which apartheid was a political handmaiden.
Let me emphasise that trying to correct prisoners without trying, at the same time, to address the causes that give offenders a reason to risk breaking the law is merely a statistic ritual. I know this for a fact because from the age of 18 to the age of 33 I endured retributive imprisonment by people who believed that the meaning of my life meant and potented everything evil for them.
Let me now provide hon members with statistics gleaned from a booklet titled ``After prison’’ by Lucas Mantee and also from statistics provided by the Department of Correctional Services, and show what is happening with the prison population. I will then deal with the health of prisoners and what the department is doing about it.
Lucas Mantee states that of the first 10 countries with the largest prison population, South Africa holds the seventh position. He further states that in 1999 for every 100 000 people there were 390 prisoners. By July 2000, the prison population had reached a total of 169 486. Thirty-four per cent of that number were awaiting-trial prisoners. He correctly contends that the said 34% is an enormous strain on the resources. He further explains a worrying factor that, by July 1996, the average detention cycle for an awaiting-trial prisoner was 76 days. This had increased by July 2000 to 138 days.
The following are some of the statistical facts he furnishes. For regional court cases, the average period is 221 days or seven and a half months. The current estimated cost of imprisonment is R86 per day per prisoner or R31 390 per year. On the basis of this, he accurately comments that it is not surprising that the Correctional Services budget grew so rapidly from R751 million in 1989-90 to R3,51 billion in 1997-98. It further rose to R5,78 billion in 2000-01.
He also highlights the problem of the phenomenal growth in the prisoner population, while the population growth of warders is infinitesimal. He states that the warder-prisoner ratio reported in 1997-98 as being 124,5 was an increase from the previous year of only 1 to 3,47 prisoners. The current warder-prisoner ratio, as given by the department, is one member of the custodial section to 5,36 prisoners and for community corrections it is one member to 34,86 supervision cases. The custodial and community corrections staff consists of a total of 32 877 members managing 112 492 sentenced prisoners.
Prisoner health is attended by sessional doctors, some of whom are district surgeons. There are full-time doctors in some big centres but, due to financial constraints, not all big centres have the benefit of a full-time doctor.
On 28 February 2001 there were 36 000 HIV cases and 206 Aids cases in our prisons. These are the known cases. All prisoners are either seen by a medical officer or a doctor when ill. When prisoners arrive in prison for the first time, they are routinely checked medically to determine the health status of each individual prisoner. This is primarily done to ensure the early detection of contagious diseases, for their early control and management.
The department makes every effort to prevent the increase and spread of all diseases within the precincts of prisons. This is done in strict conformity with the health policies of the Government. Prisoners with diseases such as HIV/Aids and hepatitis B and C are not shunned by the department. They are treated in the same way they would be treated by sensible and knowledgeable people outside prison. They are only isolated or confined when their diseases have reached a stage where they can necessarily infect other inmates or officers. This happens during the discharge of bodily fluids and when such a discharge is known as the advanced stage of a disease.
Prisoners are not forced to undergo HIV testing and their HIV status is kept confidential between the inmate and the prison authority. Because of the stubborn reality of sexual activity in prisons, the department makes condoms available. Known HIV-positive inmates receive the necessary counselling to equip them to cope with living with HIV. [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, Minister, the main objective of the Department of Correctional Services is to maintain and promote peace, safety and security in accordance with the Correctional Services Act of
- The department also aims to keep prisoners in safe custody while providing in the basic needs of prisoners under humane conditions and assisting prisoners with integration into the community.
Currently the department is faced with the problem of catering for the growing population of prisoners, which grew from 121 500 in 1996 to 162 000 in September 2000. This problem has resulted in overcrowding in prisons and it is absolutely vital for the department to build additional accommodation over the medium term so as to increase prison capacity.
The MF is looking forward to the reinforcement of electronic monitoring technology which will oversee the monitoring of 8 850 probationers and parolees by March 2004. The MF welcomes the establishment of the Good Governance Unit which will conduct inspections and audits and run anticorruption programmes. It is also encouraging to hear that the department is shifting the working week of prison staff from a five-day to a seven-day week in order to reduce overtime costs.
The MF applauds the Government for the increase in the budget from R5,6 billion in 2001-02 to R6,1 billion for 2002-03. This indicates a rapid growth in the Correctional Services budget over the period of seven years. The increased allocation in the budget will allow for the construction of additional prisons over the medium term and contribute towards the increase of the operational cost associated with higher prisoner numbers.
The MF is more than satisfied with the department for adopting an approach to the assessment and rehabilitation of offenders in which multidisciplinary teams consisting of social workers, psychologists, religious and spiritual workers, educators, correctional officials and others from the external community will ensure appropriate placement, care and development for all prisoners.
The statistics in respect of the crime rate in our country are quite alarming and ever increasing. As we speak, over the past weekend the close- knit community of Chatsworth in KwaZulu-Natal once again fell victim to approximately five murders. This has left the law-abiding citizens of the community in a state of shock and distrust and has instilled more fear among them.
The MF recommends that the elimination of crime should begin at grass-roots level. Community leaders and established members of the community need to liaise closely with local and provincial councillors and members of Parliament in formulating and implementing effective strategies to combat crime at all levels.
The MF applauds the increased budget allocations to the various relevant programmes. The MF supports Vote 19: Correctional Services. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! I am just waiting for the House. Too many people are engaged in private conversations. Please keep your voices down.
Ms B O DLAMINI: Chairperson, Minister of Correctional Services, hon members and members of the staff of the Department of Correctional Services, the department recently briefed the committee about the review of the White Paper on Correctional Services. In its presentation to the committee, the department raised the need to introduce a system that will complement retributive justice, and that is restorative justice. According to Donald and Evans restorative justice is: ``a way of thinking about harm and conflict, and a way of acting on that thinking’’. This approach complements the rehabilitation of offenders. What makes it different is that it calls for a partnership between the offender, the victim, the community and the Government.
Ngalolu hlelo iziboshwa azibi umthwalo kaHulumeni kuphela. Umphakathi uba ingxenye yohlelo lokushintshwa kweziboshwa. Omunye umahluko ngalolu hlelo, ukuthi ludinga imiphakathi ezimisele ukwemukela iziboshwa esezikade zenza izenzo ezingamukeleki emphakathini. Ludinga futhi umphakathi ozimisele ngokuxola. Ukuxola-ke emphakathini wethu akusiyo inkinga etheni ngoba nakhu sabaxolela nabantu abenza izimpilo zethu zabanzima ngesikhathi sobandlululo. Manje sebeshaya sengathi akaze benze lutho olubi.
IsiZulu sithi alikho iqili elizikhotha emhlane. Kodwa bona manje bazama ukuzikhotha emhlane. U-Cupido ushaya sengathi zonke izinsuku uhamba ecimezile, evale izindlebe ngoshintsho olwenzeke lapha eNingizimu Afrika selokhu kwathatha uHulumeni we-ANC. U-Cupido futhi akejwayele ukuba semihlanganweni yamakomiti. Kulolu hlelo, ngaphambi kokuthi kuqhutshekelwe phambili, isiboshwa kumele sivume ukuthi sonile nokuthi sizobanxephezela abantu esibahlukumezile.
Leli ithuba lokuthi imiphakathi ibambe iqhaza elivelele ekulwiseni nasekuqedeni ubugebengu. Umphakathi kumele usize iziboshwa ukuthi zishintshe impilo yazo, ziphinde zibe ingxenye yomphakathi. Lokhu kuzosiza ekuvimbeni ukuthi iziboshwa ziphume zingena ejele zize zithathe ijele njengekhaya lazo lesibili. Abahlukunyeziwe kulolu hlelo bathola ithuba lokuhlangana nesiboshwa khona naso sizothola ithuba lokuqonda ukuthi senza umonakalo ongakanani kumuntu, emndenini wakhe, emphakathini nobuhlungu esibubange kuloyo muntu ngesikhathi simhlukumeza.
Akuyona into elula le. Ngakho-ke idinga ukuthi kube khona izinhlangano ezizokwazi ukuthi zibahlanganise futhi kube nabantu abazobasiza ukuthi bafike esixazululweni senkinga. Lolu hlelo luzosiza futhi ukuthi imiphakathi iyeke ukuthi ihlale ikhala ngezinga lobugebengu eMzansi Afrika. Kodwa izothola ithuba lokuzibambela mathupha ekulweni nasekuqedeni ubugebengu. Lokhu kuzonciphisa eminye imikhuba esiyigilayo singabantu bemiphakathi, yokufihla izigebengu ngoba zingabafowethu, odadewethu, abantabethu noma abathandiweyo bethu. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[Through that programme, prisoners will not be a burden to the Government. Society becomes part of the programme of transforming prisoners. Another difference in respect of this programme is that it needs communities that are prepared to accept prisoners who have done terrible things to them. It requires communities that are prepared to forgive. Forgiving is not a problem in our communities, because we have even forgiven those who made our lives miserable during apartheid. Today they pretend that they have not done anything wrong.
The Zulu saying goes: ``Not a single trickster can lick his own back’’. Today all of them are trying to lick their own backs. Cupido pretends to be walking with her eyes closed every day, and as if he is shutting her ears to the changes that have taken place since the ANC came into power. Cupido does not attend committee meetings on a regular basis. In this programme, before we go on, a prisoner should admit that he has erred and that he will compensate those he has wronged.
This is the opportunity for communities to take part in monitoring and stopping crime. Communities should help prisoners to change their lives and return to the communities and become part of them again. This will help to stop prisoners who have entered prison from regarding prison as their second home. Victims get an opportunity to meet a prisoner, so that he too will understand the extent of the damage he had caused to his victim, his family, his community as well as the pain he caused his victims.
This is not an easy programme. There is a need for organisation that will bring both sides together and people who will help them to arrive at the solution to the problem. This programme will assist in stopping communities from crying about the level of crime in South Africa. They will get an opportunity to take part in fighting and stopping crime. This will reduce some of the bad habits we practice as community members, such as hiding criminals just because they are our children, brothers, sisters and loved ones.]
What is important about restorative justice is that the offender finds a way of paying back the community through involvement in different programmes that are accepted by communities, and that are considered as being of value. This helps the offender to leave the past behind and focus on the future. It seeks to change the way prisoners were treated before, namely like animals, to more responsible citizens. Restorative justice seems more logical and positive, but it is not going to eradicate crime overnight, because the problems that we have today have been left for a long time without any intervention, and the apartheid government did not care about transforming prison services.
The ANC believes that there must be a starting point, and we are at a stage when most offenders are admitting what they have done to communities. This is seen through gangsters who have been able to come forward and openly accept responsibility for the crimes they have committed. This initiative must be taken further so that offenders can be directly accountable to the victims and to the community, with the aim of restoring damage and harm which have been done to the victim, the family and the community.
Lolu hlelo, njengoba sesishilo, ngeke lube lula. Imiphakathi yethu yona sibona ukuthi ngeke ibe nenkinga yokulwamukela lolu hlelo ngoba ngesikhathi sikahulumeni wobandlululo imiphakathi yethu ibikade iyingxenye yobulungiswa ezindaweni zethu. Izinkinga eziqondene nobugebengu bezixoxwa ezindaweni esihlala kuzo.
Lokhu kwakwenzeka ngoba amaphoyisa ayengazimisele ukuvikela imiphakathi yethu. Ayefika ngoba ezobopha izigayigayi ezazilwela inkululeko yabantu ababecindezelwe eNingizimu Afrika. Ngakho-ke imiphakathi inalo ulwazi lokuqeda ubugebengu. Umahluko manje ukuthi amanye amaphoyisa asezimisele kakhulu ukubambisana nemiphakathi ukuqeda lobu bugebengu. Ngakho-ke kuzoba lula ukuthi kuxhunyanwe phakathi koMnyango wezokuQondisa kweziGwegwe kanye nabantu ukuze kulungiswe lezi zinkinga.
Lokhu kungavikela futhi ukuthi imiphakathi ingaziphatheli umthetho ngezandla zawo kodwa isebenzisane nabomthetho. Lolu hlelo lubheke ukuthi izinhlangano zemiphakathi, zamasonto, kanye nezabasebenzela imiphakathi zifunele iziboshwa umsebenzi khona zizokwazi ukuthi zinxephezele abantu laba ezabalimaza noma ezabantshontshela izinto ezithize khona zizofunda ukuthi zingabe zisayiphinda lento ezaziyenzile. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[As we have said, this is not going to be an easy programme. We assume that our communities will not have a problem in accepting this programme, because during apartheid our communities were part of the justice system in our areas. Crime-related matters were discussed in the areas in which we lived.
This was done because police were not prepared to protect our communities. They came only to arrest people who were fighting for the freedom of the oppressed in South Africa. Therefore, our communities have knowledge of combating crime. The difference is that some members of the police are now more than prepared to work together with communities to combat crime. Therefore, it is going to be easy for people to communicate with Correctional Services so as to solve the problem.
This can also help to prevent people from taking the law into their own hands. Instead, they will work together with law enforcement agencies. This programme expects civil organisations, churches and community organisations to find jobs for prisoners so that they will be able to pay back their victims or compensate them for those things that they have stolen. This will stop them from falling into the same trap again.]
This approach is going to put the system into context. This is what the ANC has been calling for in relation to the transformation of Correctional Services. The ANC believes that prisons must not be seen as punishment centres, but must be seen as centres for preparing offenders to work with communities in dealing with crime and other problems in our communities.
This programme falls within the ambit of the new development of offenders. Budget provisions for the programme have increased by an average of 14% a year from 1997-98 to 2000-2001, and this proves to our communities that the ANC-led Government is prepared to deal with crime. This programme is going to address our real concern of overcrowding because the Correctional Services budget will increasingly address the concern that it is not easy to rehabilitate offenders in an overcrowded prison. Spending of the budget will make a direct impact through changing the lives of offenders and our communities for the better.
Lastly, some institutions have taken up the challenge of transformation. I- ANC iyasisekela lesi sabiwomali. [The ANC supports this budget.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr J DURAND: Mr Chairperson, a budget is a financial map that indicates the route a department will embark on for the following financial year. This route must indicate the policy of Government and should be embodied in the vision statement of a department. The budget should also strive to achieve policy objectives. Only when one is sure that the infrastructure, the expertise and the political will exist in a department can one approve the budget.
Throughout the budget debates, speakers from the ANC constantly reminded us of our past. The discussions in this House resembled a history lesson on apartheid and colonialism. It is clear that members of the Government ANC- SACP alliance are thoroughly versed in the social and economic impact of apartheid and the colonialism of our past. What saddens me is the lack of vision and intent to deal with the needs of our people now.
Effective teaching is nonexistent in most of our townships. Cosas and Sadtu sound like an old 78-rpm record repeating protest and struggle slogans as if they perceive the ANC to do less than the apartheid government. More than one million jobs have been lost since 1994. Crime, especially crime against black people, has reached critical proportions. The ANC allows innocent children like Nkosi Johnson to become infected with HIV and die a cruel and painful death.
The President refuses to admit that HIV causes Aids. The Minister of Health is unwilling to accept the offer of pharmaceutical companies to make antiretrovirals available to pregnant mothers. HIV/Aids is becoming a worse mass killer than Attila the Hun or Hitler. [Interjections.]
Owing to the inability of the criminal justice system to deal with crime, our prisons are overcrowded. If we look at the latest figures, we see that the South African prison capacity is for 102 000 prisoners, yet it had 170 000 inmates in February this year. This situation constitutes an average overpopulation of 66% and a total accommodation-capacity need for 68 000 prisoners. [Interjections.]
It is impossible to protect our young people against HIV-infection in prison and rehabilitation has a snowball’s hope in hell. Young people sometimes end up in prison because of the socioeconomic problems in our country. Overcrowding makes it impossible to rehabilitate them and prisons become universities of crime. [Interjections.]
We need to find new ways of leading our young people away from crime and indicating a better way to them. Mark Wiley, the former DA minister of law and order in the Western Cape, is doing revolutionary work at his centre in Cape Town where young people are taught life skills, discipline and job skills. This Government can learn from him. [Interjections.]
President Thabo Mbeki said: ``The people have spoken.’’ [Interjections.] I say that the people are still speaking, but not with their votes. They are expressing their anger by burning Pretoria Station, fighting Eskom and rejecting ANC councillors and local government structures. [Interjections.] I appeal to members to take heed when the people speak; their tomorrow depends on it. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Mr Bloem, are you rising on a point of order? [Interjections.] Order! [Interjections.]
Mr D V BLOEM: No, Chairperson, it is OK. [Interjections.]
Mr G C OOSTHUIZEN: Chairperson … [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! [Interjections.] Hon members, please contain yourselves.
Mr G C OOSTHUIZEN: Chairperson, listening to the hon Durand is like listening to His Master’s Voice. [Applause.] We have listened to him, and in Afrikaans we would say: ``‘n Leë blik maak net ‘n hol geluid en lewer geen bydrae nie.’’ [Empty vessels make the most noise.] [Interjections.] [Laughter.]
Mrs P W CUPIDO: Mr Chairperson, on a point of order: I would like to know if the member Oosthuizen himself is not the master? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, that is not a point of order. Please do not rise on something that is not a point of order!
Mr G C OOSTHUIZEN: Mr Chairman, typically and predictably of the DA, the hon Durand today came and tried to make politics of something that is a tragedy, namely Aids. [Interjections.] He tried to score a political point
- a weak point - because they are forever losers in this country. [Applause.]
He referred to a lack of vision from this Government and this Minister. He clearly did not listen. He should get himself a hearing aid, because the Minister, this morning, came out with a clear vision for this department. [Applause.] The DA, through Mr Smit and Mrs Cupido, touched on corruption. Corruption is nothing new in this country. [Interjections.] It was thriving in the days of the NP government. [Applause.] Corruption in the Department of Correctional Services is nothing new. Numerous commissions were appointed in the days of the NP government to investigate corruption.
It was our Comrade President Mbeki, in line with his vision for a Millennium African Recovery Programme for our continent and our country, who has acted swiftly to address a deeply flawed management system in the Department of Correctional Services, a management system characterised by mismanagement and manipulation.
It was in April 2000 that a competent public manager was, as an interim arrangement, appointed to head the Department of Correctional Services for a defined period of time. On 4 May 2000, a strategic management team was appointed by President Mbeki to assist the new acting commissioner. Their task was to act decisively on issues emerging from investigations of the Department of the Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission.
On 16 March this year, 2001, these departments presented their findings of the investigations. Steps to address these findings of the investigations are already well advanced. Some investigations on some criminal matters, such as corruption and the Sithole scholarship fund, are still going on. This speaks of a Government which is committed to good governance, and headed by a President who embraces transparency with zero tolerance for corruption. Suffice it to say, we in the ANC are proud and honoured to be blessed with leadership which is committed to transparency and good governance. [Applause.] One can only hope that the example set by the ANC leadership will encourage this weak, vulnerable opposition to be more proactive in their approach in Parliament.
The hon member of the opposition also mentioned overcrowding. Correctional services is at the receiving end of the criminal justice chain. [Interjections.] Overcrowding is the result of better and more effective policing. Strong co-ordination between the police, intelligence, prisons and the Justice Ministry resulted in some 200 syndicate leaders and more than 200 syndicate members being arrested up to February 2001.
The hon Durand is making continuous interjections. Let me remind him that after 1994, this new democratic South Africa, left unprepared by his government, the NP-led government … [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order!
Mr G C OOSTHUIZEN: The doors were flung wide open for syndicates to infiltrate. There was absolutely no preparation from the previous regime to protect the new South Africa against the infiltration of the Mafia and syndicates into this country. I would like to tell Durand that it is us in the ANC, who are addressing that. [Applause.]
Overcrowding, although it is totally unacceptable, is nothing new in this country. It has been ever present, and to hon Durand, the sad part of overcrowding is that when the opposition had the political power to address this very problem, they did nothing. [Applause.]
Let us look at the capital expenditure on infrastructure and building more prisons. We had fights here when he was still out somewhere … [Interjections] … and I do not know where, sir. We were fighting for money to build prisons. It is the ANC-led Government that has implemented the APOPS prisons, and has embarked on a constructive and productive route to address the issue of overcrowding. We have heard the Minister saying so today.
The question now is: Should this Government come with a holistic approach to address this problem, will we have the support of the Democratic Alliance? No, we will not have their support. They will be obstructive. So, the effectiveness in making a positive contribution towards crime prevention and, therefore, overcrowding, depends on our ability to strike a proper balance between eradication of recidivism through rehabilitation and welfare, and ensuring community safety through incarceration.
We all know that unemployment is one of the factors contributing to crime. We also know that the vast majority of inmates in the prison system are from the previously disadvantaged groups who are totally unskilled. We have to find the treasure in every man in prison and in every inmate, and we have to equip them with the necessary skills. If the hon Durand were to end up there I would also find the treasure in him. [Interjections.] We will have to find the treasure in them. We will have to equip them. We will have to equip them with the necessary skills so that one day when they are released they can find a job in the community in which they find themselves.
Overcrowding demands a constructive approach. We accept the fact that the release of a prisoner is not a cure. It needs a realistic approach. It demands alternative sentencing, community correction, restorative justice and a streamlined, effective parole system supported by electronic monitoring. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Mr Chairperson, I am glad that I can see that most of the points raised here are generally common concerns, and I am glad that members have raised them when members of the Correctional Services management are also here to hear these concerns and some of our Correctional Services staff are also over there so that they can hear what members are saying. [Interjections.]
I can also see the young ones there. I do not know whether, after they have heard this, they would like to visit prison. They must not do that. If they go there it must simply be to take food for somebody but not to go and stay there. It is not a good place. They have heard the debates in here. It is not a good place for them.
I will simply respond briefly to points raised here. As I said, these are general concerns. In response to what the chairperson, hon Mr Fihla, said, yes, we do have this spending growth in various aspects, in incarceration and in training. However, I think he is also right when he talks about the perception about HIV/Aids. We need to debate this issue very thoroughly because there are different perceptions. Some people may feel that if people are in prison and they are suffering from these diseases then they can be cured when they are in prison. This is a fallacy. What we have out there is what we have in prison. So they should be cured there first, then they can be cured in prison. So we need to talk about that very frankly. Again, in response to what hon Mr Fihla said, yes, I did thank the various organisations within our community, the NGOs and many others in business who have assisted us in our work. I heard him also mention the Centre for Conflict Resolution. I have not mentioned any NGOs by name, but there are many other NGOs which are assisting us.
However, what I would like to see happening is the co-ordination of efforts in all the provinces. It serves no purpose to have ad hoc interventions. We should co-ordinate all these efforts in various provinces. I think in that way we would be effective in dealing with these questions of Correctional Services, whether it is rehabilitation, training or overcrowding.
In response to the hon Mr Smit, who also touched on overcrowding and corruption, I think we are constantly confronting this question of corruption in Correctional Services. I think we are possibly also the victims of our own transparency. But I believe that is one way of dealing with this question of corruption and we will continue to do that until members say to us: ``Yes, you are running a clean department’’. We do listen to what members are saying, but I am saying, yes, we are confronting all those issues.
Yes, hon Mr Smit, the morale of our staff is quite low, if some of those in the ranks receive only slightly more than R3 500 per month for doing the kind of job they are doing. Yes, that should cause the morale to be low. Some of them receive only slightly more than R4 000 a month. That would make one’s morale low.
In this respect I have also had discussions with the acting commissioner to start negotiations with the Treasury to look at increments for our own staff. I think the others in other departments, for instance the police, have received increments and I am wondering why our own staff do not receive increments. We need to negotiate that. It is not a question of somebody not wanting to. I think it is a question of negotiations and I have instructed the acting commissioner to begin that, because it is long overdue.
To hon Mrs Seaton, yes, I agree that although the budget reflects an increase of 8,8%, it is not adequate. We still need some more. I also thank her for saying loudly that she is making an appeal to the Ministry of Finance to assist us in this regard.
Ntate Diale is right, we have moved away from the harsh treatment of prisoners. I think within the community we have people who are also watching over us not to overstep this mark, that we should continue with respect and recognition for human rights whether they are prisoners or not. He is also right that in order to do some of our work effectively, we need this social and economic support from outside prison. If we have trained a prisoner and equipped him with skills, he will need support outside prison. So we need the public support to enhance our programmes.
Ek wil vir Oom Bloem sê ons is besig met transformasie! [Tussenwerpsels.] [Gelag.] Hy moet ons asseblief daarmee help! [I want to tell Oom Bloem that we are engaged in transformation! [Interjections.] [Laughter.] He must please help us with that!]
I think Mr Bloem is right, we are on track with transformation, hence our theme of partnership with the community for prison reform. To hon member Cupido … [Interjections] … I say that Correctional Services is one of the fundamental arms of the criminal justice cluster. I think we all agree, all other Ministers and Government agree, with that. Earlier she touched on investigations. I am saying we are all aware of the investigations and recommendations in those reports. We are dealing with those. It is not going to be ``hey presto’’ as if one pulls a rabbit out of a hat and everything is okay. No, it is not going to be like that; it is going to be a long process. We are dealing with that and the hon member can hold us to that if we are not doing it.
Ntate Tolo, mabapi le basadi ba ditjhankaneng, bao o buang ka bona, ba mmeleng … Ntate Tolo o teng? Ba di fumana dijo bomme bano ba mmeleng. Dijo tsa bona ke dijo tseo re bolellwang ke ngaka hore ba tshwanetse ba di je ha ba le jwalo. Ka hoo, ba tshwerwe hantle. Ha o fihla tjhankaneng mme o bona hore ha ba tshwarwa hantle, ke mosebetsi wa hao ntate, hore o mpolelle hore bomme ba itseng ba mmeleng tjhankaneng e itseng, ha ba tshwarwa hantle mme ha ba fumane dijo tse ba loketseng.
Empa, ke a tseba hore ba tshwanetse ba fumane dijo tse ba loketseng, tse bolelwang ke ngaka hore ba tshwanetse ba di je. [Ditlatse] Jwale, mona ho ba utswitseng nama le bohobe, Judge Fagan ke yane o ntse a bua le bommastrata le di-judge tse ding hore bana ba ditjhankaneng empa ba utswitse nthonyana tse nnyane feela, ha ba mpe ba seke ba kwallwa, ba mpe ba iswe mesebetsing kwana. Judge Fagan o ne a mpolella maoba mona hore o ne a le bo-Bloemfontein kwana, moo a fihlileng ho ena le moshanyanyana ya ka bang dilemo di 14. O ne a le tjhankaneng, mme e ne e se e le dikgwedi tse nne, a emetse ho ahlolwa.
Jwale, eitse ha a mmotsa hore o entseng, a re o utswitse mango. Hakere o a o bona mango?
DITHO TSE HLOMPHEHANG: E.
LETONA: E. O utswitse mango. Dikgwedi tse nne, a utswitse mango feela. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[Mr Tolo, with regard to the women in prisons, the pregnant ones that you are talking about … Is Mr Tolo here? Those pregnant women do get food. The food they get is the kind of food we are told by a doctor that they should eat, when they are in that condition. Therefore, they are being well taken care of. When you do visit a prison and you see that they are not being taken care of, it is your duty, sir, to tell me that some pregnant women in a certain prison are not being taken care of and they do not get the kind of food that they should be getting. However, I know that they should be getting the correct kind of food, which is recommended by a doctor. [Applause.]
Now, about those who have stolen meat and bread, Judge Fagan is talking to magistrates and other judges out there, saying that those people who have been jailed because they have stolen small things, should rather not be jailed but should be sent out to work. Judge Fagan was telling me that he was in the Bloemfontein area a few days ago, where he met a boy of about 14 years of age, in prison. He had been awaiting trial for about four months already.
Now, when he asked the boy what he had done to be there, the boy told him that he had stolen a mango. You know a mango, don’t you?
HON MEMBERS: Yes.
The MINISTER: Yes. He had stolen a mango. Four months for stealing only a mango.]
Yes, I agree with the hon Dr Mzimela, Mguni, that there is always an argument against the privatisation of prisons, that once we do that, then, in fact, we would be encouraging those who are in that business. Crime would increase, so that criminals could also increase and the business could flourish. Those are extreme arguments but those are the arguments of people out there also. These kinds of structures would be customer based and they would be market driven.
However, I also realise that there is an increase there because the hon member also spoke about training and giving skills to people to effect this rehabilitation. Although it is not adequate, there is an increase of 13% on the personnel training budget, but, I agree, it is not sufficient to do what we are supposed to be doing.
Yes, I agree with the hon member Ngaleka that we need to move away from incarceration to rehabilitation. I have said it, and I agree that we should provide skills and that we need public support and participation. I have said that throughout my speech here.
Yes, we are also amending the parole system. The Parole Board is going to change. I have announced it in this House and I am also going to announce it in the NCOP. We are changing that.
To the hon member Swart, on overcrowding: Yes, I agree with him. The implications there, especially when it comes to the development and health of offenders, I think, are an impediment. So, our programmes are really not running smoothly, because of overcrowding in some of our facilities.
To the hon member Dyani I can only say yes, because he has tasted the bitterness of the prison confines.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Minister, I have allowed you to overrun your speaking time by about two and a half minutes. I think the hon members have expended a great deal of energy here, and would like to recharge their batteries.
The MINISTER: Mr Chairperson, I was looking at the hon member Nomatyala there. I think lunch is ready. [Laughter.] [Applause.] The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Is that an invitation? [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Business suspended at 12:53 and resumed at 14:04.
Afternoon sitting
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 15 - Health:
The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Madam Speaker, hon members, in a society as inequal as our own, and particularly in one that is still deeply divided along racial, gender and class lines, a critical measure of the success of Government remains the degree to which it manages to narrow the gaps between the rich and the poor. I want to state quite clearly that our Government stands firmly for transformation to achieve social justice, particularly through services like health that touch the lives of those who are deprived, namely predominantly the African majority. Over the past year we have made significant progress and registered some clear successes in many critical areas of our work, but there are other areas of delivery which are falling short of the results we seek. Therefore, in accounting to this House for the proposed budget of over R6,6 billion, I intend to highlight problems and priorities that attest to our commitment to improving the lives of the majority of our people. At the same time I will raise some critical questions about the strategies we pursue and where there is a need in some cases to review our approach.
During my address today I will focus on six aspects of health care delivery: The quality of care that we provide in our hospitals and clinics; our plan for the revitalisation of hospitals; the development of primary health care services at local level; HIV/Aids, STD infections and tuberculosis; our engagement in the international health arena; and, finally, strategic interventions to protect those who obtain care in the private sector.
Most of the people who use our public health services are poor. In addition, many are unemployed and they live without adequate shelter, nutrition or clean water. Their health is undermined by their social circumstances and, at the same time, social development is retarded by their ill health. Quality health care is critical in breaking this cycle.
What do we mean by quality care? I believe that there are three key components to it. Firstly, it concerns the values and attitudes of health workers, which encompass compassion, respect for human dignity and a general orientation towards a human rights culture. Secondly, there is the area of professional skills and critical competency. Here we are talking about effective health care that achieves good clinical results. Thirdly, there is the area of personnel management, including effective disciplinary procedures.
In terms of providing quality of care, I believe that we have made some major gains. We launched the National Patients’ Rights Charter 18 months ago and since then every province has promoted the charter widely in its services. In addition, in order to promote a human rights ethos among health care workers, each province has instituted several practical quality of care initiatives. These include service excellence awards, hospital accreditation systems, the revival of peer review committees, the establishment of hospital boards and the strengthening of patient information processes.
However, despite our efforts in this regard, I am aware that many patients complain about the services that they receive in the public health system. We get complains of patients lying in their soiled linen, health care workers verbally abusing and intimidating patients, staff stealing resources at the very time when our hospitals are struggling to make ends meet, and health workers doing additional private work during their off- duty hours and then giving very poor service in the public health sector because they are exhausted.
I know that there are many health workers, professional and nonprofessional, who do their work on a daily basis with skill, dedication and compassion, often under the most difficult and challenging circumstances. For this, they have to be commended. But, I would be failing in my responsibility if I did not scrutinise the conduct of all health workers and more especially that of the sub-culture where there are people who are dishonest, callous and lazy. I also recognise the depth of the problems that undermine quality care. In some instances resource constraints are a factor and so is poor or ineffective management. But these constraints cannot excuse fraud, abuse or negligence.
I believe that the most appropriate answer to this problem is the consistent and unhesitating application of disciplinary measures against offenders by the employers and relevant professional councils. We are therefore embarking on a three-pronged approach within the public health service. Firstly, we will expand our programme of promoting the Patients’ Rights Charter among both our health workers and people who use our services. Secondly, we will institute measures to increase the effectiveness of the management at hospitals and clinics and to upgrade professional skills and practice. Thirdly, we will scrutinise the effective use of existing disciplinary procedures and penalties for fraud, patient abuse and professional negligence.
Beyond the public sector, we will look at the functioning of professional councils. I have already met with them and I am pleased to say that they have responded positively. They have committed themselves to a campaign to educate people on their right to complain. This is a positive step but I do not believe that it goes far enough. We have to ask ourselves whether the professional councils are sufficiently independent to be impartial when it comes to patient complaints. To this end I will appoint a task team to assess the present legislation that governs the professional councils and to advise me accordingly. I undertake to report back to this House on this process during the coming months.
Secondly, the R3,27 billion which is granted to hospitals that serve as national centres for highly specialised treatment will be looked into. There is an urgent need to arrest the deterioration of our hospital stock. However, there is little to be gained from the physical rehabilitation of the buildings without paying equal attention to the quality of care that I have been discussing and also more effective management. Through the hospital revitalisation programme, we aim to address all these concerns in an integrated and co-ordinated way.
Developing our management strength is a critical factor. Both the physical renewal of hospitals and the improvement of service standards demand skilled managers and appropriate management systems. Accordingly, we invested R30 million last year to appoint chief financial officers and senior support staff in our hospitals. A further amount of R79 million has been earmarked to improve management efficiency in the coming year.
The third item that I would like to discuss is the district health system and the consolidation of our gains in primary health care. The recent cholera epidemic infected about 100 000 people in the past nine months and caused more than 2 000 deaths, emphasising the critical link between poverty, development and health. Excellent care by health workers helped to keep the death rate down. Even so, the number of cholera cases continued to grow. Through this we became aware that long-term answers lay not in health care but in the provision of clean water and proper sanitation.
The way that we managed the cholera epidemic has been a strong vote of confidence in the primary health care approach. It emphasised an intersectoral approach to health. It also promoted community involvement and located services close to the people. Since 1994, we have brought health services within easier reach of about 6 million people by building over 500 new clinics. During 2000, we turned our attention to the standard of services provided by our clinics through a national survey that was done by the Health Systems Trust. This highlighted areas of progress in our clinics and also areas of concern.
Progress is reflected in the following: the availability of antenatal care has improved substantially, the Dots approach to treating TB is widely established, the ratio of patients to health workers has improved in nearly all provinces, the proportion of clinics with electricity has gone up from 65% to 92%, and the supply of condoms, oral rehydration solutions, oral contraceptives and certain drugs has also improved substantially.
On the negative side: essential tests, including tests for HIV/Aids and syphilis, are not always available, essential equipment is still lacking in some cases, many clinics are still without piped water and there has been a decline in the availability of a few drugs.
A critical feature of primary health care, and a strong reason for locating these services at the local level, is to create Government structures that can be directly influenced by people living in the communities that they serve. I would like to inform the House that I intend to address the formal restructuring of primary health care services in my speech to the NCOP next week.
When it comes to HIV/Aids, STDs and TB, I would like to point out today that 5 June is a particularly significant date. It is exactly 20 years ago today, on 5 June 1981, that the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta published its historic report recognising Aids for the first time as a distinct syndrome. When one considers the impact of HIV/Aids on the continent of Africa, the destruction it has wrought on families, communities and economies, it is astounding to think that the official age of this medical condition is just 20 years.
We are privileged to have with us Dr Peter Piot who is visiting Parliament. He heads UNAIDS. Dr Pyott has worked hard to promote the position that HIV/Aids burden in Africa and Asia must be dealt with as a global challenge. We welcome him to our country.
In the absence of a cure for Aids, prevention and appropriate management of those infected and affected are fundamental. An effective response demands that we tackle the hidden and overt prejudice against people living with Aids.
Last month I had the opportunity of addressing the World Health Assembly on behalf of the SADC region. I explained our approach to fighting HIV/Aids through a complex set of interventions. Together, these form a comprehensive multisectoral approach that is fundamental to success. The interventions that we believe are key are the following: socioeconomic upliftment, strengthening of health systems, strong preventive programmes, robust and aggressive treatment of opportunistic infections, strong mitigation programmes, and the targeted and appropriate use of anti- retrovirals.
In terms of prevention, there are signs that safe sex messages are beginning to bear fruit among the youth. A range of youth surveys show a high awareness of HIV/Aids, good knowledge of prevention methods and even, in some instances, reports of increased condom use. In addition, in the past two years our antenatal surveys have shown a drop in HIV rates among teenage mothers, a much less dramatic increase in the prevalence of HIV and a sharp drop of 50% over three years in the syphilis rate. During the past year we have also registered meaningful advances in relation to treatment and care. We significantly expanded our facilities for voluntary counselling and testing for HIV by using rapid test kits for the first time. We developed and published guidelines on various aspects of treatment and care. The response to these has been enormously positive.
We began to provide fluconazole to patients with fungal infections that are associated with HIV/Aids. Fluconazole was previously beyond our budget limits, but we negotiated a partnership agreement with Pfizer. In terms of this, the company has donated a two-year supply worth R375 million to public sector hospitals.
Our management of opportunistic infections is gradually improving as health workers are trained to use the relevant guidelines. We follow the highly effective syndromic approach to STD treatment in the public sector. However, we believe that there is a need to make the sexual health services a lot more patient-friendly. In addition, we are co-operating with private practitioner groups to introduce syndromic treatment in that sector.
Tuberculosis is receiving particular attention. We have improved cure rates to around 65%. We have successfully integrated HIV and TB management at pilot sites. This has resulted in an increased uptake of HIV testing and many HIV-positive patients are getting medication to prevent them from developing active TB. We are now extending these pilot sites in all provinces to at least one per health district.
During 2000 we commissioned an audit of TB hospitals, funded by the state and run by Santa and Lifecare. We uncovered serious deficiencies in the management of the Santa hospitals. As a result, the Health Minmec resolved that the national department, in collaboration with the provinces, would commission a forensic audit of Santa. Preparations for this audit have commenced.
There is tremendous public interest in the nevirapine programme to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. We have invested considerable time and energy preparing the research sites for this programme. The programme involves much more than administering a dose of nevirapine to mother and child. It has to be grounded in a research setting. It therefore involves developing counselling services at the chosen sites; introducing rapid HIV test methods; setting standards for the antenatal and postnatal care of the mother; providing nutritional supplements to mother and child; ensuring viable and safe infant feeding options; creating systems to collect data; and developing mechanisms for follow-up on mother and child.
The 18 sites have been set up within a research framework precisely because we want to answer several as yet unanswered questions. These relate to drug resistance and toxicity. They also relate to the ability of HIV-positive women to sustain safe infant feeding practices in a population where mixed breast-feeding is the norm. The benefits of nevirapine are more likely to be reversed where mothers mix breast milk with other foods. Furthermore, we will also have to get to grips with the costs of these integrated and comprehensive services.
In the final analysis, we will only claim that we have successfully prevented mother-to-child transmission when we have prevented zero conversion in the infant for two full years and sustained the mother in reasonable health for that period. In this regard, I would like to mention that we are at present awaiting the final two-year results of the SAINT study into nevirapine that was partly funded by the national department.
With regard to the use of anti-retrovirals in triple therapy for the long- term management of Aids, our position remains the same. We have no plans to introduce the wholesale administration of these drugs in the public sector. Anti-retrovirals are not a cure for HIV/Aids. In addition, we remain concerned about aspects of toxicity, the availability of laboratory services and infrastructural and educational constraints, particularly in the rural areas. I would however like to assure this House that this position is not ideological. Obviously, we will continue to explore all the options available to us, including the provisions of our legislation and the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS-sponsored negotiations with pharmaceutical companies.
The biggest challenges in the year ahead will certainly relate to the initiation of a national programme of community and home-based care. The model for this has been drafted and it deals comprehensively with the health, psychosocial and welfare needs of families affected by HIV/Aids. Furthermore, it integrates the care of Aids orphans into the broad community care approach.
None of us should underestimate the challenges of getting a programme of community and home-based care off the ground. Each local care network is unique and complex, and each needs strong co-ordination. We must find the means to generate hundreds of these networks in a very short time.
Thinking of the task ahead from the vantage point of this historic day - the 20th anniversary of the naming of Aids - my mind goes back to the early 1980s and the rise of the final round of mass resistance to apartheid. The price was repression on an unforeseen scale, but that repression simply generated new forms of organisation - the crisis committee, the parents support committees and the advice offices. We created communities of amazing care in the face of vicious repression. Fellow members, many of us here were architects and builders of people’s care structures. Let us renew our commitment to the people of this country by taking up the Aids-care challenge in a similar way.
The fifth item that I shall raise concerns South Africa’s involvement in the international health arena. At the heart of all our international contact is our guiding principle of meeting the day-to-day needs of the South African people. Our success in the recent Medicines Act court case is still fresh in our minds, and I am sure this House needs little reminding of the role that local and international solidarity played in this. I would especially like to acknowledge the support of the ANC Women’s League, our labour movement and people living with Aids.
Less than a week ago we published, for comment, the regulations to the Medicines Act that will enable us to implement the legislation that has been delayed for three years. The regulations, like the Act itself, are fully consistent with the international trade agreements to which we are party. There will be a full three-month period for comment on the regulations, and we look forward to robust engagement with all stakeholders.
South Africa has also done extremely valuable work at the international level in relation to tobacco control. We have made a strong contribution to the drafting of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. We hosted the African consultative meeting on this convention in March this year, where representatives from across the continent developed a unified position on international tobacco control. When the global meeting on the convention took place in May, the coherence of Africa and the strong stand that Africa was taking were clearly evident.
Here at home, the ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship is in full force, and the control of smoking in public places is gaining ground. There are, of course, some disturbing exceptions, and we will use the powers vested in us by the Tobacco Control Act to deal decisively with them.
Perhaps our most valued work across national borders is the development of health sector co-operation in the SADC region. Member countries have set clear priorities for co-operation and, with regular contact, we have developed durable joint positions on several critical issues. In particular, we have adopted a common set of principles to guide our responses to the discounted packages of Aids care. SADC health ministers, as a group, will meet representatives of the major drug companies in Pretoria on Friday this week.
The health sector is contributing actively to the development of the Millennium African Recovery Programme, spearheaded by our own President and the heads of state of Nigeria and Algeria. Our experience in relation to TB, HIV/Aids and the issue of affordable medicines has been critical in shaping our inputs to MARP. We successfully hosted the health ministers’ meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Johannesburg in March. The declaration produced by that meeting formed the basis for a resolution tabled at a World Health Assembly in May.
Some of our most valued international exchanges are made not in multinational fora but in terms of the professional work of generous and skilled medical practitioners who come to South Africa from other countries. Foreign doctors serving our people in terms of a number of bilateral agreements make an invaluable contribution to health care in our rural areas. For instance, we have a group of Tunisian doctors who have organised a number of visits to our country to help reduce the backlog in cataract surgery. A group of African-American medical practitioners, known as the Zenzele doctors, has partnered with private South African practitioners, and they too use vacations and spare time to take specialist skills to outlying hospitals.
Finally, in relation to our international liaison, I would like to comment briefly on the many bilateral arrangements that we have with a number of countries that provide valuable technical assistance to us. It is my intention, in the coming year, to focus on making the most of these international partnerships in order to ensure that we derive the maximum benefit.
My sixth and final area concerns our involvement in the private sector. When it comes to private sector health care provision, Government continues to play a critical role through legislation and policy development. When the Medicines Act becomes effective, patients who pay for services out-of- pocket and medical scheme members stand to benefit hugely and rapidly from its provisions. As medicines become more affordable, the costs of health care cover will be contained, members will get better value for the cover that they buy and more people will be able to purchase health care.
The Medical Schemes Act that we passed two years ago is beginning to have the desired impact. The Act not only outlaws exclusion from schemes on the grounds of age or health status, but also guarantees minimum benefit packages and attempts to protect members through prescribing minimum reserve levels in the funds.
The Council for Medical Schemes administers the Act and, in a short period, it has tackled its regulatory role with imagination, putting a high premium on public education and effective responses to complaints. The council is still partially funded by the Department of Health but it will, in future, be financed through levies on medical scheme members. An amending Act will be brought before this House, before the end of this year, to fine-tune the principal Medical Schemes Act in line with the lessons we have learned in the first two years since this ground-breaking law was passed.
I would like to highlight the fact that the relationship between the Government and the private health care sector is not a one-way street. Take the contributions of the Ophthalmological Society of South Africa. No fewer than 300 ophthalmologists have pledged to contribute 60 000 free cataract operations over the next five years to help eliminate cataract blindness. [Applause.] Private sector patients will pay for their own hospital costs. The Bureau for the Prevention of Blindness will sponsor low-income patients.
In conclusion, I would like to end my speech with a reminder and an announcement. The reminder is that the World Health Organisation has made mental health its focal area for the year 2001. This is in recognition of the fact that mental illness takes an enormous toll of countries, at all levels of development. While mental illness might not feature clearly in the mortality figures, the WHO estimates that it will be the biggest single cause of disability in the world within 50 years. In the face of this, only 16% of countries devote more than 1% of their health spending to mental health programmes.
South Africa does allocate more than 1% to mental health spending. This year we will increase the allocated amount by reprioritising spending in the national office. Furthermore, during this session we will table a new mental health Bill, the first fundamental revision of the statutory framework for mental health care in several decades.
The announcement concerns our intention to host a national health summit later this year. The idea is to engage a wide range of experienced individuals and critical interest groups in a constructive debate on the direction of national health care. The health summit has been conceived in the belief that strategic planning is a dynamic practice and that openness to new influences enriches the process.
In closing, I would like to express my thanks, and I assure members that they are not ritual thanks, but are sincerely felt. This is a rare opportunity to thank all those committed health workers, throughout our country, whose invaluable contribution to the nation is so seldom recognised.
Throughout the year senior officials of the department and I have enjoyed a constructive working relationship with both the portfolio committee and the select committee, under the leadership of hon members Dr Abe Nkomo and Ms Jacobus respectively. There has been a very helpful balance between constructive criticism and support, and I say thank you.
On an ongoing basis, we sustain and build a productive and challenging working relationship with our political colleagues, including the President, the Deputy President, members of the Cabinet and the MECs of the nine provinces. To them all I say, thank you very much.
I would also like to place on record my thanks to the chairpersons and members - old and new - of the Medicines Control Council, the Medical Research Council and the South African Institute for Medical Research.
Finally, my thanks go to the officials of the department, particularly the director-general and the staff in the Ministry, who continue collectively to support our efforts to provide a just, equitable and humane health system for all South Africans. [Applause.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Speaker, I want to say that I am sorry that the Minister is going to sit behind me, and that I would have preferred to look at her when I speak. But, obviously, she is hiding and she has much to hide about. [Interjections.]
The Ministry of Health, certainly this past year, has been shielded by the court action over the price of medicines. It has managed to focus the attention of politicians and the public alike on this one single factor in the health care debate. But while this is admittedly an extremely important subject and deserves attention, the hype around it has been so great that most people have taken their eyes off the rest of the health debate.
So, while we have watched the antics of the Minister and her cohorts, claiming a great victory over the pharmaceutical companies, the rest of the health system in South Africa has continued to collapse because of lack of initiatives and actions on the part of the Minister. Today the Minister has claimed that she has had significant successes in the field of health care. I think she needs to ask the people to whom her Government is administering health care, because they, certainly, are not aware of her successes. Their lives have not yet been touched by her successes at all. [Interjections.]
There are too many unresolved health care issues in this country for the Minister to claim any victory. Perhaps the most important issue is that of rural health, where the Government has claimed so much success. The truth is that the health of the people living in those areas has not improved because the Government has failed to develop a strategy to ensure that a sustainable health care system for those people is in place.
A sustainable system will not revolve around the clinics that the Minister claims to have built. She has bragged about this today, and her predecessor bragged about it very often. But a sustainable system will revolve around the personnel that she puts in place. If the health care workers, at all levels, are not permanent, then the health care system is not permanent either, and that is exactly what we have in the rural areas. [Interjections.] Our rural health care services are in a serious trouble because of people like those members. [Interjections.] It is serious because very few of our doctors, nurses and other personnel stay long enough to build up a service to be proud of. They are too often employed on a temporary basis and at the end of their contracts they leave for the cities or go overseas. The department has got to do something to stop this. The long-term consequences of this are dire.
In 1997, at an international health conference in Durban, the Durban Declaration was drawn up and presented to the Ministry. [Interjections.] If the hon member knew anything about health I would listen to him but he knows nothing. In fact, I do not think he knows anything about anything. [Laughter.] [Applause.] It dealt with this very issue of how to recruit, train and encourage health care workers, doctors and nurses to work and stay on a permanent basis in the rural areas.
The Minister has never ever responded to this declaration. Instead we are faced, as ever, with a number of quick-fix solutions to the problems, like the highly controversial employment of Cuban doctors and the system of community service. But we all know that Cuban doctors are no long-term solution. They were initially employed to fill a need, but there are problems because they are from a foreign country. They speak a foreign language and they have received specialist training and therefore have a limited capacity to do the generalised work that is required of them in the rural areas. They also go home after their contracts have expired. Their scope of practice is limited, some are good and some are bad. The truth is that, because of the highly political nature of their employment, it is impossible to properly evaluate them.
The same applies to community service. It is nothing more than a quick-fix solution to the problem and therefore has no sustainability. Yes, it does get doctors into rural areas but there are no incentives to keep them there. They stay for 10 or 11 months and move on, which means no permanence.
We have a crisis in our nursing service as well. But here the Government has proved that not only can it not keep nurses in the rural areas, it cannot keep them in the cities either. Nurses are leaving the profession in this country in droves and Madam Minister has been remarkably silent on this. She has not even discussed this issue today.
The salaries paid to nurses are absolutely pathetic because the nurses, as we all know - even Minister Tshwete would know this - are the backbone of our health services and deserve a lot better. But it is not only the matter of salaries that causes nurses to leave; their conditions of service generally are poor. The number of patients they have to look after and the state of equipment in hospitals leaves little incentive for these people to stay.
We need to know from the Minister whether there is a comprehensive plan to retain our own doctors, nurses and other health care personnel in South Africa. If so, what is this plan? What does the department have to do to recruit and retain doctors and nurses in rural and underserved areas? What plan does it have to do this? We need answers to these rapidly. Time is running out for our steadily collapsing health systems. The people in the rural areas certainly deserve far more.
There is another matter of very serious concern. South Africa is burdened with one of the highest TB epidemics in the world and the Minister has claimed success in this regard today. How she could do that, I really and truly do not understand. The national incidence in 1999 was 419 in 100 000, which is more than double that of other developing countries and 60 times higher than any rates in the USA or Europe.
The WHO has stated that there are 60 nations not taking the TB epidemic seriously. Eight of these have enough money to do so but either fail to do something or have left it too late, and, regrettably, South Africa is listed as one of those countries. What an indictment of our health services!
This country has for years relied on the services of the South African National Tuberculosis Association. The Minister has spoken today about Santa. It has a very fine history in its fight against TB. However, over the past two years the fortunes of Santa have sagged dramatically. And today it is an organisation all but destroyed, with many of the volunteers and donors on which it so desperately depends seriously disillusioned.
During the course of the year 2000 the situation got so bad that eventually a financial review of Santa was prepared for the Department of Health by Hardy and Associates, which uncovered disturbing evidence suggesting that the organisation operates as an unaccountable empire while absorbing increased amounts of money intended for the poor and sick. It found that the management committee headed by the CEO illegally absorbed large slices of allocations from the Government intended for the betterment of hospitals and community services, and that Santa head office had no documented financial policies and procedures. Much of this management was laid at the door of the CEO, who of course responded in typical ANC fashion that it was all a case of racism and that he was being targeted because he was black. We have heard that often enough. That report was compiled in December 2000. What has the hon the Minister done since then? It appears she has done nothing. Today she talks of papers being drawn up for a forensic audit. Why has she waited for six months before taking action on such a serious matter?
Tuberculosis operates in tandem with HIV/Aids, and TB’s greatest scourge is HIV/Aids of course. Elsewhere in the world, with hard work and the right policies, TB has proved to be manageable. But the Health Ministry, through lack of real initiative, has allowed it to escalate out of all control in this country. I want the hon the Minister to explain to this House today why she has allowed the situation with Santa to prevail and what steps her Government is taking to curb the spread of TB in this country.
However, the picture of bad management on the part of her Ministry does not end there. I want to know what she is doing about Fedsure health. She talked about medical schemes today. Fedsure’s merger with Northern Medical Aid at the end of 1999 was a cause for serious concern and protest. But the Registrar of Medical Schemes allowed it to take place on certain conditions.
Since then two reports have been drawn up, one dated 12 April 2000, known as the Watson Report, and the second, dated 20 September 2000, was headed by the accounting and auditing from KPMG. Both reports were equally damning on the state of both Northern Medical Aid and Fedsure health. It appears that the merger should never ever have taken place.
The hon the Minister had been warned that Fedsure health was in financial trouble and that it was probably in breach in many respects of the Act, yet she has chosen to do nothing and the question must be asked: Why has she chosen to do nothing? Why has no curator been appointed? Why has she not acted on the reports drawn up for her department? It also seems that a case of improper or disgraceful conduct may have been committed in terms of the merger and subsequent developments in Fedsure. Why then, in terms of clause 16 of the Medical Schemes Act, has the matter not yet been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority? Why is she failing to take action, leaving so many people at risk? A bit generally, we have to ask: Why is she so slow to take action when things are obviously wrong?
As long as this is her policy and her style of management we will never develop a health care system in this country that we can truly be proud of. [Applause.]
Dr A S NKOMO: Madam Speaker, Deputy President, Minister and the House, I also recognise the health team of South Africa seated over here and all over the gallery. We introduced this Vote by saying it was a budget about the people, putting the people firmly at centre stage. We say it is a budget about people who are not empty vessels into which a tablet or a mixture is thrown by someone wearing a white clinical coat, nor torsos into which needles are stuck impassionately by a functionary of the health service.
The Vote on health takes place within the context of tumultuous change. It happens against the backdrop of the historical and epoch-making, people- driven victory over the pharmaceutical industry when the people of South Africa and of the world made the giant bite the dust; it also happens against the coming of age of local government; it happens when the Integrated Rural Development and Urban Renewal Strategies of Government are beginning to take shape; and it happens when there is greater co-operation across the continent, as evidenced by the recent meetings of health ministers in the region and in Burkino Faso on the continent and the meeting of the first ladies of Sub-Saharan Africa in Rwanda.
It happens at a time when there have been various signals that the international community will join hands in all manner of ways to combat the HIV/Aids pandemic - witness the global fund, witness the launch of the international partnership against Aids by Kofi Annan in Abuja and witness the presence today in this House of Mr Peter Piyott of Unaids.
It is a time of great expectations, to which President Mbeki responds in the following manner, and I quote:
Whilst continuing to focus on the maintenance of the correct macroeconomic balances we have to pay attention to the critical microeconomic issues.
Given that presidential injunction, the portfolio committee convened 31 hours of budget hearings and invited the national Department of Health and its chief directorates, as well as the provincial health departments, to deal with the following matters. We focused on hospital services, the problems and constraints thereof. We looked at the decentralisation of primary health care, especially with reference to district health authorities and how they link up to local government. That is why we applaud the Municipal Structures Act, which gives greater authority to local government to be able to have continuous borders with district health authorities now.
We called upon the department to account for the extent to which they were complementing Batho Pele in conjunction with the Patients’ Charter. With regard to the quality of service, we received numerous complaints of long queues, in our position as public representatives and also as people who are serving community-based constituency offices. During the budget hearings we asked relevant questions that relate to what patients can expect when they access health services, such as who directs patients to receive the appropriate care and attention, and issues related to the gate- keeping and shifting of patients. Are counselling services available? Are reproductive services and family planning available? Do hospitals and clinics have sufficient pharmaceuticals available? Are patients told to come back the next day to collect their medicines? Can they afford another taxi fare? Is there an essential data list, and to what extent do hospitals and clinics relate to communities? Do hospitals and clinics have governing structures in place? Central to this equation is: Does care extend beyond the walls of the hospital or the clinic?
In asking these questions, we are trying to get to the bottom of a critical issue. Does care begin and end in hospital, or does it also extend to the conditions under which the people live, the abject poverty which they experience and how our health service is responding appropriately to that issue? When that care is given, is he or she treated as an object into which a tablet is thrown, or is this a compassionate event resonating with the spirit of Dora Nginza and Cicilia Makiwane.
We have been trying to grapple with the issues related to the interface between health care delivery systems and human beings. And that is why we have put the Patients’ Charter at centre stage to be a living document, which is known by the people and health care providers and which must be implemented to the letter and the spirit. These are the questions we have asked at the hearings.
One of the pillars upon which the health service stands is the principle of equity - that all shall be equal and have equal access to health care. We were concerned, then, from our interaction with the submissions about the extension of access and affordability for people in the farthest reaches of our land who live in the far-flung districts, who are mostly women and children. We noted, in this regard, the implementation of the integrated nutrition programme, a programme which has had its ups and downs, but there are glimpses of increasing engagement with the people.
Questions do arise, in this instance of the extent to which these programmes make a difference in the lives of the people. Do they improve the cognitive skills of the school-going children in the Valley of a Thousand Hills? When the people access the nutrition programme and make it their own, they breathe into it a new meaning. When they enlisted the services of the Medical Research Council and the funding organisations from the private sector, they did this to interrogate the very question of whether the nutrition programme does make a difference, whether it is a school attendance incentive or vehicle for the improvement of cognitive skills of the learners. This does not happen everywhere, but it is a solitary lesson that the people who present for health care are not just empty vessels. It reminds us, as the rest of the world has known, about the principles which were enunciated in 1978 at Alma-Ata about a people-driven health service.
We have learned in the context of the cholera epidemic, amongst many other things, the significance of community health workers, proving once again that people are not empty vessels. It is in this context that we revisit our policy on community health care workers and take this into account in the budget-making process. But we also note the collaboration of different Ministries and their departments that contributed to the enhancement of a favourable result.
In this regard, we pay tribute to the various Ministries and departments that have collaborated, for example Water Affairs, Local Government and Defence. If the Department and the Ministry of Health alone had had to fork out for this activity, they would not have managed on their budget. This underscores how a limited budget can be made to achieve limitless objectives. Yes, in so doing these departments have broken with the past of discredited practices of fragmentation and of divisiveness.
We are aware of the Gauteng hospital commission of inquiry, which was led by Maria Ranto. And we know that there are now mechanisms in place to respond to the recommendations of that commission. We, therefore, need more interaction with the Public Health Professions Council to make the distribution of health workers more equitable. The question of whether we are producing enough doctors is a matter we have addressed with the deans of the medical schools. What we are suggesting to the Minister is the establishment of a central admissions committee. We have suggested this on a number of occasions.
A matter that cannot be left unmentioned is the question of traditional healers. Last week we met with Prof Gumbi of the department, who reported that the interim co-ordinating committee that has been established, on the recommendation of the portfolio committee, is making steady progress. As we begin to deal with the incorporation of traditional healers into the biomedical system, we must also begin to look at the protection of indigenous knowledge systems and also of indigenous intellectual property.
Last year the community health oversight hearings on the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy recommended the work which has begun and which has drawn the attention of the world. A month ago we received an international delegation from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethopia and the United States, which looked at our legislation as a beacon for the rest of the world. In the same vein the French and British invited us to share experiences, owing to the work of the department in implementing the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act. We received high acclaim for our approach to reproductive health and gender-related aspects of health care. This budget has made it possible for us to implement these services.
The Medical Schemes Act has thrown the searchlight onto the issue of public- private partnerships and the extend to which private-sector patients can be treated in the public-sector hospitals and vice versa. These are living examples that these realities have imposed upon us. Interesting questions are beginning to be raised by the Central Council for Medical Schemes and the SA Health Review. It is a generally held view that telemedicine and tele-education is for advanced societies and cities. But this is wrong because in fact they are meant and are suitable for the rural areas where people do not have access to transport, and so on.
May I then, in conclusion, refer to the whole question of this people- driven health care delivery service that we are looking at. We stand today in a world in which, emerging from the past, we have all these tremendous imbalances. Therefore, we stand, as Britain stood in 1948 at the end of the Second World War, when as an incipient and emerging society it had to begin to understand and recognise that health care was not a commodity, but there for everyone to receive. So we commend, at this stage, the envisaged piece of legislation - the national health Bill - as the beginnings of a national health service for South Africa. We commend this budget to this Parliament. [Applause.]
Dr R RABINOWITZ: Madam Speaker, during the first millennium alchemists tried to find the elixir of life. Now, in the second, biotechnologists are attempting to create immortality. With the emergence of three technologies, we are on the verge of a second creation: The genomes define the function of every living organism’s genes; genetic modification can cut and paste genes from any living species to any other; and cloning can refashion cells and culture them to produce a new creature. Humans have become God’s genesmiths. Never before in the history of science or medicine have we had so much power or greater need for a clear ethical vision.
It is in this context that we must evaluate the Health budget, our approach to Aids and TB, rising health costs, poor morale among doctors and nurses, and diminishing services in hospitals and clinics. The IFP is concerned about all of these weaknesses, but our approach to this budget is positive health, like this gem of a book which we have all received. We will support the budget.
The book’s theme, like the IFP’s, is the need to strike a balance between a healthy body, healthy mind and a healthy spirit; and secondly, how adopting the right approach with integrity and minimal expense makes a huge difference to health. Confusion, secrecy and fear breed ill health. Humour, hope and clarity of focus do the opposite. Our challenges are nowhere more evident than in our handling of Aids. The total expenditure on Aids- specific programmes is R296 million, disbursed through Education, Welfare and Health. An amount of R125 million is for the integrated plan, of which Health gets a mere R43 million, R9 million nationally and R34 million via provincial conditional grants.
Provinces must fund their Aids management from their own budgets and conditional grants, neither of which have been weighted to benefit the provinces with the highest incidences of Aids. The money is earmarked for life-skills training, voluntary counselling and testing, and home-based care. But ring-fencing it makes it difficult to spend, and, owing to the nature of conditional grants, almost impossible to track.
Policy and checks come from the national level. Business plans from provincial programme managers must tie in with provincial spending. Provincial CEO spending must be endorsed by the national and flow through the Minmec forum on the basis of co-operative governance. The programmes overlap various directorates and their implementation involves several entities, such as clinics, hospitals, communication and medicine supplies.
The other R111 million in Aids funding is via the Government Aids Action Plan, also mainly via conditional grants, for which there is little information available. Evidently, most of it is for communication. Does the House wonder that Dr Similela breaks down through frustration when accused, publicly, of abandoning her wards? How can she climb a mountain when she is trapped in a maze?
If the Health Department wants to be perceived as Florence Nightingale, rather than the Grim Reaper, we cannot abandon provincial governments, as the ANC sometimes suggests, for local governments have even less capacity, and the problem would be compounded a thousandfold. We must simplify Government and reduce duplication. Look at how well KwaZulu-Natal coped with the cholera epidemic, when it was left to manage its own policy and funds.
It is of little value blaming the past, pharmaceuticals or the media for our lack of clarity, but without it and without adequate human capacity, even the cheapest Aids medication will be of little use. Let us start somewhere and designate those who must receive treatment with drugs: Raped women, children, pregnant women and nursing mothers.
If we cannot afford more treatment, the IFP repeats its call for more knowledge. People who test negative know they have a second chance. Those who test positive are less likely to infect others. For this, we need more funds and greater political will. At present, less than 40% of clinics provide testing, and those who do are slowed by one-on-one pre-test counselling that could be done in groups.
These are the headlines that will bring messages of hope: Government
embarks on massive testing drive for infectious diseases, in partnership
with WHO and Unaids'',Government enters into partnership with
traditional healers at clinics and hospitals’’, Government funds research
into traditional and complementary Aids treatment'',Government rolls out
nevirapine for pregnant women and cocktails for rape victims’’,
``Government tenders for cheap Aids medicines and pharmaceutical companies
respond positively’’.
All this, and more, recommended in this book, we can do, while we set up private management of Government clinics and hospitals to improve efficiency and infrastructure. We need to start looking beyond Aids and thinking about biotechnology and the second creation. At the moment, the gene revolution is way ahead of us, and we have not even decided on a labelling system for genetically modified foods.
There are simpler ways to bring down the cost of health care, without legislation that exposes us to counterfeit drugs. We must privatise the entire chain of medical supplies, to cut back on theft and increase competition in medicine sales.
Our medical schemes, under the new legislation, are costing more, serving fewer and providing less. We need a social health insurance scheme, with a basic package as an option, to a range of schemes and all workers contributing to medical schemes. For the poor and unemployed, Government must purchase privately managed care. As a huge competitor, it will bring prices down.
Let me end by advocating less concern with equality than with equity, efficiency and a progressive approach. If the system is failing, let us change it. We are not victims. We need less talk, less bureaucracy, more partnerships, more integrity and more positive action. I also want to thank and congratulate all the members of the Health Department for their sterling efforts and support in the face of terrible odds. I recommend this booklet to hon members. It will empower them.
Dr B G MBULAWA-HANS: Madam Speaker, I come from the rural area of Cala in the former Transkei. In that area there is one hospital, and that hospital has never been without a doctor or nurses, since 1994. Before 1994, that hospital was only manned by Roman Catholic nuns from Germany, who could hardly understand English, let alone isiXhosa.
What I am trying to say is that those patients were being treated very well and are treated very well, but we from Cala are not speaking from statistical records or reading statistics. We experienced the new dispensation. [Applause.]
The second thing I think I need to say is that before one produces a doctor, one needs to admit students to medical school. Train those students and they will come out as doctors. However, if one trains 80% white students who want to remain in the comfort of the urban areas, then Cala will never have doctors. [Applause.] Let me remind the Democratic Alliance that 25 years ago, when people were moved to Mitchells Plain, they did not have a community health centre, they did not have a hospital and all they were given was a mental hospital. [Applause.] Tell me then, what does it mean, if a whole community with so many people is given Lentegeur as a primary health care centre?
One of the challenges of introducing a district health system is to ensure that all citizens of South Africa have universal and equitable access to health care services, in every corner of the country, whether they are in the Northern Province, in Mpumalanga or in Cape Town.
By 1999, the country was divided into 45 health regions and 174 health districts. All health districts had to be demarcated, in line with the proposals of the Demarcation Board. The transformation of local government, the completion of the municipal demarcation process and the elections of 5 December 2000, have ushered in the opportunity to restructure the delivery of health and other basic services. This will lead to the redemarcation of these districts, and then these districts will share the same boundaries with the newly demarcated municipalities. The policy decision then, to decentralise the delivery of primary health care services to local government, has been welcomed. This will also address the duplication and fragmentation of services that we have inherited from the previous regime.
Services under the apartheid government, of course, were short-sighted and prejudiced, through planning the health services along racial lines. The Municipal Systems Act provides clear guidelines to formalise community participation structures by municipalities.
Kufuneka siyazi into yokuba uthi lo Rhulumente uphetheyo, we- ANC, abantu baya kulawula. Indlela ekufuneka impilo yabantu ilawulwe ngayo kufuneka ivele kubo, hayi kubantu abafunda iincwadi. Kufuneka kutsho bona ngokwabo ukuba ziziphi na iimfuno zabo nokuba mabaphatheke njani na. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[We must know that the ANC-led Government says that the people shall govern. How people’s lives should be governed, should come from them, and not from intellectuals. They themselves should say what their needs are and how they should be governed.] Of course, we, as the ANC-led Government, are not saying that this process is without problems. No, we need to plan and we need to manage the process properly. Local government will have to be capacitated, and given all the necessary support, in order to deliver these services.
However, let me remind the House that from 10 October to 31 October there will be a census, and some of those people who will be against that census will be from the DA. [Applause.] I want to invite everybody, all of the people sitting out there …
… bonke, bona, abantu abahleli emakhaya bayazi into yokuba kufuneka babalwe. Bayazi bona ukuba bangaphi abantu, ekhaya. Ke, uthi uRhulumente we- ANC ufuna ukubabala khon’ ukuze acebe ukuba iinkonzo zonyango kubo mazime ngaluphi na uhlobo. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[… people at home know that the census should be conducted. It is they who know how many people they are in a homestead; how many others they should provide for. The ANC-led Government wants to count them so that it could plan its health system.]
Therefore, I want to encourage all of the people, at home and everywhere, that they must be counted from 10 October to 31 October. However, let me also put a challenge to the MPs sitting here, on all sides, that their constituencies depend upon them for information about the census. If they want to be part of this moving bandwagon of the ANC, they must jump on now, otherwise they will be left behind. [Applause.]
In this process of rationalisation, all stakeholders must be involved, that is, the Department of Health, to which we have listened very carefully today, and the Department of Provincial and Local Government. Also, we must not leave Labour behind, because the workers, who Mr Ellis says are moving overseas to be comfortable, need to be taken on board in the consultation process, which is exactly what the ANC Government is doing.
Bring the workers on board so that they know what is going to happen, because when it comes to labour, the same people who are saying the nurses are moving away in droves are actually against the labour movement. We do not understand that because they are actually creating confusion among those people outside. [Applause.] I think we need to give clear examples of how the district councils work. I will give two examples from the Eastern Cape, the first from a rural setting, the Fort Beaufort district council, where Mrs Nyaba is the district manager. This district council has shown clearly that if one commits and makes the community participate, one will have a 90% success rate. The cure rate is high, the interaction rate is low, so the involvement of our community has changed the TB situation in that area. So community participation is the key. [Interjections.]
If one takes the new Nelson Mandela metropole in Port Elizabeth, which has been the first municipality to adopt an intersectoral approach to the formation of local Aids councils, one sees that municipality is moving, because we have taken the situation back to the people. The Department of Education in that area is moving, because the people participate. I think we must say to this Government and the Minister of Health that what they are doing is right. In Xhosa we say …
Imoto engahambiyo ichanyelwa zizinja ukuze ehambayo ikhonkothwe zizinja. [People will throw stones at an active person, while they do not care at all if one is idle.] [Applause.]
Dr S J GOUS: Madam Speaker, today I would like to address the problems facing health care workers in South Africa and, more particularly, the problems facing doctors - those are both white and black doctors.
Any student interested in studying medicine has to pass a rigorous selection process. In fact, it is so rigorous and competitive that we know of cases where students with six distinctions in matric have not been accepted. If selected, they go through a demanding six-year course of full- time study and this is followed by one year of internship, followed by another year of compulsory community service. After completing all of this, they have a choice of either working at a state hospital or going into private practice, or perhaps specialising.
The fourth option, of course, is to leave the country. We will discuss that a bit later. Let us examine the circumstances in a state hospital. In any state hospital it is more often than not true that they will be faced by a tremendous workload. To put it bluntly, they will be overworked and underpaid. They will also have to cope with the very low morale of health workers in general, and more specifically the nursing staff. In this regard I must say that the nursing staff have all my sympathy, for whatever goes wrong in a hospital, it is always the nurses’ problem. Whether it be the air-conditioner or the lost file, the nurses always have to explain.
They are also required to work a certain amount of overtime, which certainly falls outside the Labour Relations Act, and they have no recourse to strike or industrial action. They are confronted by a lack of, or seriously defective, equipment. In most cases their problems are compounded by a serious lack of senior oversight, for most senior posts are unfilled or frozen.
In many areas several hospitals have been closed, which led to a significant increase in patient load in the hospitals that are left over. In some instances, a hospital has to do the work of three hospitals and that with an already depleted staff. Add to this the load of accidents, especially motor vehicle accidents, trauma, specifically bullet wounds, and lastly, but definitely not least, HIV/Aids. In fact, 50% of all admissions to medical wards and 80% of all admissions to paediatric wards are Aids- related.
Hospitals that have for many years delivered services in certain disciplines, for instance orthopaedics, have had to close these units, and patients have to be ferried between hospitals by ambulance. When one examines the hospital budget, it is clear that provincial governments expect hospitals to downgrade in the face of an increase in demand. The only possible outcome of this scenario could be a reduction in the quality of service, which is exactly what we are experiencing. The option of doing private work has also been seriously curtailed.
The second option is to go into private practice. The doctor is now faced with the very expensive prospect of setting up consulting rooms. He has to look at expensive equipment, furniture, telephone and staff, of which the minimum would be a receptionist, a professional nurse and a bookkeeper. He must also consider computers and IT programs and, lastly, he must not forget to pay his medical malpractice insurance. In certain disciplines, this can be cripplingly expensive.
But let us assume that he has safely negotiated all these pitfalls and is now ready to work. He will very soon find out that he is at the mercy of medical schemes, of which there are well over a hundred in this country. He will find that he is responsible for all the administation on the medical scheme’s behalf to deliver a successful account, remembering that every single scheme wants an account delivered in a very specific and peculiar manner. He now starts waiting for his money, but all he receives is mostly excuses why he has not been paid, that is, if the medical aid scheme bothers to communicate with him at all, as their contract is with the patient and not with the doctor.
There must be at least a hundred reasons why medical schemes do not pay service providers. It ranges from: The patient’s ID was wrong; his date of birth was wrong; the date of service was wrong; the code of the treatment was wrong; the diagnosis was wrong; the patient is no longer on the medical aid; to the patient has run out of funds or the claim is too late. And so it carries on. The bottom line is: For at least 30% of the work that he has done, he will never get paid.
Every so often the doctor must write lengthy letters at his own expense, motivating why certain obvious treatments were necessary. If he dares to charge the patient more than the so-called scale of benefits, the blackmail kicks in that the medical scheme will directly pay the patient. In those instances the doctor hardly ever sees any of the money, as the patient normally spends it long before he realises he should have paid the doctor.
Patients seem to believe that, as long as they are on a medical scheme, they have absolutely no obligation towards the doctor. After receiving some of the payment, he realises with a shock that he still has to pay VAT of 14%, and at the end of the financial year, he also has to pay some tax. He also finds out that the Road Accident Fund only pays after very long delays, if at all. This lesson, however, is soon learnt and he then totally shies away from doing any Road Accident Fund work.
He will very soon be faced with a subpoena for something that he has allegedly done wrong. Complaints against health workers seem to be an ever- increasing phenomenon. In the meantime, he has to keep himself up to date with continued medical education, also known as continued professional development. He will be horrified when he starts calculating what the congresses cost and what every CME point costs him.
In the very near future his right to dispense will also be curtailed, even if he runs a practice on the so-called package deal principle, where he basically gives the medicine away for free. He shall have to do a course in dispensing, have his premises inspected and apply for a certificate of need. This certificate of need is of course based on a political decision and he might even find that a few rand under the table will increase his need considerably. The bottom line is that the poorer patient will suffer even more, as they now have to pay the chemist the cost of the medicine plus R25 per item for the professional dispensing fee. This will more than double the cost of a visit to the private practitioner for a poor private patient without a medical scheme.
The doctor will also very soon find out that criminals view doctors as soft targets. He will be threatened, robbed, exposed to burglaries, hijacks, and, in the worst cases, even murder. With a shock he will find out that there is absolutely no comparison between what he is getting paid in South Africa and what he could be earning overseas. It is therefore not strange that more than a third of the doctors currently doing their community service have indicated that they are going to leave the country after completion of their community service. Many well-established medical practices are finding it difficult to survive financially. They are also considering leaving the country.
After what I have told members, it must be very clear that there is a third option, and that is to leave the country. It is becoming more and more attractive by the day. Why do we therefore find it strange that doctors are leaving the country? After what I have told the House, the reasons must be pretty obvious and clear.
It is up to this Government to rectify some of these anomalies and once again make practising medicine as a health worker in South Africa more attractive. If the Government fails to address these issues, I am afraid, the brain drain of our doctors will increase at an ever-increasing pace, to the detriment of the country as a whole. [Applause.]
Ms S K MNUMZANA: Madam Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon members and ladies and gentlemen, I have been tasked to talk about mental health. Mental health refers to the total wellbeing of an individual, which incorporates physical and psychological health as well as social functioning. To provide a comprehensive service, it is critical to provide elements that enable community members to maintain health stability, to improve their productivity and maximise their potential.
Mental health problems are rated as the single largest health problem, probably bigger than Aids and TB. Yet mental health is a very underresourced area of care. Where services exist, they are in most areas inaccessible, inappropriate and not comprehensive. According to the World Health Organisation all people are susceptible to mental illness during their life cycle, hence it is necessary for our country to provide support systems to prevent mental illness and therapeutic interventions that are appropriate within the cultural model.
Ke rata hore nke ke ikgopotse tsa ha ke ntse ke etla ke hola. Ho na le sepetlele seo ho neng ho thwe ke sa mahlanya, Bloemfontein, se bitswang Orange Hospital. Ke hopola hantle hore sepetlele sena se ne se eme ka thoko ho motse, mme ka mehla ha motho a ne a eya teng, o ne a tshaba ho kena ka hare ho sepetlele, hobane batho ba teng ho ne ho thwe ba a hlanya, mme mahlanya re ne re tseba e le batho ba betsang batho. Re ne re tseba e le batho ba bolayang batho.
Empa, hoo ho fetohile, mehleng ya kajeno. Le bomme ba bang ba ne ba iswa sepetlele sa bohlanya ke pelehi, mme ba ne ba bonwa e le mahlanya ka hara setjhaba. Ba bang, nakong eo, ba shweletse ka hara sepetlele sa Orange hobane ba ne ba sa batlahale ka hara setjhaba. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[I would like to recall some things from the days when I was still growing up. There was a hospital which was seen as a hospital for mad people, in Bloemfontein, the Orange Hospital. I remember well, this hospital was on the outskirts of town, and whenever people had to go there they were afraid to enter the hospital yard, because the patients there were said to be mad, and we knew mad people as people who attacked other people. We knew them as people who killed other people.
However, all that has changed these days. Some women were also taken to the mental hospital with pregnancy problems, and they were seen as mad people by the community. Others died in the Orange Hospital because they were not wanted by the community.]
Women suffer from mental health problems which result from domestic and sexual violence, stress resulting from domestic and sexual violence, stress associated with taking care of children, and the burden of unpaid labour and second-class status in wage labour. In most societies, women appear to suffer more from depression than men, especially those without support. This awareness must be integrated into conceptualisation and implementation of development programmes in all sectors and regions.
The dual objectives of integrating mental health care into general health care and shifting many people from hospital to community care, which have been pursued over the past few years, are to be continued. The policy has met with mixed success. In some general hospitals and districts, mental health is being provided as part of general health care, while in other areas there are difficulties in changing to the new approach. Significant movements have been made with respect to victim empowerment. Violence surveillance has produced excellent results and will be expanded. Pilot programmes on violence prevention and parent-child bonding both produced important lessons which will be utilised as those projects are expanded. This interventive strategy results in emotional stability, which boosts mental wellbeing.
Let us touch on a few points regarding the transformation of mental health. In the past, mental health promotion and services have been neglected. Services have been fragmented and ill equipped, leaving them unable to intervene effectively. Authors have stated in the South African Health Review that these services were delivered within a framework characterised by racial discrimination, paternalism and institutionalisation, together with ineffectiveness and inappropriateness of services. These services were largely also unavailable to the majority of the population, especially people living in rural areas.
The 1997 White Paper of the Department of Health addressed this issue and laid the foundation for a comprehensive and community-based approach to mental health. This policy also promotes intersectoral liaising and co- ordination of services at national, provincial, district and community levels.
The Mental Health Care Bill, which should be approved by the Cabinet before the end of 2001, seeks to address problems highlighted in the presentation. It will replace the Mental Health Act, Act 18 of 1973. The focus of this legislative framework is to make mental health services accessible to all South Africans, to create the environment for treatment and to promote intersectoral collaboration and community empowerment.
In conclusion, I would like to say the ANC supports our constitutional approach which says that health is a right and therefore, as mental health has been a cinderella, the ANC realised that the need for quality mental health care included rural and disadvantaged areas.
The ANC’s approach accommodates holistic models of care, hence there are currently preventative and promotive programmes, but for sufferers curative and rehabilitative health support is available, with consideration of human rights as highlighted in the Patients’ Rights Charter within the ambit of Batho Pele principles. To prove that the ANC is responsive, the WHO Mental Health Day was celebrated at the Union Buildings on 7 April 2001. This year has been marked as a Mental Health Year, as the hon the Minister has already stated.
Ha ke dihela dikgala, bahaeso, ke rata ho qoholla seo Mopresidente Thabo Mbeki a se buileng, puong ya hae Pehelong ya Pherekgong, ha a ne a bua ka mokgwa ona:
Ka hoo, ho bohlokwa ho setjhaba ho sebeletsa le ho sebetsa mmoho le Mmuso, hore batho ba rona ba mahaeng ba rupellwe ka tlhokomelo ya lapeng, e leng home based care, hore batho ba tsebe ho amohela bakudi bana ba tswang ka hara dipetlele tsa mahlanya, hobane ha se bohle ba leng kotsi ka hare ho setjhaba. Hoo ho tla thusa Mmuso ho fokotsa ditjeho.
ANC e tshehetsa Kabo ena. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[In conclusion, comrades, I would like to quote President Thabo Mbeki in his speech, in the January Statement, when he said:
The work done by our branches and members on the issue of Aids, and which must continue, has highlighted the importance of the question of the health of the masses of people and this must continue.
Therefore, it is important for the community to work for and together with the Government, so that our people in the rural areas can be taught about home-based care, so that people can welcome these sick people from mental hospitals, because it is not all of them who are dangerous to the community. This would help Government with the costs.
The ANC supports this Vote.]
Ms C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, I recently heard a story about certain politicians who prided themselves on the health and wellbeing of their citizens. One day they decided that the water keeper who looked after the water supply of the city way up the mountain as its source was dispensable. They reasoned that because they never saw him and were not sure if he actually did anything, they did not need him. They therefore decreed that he was no longer to be acknowledged as the keeper of the water and thereby stopped him from doing what he usually did, which was to ensure that the water supply was not blocked or contaminated en route down the mountain to the city.
For a short while, nothing changed. But soon the water became more and more polluted, carrying diseases and destruction to the city. The politicians debated many possible solutions. They poured chemicals into the water and attempted to treat the many ailments of the people. This helped to some degree but the problem could not be solved. One man kept insisting that if the water keeper were put back in his rightful place, the problem would be solved. There was no way they would even consider listening to the words of this foolish prophet and they showed their irritation. This solution was of course too simplistic for such proud politicians who were so wise in their own eyes.
I want to inform the hon the Minister that it is her and my Father who say if we listen carefully to the word of the Lord our God and do what is right in His eyes, if we pay careful attention to His commands and decrees, He will not bring disease on us. He says: ``I am the Lord your Healer.’’
The Minister can work herself to the bone - I am sure she does - and can consult every authority - again, I am sure she does - yet which one of us can stop HIV/Aids, cholera, foot-and-mouth, malaria or any other plague if God says differently? Democratic Alliance MEC Nic Koornhof is quoted in the media as saying, ``Where HIV is in our schools, you need to have the best preventative tool available, and that’s condoms.’’ It is glaringly obvious that the war against HIV/Aids will only be won by a dramatic change in sexual behaviour. Promoting condoms as the answer to the epidemic is a blatant misrepresentation which has obscured the facts.
Statistics reveal that there are almost 15 failures per 100 sexual acts protected by condoms, and yet we are expected to believe that the HI virus, which is 450 times smaller than a sperm, can be magically blocked by a condom. Researchers confirm that the publicity given to the condom has in fact led to riskier sexual behaviour because of a false sense of security. The only real prevention of Aids, which politicians believe too lofty a goal for South Africans to achieve, is sexual abstinence before marriage and faithfulness in marriage.
The hon the Minister should remember that our God promises to heal our land, if we pray and turn from our wicked ways. He is a loving and forgiving God, and will forgive this nation our sins - even the sin of legalised abortion - if we turn and repent. To date we, as a nation who voted for a Constitution which allowed for the callous murder of our unborn children, and voted for politicians who we know supported the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Bill, have the blood of more than 150 000 unborn babies on our hands. For this, we will face the wrath of God who created each and every tiny baby in every detail with a specific plan and purpose for their life.
Dear God, have mercy on us! Until this Government has the courage to admit its errors, stops spending money on condoms and human slaughterhouses, and puts in place policies which promote life and not death in South Africa, the ACDP has no option but to vote against the Health budget. [Applause.]
Mrs N B GXOWA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon members, I am not going to start a debate on termination of pregnancy. We have passed that chapter and we have forgotten about it. We have saved thousands and thousands of women from backstreet abortions. [Applause.]
The ANC-led Government continues to shift resources to build up our new society. This shift of resources remains an important vehicle for achieving equity.
In our townships and informal settlements our people still know only rain, whilst a privileged few enjoy sunshine. Recently, Dr Melanie Kraisin, a clinical psychologist, experienced the rain first-hand when she visited the Katorus informal settlement on the East Rand. Dr Melanie went into one of the shacks, a home to a mother dying of Aids and her two young children. She came out with tears streaming down her face. Why the tears? The bedridden woman was asked if she could go to a clinic, if medicines were available, and her reply was: ``Please, give me some food! Just a piece of bread!’’ That is what she wanted.
In a letter to me, Dr Melanie goes on to say:
I, too, am guilty of criticising President Mbeki and Minister Tshabalala- Msimang for their stance on poverty and Aids. But no more. How can I, coming from a middle-class suburban home, really understand poverty, the abject misery that taints the lives of so many, a mere twenty minutes away from my home where it is considered a tragedy if one of my children spills Milo on the carpet?
Poverty is the single biggest cause of ill health, and no number of clinics, doctors or nurses can compensate for its effects on people’s lives. The current redistributive strategy, which is also intersectoral in its approach, is correct. But we have a long way to go.
A few areas that require more attention are the following. Firstly, environmental issues deserve pre-eminence in our planning of programmes and projects, especially when planning for environments of the poor. These issues also tend to significantly increase the workload of women. Secondly, water and sanitation in both rural and urban areas remain a concern, as badly provided and maintained sanitation systems could create more of a health hazard. Thirdly, waste removal systems in underserved areas are inadequate, causing environmental degradation. Lastly, waste landfills are generally situated very close to marginalised communities, creating health risks.
Last year we read about numerous incidents in the Western Cape and Gauteng where medical waste became a major health threat, especially to children. We need urgent guidelines for the management of chemicals and health care waste. The initiatives by the Departments of Health and Environmental Affairs which identified how waste should be managed are welcomed.
The ANC-led Government has introduced a bold plan to discourage tobacco use through public education, support for smoking cessation programmes and legislation. Steep tax increases have reduced cigarette consumption, and increased Government excise revenues. The Department of Health must be congratulated for these efforts.
New data has shown that smoking causes death from TB, as well as from lung cancer. Smoking increases the risk of dying from TB by 60%. These findings are worrying and we, as public representatives, should make every effort to discourage smoking in our environment.
I have kept a subject that is very dear to my heart for last. That is the issue of home-based care. The impact of the HIV/Aids epidemic on health services, families and communities is emerging at a rapid, head-spinning pace. Home-based care has become a national policy priority - men and women in our communities, who are working tirelessly and without remuneration, must be saluted for their dedication and commitment.
As an active participant in the church and women’s organisations, I have gained first-hand knowledge of the magnitude of the crisis we face and the challenges ahead. A feature of the home-based care projects in my area is the high turnover that NGOs and organisations face because it is difficult to get people to commit themselves without any incentives. But we can initiate nonfinancial incentives through creating a sense of belonging, a supportive working environment, training to gain skills and so on.
I have also come to see how important the development of partnerships with service and care agencies are to the success of home-based programmes. Intersectoral relationships such as those between clinics, hospitals and welfare agencies are critical to facilitate easier admissions to hospitals, access to prescriptions and medications, and the provision of food parcels, transport and other services to the ill. Unfortunately there has been a lack of standardisation regarding the training and the quality of services. This is an area that I believe the department is working on. This is the perfect opportunity for us to mobilise support and activism in our communities - to deal not only with the scourge of HIV/Aids but with the broader issues related to poverty.
I have come across many old and sickly people who have no family for support and no food. They are just lying in their homes waiting to die. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr C P MULDER: Mevrou die Speaker, om ‘n volledige gesondheidstelsel en ‘n infrastruktuur in ‘n ontwikkelende land te vestig, is baie moeilik. Kyk maar na die vlak van gesondheidsdienste in Afrikalande om hierdie probleem te kan verstaan. Om so ‘n gesondheidstelsel te vestig terwyl ‘n mens in die middel van ‘n pandemie van Vigs is, soos by ons, is bykans onmoontlik. Dit is die taak van hierdie departement en van hierdie Minister.
Amper 75% van alle mense in die wêreld met Vigs woon in Afrika. Die siekte het reeds 12 miljoen kinders in Afrika wees gelaat. Dit is nie net ‘n siekte van swartmense soos baie mense glo nie. Suid-Afrikaanse blankes het ‘n 20 maal hoër besmettingskoers as enige ander blanke groep in die wêreld. Dertien persent van Suid-Afrika se arbeidsmag is byvoorbeeld MIV-positief. So kan ek voortgaan met syfer na syfer.
Ek het nie tyd om die argumente van President Mbeki oor Vigs en armoede volledig te argumenteer nie. Ek sou graag wou. Ek dink dat dit algemeen aanvaar word dat daardie debat groot verwarring veroorsaak het, en baie van die departement se veldtogte baie minder effektief gemaak het. Ek hoop ons het daardie verwarrende uitspraak oor die oorsake van Vigs nou permanent agter ons gelaat sodat ons die saak kan aanpak.
‘n Tweede punt is dat prof Rachel Gumbi, ‘n direkteur in die Departement van Gesondheid, sê die Universiteit van die Vrystaat en die Universiteit van Stellenbosch, met hul Afrikaanse taalbeleid, swart studente mediese opleiding ontsê. Haar feite is verkeerd. Ek ken albei hierdie universiteite. By die Vrystaatse Universiteit word die volledige mediese kursus byvoorbeeld ook in Engels aangebied.
As dit oor taal gaan, is haar argument nie logies nie. Hierdie selfde departement stuur mediese studente na Kuba. Die arme studente moet daar in Spaans studeer om medies te kan vorder. Hiermee het die departement geen probleme nie, wél met Afrikaans. Is die direkteur se uitlatings dan nie net bedoel eintlik om ‘n aanslag teen Afrikaans te wees nie, of waaroor gaan dit?
Ek nooi haar uit om saam met my hierdie universiteite te gaan besoek om te sien hoeveel moeite, tot Afrikaans se nadeel sover dit my betref, by hulle gedoen word om studente opleiding in Engels te gee. Waarom sit ons nie bietjie druk op die Universiteit van Kaapstad om meer moeite te doen om sy mediese fakulteit toeganklik vir Afrikaanse studente te maak nie, siende dat die Universiteit van Kaapstad in ‘n provinsie geleë is waar 62% van die mense Afrikaans praat? (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Madam Speaker, to establish a complete health care system and infrastructure in a developing country is extremely difficult. One just has to look at the level of health services in African countries to understand this problem. Establishing such a health care system while one is in the throes of the Aids pandemic, as is the case here, is virtually impossible. This is the task of this department and of this Minister.
Almost 75% of all people in the world suffering from Aids live in Africa. The disease has already orphaned 12 million children in Africa. It is not a disease that only black people suffer from, as many people believe. South African whites have a 20% higher infection rate than any other white group in the world. Thirteen per cent of South Africa’s labour force is HIV positive, for example. I can continue to mention figure after figure in this regard.
I do not have the time fully to debate President Mbeki’s arguments concerning Aids and poverty. I would have liked to do so. I think it is generally accepted that that debate caused large-scale confusion, and rendered many of the department’s campaigns far less effective. I hope that we have permanently left behind that confusing statement in respect of the causes of Aids so that we can tackle the matter.
A second point is that Prof Rachel Gumbi, a director in the Department of Health, says that the University of the Free State and the University of Stellenbosch, with their Afrikaans language policy, are denying black students medical training. Her facts are incorrect. I know both these universities. At the University of the Free State the entire medical course, for example, is also presented in English.
If this concerns language, then her argument is illogical. This very same department sends medical students to Cuba. There the poor students have to study in Spanish to make progress in medicine. The department has no problems with this, but they do with Afrikaans. Are the director’s statements actually intended as an onslaught against Afrikaans, or what is this about?
I invite her to visit these universities with me to see how much trouble they are going to, to the detriment of Afrikaans in my view, in order to train students in English. Why do we not exert more pressure on the University of Cape Town to make its medical faculty accessible to Afrikaans students, since that the University of Cape Town is situated in a province in which 62% of the people speak Afrikaans?]
Dr M S MOGOBA: Madam Speaker, this debate could not have come at a more appropriate time than the present.
In previous Health Vote debates we got ourselves entangled in academic debates about the causes of HIV/Aids. Now HIV/Aids is hitting us. It is hitting the African states and the Third World countries with a vengeance. It is estimated that 15 million people have died of HIV/Aids in Africa, and about 3 million are infected with the disease in South Africa.
Nkosi Johnson bravely put a face to HIV/Aids, and his death has vividly depicted our pathetic and helpless situation. How can we go to sleep at night when the flowers of our nation are being wiped off the face of the earth?
Looking back, it is totally inconceivable that we could have wasted so much of our precious and valuable time arguing about Aids. Last week, the Portfolio Committee on Health visited some clinics in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha. There we saw large numbers of people suffering from mostly curable and preventable diseases. My heart sank. Elsewhere in South Africa and in the world, particularly in the rich northern hemisphere, such situations do not and cannot obtain.
However, in this sea of gloom was an island of hope, the HIV/Aids clinic.
Mother-to-child transmission is being tackled head-on, and Aids victims
receive loving care. The cry and appeal from workers was simple: Give us
more money and help so that more people can be reached''. We must get our
priorities on spending right. The saying that goesThe rich must live
more simply so that the poor can simply live’’, bears repetition.
I want to commend, as I did in an earlier debate, the department for winning the case for cheaper drugs. It is a real shame that the cost of living is high, the cost of health is high and the cost of dying is also very high.
I also wish to commend the department for helping to contain the cholera
epidemic, which is another affliction upon the poor, and another curable
and preventable ailment. The use of chlorine and Jik saved our nation. One
person said, rather cryptically, Jik stands for Jesus is King'', which is
a clear reference to the power of God to purify all impurities in our
society.
We need to teach our people that they can look after themselves and survive
most afflictions. Churches, of which I am part, must stop teaching people
that when they die of preventable diseases, or even die at the hands of a
wicked murderer,it is the will of God’’. The will of God is demonstrated
when people have life and have it in abundance.
This is what this debate is about - to devise ways and means of bringing a fuller and better life to all our people.
Mrs M M MALUMISE: Madam Speaker, indeed, Jesus is King. [Laughter.] This budget shows the commitment of the ANC to honouring its pledges and bringing about economic empowerment and social development for all South Africans.
Today, I want to examine issues related to TB and infectious diseases like malaria. Despite sustained progress, since the formulation of the new policy guidelines in 1996, TB remains a major public health threat in South Africa, and this does not exclude the Western Cape. [Applause.]
The effects of the rapidly spreading HIV epidemic further compounds the prominence of the TB epidemic and the proportion of TB patients co-infected with HIV is increasing. We must speed up the integrated management of these two epidemics in the Western Cape. [Interjections.] The promotion of voluntary counselling and testing for HIV and TB at treatment centres, the provision of materials for advocacy and health education for TB, HIV and Aids, and the development of training and management guidelines for dually infected patients will go a long way towards achieving this goal.
Since the introduction of the combination of anti-TB drugs in 1999, there is increased adherence to treatment and reduction in the drug-resistant TB. But we must further the progress already made in delivering directly observed supervised treatment to TB patients, particularly within the context of community-based care. Improvements in the computerised recording systems will further assist in more accurate documentation of the TB burden and consequently lead to targeted interventions and increased budgets.
The Department of Health’s efforts to contain the epidemic in the country over the past five years have been notable, but there are areas that still require sustained attention. A further increase in the provision of the Directly Observed Treatment System for TB patients and the development of accurate methods to monitor this should be undertaken.
The Directly Observed Treatment System, Dots, should be fully functional at primary health care and community level. This should be evident from improved cure rates if management of dually infected HIV and TB patients are to be effected.
Basebeletsi, Ellis, ba tsa bophelo bo botle, le ba bang ba lefapha leo mmoho le makgotla a setjhaba, ba lokela ho ruta setjhaba, ho lokisetsa le ho buella katoloso ya tshebeletso e hlokometsweng ho tswa setjhabeng, ya phekolo ya TB. Ha ho se jwalo, ho tla ba le bothata ba ho kenya tshebeletsong tlhokomelo ya TB, HIV le Aids setjhabeng. E tla bonahala e le e nngwe ya morwalo o behwang mahetleng a baithaopi ba setjhaba, ba sa putswe. (Translation of Sesotho paragraph follows.)
[Ellis, the health care workers and others in that department, as well as the community organisations, have to teach communities to prepare for and support the expansion of community care services, in the cure of TB. If this does not happen, there will be a problem with the inception of care for TB, HIV and Aids sufferers in the community. It will be seen as one of the burdens placed on the shoulders of community volunteers, without their being paid.]
Mr M J ELLIS: It is nonsense.
Mrs M M MALUMISE: It is true. The hon member did not understand what I was saying. [Interjections.]
Experience is showing us that even on a global scale TB does not attract as much attention and sociopolitical mileage as HIV. That is why the opposition never talks about it. It is not sexy enough or headline- grabbing. It is no good.
Linking the management of TB and HIV can go a long way towards channelling funds to efforts aimed at combating TB. Regional partnerships should be encouraged to strengthen cross-border support in combating the dual epidemic as well as the standardisation of control strategies. We are talking here about boundaries such as those between South Africa and Mozambique and Swaziland. [Interjections.]
We are seeing increased multidrug-resistant TB, which is expensive to treat. Every effort must be made to ensure improved compliance with anti-TB … [Interjections.] … Will the hon Ellis shut up and listen to what I am saying? Every effort must be made to ensure improved compliance with anti- tuberculosis medication, through effective patient treatment support systems and the provision of combination drugs.
One of the issues that the committee discussed during the hearings was the role of Santa and its role in the future. We are aware of the difficulties that have beset the organisation. [Interjections.] We welcome the review of Santa and we hope that the Minister will act upon the recommendations of the review.
Last year was a watershed year in terms of recognising the serious effect malaria has on African economies and communities. Last year the Abuja Declaration on Roll Back Malaria in Africa was initiated by African leaders. Malaria is becoming a barrier to development and the alleviation of poverty in Africa.
South Africa is unfortunately not exempted from the potential ravages of malaria, which affects three northeastern provinces, ie KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and the Northern Province that are particularly vulnerable. There is no single formula for malaria control in this country. There are provincial differences in both the management and control of research priorities in order to suit local conditions at provincial level.
Efforts to overcome the escalating problem have involved a wide range of activities. To keep pace with drug efficacy, drug policy has been updated repeatedly. I want to tell Mr Modisenyane that insecticide usage has been changed recently in an attempt to eliminate the dangerous malaria vector ``funestus’’. The wider implementation of insecticide-treated bednets is under discussion. A major regional effort, the Limpopo Special Development Initiative, is under way and better malaria reporting and information systems have been introduced.
Analysis of malaria trends indicate a spread to lower-risk areas, but there is no reason to believe that malaria cannot again be controlled by the effective use of appropriate insecticides and effective drugs. Although aspects of malaria control have been decentralised to the district level, for example diagnosis and case management, there is a need to retain a core of well-trained and experienced malaria control experts at both provincial and national levels.
I want to urge the Minister and the MECs of affected provinces to pay further attention to the continuous monitoring and evaluation of the malaria vector control programme and its efficacy, encourage the ongoing surveillance network to monitor both drug and insecticide resistance for evidence-based decision-making policy, invest resources into the effects of malaria on the development of communities, the business industry and tourism, and to increase capacity development at both national and provincial levels.
The ANC has taken the lead in introducing programmes which have brought real improvement to the lives of ordinary people. We can be proud of our record of the past five years. We support this budget. [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker and Minister, the main aim of the Department of Health is to promote the health of all people of South Africa through a caring and effective national health system, based on the primary health care approach which is also in keeping with the White Paper on the transformation of the health system.
The MF finds it commendable that the department hopes to implement the aforementioned activities through three organisational programmes, namely administration, strategic health programmes, and external and priority service delivery health programmes. [Interjections.]
In contradiction to the sharp increase of the budget for health for 1998- 99, the MF is not content with the 2000-01 decreased allocation to the budget. However, it has been agreed that the negative real growth in the budget can be partly ascribed to the completion of some construction projects such as the Nkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban and the Nelson Mandela Hospital in Umtata.
The MF compliments the Department of Health on its substantial progress in the establishment of the National Health Laboratory Service, the national plan framework, several developments in HIV and Aids strategic planning, as well as developments in human resource initiatives.
However, a significant decrease has been seen in the amount allocated to the district health system. There is a need for issues to be clarified in terms of how the recent local government demarcation could affect interim health districts and presumably impact on service delivery, and the overall outcomes of the subprogramme still need to be clarified.
The MF believes that it is important for effective communication to occur between the Department of Health, provincial and local government as well as the Demarcation Board in order to define and, where necessary, integrate pragmatic functions. The MF welcomes the significant increase for the international health liaison which forms part of the strategic health programme.
However, there has been an insufficient increase in the amount allocated especially to SADC activities in the 2001-2002 budget. Therefore, the MF finds it necessary to ascertain which specific programmes will be implemented and to enquire whether adequate provision has been made to cover expenditure for all activities planned by the department.
The MF is not content with the significant decrease, from R693 777 million in 2000-2001 to R614 177 million this year, in the nutrition programme, which includes the primary school nutrition programme and income-generating programme financed by the poverty relief allocation.
Research has indicated that the poverty-stricken are more prone to health risks such as TB, HIV and Aids. They also suffer respiratory infections associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution caused by domestic use of coal and wood for cooking and heat. On the other hand, the MF compliments the Government on the much-needed allocation increase in the budget towards the HIV/Aids and tuberculosis programmes.
The MF recommends increasing the funds allocated to the pharmaceutical policy and planning subprogrammes so as to ensure that essential drugs are available. The MF also compliments the Government on intending to give the provinces permission to administer the drug nevirapine to HIV-positive pregnant women to prevent them from passing on the virus to the babies. The MF supports the Budget Vote for Health. [Applause.]
Mrs S V KALYAN: Madam Speaker, hon members, in 1999 the Department of Health’s strategic framework identified a decrease in the incidence of HIV/Aids as one of its key focus areas. [Interjections.] Sadly, it has failed in this area. Prevention programmes have not had the impact that were both hoped for and expected. This fact is borne out by the rate of new infections, which is now estimated to be 2 000 per day compared to 500 ten years ago. Millions of rands allocated to HIV/Aids in this country remain unspent and it seems that the Government is not doing everything in its power to help people currently affected or infected by the deadly virus.
During a debate held in the Cape legislature on 24 April this year, it emerged that R31,9 million of the national HIV/Aids allocation for 2000-01 was unspent. The Department of Health was given until early May to say how it planned to spend it. Needless to say, details are not forthcoming. Despite the Government’s recent hollow victory over the pharmaceutical industry, and promises made at the Aids 2000 conference, South Africa’s 4,7 million people living with HIV/Aids are not any closer to getting access to antiretroviral drugs which could suppress replication of the virus.
Last year, 250 000 South Africans died of Aids-related diseases. While it was difficult for earlier predictions to capture the immense tragedy that is unfolding, the human and social costs are most starkly illuminated in the lives of millions of orphans left behind as a result of the epidemic. It is estimated to date that approximately 150 000 children have been orphaned as a direct result of the Aids pandemic. By 2005, some 1 million children under the age of 15 will have lost at least one parent to the disease and, by 2010, the number of Aids orphans will have increased to 2 million.
While the prospects for any orphaned child are not good at the best of times, they look much worse when viewed in the context of the Aids epidemic. The Government says that it is committed to fighting Aids through education. Now while education may be seen to be one of the keys to successful development, the Aids pandemic has the potential to adversely affect the education sector in the sense that households with an infected adult are less likely to educate their children because labour may be required at home or because the household can no longer afford to carry any of the costs of education such as those for fees, uniforms or books. Simultaneously, the ability to supply education may be impaired.
Recent figures released by Sadtu put infection among active teachers at one in 10. The reality is that the Department of Health has a limited capacity to deal with this epidemic. The Minister must evaluate her poor track record in contending with the epidemic. An analysis shows that there is no coherent, comprehensive strategy. The DA would like the Minister to consider her failures in respect of the epidemic. Instead of playing games with people’s lives, she must set up an Aids commission, headed by the Deputy Minister, whose sole focus would be handling the pandemic. [Interjections.] The solution to confront the pandemic is to base it on the hypothesis that HIV/Aids is here to stay and we should treat it as if we were at war.
The DA has been proactive in its response to the pandemic. We recently held an intersectoral seminar at which our policy on HIV/Aids was presented. Furthermore a proposal to establish an Aids desk for members and staff of Parliament has been launched with the Secretary to Parliament. We have had a self-righteous proclamation by the hon Mbulawa, to loud applause, about how she knows first-hand about life in the rural areas. What she failed to tell the House is that she practised her profession as a doctor in an urban area. [Interjections.] No doubt some hon member will follow me shortly and make jokes at the expense of the opposition parties and, as is typical, ANC MPs will clap their hands and jump up and down. In reality the Government’s track record is no laughing matter.
In conclusion, South Africa has been standing still at the crossroads for far too long. Aids is the biggest threat to development and peace in South Africa. Choices made now will reverberate for generations to come. The DA calls on the Government to stop using the pandemic as a political football. [Applause.]
Ms A N LUTHULI: Madam Speaker, hon members, I do not know where the DP get their statistics. [Interjections.] We are faced here with a disease, HIV/Aids, in which many issues are at play, such as organisms, socioeconomic conditions, including poverty and education, and, in general, the living conditions of an individual.
Women are a major casualty in HIV/Aids progression and the reasons are poor education and the anatomy of a woman, which is open and prone to cervical tears and abrasions. If a woman has an STD, it is harder to diagnose this disease than it is to do so in men, and therefore treatment may be too late. Also women are marginalised in terms of their education and nutrition and some end up as sex workers, making them even more vulnerable.
I want to applaud the department for the measures they have put in place to protect sex workers and their initiatives on trucking routes. I want to encourage NGOs such as Sweat, which has been actively working with sex workers, providing counselling, education, condoms and so on. We know that blacks are more affected by this disease, for the same reasons I have mentioned in respect of women. But we also know that blacks were deprived in the past, and it is that same sector which deprived them which says blacks are affected more not because of poverty and deprivation, but because they are promiscuous. This is a shame. [Applause.]
Allow me to briefly discuss the progress of the disease. In 1992 under 1% of antenatal cases were HIV-positive, and the epidemic took hold first in KwaZulu-Natal. Half of Central Africa and Southern Africa export via Durban, so South Africa is a victim of its own economic success on the continent, providing faster paths for spreading the virus through very good ports and trade routes. Now, in 2001, about 5 million South Africans are HIV-positive. That is about 11% of the population, with the peak age group being 25 to 35 years. These are married people. As far as the youth are concerned, there has been a significant drop in the age group 15 to 19 years since the inception of the disease. The drop is about 0,4%. They did not mention that. However, in the 19 to 25 age group there is an increase. These are married people. Women need to be empowered in marriage so that they are able to negotiate condom usage with their husbands and partners and, really, the terms of all matters concerning sex.
We hope that research into the usage of vaginal microbiocides can help our women. Also we need more research into a female condom that is acceptable to women. I must tell the Minister that the women’s condom that exists at the moment is atrocious, to say the least. We have about 200 000 Aids orphans. South Africa has reached the phase where HIV-positivity is peaking. We are moving into the next phase, which is the Aids and death epidemic. What must we do?
If 11% of the population is HIV-positive, it means that 89% is negative and, therefore, prevention is still our biggest opportunity. We must continue to strengthen our prevention strategies, such as the ABC. Condoms must be easily available in all strategic places and sex education from primary school, before teenagers are sexually active, must be in place.
We must applaud this Government for having introduced sex education in our schools. Still on prevention, there is the issue of maternal foetal transmission, where several measures can be used, for example, the termination of pregnancy in the first trimester; the use of anti- retrovirals, AZT and nevirapine; proper management of labour, such as no rupture of membranes, no instrumentation during delivery and avoiding episiotomies; and the use of Caesarean section, when appropriate.
We need to strengthen the treatment of opportunistic infections, for example, tuberculosis, pneumonia, cryptococcal meningitis, oral and throat thrush, diarrhoea, shingles and skin infections. The House will have noticed that I have not dealt with any aspect of treatment in detail. In this disease, we can only talk of a comprehensive management strategy. Every item of treatment is essential at various stages of the illness, be it nutrition, vitamins, antibiotics, antiretrovirals, emotional support, etc.
Taking all these together makes a difference in the course of the disease. I have just emerged from private practice and have seen the devastation caused by Aids. Sufferers and their families do not know which way to turn. They are rudely chased away from public hospitals and clinics, offensive language is used by a significant number of caregivers, and the sufferers then gravitate to the family doctors, who know what to do, but are limited by costs. The situation is desperate.
Let me talk about testing. It is the bottom line in HIV/Aids management. More and more people are willing to be tested, if time and patience are taken to counsel them and explain that benefits will accrue from knowing one’s status, and that there is a lot to be gained.
There was, and there still is, a resistance to testing, when people think that one tests only to be a statistic and face stigmatisation. Ways must be found around these difficulties. I am saying there is a life after testing, and there are many examples of people who can attest to this.
One of the ways may be to begin to emphasise that Aids is a chronic disease, in the same way that we categorise diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and so forth. We categorise them as chronic, and we should begin to manage HIV/Aids along the same principles that we do these diseases.
Sensational adjectives when referring to HIV/Aids, such as killer disease and umashayabhuqe, do not help. I think we should just think of the language we use. It frightens people and puts them off coming forward. Abantu bamane bathi: vele lesi sifo zizongibulala, njengoba kushiwo nje ukuthi yisifo esibulalayo, umuntu akaphili. Indlela okushiwo ngayo ukuthi lesi sifo siyabulala, kumane kucace nje ukuthi uma unaso, kumele ulindele ukufa. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[People just say: ``Of course this disease is going to kill me since it is a fatal disease, no one has ever survived.’’ The way it is said, that this disease is fatal, makes it clear that if a person has got this disease, the person is definitely going to die.]
That is how people interpret it. So this discourages people from coming forward and being testing, when, in fact, they could get some help. What are the challenges for South Africa … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr O BALOYI: Madam Speaker, hon Deputy President and hon members, let us examine, being reasonable, the subject of so-called poor service delivery and so-called nonavailability of drugs in some of our clinics, daycare centres and hospitals.
In the public health service, the following challenges exist: There are stifling problems which one could point out, such as shortages of suitably qualified and trained personnel, especially at senior-management and middle- management levels. There are difficulties of recruitment and retention of highly and suitably qualified health professionals in the public health service, which situation is worse in the deep rural areas, where they are needed most.
There is the challenge of the continuing poor state of maintenance and upkeep, as well as repair of some of the public health facilities. There still are challenges with respect to the shortages of appropriate and suitable equipment in some of our health facilities, and where this equipment is in place, there are challenges of ensuring that this is properly maintained.
The drug procurement, distribution and dispensing system remains a challenge, exacerbated by the increasing illnesses due to HIV/Aids and its complications. With HIV/Aids, more and more patients require more frequent medication and treatment. Patient days in hospitals and service delivery facilities have markedly increased. Having stated all these challenges, let it be pointed out that reasonable progress has been made to restructure health services, so that all communities can afford and access comprehensive integrated primary health care services, as well as the services at higher levels. Greater focus needs to be given to the issues I have raised in this debate, and all energies must be concentrated on addressing these challenges. All available resources, public or private, must be tapped to ensure well-managed health services for the country.
We applaud the efforts that are currently under way to formalise the nonformal health sector, such as traditional healers, and to draft enabling legislation for the benefit of this sector, as well as the users of this sector. It is imperative that this process be speeded up to protect the public from charlatans and opportunists. Appropriate budgets must be set aside for this process, to create a council to control the affairs of traditional healers.
It is appreciated that the Department of Health has identified the district health system development, the disease prevention and control programme and, among other things, human resource development, as priority areas. We applaud the department for doing so. The outputs and outcomes of these strategies will require close monitoring.
There is an expectation from Parliament and the portfolio committee, that the department will provide ongoing progress updates. The IFP will support the budget. [Applause.]
Dkt S C CWELE: Sihlalo, inkulumo yami izogxila endleleni abantu abaphatha ngayo imitholampilo nezibhedlela zethu - engingathi phecelezi … (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[Dr S C CWELE: Madam Speaker, my speech will focus on the way people manage our hospitals and clinics. This is what I can call …]
… the quality of care in our health institutions. Gradually, we are moving away from our painful and inhumane past to a culture of human rights in our health care. We are moving away from the inhumane and undignified manner in which our people like Steve Biko, Elda Bani and many others died in the hands of district surgeons collaborating with the state security forces. We are moving away from the era when scientists and doctors like Wouter Basson of Project Coast subverted science and developed drugs such as Mandrax and other toxins to use against our black township residents under the guise of research for crowd control.
During its first term the ANC government concentrated on improving access to health care for all citizens. We brought services closer to the people by moving away from a hospital- orientated system to a primary health care approach. We built clinics in deserving areas and started rehabilitating our hospitals after years of neglect by the NP government.
We introduced a code of good practice for our public servants, namely Batho Pele. In 1999 our Minister gave real meaning to the code by launching the Patients’ Rights Charter. This expressed the Government’s commitment to the fundamental values of the national health system. It is a comprehensive service available to all and it is responsive to the expressed needs of our people, and above all, a service delivered with compassion and respect, at all times preserving the dignity of the recipients of the service.
Lesi sibophezelo sikaHulumeni sithi masibe nobuntu, nenhlonipho nesizotha uma selapha iziguli emitholampilo nasezibhedlela zethu. Nakuba siwahalalisela la magalelo enqubekela-phambili, uKhongolose - njengenhlangano engumnsinsi wokuzimilela emphakathini - ukhathazekile ngobudedengu nesihluku abantu abaphathwa ngaso kwezinye izikhungo zempilo. (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[This governing principle says that we should all have ubuntu, respect and humility when we treat patients at our clinics and hospitals. Although we appreciate these steps forward, the ANC as an old organisation in our society is unhappy about the negligence and rudeness with which people are treated at some health institutions.]
It is against this background that critique reviews of the quality of service by the Public Service Commission, the Health Systems Trust and from the ordinary people themselves are welcomed by the ANC, because they can make us serve our public better.
U-ANC uthi akwamukelekile ukuthi kusekhona omabhalane, abahlengikazi nodokotela imbala abasaqhubeka nokuphatha iziguli ngesihluku - bezenza izikhonzi lapho kuyilungelo lazo ukuthi zelashwe. Kusekhona izikhungo lapho imithi kuyaywe kuthiwe iphelile noma kuthiwe leyo okufanele ikhishwe ngosuku isiqediwe, ngisho ama-script quotas. Kuyaye kuphoqeleke ukuthi iziguli zihambe amabanga amade, zibuye ngakusasa zizokuma emigqeni emide, ukuze zithole usizo nemithi.
Kusekhona izibhedlela lapho iziguli kudingeka ziphathe izingubo zokulala khona, fuze zilaleze, ngenxa yobudedengu kwabaphethe amalondolo. Ama- ambulensi awenele noma kawatholakali kweminye imitholampilo ezindaweni zabantu abamnyama nasezabelweni, ikakhulukazi ebusuku. Kuyadabukisa ukuzwa ukuthi e-Northern Province kunomama owayekhulelwe, wawa ku-ambulensi washona ngesikhathi umhlengikazi ethokomele esihlalweni esingaphambili nomshayeli. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[The ANC says it is unacceptable that we still have clerks, nurses and even doctors who treat patients rudely. They are making patients feel like subjects, while it is their right to be treated. There are institutions where they say they have no medicines or they have no script quotas. Patients are sometimes forced to walk long distances and to come back the next day to stand in long queues for medicines. There are hospitals where patients are expected to bring their own blankets otherwise they sleep without any blankets because of the carelessness of those who are running laundries. There are not enough ambulances or there are no ambulances at all at clinics situated in the areas where black people live and in the rural areas, especially at night. It is saddening to hear that in the Northern Province there was a pregnant woman who died in the ambulance while the nurse was sitting comfortably with the driver.]
The ANC has zero tolerance for those who blatantly display ill discipline.
Akwemukelekile ukuthi kwezinye izikhungo zempilo, njengase-Addington Hospital nakweminye imitholampilo, amasango ayavalwa ebusuku. Lokhu kubeka impilo yabadinga usizo engcupheni. Sithi nasemphakathini akwemukelekile ukuthi kukhona abantu abagqekeza imitholampilo, bantshontshe baze bahlukumeze abahlengikazi nawodokotela. Lokhu kwenza ukuthi singakwazi ukuzivula imini nobusuku izikhungo zempilo noma kudingeke ukuthi siqashe onogada ngemali engabe sisiza ngayo imiphakathi.
Ama-ambulensi nezimoto ezihambisa imithi ziyaphangwa emalokishini nakwezinye izindawo zasemaphandleni. Labo baphangi bezimoto benza kube nzima ukuthutha iziguli ebusuku, ikakhulukazi ezindaweni ezifana noBhizana noLusikisiki.
Kusekhona izibhedlela nemitholampilo lapho abantu bebuya khona bengachazelwanga ukuthi baphethwe yini noma kwenzekani kubo. Kwesinye isikhathi abakhathalelwa nokubuzwa ukuthi bahlala ezindaweni ezinjani nokuthi eyabo imibono ithini. Bavele bagidlabezwe ngemithi kubizwe olandelayo. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[It is unacceptable that in some health care institutions like Addington Hospital and others, the gates are closed at night. This puts the lives of those who need assistance in danger. To society we say it is unacceptable that there are people who break into clinics to steal things and even harass doctors and nurses. This makes it impossible to open these institutions day and night or we need to hire security guards who should be paid with the money that is supposed to help communities.
Ambulances and vehicles that transport medicines are hijacked in townships and in other places in the rural areas. Those hijackers make it impossible to transport patients at night, especially in places like Bhizana and Lusikisiki.
There are hospitals and clinics from where people return home without having been told what they were suffering from. Sometimes no one cares to ask about the type of environment in which they live and to ask their opinion. They are just given medicines and a pharmacist calls the next patient.]
Some of the interventions will cost us nothing. It costs nothing to be courteous. One needs to smile, and show respect and dignity to the patient, because he needs a change in attitude.
All of us have the responsibility to popularise Batho Pele and the Patients’ Rights Charter. This should not just be an event, but a living campaign in our communities. We need to train and support our managers, particularly in the phase where there is an interface with the public, to move away from a service-oriented to a patient-oriented approach. We need to revisit the hospital boards and clinic committees. We must have representatives from the areas where most of the patients live in these communities.
It is in this way that we can ensure that the views of the users, not a distant elite, are taken into account when planning and delivering our services. We need to maintain the constant contact with our communities, take their concerns seriously and inform them about the levels of service we offer at a particular institution. It is our view as the ANC that local government councillors should be encouraged and empowered to play an active role in these committees.
In conclusion, we pay tribute to all those men and women in our health care service who, under challenging circumstances of transformation, continue to inspire our communities through hard work, compassion and dedication. It is because of them that we support the annual health care awards at both district and national levels. It is time to introduce the long-awaited Cecilia Makhiwane award for the most dedicated nurses.
We should draw from many examples of good practice throughout the length and breadth of our country. We should draw from the experiences of the health Batho Pele pilot projects we had in the North West province. Clearly, we can never eradicate all the problems of years of neglect in one day. We should dedicate this term of office to improving the quality of service we render. We should unite in purpose to ensure better health care for all our citizens. Ngiyabonga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Madam Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to respond. First of all, I would like to thank all those who participated in this debate. Some of the comments have indeed been useful and will assist us as we map the way forward towards improving the quality of care that we give to our people. I must particularly acknowledge the quality of the debate by the ANC members in this Parliament. It just went to show that they indeed understand the issues that are facing us and have guided us as to how we need to tackle them.
I think it would be absolutely foolish of me even to begin to listen to the DP, particularly as they advise me on issues regarding HIV and Aids. Where were they all this time? They have only just had one summit at which they talked about HIV and Aids. They have only developed their policy at the end of last year. They are the Johnnies-come-lately in the response to HIV and Aids. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
I think they can scream as much as they want to. There are many people in this House who have more valuable advice than Ms Kalyan and Mr Ellis. I will not take their advice, because they do not know what they are talking about. All that these people know is to run to Geneva and Switzerland in an effort to develop …
Mr M J ELLIS: We did not go to those places!
The MINISTER: They did and I am not going to listen to them. They do not know anything about these issues because, after all, they are not even rooted in the communities. So how can they even begin to talk about these issues? [Applause.]
They have eight years to catch up with us. We introduced a policy on HIV/Aids and the strategic plan in 1992. Where were these members? They were here and we were in exile. They were here and they did not say anything and therefore they cannot advise us. [Interjections.]
I could not have dealt with all health issues in the short period of just 30 minutes, These are issues that relate to the health resources development plan and rural health. I did indicate that I would deal with these issues in the NCOP. Then hon members who asked questions around these issues will have the opportunity to read the speech. Hon members are therefore invited to come and listen to me in the NCOP next week.
We are working very closely with Denosa and the Nursing Council and we are dealing with the issues that have been raised in this regard, particularly around health development.
I want to inform Dr Gous that not all doctors in this country are male. The hon member kept on saying ``he, he, he’’. This just indicates the hon member’s attitude, language and sexist and class ethos. The hon member has not moved an inch. The ANC will continue to fight for gender sensitivity.
I also want to inform Ms Dudley that we will continue to pray. I appreciate the fact that the hon member has joined us in spreading the message of abstaining and being faithful, but, of course, using condoms. This should be done by those people who cannot do the first two. With regard to abortions, I just wanted to inform the hon member that I am sure that she is not rooted in the communities. There are many church women and families who are grateful that this piece of legislation was introduced and that we have been able to save many women’s lives who otherwise were exposed to backstreet abortions. The hon member needs to come along with us as we visit these communities and listen for herself. She may change her opinions.
I want to deal with the issue that was raised by the hon Mulder and in part by Ms Kalyan and Ntate Mogoba. I have just returned from Geneva, where I attended a consultative forum where we were trying to assist the Secretary- General of the United Nations to give shape and form to the global fund on HIV/Aids and health. What became very clear in that meeting was that the Sub-Saharan member states have developed strategies and have policies in place. The only problem is that there is a big gap between having strategies and having the resources to implement those strategies. This was recognised by all participants at that forum.
Having attended all these meetings, I can say that never before in the history of the WHO and UNAids has the issue of HIV/Aids and poverty taken such a high profile in debates on these issues. It is thanks to our hon President Mbeki who in the first instance posed these questions. All programmes and decisions that are taken at these forums today testify to the fact that one cannot deal with HIV/Aids and forget about poverty.
And so I would like to thank Mrs Gxowa for the letter that she received and also for the compassionate manner in which the hon member dealt with these issues. It is in this context that we are today working very hard in the development and shaping of the Millennium Africa Recovery Programme. It is by addressing the issues of poverty and underdevelopment that one can begin to think of an intersectoral approach both to HIV/Aids and to the issues of health.
Questions were raised about the training of lay counsellors and that this was not co-ordinated. I just want to remind this House that in one of our interventions we did mention the fact that we have now completed the curriculum and it is there. We therefore urge provinces and everybody else who trains lay counsellors to use that curriculum. We have worked very hard to ensure that there is co-ordination and equality of training, so that it will benefit the HIV-positive people, of whom we should be taking care, and those who are affected.
I want to inform both hon members Mulder and Rev Mogoba that we need to translate our words into actions. There is no confusion about HIV/Aids. All we need to do is to pool all our efforts and energies, and ensure that we respond in a way consistent with our strategic plan to those affected and infected by the virus. Reference has also been made to the fact that perhaps we do not allocate enough resources for HIV/Aids and health in general. This may well be, but let me also remind this House that after our debt payment, two thirds of the budget of this country is allocated to social services.
In our view, if one has not attended to issues of water, sanitation, welfare and education one cannot even begin to talk about health. We know that it is these very same components that impact on the health status of our people. We are satisfied that as the Government we are moving in the right direction and have ensured that there is an increase for service allocation in the services in this country.
I want to inform Mrs Malumise, since she referred quite a great deal to TB, that a meeting of SADC member states started today, where we are developing tools for training managers on the TB and HIV epidemic. This is very important because these issues need to be addressed in an integrated manner.
The hon Rajbally referred to the two hospitals that are being built. I want to thank her very much for that observation. But, let me also inform this House that over and above that we have upgraded over 86 hospitals in the country. Hon members will recall that there was an audit of hospitals in 1986 in which it became very clear that we needed R1 billion to upgrade and improve hospitals so that they are user-friendly to the people who visit them. We are in the process of doing this. I did refer to the hospital revitalisation programme in this regard.
The hon Ms Luthuli referred to the need for research. Let me inform the House that there is continued research on microbiocides and the female condom. We are strengthening the distribution of condoms from nonconventional points.
I will answer some of the issues that I have not been able to refer to during question time. I am hoping that this time the questions from the DP will not be rhetoric, as they always are. They should listen to the speeches that are presented and the answers that we provide them with when these questions are asked.
In closing, and having already thanked all those who officially work in the health sector, I would like to express just one final private and very personal thank you. That personal thank you goes to my husband, Comrade Mendi Msimang, who is sitting over there in the gallery. [Applause.] His support, experience and knowledge are absolutely invaluable to me, and therefore, I believe, also to the people of South Africa, especially the poor, whom I serve with humility and passion. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
REMARK MADE BY MR H P CHAUKE
(Ruling)
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Before I go on to the next Order of the Day, I wish to give a ruling on two points of order which were raised on 29 May 2001 during the speech by Mr Chauke on the Sport and Recreation Vote.
The first point of order by Mr Lee was to the effect that Mr Chauke had implied that Mr Lee was a thief by linking him with Mr Abe Williams. I have examined the Hansard and found that Mr Chauke’s remarks concerning Mr Abe Williams and Mr Lee do not provide sufficient grounds for making the inference that Mr Lee is a thief.
A further point of order was raised by Mr Moorcroft, namely that Mr
Chauke’s words constituted a threat. Mr Chauke had said: We will lock him
up somewhere and leave him there.'' [Laughter.] Those words were followed
by:We will be dealing with him.’’ [Laughter.] It is actually not funny,
as the other members are saying. These remarks, taken together, may be
regarded as constituting a threat, and that is unparliamentary. I
accordingly call upon Mr Chauke to withdraw these words.
Mr H P CHAUKE: Madam Speaker, as an hon member of this House, I would like to withdraw the words. We are not going to take Mr Lee to the correctional services. [Laughter.]
ESKOM CONVERSION BILL
(Second Reading debate)
The MINISTER FOR PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Madam Speaker, hon Deputy President and hon members, I am pleased to present to the House the Eskom Conversion Bill. Allow me to commend the chairperson, Mr Saki Belot, and members of the portfolio committee for their hard work in processing this Bill. I also wish to thank the various stakeholders who used their time to make submissions and to engage with my department on this Bill. Their engagement has been valuable, and the amendments have considerably improved the Bill.
This Bill has its origin in the Eskom Amendment Act of 1998, which paved the way for the removal of Eskom’s tax-exempt status and also instructed the Minister for Public Enterprises to incorporate Eskom as a company in terms of the Companies Act. Therefore, this is a technical Bill with a specific objective. It seeks, in a nutshell, to incorporate Eskom as a public company in terms of the Companies Act, without interfering with any of its current operations and obligations, and also without diluting its existing obligations regarding performance, financial reporting and accountability. These safeguards are maintained through the Public Finance Management Act, and are also enhanced by the Companies Act.
The Bill’s definition of ``deeming’’ includes the protection of the rights of Eskom employees and workers, and respect for collective agreements entered into between the employees and Eskom, thereby strengthening the safeguards I have already mentioned. Our Government’s commitment to Eskom’s developmental role in our society is undisputed. This Bill requires that the development of the enabling documents, such as the shareholder compacts, will not spell out its development role in much more detail in the Bill. We have stated before that Eskom occupies a strategic position in our economy, and that it is critical to the realisation of Government’s efforts for a better life for all South Africans.
Hon members, there will not be any tampering with the running of Eskom as a business despite the repeal of the Eskom Act of 1987, which currently administers Eskom. To ensure continuity, and that there are some safeguards in this particular regard, the shareholder compact, as well as the memorandum and articles of association of the new company, will serve as custodians of any responsibilities imposed by the Eskom Act, even beyond incorporation.
The Eskom Conversion Bill is not introducing anything new to subject Eskom to a tax regime. Critically, the tax-exempt status was dealt with in the Tax Amendment Law of July 2000, and we have to implement the provisions of that particular law. All that the Eskom Conversion Bill seeks to achieve in this regard is to define the process of how such a tax regime will be implemented.
Concerns have been raised that taxation of this entity presupposes a hike in the price of electricity. I wish to alleviate those fears by publicly stating that the movement in the electricity prices is not dictated by elements such as taxation. The fact remains that other variables such as input costs, of which tax is not a part, inform movements in the price of electricity.
For the sake of completeness, it is imperative that the electrification programme is not sacrificed by the taxation of Eskom. Our Government is committed to redeploying funds and other resources into the National Electrification Fund. There already exists a solid agreement between various departments and the SA Revenue Service that the taxation of Eskom will be phased in gradually and systematically to avoid any unintended consequences.
Whilst wishing to maintain continuity in terms of Eskom’s operations and obligations, it is necessary to highlight some of the key benefits of conversion. Government needs to have a consistent approach in its management of state-owned enterprises. It is within this context that Government wants to create Eskom as a tax- and dividend-paying entity, which resources will be used to enhance the programme of Government on economic and social development. Conversion will also level the playing field between Eskom and its counterparts in the telecommunication and transport sectors such as Telkom and Transnet, which are also companies in terms of the Companies Act.
By converting Eskom into a company, the payment of dividends by Eskom to its shareholder becomes a normal business practice in the corporate sector, as understood by both investors and lenders internationally. I should emphasise that this is important for Eskom’s ability to raise capital at competitive rates so that the relationship between Government as shareholder and Eskom is located within the framework of corporate governance that is understood by all stakeholders.
The conversion of Eskom will also enhance the governance structures of this entity. The two-tier structure of the Electricity Council and the management board will also be done away with. This will be replaced with a board of directors to be appointed by Government as a shareholder and as required by the Companies Act. This will also apply to all subsidiaries of Eskom since the latter will be a holding company for existing subsidiaries and those that are to be established in the future.
I want to emphasise that this Bill is not about the privatisation of Eskom. I have stated before that, in considering the restructuring options for Eskom, it was important to recognise that Eskom is one of the most efficient and low-cost producers of energy in the world. Eskom plays a very critical developmental role in ensuring that energy is accessible to the majority of South African citizens.
In recent times, Eskom has also started to operate in other African countries to provide energy and other energy-related services. As a Government, we do not intend to undermine these strengths, nor its strategic capacity.
Our Government is committed to the managed liberalisation of the energy sector, implemented within the context of retaining Eskom as a dominant energy supplier in South Africa. It is our intention to engage with labour on the restructuring of the energy sector, which we do from time to time, in general and with Eskom in particular. The place for such engagement is not the forums aimed at discussing the Eskom Conversion Bill, but the National Framework Agreement between Government and organised labour. Therefore, I wish to reiterate our Government’s commitment to a rigorous engagement with organised labour on the energy sector restructuring plan.
Hon members will agree with me that it has not been easy to come this far. I, therefore, wish to conclude by sincerely thanking members for having turned this process into a reality. Allow me to express a word of gratitude to the office of the Chief State Law Adviser for their advice and guidance. I also wish to thank the team from Eskom, particularly, Benji Mothibedi, Mpho Matjila and Mohammed Adam, together with the officials from my department, for the manner in which they gave themselves selflessly to see this process to completion. With those words, I would like hon members to support the Eskom Conversion Bill. [Applause.]
Debate interrupted.
POINT OF ORDER
(Ruling)
The SPEAKER: Hon members, I regret interrupting the debate in order to give a ruling. This concerns a point of order that was raised during the President’s Question Time on Wednesday. The hon Mr Andrew asked whether it was parliamentary for the Minister of Safety and Security to shake his fist at opposition members. I undertook to check the video footage. I have now seen the video and confirm that the hon Mr Andrew’s point of order was well- taken. The hon Minister of Safety and Security has requested an opportunity to make a personal explanation in regard to those events. [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF SAFETY AND SECURITY: Madam Speaker, the waving of that fist was not done with any intention to inflict harm on any member of the opposition. I do acknowledge that, indeed, I did wave the fist in that direction, and I would like to extend an apology for that. [Applause.]
The SPEAKER: Hon members, there is no excuse for waving your fists in the air. [Laughter.] I am glad that no one has taken a point of order on the waving of a finger. Hon Mr Andrew, thank you for being in the House.
ESKOM CONVERSION BILL
(Resumption of Second Reading debate)
Mr R J HEINE: Madam Speaker, Deputy President, hon Minister, and hon members, the purpose of the Bill is to convert Eskom from a statutory juristic body into a public company with share capital incorporated in terms of the Companies Act in order to, firstly, bring about more efficiency and competitiveness in the running of Eskom. Secondly, to expose Eskom to global trends and, thirdly, to ensure that Eskom observes and is run in terms of a protocol on co-operative governance.
The benefit to the country on the unbundling of Eskom is that in the long run Eskom might decide to draw on the benefits of listing on the Stock Exchange and, in that event, citizens and foreigners alike will be in a position to acquire shares in Eskom. Eskom can only be listed on a stock exchange if it is a company, and Government is preparing for that eventuality, should it arise. I do not think that any person who has the interest of the country at heart can disagree with this motivation to process the Eskom Conversion Bill.
It is therefore surprising that Cosatu and the SACP have been so vehemently opposed to this conversion, except to reiterate what I said on Friday, that they are pursuing an ideology that is long dead and buried, and therefore cannot see the wood for the trees. They are now, in their latest press release, trying to blame the department officials for not looking after their interests.
Cosatu was fully involved in this whole process, but it now appears that they are expecting the department’s officials to motivate their amendments to the portfolio committee and the portfolio committee simply has to rubber- stamp their proposed amendments. [Interjections.]
For the record, I must state that all their proposed amendments were brought to the portfolio committee and the end result that we have today was derived after a full discussion by the portfolio committee. However, let us not waste further time on this issue and let us rather look at the way forward.
I want to refer to the speech by Mr Lionel Jospin, the French Prime Minister, when he addressed Parliament on 31 May 2001: Globalisation is the reality with which we have to live today. Markets opening, free movement of capital, and the unprecedented speed at which information flows today have created a global growth dynamic. This is a reality.
I would like to suggest that Cosatu and the SACP take a hard look at this statement and examine their future role in the strengthening of our economy and job creation. What is important for our success is the future management of these state-owned enterprises in strict adherence to corporate governance. Corporate governance is not a matter of choice, but is a must for state-owned enterprises and entities to be successful.
As early as 1997, Government had already taken a view that corporate governance in state entities was necessary, and through the protocol, a way was paved for good governance to prevail in the state entities.
The instruments of corporate governance have to be observed and implemented, in other words, the shareholder compacts - and the Minister has referred to that - the reporting strategies, legislation, etc. Time does not allow me to measure our success so far in achieving these goals, but we do not need another Coleman Andrews disaster.
In closing, I wish to thank all the department’s and Eskom’s officials for their contributions and the portfolio committee for bringing this Eskom Conversion Bill to finality. We extend our best wishes to the hon the Minister on implementation. The DA supports this Bill. [Applause.]
Mr S T BELOT: Mr Chairperson, Deputy President, Ministers and hon members, I wish to join the Minister in thanking the members of the portfolio committee for processing the Eskom Conversion Bill in a constructive and efficient manner. This Bill is a result of a directive by the Eskom Amendment Act of 1998, as indicated by the Minister, so that it could be corporatised.
I am pleased, therefore, to report that the portfolio committee has satisfied itself that, in fulfilling this directive, all the necessary prescribed requirements have been met and satisfied. The portfolio committee invited stakeholders and interested parties to make written submissions, which were followed up by verbal evidence given before the committee. I am happy, therefore, to report that our major stakeholders seized this opportunity. They interacted with the portfolio committee and made their views known.
As indicated earlier on by the hon the Minister, the Bill seeks to incorporate Eskom as a public company in terms of the Companies Act. This will be done without interfering with any of the current operations and obligations of Eskom. The committee painstakingly considered all the proposed amendments to meet all stakeholders’ concerns. One of the proposed amendments was the section that states that:
Eskom conversion does not -
The conversion of Eskom does not -
(a) affect the continued corporate existence of Eskom as from the date of its first establishment;
(b) affect any of the rights, liabilities or obligations acquired or incurred by Eskom, or on Eskom’s behalf, at any time before its conversion; and
(c) affect the terms and conditions of service of its employees.
Section 6(5) reads as follows:
When entering into the Shareholder compact as well as determining the articles of association, the Minister must take into account the following -
(a) The developmental role of Eskom Holdings Limited; and
(b) the promotion of universal access to, and the provision of, affordable electricity taking into account the cost of electricity … financial sustainability and the competitiveness of Eskom.
Once more, I wish to repeat that the ANC continues to be informed by the perspective that economics is about people, their work, their ownership of productive assets or lack of it, their share of what they produce, what they buy and sell, their accommodation, their recreation, in fact, every element which one describes as quality of life, flows from the structure and management of the economy.
I once more need to repeat, for emphasis, that this Bill is not about privatisation. I need to caution that to deliberately interpret the policy of restructuring as privatisation is not only misrepresenting the policies of this country, it is tantamount to badmouthing the country, because privatisation is just an element of the whole programme of restructuring.
I therefore wish to say that this Bill will assist in assuring that the Government’s development agenda is realised. We therefore support this Bill. [Applause.]
Dr S C CWELE: Mr Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for Mr Heine to shake his head against the ANC whilst the speaker is on the floor.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! That is not a point of order.
Mr M D MSOMI: Mr Chairperson, the great father of the Rolls Royce motor manufacturer, whom I admire very much, Henry Royce, once said, and I quote:
Let’s try for perfection in everything we do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it, accepting nothing nearly right or good enough.
This is notwithstanding the dream I once had that one day I would own a Rolls Royce.
This Bill is part of an evolutionary process, started by the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises in the 1997-1998 financial year to expose Eskom to market conditions so as to become competitive and efficient in the global village of other energy utility entities. The intention of the Bill is intertwined with the Government’s strategic intent of restructuring, reframing and revitalising the state-owned enterprises to become tax-paying and dividend-declaring legal entities and to maximise Eskom’s contribution to economic development in South Africa, in which the state is the sole shareholder.
This is an empowering piece of legislation which creates an investor- friendly environment which provides for certainty in Eskom’s ability to service its debts, without tampering with its assets base, and gives comfort to long-term loan repayment schedules. This piece of legislation provides guarantees for the employees of Eskom even beyond the Labour Relations Act passed by this Parliament, to give certainty to succession planning and long-term stability in the energy market in a manner that has not been done before.
This Bill grants the Minister discretionary powers to ensure continuous attention to the memorandum and articles of association and the shareholder compact to compel employees of Eskom to take responsibility for their actions in executing their mandate in line with the shareholder compact, and has created a precedent whereby the shareholders’ compact and the memorandum and articles of association of state-owned enterprises will come before Parliament for our scrutiny where the state is the sole shareholder.
This Bill seeks to reaffirm the developmental role of Eskom in providing electricity to the underdeveloped areas of our society, to correct the imbalance of the past, as well as to make the process transparent and subject to public scrutiny without impacting negatively on Eskom’s ability to attract inward investments. It is very encouraging to note that the portfolio committee, in its consideration of this Bill, followed a hardline business approach on a nonpartisan basis, carrying no brief for anybody, but were determined to create an enabling legislative environment to enable Eskom to become globally competitive in a market-driven economy.
The IFP supports this Bill. We can sate without hesitation that we have had a positive effect on the the final Bill through our participation in the portfolio committee’s deliberations. We convinced the committee to follow the correct route in converting Eskom without limiting the discretion of the Minister too much to mandatory procedures before he could execute his mandate.
What did we achieve? We achieved harmony between Eskom’s obligation to long- term loan repayments with social responsibility and the development role to poor communities. We achieved the declared peace between future investor demands and the hotly contested labour relations issues. We went to war with a number of stakeholders on principle-centred issues and we finally secured peace and paved the way for this Bill to become binding on all stakeholders and to be respected by generations to come. Finally, we exercised the constitutional mandate of the parliamentary committee’s legislative role to the best of our ability in the best way possible without harming relations with the majority of the stakeholders. [Applause.]
Mr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD: Mr Chairperson, when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon he proclaimed: One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Today the tabling and approval of the Eskom Conversion Bill will be one small step for Parliament but one giant leap for Government in ridding itself of the bondage of Cosatu and the SACP and the grip it has over those positive-minded members within the ranks of the ANC.
The DA has always said that it would support every good piece of legislation that was aimed at building the South African economy. Therefore it is with ease that we can talk in support of this Bill before Parliament.
The aim of this Bill is exactly in line with what I pleaded for during the Budget Vote on public enterprises. The conversion will bring about more efficiency and effectiveness in the running of Eskom in a competitive environment, not only locally but also globally, where Eskom will be exposed to global trends. It will ensure that Eskom is managed according to the principles of co-operative governance. I must say that I did not think for one moment that the Minister and the department would adhere and respond to my request so speedily. I want to thank the Minister.
As this Bill is also aimed at enabling Eskom to make a substantial contribution to the state coffers in future, Eskom will also contribute to the Government’s responsibility in achieving its social objectives - an area, we all know, where the Government is failing dismally and then usually opts to hide behind apartheid as a scapegoat at every opportunity.
The DA believes that one of the social objectives of this Government should be to build South Africa into one nation irrespective of race, colour or religion. Unfortunately, the member Mrs Newhoudt-Druchen and Minister Pahad lost an opportunity to lay a solid foundation for nation-building when they addressed this Parliament in the presence of the children who attended the Children’s Day celebrations. [Interjections.] Those children who sat in the gallery on Friday are part of the future of this country. They are those towards whom we have a responsibility. They are not interested in the hate that the hon the Minister and that member carry within themselves.
My question to those two members is: Why was it necessary to contaminate those children with their hatred and bitterness? How long do they still want to keep this nation apart? Can they not become part of a message of unity and hope? I want to say to those members: This Parliament does not need them, as much as South Africa does not need the negative approach … [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Van Jaarsveld, could you please address the subject of the debate?
Mr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD: I am addressing the subject, Chair. This Parliament does not need the negative approach of Cosatu and its tirades of anarchy and chaos when things do not go their way. We in the DA say to Cosatu: It is bad for the comrades who want to make a positive contribution and it is bad for those people who want to invest in this country. Economic growth provides employment which will enable those of us who care for all the people of this country, be they young or old, black or white, retarded or gifted, to create hope for the future and to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.
I want to close by congratulating the chairperson of the committee, the hon Belot, the staff of the department, the representatives of Eskom, and in the final analysis, the Minister for Public Enterprises for their dedicated effort in driving this process of the Eskom Conversion Bill. This was amidst the allegations of Cosatu that the Minister was taking the country backwards instead of forwards with the privatisation of state assets programme.
Cosatu thought that they could bully us around in the committee by using the President. In the Cosatu documents submitted to the portfolio committee they said, and I quote:
Further, the then Deputy President Mbeki wrote a letter of reassurance to the Cosatu leadership that Government was not intending to privatise Eskom.
The latest state of Cosatu is indicating that the cracks in the alliance are rapidly becoming bigger and bigger. One of these days the walls will be crumbling down. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order!
Mr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD: The portfolio committee did not budge an inch. Instead we agreed to launch Eskom on its way to restructuring and ultimately to privatisation, whether the Minister wants to acknowledge that or not. [Interjections.] The DA supports the Bill. [Applause.]
Mr M T GONIWE: Chairperson, on a point of order: I think the behaviour of that member is totally unparliamentary. Contrary to your calls for order, the speaker deliberately ignored the Chair. I would like you to rule on that, please.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, all hon members - I am addressing the whole House - it becomes very difficult when you know the Rules in the House and you do not follow them. There is time prescribed for the debate in this House and as Chair I have to adhere strictly to the time given by the Chair with the agreement of the Whips. If I call on any member that his or her time has expired, that member should not stay at the podium. The hon member is quite correct. You are undermining the Chair and I personally as a Chair do not like that. We have to co-operate on the issue.
Secondly … [Interjections.] Order! Secondly, there is a subject that you need to address. If the Chair feels you are out of order and I call on you to address the subject before the House - it is a Rule, it is there - according to that Rule, I have the right to stop you immediately, but I do not do so because at times members want to support their statements. However, when it is vividly clear that you are out of order, I do call you out of order to ask you to return to your speech. Let us co-operate with the Chair for the better working of this House. [Applause.]
Mr M S BOOI: Chairperson, given the ruling you have just made in this House, I just want to find out whether it would not be appropriate for the member to apologise to the Chair for ignoring him. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, I have made a statement addressing all of you in the House. I hope that all the members will adhere to the statement that I have just made to the House.
Mr C T FROLICK: Chairperson, hon members, the overall aim of the Eskom Conversion Bill has been clearly stated. Specifically the Bill aims to bring about greater efficiency and competitiveness in the running of Eskom, expose Eskom to grow with trends and ensure that Eskom observes and is run in terms of a protocol and co-operative governance. The department has argued that the benefit to the country of the unbundling of Eskom is that in the long run Eskom might decide to draw on the benefits of listing on the Stock Exchange and in that event citizens and foreigners alike will be in the position to acquire shares in Eskom.
Eskom can only be listed if it is a company and the Government is preparing for that eventuality, should it arise. These imperatives mean that Government has to balance international investor demands for greater competition and private sector involvement with local pressure for job retention and creation whilst bolstering black economic empowerment. Concerns have been expressed during the public hearings about the possible escalation of electricity prices. Affordable electricity, competitively priced against international norms, is one of the aspects that prospective investors will look at. Already there is a perception that the cost of doing business in South Africa is high. This factor needs to be closely monitored. However, we welcome the Minister’s undertaking in this regard.
We must not lose sight of the plight of workers at state-owned organisations and enterprises. They have real fears and concerns about job security. However, we urge stakeholders to deal with this issue decisively within the proper forums instead of on a piecemeal basis. The criticism aimed at the portfolio committee by Cosatu is a case in point. It appears that Cosatu is using the opportunity to oppose certain aspects of the restructuring process instead of taking their concerns about the overall restructuring policy to the appropriate forum.
The committee took on board certain proposals on the bold, but it must be noted that a complete acceptance of all proposals would have led to a messy piece of legislation. The UDM supports the Bill.
Ms C DUDLEY: Chairperson, the ACDP stands squarely behind the concept of privatisation, but it is the exception that proves the rule and we believe in this instance Eskom is that exception. Whilst we agree that organisational steps to make Eskom more accountable and transparent are good, we believe this Bill represents enormous risk. This is a complex issue that boils down to what the impact on tariffs would be. Eskom belongs to the consumers and not to the state and it is in the interests of the consumers to keep tariffs down. It is likely that black economic empowerment may well gain, but at the expense of every household and much- needed jobs.
This Bill cannot be taken lightly, as its consequences will reach into every home, business and industry in South Africa. Very importantly, the future development of Africa is reliant on electricity, as it is on education, and with industry and the rest of the world suffering from higher input costs, there is a move from manufacturing to service industries, leaving Africa the opportunity of meeting the need for manufacturing. This, however, will never be a reality unless there is access to low-cost power.
The impact of this Bill on SADC could be enormous, which begs the question: Has SADC been consulted? Eskom has in fact been the greatest single agency of development in Southern Africa, and, in breaking Eskom down, it would become an unwieldy tool which could hinder South Africa’s development.
South Africa is one of the oldest, most cost-effective producers of electricity in the world - a fact which shielded us from the devastating impact of rising oil prices. We are world leaders and have been ground breakers. When rail, worldwide, was going diesel, South Africa electrified.
The privatisation of Eskom is clearly not a pressing priority, as a reason for privatisation is cost-effectiveness, and in Eskom we already have reasonable efficiency. Why then do we want to change fundamentally and take the risk?
It is the view of the ACDP that there is insufficient understanding and no real in-depth analysis of the situation and we will therefore vote against the Bill.
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Chairperson and hon members, the Eskom Conversion Bill seeks to turn Eskom into a public company, and that will make it possible for the facility to be free to be listed on the Stock Exchange. While we welcome the fact that the envisaged Eskom Holdings Limited will inherit the status of Eskom, warts and all, may we call on the Ministry to guard against job losses that characterise such changes?
Clause 5(a) stipulates that Eskom must pay compensation for any damage caused by its officers or employees in the performance of their duties upon the land. Electrification causes damage to the environment, especially during the installation stage. We hope, therefore, that the new company will always compensate communities in whose areas they operate, without the community leaders being vilified as impeding development by upstart civic matters.
The UCDP, however, supports the Bill.
Dr S E M PHEKO: Chairman, this Bill is being debated in this Parliament at a time when the four million people of Soweto have been at arms with Eskom over its electricity services. Eskom has embarked on a credit control drive to recover the R742 million it claims it is owed. The people of Soweto are not campaigning for nonpayment of money owed to Eskom. They complain that rates are unfair. Soweto residents are charged 28 cents per kw, while Sandton residents are paying 16 cents and big businesses pay seven cents. In the rural areas, consumers are charged 48 cents per kw.
The Bill serves to provide for the conversion of Eskom into a public company, having a share capital incorporated in terms of the Companies Act. The conversion will serve a good purpose only if the poor will not pay more for electricity than the rich.
Miss S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, the MF welcomes the Eskom Conversion Bill, as it allows for the state to gain from the tax collectors, as well as for dividend payments from the incorporation of Eskom.
The MF applauds the Bill, since this could assist in bringing about competitiveness as well as exposing Eskom globally. It is evident that the Bill will be of much benefit for the country in terms of the Stock Exchange as well as attracting many foreign investments. Eskom is one of the most efficient enterprises in South Africa, supplying 95% of South Africa’s domestic electricity requirements and nearly 60% of the electricity consumed throughout South Africa.
The MF compliments the Government on consulting various departments, including Eskom, before the introduction of the Bill, and also supports all Government’s initiatives in implementing the Bill.
The MF supports the Eskom Conversion Bill. I finished in the exact time, Chairperson. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: I wish all the other members could do that.
Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, die AEB steun gesonde sakebeginsels. Hierdie wetgewing wat Eskom van ‘n statutêre liggaam in ‘n openbare maatskappy verander, is ‘n positiewe stap in daardie rigting. Ons glo dat die nodige effektiwiteit en vaartbelyning hierdeur aan Eskom gebied sal word, ook om wêreldwyd kompeterend te wees. Die AEB staan vir ‘n kleiner en meer vaartbelynde regering en privatisering, maar ons neem kennis van en ons het begrip daarvoor dat die staat hier die alleen-aandeelhouer is, want elektrisiteit is ‘n strategies kritieke kommoditeit. Ons begryp dit ten volle. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairman, the AEB supports sound business principles. This legislation which converts Eskom from a statutory body into a public company is a positive step in that direction. We believe that this will give Eskom the necessary effectiveness and streamlining, and will also enable it to be competitive worldwide. The AEB supports a smaller, more streamlined Government and privatisation, but we note and understand that in this case the state is the sole shareholder, because electricity is a strategically critical commodity. We fully understand that.]
Eskom’s track record on nondiscrimination, however, is not good. Complaints of language discrimination against Afrikaans have been upheld by PanSALB, and at present a complaint by the MW solidarity that certain employee benefits are selectively granted is running.
Finally, I propose as an amendment that the Bill makes provision that if the hon Van Jaarsveld again exceeds his time, Eskom can cut the electricity. [Laughter.]
The MINISTER OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES: Chairperson and hon members, there was a moment when I was not sure in which debate I was participating, especially because of the opportunistic attacks on Cosatu and the SACP by Mr Van Jaarsveld.
I want to assure him and the opposition that those attacks will get them nowhere, because the ANC-led alliance is much larger than the opposition’s petty politics. The alliance is not a Jericho. Its walls will not fall, no matter how loudly Mr Van Jaarsveld shouts. [Applause.]
However, seeing that all of us in this House are singing from the same hymn book, except for the ACDP, I think all that remains for me to say is amen to this Bill. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time. The House adjourned at 17:25. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
MONDAY, 4 JUNE 2001
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 4 -
Agriculture for 1999-2000 [RP 113 - 2000].
TUESDAY, 5 JUNE 2001
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
The following papers were tabled and are now referred to the relevant
committees as mentioned below:
(1) The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Finance for information:
(a) Report of the Auditor-General on Border Post Control [RP
43-2001].
(b) Report of the Auditor-General on Selected Internal Control
Measures over Taxation Process administered by the South
African Revenue Service [RP 44-2001].
(2) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Minerals and Energy:
(a) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique
concerning Natural Gas Trade between South Africa and
Mozambique, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
Constitution, 1996.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.
(3) The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts, the Portfolio Committee on Education, the
Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration and the
Portfolio Committee on Finance for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Summarised Findings of
Performance Audits conducted at certain Provincial Departments of
Education [RP 45-2001].
(4) The following papers are referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs for information:
(a) Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
of the South African Wool Board for the period 1 July 1997 to
30 June 1999 [RP 38-2001].
(b) Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
of the National Agricultural Marketing Council for 1999-2000
[RP 64-2001].
(5) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Education:
Education in South Africa - Achievements since 1994.
(6) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Water Affairs and Forestry:
Report and Financial Statements of the Goudveld Water for 1999-
2000.
(7) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Sport and Recreation:
Report of the Department of Sport and Recreation for 1999-2000.
(8) The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Safety and Security for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
No 29 - South African Police Service and the Secretariat for
Safety and Security for 1999-2000 and Performance Audits of Human
Resource Management and the Management of the Central Firearms
Register [RP 138-2000].
(9) The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Foreign Affairs for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
No 13 - Foreign Affairs for 1999-2000 [RP 122-2000].
(10)The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Communications for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
No 6 - Communications for 1999-2000 [RP 115-2000].
(11)The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
No 4 - Agriculture for 1999-2000 [RP 113-2000].
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote No 23
- Minerals and Energy for 1999-2000 [RP 132-2000].