THURSDAY, 6 JUNE 2002 __

                PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
                                ____

The House met at 14:01.

The Deputy 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-NKABINDE: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

That the House -

(1) notes that this week is World Environmental Week and that all communities should answer the plea of the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to lend a helping hand for a better life for all through the protection of our environment;

(2) further notes that the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism is actively involved in the protection of our marine resources through the Subsistence Fisheries Management Programme, especially in the coastal areas;

(3) compliments the department on its work with regard to the Mussel Rehabilitation Project at Koffie Bay and the extension of this coast- care project in the near future; and

(4) applauds the Government of South Africa on the ordering of sea vessels that will enhance compliance in the utilisation of our marine resources, whilst the awarding of the contract also took into account the advancement of black economic empowerment in South Africa, and the significant contribution these vessels will make to research in the area of marine and coastal management.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, before you start: Too many hon members are still not seated and they are hindering the business of the House. Will you please take your seats.

Mr R J HEINE: Chair, I hereby give notice that I shall move:

That this House -

(1) notes the improbable but nonetheless serious allegations against Deputy President Jacob Zuma regarding his alleged involvement with Mr Pieter Rootman who claims he used stolen donor funds to pay off Mr Zuma’s house;

(2) further notes the call by the ANC’s Western Cape leader that politicians against whom untested allegations have been made should resign; and

(3) calls on the Deputy President to resign immediately pending a full investigation into these allegations.

[Interjections.] Dr R RABINOWITZ: Chair, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the IFP:

That the House -

(1) notes that the Government has agreed to -

   (a)  provide treatment to rape victims; and


   (b)  provide nevirapine to pregnant mothers and their babies;

(2) now encourages the Minister of Health to address the urgent matter of HIV testing;

(3) recognises also that people have as much right to information and knowledge as they do to secrecy; and

(4) calls on the Government to -

   (a)  review its approach to one-on-one pretest counselling and to
       consider group pretest counselling, except for special
       circumstances relating to teenage children, with one-on-one
       posttest counselling for HIV-positive persons;


   (b)  investigate all forms of testing, including saliva testing; and


     c) focus less on anonymous testing than on getting the people who
        are tested to know their results.

Mr N B FIHLA: Chair, I give notice that I shall move:

That the House -

(1) notes that the Department of Correctional Services has opened the Ebongweni Maximum and the Kokstad Medium Prisons;

(2) believes that -

   (a)  the new facilities will bring a measure of relief with regard to
       overcrowding in prisons ...

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon members, can you hear? Hon member, maybe there is something wrong. Mr N B FIHLA: I am sorry, Chair. May I repeat what I said? I give notice that I shall move:

That the House -

(1) notes that the Department of Correctional Services has opened the Ebongweni Maximum and the Kokstad Medium Prisons;

(2) believes that -

   (a)  the new facilities will bring a measure of relief with regard to
       overcrowding in prisons which breeds gangsterism and further
       violence; and


   (b)  further believes that the maximum security in Ebongweni Prison
       will also address the question of prison escapes and will ensure
       that dangerous offenders remain behind bars for the duration of
       their sentences;

(3) acknowledges that the total capital investment of half a billion rand made by Government in this project further indicates Government’s commitment to the fight against crime and to building safer communities; and

(4) commends the Department of Correctional Services for providing 633 employment opportunities, in addition to jobs created during the construction of these facilities.

Dr P J RABIE: Mr Chairman, I hereby give notice that I shall move:

That the House -

(1) notes that -

   (a)  the New NP deplores the unacceptable attempt by the United
       States Canned Producers to reduce the South African pear product
       status in terms of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act
       (AGOA);


   (b)  South African pear exports amount to 1% of the US market; and


   (c)  the South African deciduous fruit canning industry provides
       employment for 11 000 persons and sustains the livelihood of a
       further 25 000 families on farms; and

(2) further notes that the New NP calls upon all role-players in the Government, industry and labour to insist that the US government implements the AGOA agreement regarding the duty-free status of South African canned fruit products.

Mr W G MAKANDA: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of this House:

That the House -

(1) views with extreme concern the total onslaught on black African tertiary institutions by the policies of the Minister of Education, the hon Kader Asmal, which are aimed at wiping them off the educational map;

(2) affirms that the apartheid origins of these institutions is no more a crime than the racist origins of the traditionally white tertiary institutions which he is so determined to retain at the expense of the black colleges;

(3) notes that the closure of Unitra brutally disempowers the community of Transkei who utilised that institution as day scholars at minimal cost and who will now have no access to tertiary education in their neighbourhood …

[Time expired.]

Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, hiermee gee ek kennis dat ek namens die AEB by die volgende sitting van die Huis sal voorstel:

Dat die Huis -

(1) kennis neem van die stigting Saterdag in Bloemfontein van ‘n Afrikaanse Leiersforum met die oog op die instelling van ‘n Afrikanerraad ingevolge artikel 185 van die Grondwet;

(2) meen dat die poging gesien moet word as ‘n positiewe stap in die rigting van die eventuele seggenskap van gemeenskappe oor hul eie huishoudelike sake;

(3) van mening is dat hierdie belange, anders as wat in die hoofartikels van sekere Afrikaanse dagblaaie beweer word, meer is as net taal, maar ook kultuur, historiese erfenis, onderwys, die Christelike lewensbeskouing en die reg op selfseggenskap oor hierdie interne aangeleenthede insluit;

(4) ‘n beroep doen op alle Afrikanerinstansies om eie klein agendas opsy te skuif en betreffende gemeenskaplike belange te konsolideer, terwyl die selfstandigheid van elke instelling erken word;

(5) hoop daar sal onverpoosd gewerk word aan die daarstelling van ‘n legitieme en verantwoordelike Afrikanerraad wat gereed sal wees om die voordele wat die nuwe wetgewing bied ten volle te benut; en

 6) aanbeveel dat ander gemeenskappe ook aangemoedig word om sodanige
    gemeenskapsrade daar te stel. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.) [Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move on behalf of the AEB at the next sitting of the House:

That the House -

(1) takes note of the establishment of an Afrikaans Leaders’ Forum in Bloemfontein on Saturday, with a view to creating an Afrikaner council in terms of section 185 of the Constitution;

(2) feels that this effort must be viewed as a positive step in the direction of eventually giving communities a say in their own domestic affairs;

(3) is of the opinion that these interests, contrary to what is alleged in the editorials of certain Afrikaans newspapers, represent more than just language, but also include culture, historical heritage, education, the Christian philosophy of life and the right to self- determination regarding these internal affairs;

(4) calls upon all Afrikaner bodies to set aside their own petty agendas and to consolidate around common interests, while the independence of each body is recognised;

(5) hopes that the establishment of a legitimate and responsible Afrikaner council that will be prepared to utilise the benefits that the new legislation presents to the full, will receive ongoing attention; and

(6) recommends that other communities also be encouraged to form such community councils.]

Rev K R J MESHOE: Chairperson, I give notice that I shall move:

That the House -

(1) notes that Zimbabwe is facing a serious food crisis which may result in a serious famine and loss of life in the coming months;

(2) further notes that the production of maize, the main staple food, went down by 67% last year;

(3) also notes that an appeal has been made to the international community to urgently provide emergency food assistance;

(4) questions why the Mugabe government does not stop the lawlessness and madness of armed gangsters who continue to maim, displace and kill innocent people, including farmers who are feeding them; and

(5) therefore calls on the Zimbabwean government to -

   (a)  reprioritise the needs of their country by ensuring the safety
       of all the farmers and their workers to enable them to continue
       producing food for all their people; and


   (b)  come to their senses and stop enriching themselves and their
       families by seizing for themselves white-owned farms they
       promised would be used to settle landless people.

Mr M I MOSS: Chairperson, the ANC gives notice:

That the House -

(1) notes the positive progress that has been made by the Government of South Africa with regard to the Ai-Ais Richtersveld Transfrontier Park to be established between the Republic of South Africa and Namibia;

(2) notes that the Kokerboom is widely recognised as an environmental icon for the biome, better known as the Succulent Karoo, and that this representative sample of biodiversity will be granted protection for future generations through the establishment of this transborder conservation area; and

(3) recognises that this initiative will create an ideal opportunity for cross-border tourism and job creation in one of the poorest provinces of South Africa.

[Applause.]

Mrs C I GCINA: Chair, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:

That the House -

(1) notes that health ministers, some of the continent’s top scientists and representatives from donor organisations met at a conference in Somerset West on Monday to launch the African Aids Vaccine Programme (AAVP);

(2) further notes that the AAVP was adopted by 45 heads of state during the 2001 African Summit on HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Abuja, Nigeria;

(3) believes that this meeting will facilitate mobilising resources for research into a vaccine that is most suitable for Africa; and

(4) wishes participants to this conference good luck in their deliberations.

[Applause.]

Mr C M LOWE: Chairman, I hereby give notice that I shall move:

That the House -

(1) takes note of the statement by the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, Penuell Maduna, that ``donations should not be received from suspected criminal syndicates or even to rub shoulders with them’’;

(2) therefore expresses its surprise and disappointment at the visit of President Mbeki to President Muammar Gaddafi in Libya;

(3) enquires whether the President will be seeking foreign funding for ANC coffers while travelling at taxpayers’ expense; and

(4) reminds the House that keeping company with tyrants and dictators creates doubt about the Government’s own democratic credentials and gives the lie to Minister Maduna’s pious remarks.

[Interjections.]

Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Chair, I hereby give notice that I shall move on behalf of the IFP:

That the House -

(1) notes that –

   (a)  certain pieces of legislation passed by this honourable House,
       namely the Domestic Violence Act, the Maintenance Act and the
       Employment Equity Act, have not reached the masses of rural
       women; and


   (b)  this therefore creates a deep chasm between paper rights and
       living rights; and

(2) therefore calls on the Government and the GCIS to embark on a massive education campaign to educate rural women on vital pieces of legislation.

[Applause.]

Mr C J M HLANEKI: Chairperson and honourable House, I give notice that I shall move on behalf of the ANC: That the House -

(1) notes that the former chief executive of the Lesotho Highlands Development Authority, Masupha Sole, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for taking bribes from international firms;

(2) believes that this should send a warning to those entrusted with allocating contracts - as well as to international companies who do business in our region - that bribery is illegal and that those who accept bribes face the prospect of a long prison sentence; and

(3) commends the Lesotho authorities for bringing this criminal to justice.

Dr W A ODENDAAL: Voorsitter, ek gaan namens die Nuwe NP voorstel:

Dat die Huis -

(1) kennis neem van die Wêreld-Ekonomiese Forum wat tans in Durban gehou word om voorbrand by die G8-leiers te maak vir tasbare steun aan die sosio-ekonomiese herlewingsplan vir Afrika wanneer hulle eersdaags in Kanada vergader om ontwikkelingshulp vir Nepad te oorweeg;

(2) president Thabo Mbeki voorspoed toewens met sy planne om private inisiatief uit sowel Afrika as die res van die wêreld vir Nepad op te kommandeer om armoede op die kontinent deur ekonomiese groei en werkskepping uit te roei; en

 3) president Mbeki aanmoedig om hom nie deur protesaksies gegrond op
    vrees vir globalisering van stryk te laat bring nie, maar te
    demonstreer dat Afrika gereed is vir verandering en oop is vir
    besigheid. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)

[Dr W A ODENDAAL: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move on behalf of the New NP:

That the House -

(1) takes cognisance of the World Economic Forum which is currently being held in Durban to pave the way among the G8 leaders for tangible support for the socioeconomic renewal plan for Africa when they meet in Canada in the near future to consider development aid for Nepad;

(2) wishes President Thabo Mbeki everything of the best on his plans to enlist private initiative from both Africa and the rest of the world for Nepad, in order to eradicate poverty on the continent by way of economic growth and job creation; and

(3) encourages President Mbeki not to allow himself to be put off by protest actions based on a fear of globalisation, but to demonstrate that Africa is ready for change and open for business.]

                GOLDEN JUBILEE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr D H M GIBSON: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the House, as one of the Parliaments of the Commonwealth -

(1) congratulates Queen Elizabeth II on her Golden Jubilee; and

 2) wishes her well for the future.

Agreed to.

              BEST WISHES FOR SEPARATED CONJOINED TWINS

                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr M J ELLIS: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the House -

(1) wishes twins Zinzi and Zanele Kona good health and good luck as they leave the Red Cross Children’s Hospital to return home to Port Elizabeth;

(2) welcomes the medical miracle which led to the conjoined twins being successfully separated; and (3) hopes that the two children will lead long, productive lives.

Agreed to.

                      UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE

                              (Ruling)

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! On 4 June, during the debate on the Vote of Correctional Services, the hon T D Lee raised a point of order regarding a remark made by the hon D V Bloem. I undertook to examine Hansard before giving a ruling. Having had the opportunity to study Hansard, I would like to give my ruling.

The hon Bloem, in referring to prisons, said: ``The hon Lee must not be so quick to speak because, perhaps, he could be one of those who would serve time.’’ In the context in which the remark was made it was clear that the hon Bloem was referring to the hon Lee being put in prison for some undisclosed misdemeanour or transgression of the law. This is clearly unacceptable as it reflects on the integrity of the member. I therefore call upon the hon Bloem to withdraw the remark.

Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, I withdraw it. [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! He has withdrawn it.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 15 - Education:

The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Chairperson, hon members, members of the education community, vice-chancellors who are here, MECs, chief executive officers of the SA Qualifications Authority, the Council for Higher Education and many other supporters of education, my dear students and pupils from Fezeka High School in Guguletu and Phoenix High School in Manenberg - I greet you. [Applause.]

I am sure that this House will no doubt appreciate that the work of the Department of Education, together with that of the provinces, covers a very wide spectrum of activities geared to providing learning opportunities to all South Africans. These details are spelt out before members in the department’s strategic plan.

As it is not possible to deal with all our many activities within the confines of a budget debate, I wish to use this opportunity to highlight some of our achievements by providing an overview of our efforts to build a completely new education system out of the ashes of the old. In doing so, I am reminded of the haunting words of the black American poet Melvin Tolson, when he wrote:

Out of abysses of illiteracy, Through labyrinths of lies, Across waste lands of disease … We advance

Despite the many hardships and difficulties we have faced, we can confidently claim that we have indeed advanced. We have laid the foundation for a nonracial, democratic basis of the first truly national South African school and higher education system.

Eight years into our new democracy, we have started to write a common history. Prior to 1994, we had no unifying South African experience. Each of the many parts of our nation experienced that history in a different way, as they lived through different parts of it. There was no shared experience, no common memory that bound us together, but only our disparate and fragmented pasts. Now we are developing an emerging history, which binds us all. Like Tolson we can say:

Out of the dead-ends of poverty, Through the wilderness … Across the barricades … We advance! With the peoples of the world … We advance

Since the unification of our country in 1994, we have begun tracking and analysing the changes in our society. We therefore have a common starting point for debates. We have national baselines against which we can measure our growth. In this sense we are all part of documenting those historic steps towards building a new nation.

Using these benchmarks, I have been able to report regularly to the nation on progress in education. These reports include our publication on achievements since 1994, and the very important quarterly reports to our President on the state of education, which are compiled on the performance of both the national and provincial departments of education. Of course the hearings of the portfolio committee enable us to invigilate, question and investigate all our policies. So in this climate of democratic accountability the Ministry of Education is ready to be measured.

In opening up our processes we have created conditions for a new discourse about education among all South Africans. No education system is a neutral one; there are old values that bind that education system. Ours is based on the Constitution and the process towards nation-building. So in recognition of a nation-builder who has become very much part of us, for his passion for the safety and security of our children, I hereby announce the dedication of our very important Safe Schools Campaign to my former Cabinet colleague, comrade and friend, the late Steve Tshwete. Hamba kahle [Go well], Comrade Steve - your work will live on.

Our nation-building efforts as a Ministry are informed by our constitutional mandate. In pursuing this mandate we have isolated two themes which guide our work and determine our focus. In the first instance we emphasise access to the goods and services that the Department of Education should provide.

Our first test, therefore, for laws, policy or any decision that we make is the question of equitable access and how this will affect the ability of the poor to benefit from limited state resources. As a result we have introduced some innovative provisions. The poorest 20% of our schools get seven times as much nonpersonnel funding as the richest 20%. Anyone who earns less than 10 times the school fee set is entitled to automatic exemption; there is no discretion on this. And no child may be excluded or penalised for want of fees.

In all our laws we have protected the rights of the poor to access general education. Regrettably, despite the protection of the law, we know some schools are turning away children because their parents are unable to pay school fees or to provide school uniforms. School authorities are duty- bound to protect the best interests of the child; by denying them access to schools, they deny them hope.

As I am sure members will no doubt appreciate, access is not just about expanding learning opportunities. It is also about ensuring that all our children, especially the poor, exercise their right to basic education in conditions that enable them to learn effectively. It is about access to quality infrastructure. As indicated in our School Register of Needs - we are the only country that has a school register of needs - we have made remarkable progress in dealing with the infrastructure backlogs in our schools, especially in the provision of on-site water and sanitation, the number of classrooms built, and Microsoft’s remarkable gift of connectivity for ICT. However, while much has been achieved, we still have a long way to go to eradicate all the backlogs inherited from our shameful apartheid past.

In line with the President’s injunction that no child should learn under a tree, as he announced in the state of the nation address earlier this year, we will intensify our efforts to end the conditions of physical degradation in our schools. Such conditions threaten the health of students and teachers alike and radically restrict the social and teaching activities of schools. We shall interpret the President’s statement as meaning any condition in a school which is dangerous to the children and which is dangerous to the health of the children. To this end provinces have been requested to submit business plans, indicating how they will deal decisively with this matter in the next Medium-Term Expenditure Framework cycle. I look forward to the submission of these business plans.

In regard to participation rates, we are effectively at full enrolment in our general education band, with gross enrolment ratios over 100% in many areas. We are continuing to expand the system in various ways. One of the most significant ways is in the provision of a preschool year for all children. This is being introduced at 2 800 community-based sites, all located in the areas identified by the President for urgent intervention. By 2010 we plan to have all 800 000 children aged five in a reception year. Very significant also is the fact that over 50% of our children in schools are female. This is without parallel in Africa.

Another significant area of expansion is the inclusion of children with special educational needs, be they physical, emotional or intellectual. These children will no longer be isolated in special schools at the margins of the education system. They will now be mainstreamed in specially prepared schools which are being built at present.

Currently, teachers are being trained to absorb these children into the normal learning environments. It is estimated that there are a large number of children with special needs that are out of school at the moment. Their inclusion will therefore be another major step towards universal access.

I would also ask members of the National Assembly to join us in the education of our families, our teachers and our governing bodies. These children with special educational needs are stigmatised and very often their right to dignity is being violated. An education process is necessary, therefore, to ensure that they are treated like children in the ordinary schools of our country. A huge education process is therefore necessary to ensure that the shame of illtreatment is removed.

We have also increased resources for literacy and adult education. The illiterate and underqualified are the poor. We have now created opportunities for them to participate effectively in the education system. Adult education centres now have formal recognition. Their programmes focus on very relevant issues, such as SMME management, technology, hospitality and tourism, and agriculture.

In the year 2000 the education community, the provinces and the state spent R200 million on Abet. Last year this amount increased to R822 million. By the year 2004 we will spend in the region of R1,2 billion. In addition, the Government has allocated R110 million over three years to the Ikhwelo Poverty Relief Project for the establishment of 60 more adult education centres nationwide.

Further education, a rather unknown part of our education system, has also seen significant developments, which will enhance access for millions of our youth and adults who have not been part of the vocational stream of education. We are turning our 150 technical colleges, following a very painful structuring process, into 50 high-status institutions with significant capacity, and are revising the programmes to meet the needs of individuals, industry and communities. Through these efforts we will also remove the stigma associated with vocational and technical education by demonstrating its educational value and its value in the labour market.

In higher education, after protracted debates, we have been able to build a national consensus around the restructuring of our institutions. All role- players now agree on the need to refocus and strengthen the system of higher education.

Much has been said in this House over the past three years on the need for the radical transformation of the higher education system. This call is sure to gain momentum after the Cabinet’s recent decision to approve Government’s ground-breaking proposal for the transformation and reconstruction of higher education. These proposals mark a turning point for higher education, away from the divisive past shaped by the geopolitical imagination of apartheid planners, to a confident future in which higher education will effectively meet the needs of the whole nation and not a select few.

There are areas in the current system which perform reasonably well. However, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the system are compromised by a number of factors, such as the paucity of graduate and research outputs, the quality of teaching, the incapacity of management and governing bodies, the lack of representivity among staff, institutional cultures that have not transcended the divides of the past, and the emergence of increased anarchic competition between institutions.

Our response to this unacceptable situation has been decisive. It is one that will touch every higher education institution in the country. The new system will comprise 21 higher education institutions, consisting of 11 universities, six technikons and four comprehensive institutions. In addition - and I agree with the MEC from the Northern Cape - we are setting up new bodies in the Northern Cape and Mpumalanga that we are naming the National Institutes for Higher Education in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. So while the reconstruction of the architecture of the system will provide the institutional basis for change, it is not the heart of the transformation process.

It is unusual to address in a budget speech a particular motion presented in this House. I know that the UDM is new to public life. Judging from their behaviour I hope that they will not last very long in public life, because it is quite clear that the intellectual poverty which resulted in this motion before us leads to the kind of tribalism and divisiveness that we had removed from our public life. I talk for the Eastern Cape, not for a so-called Transkei. That is very important.

Teaching in Umtata will be developed further. Umtata will become a viable, vibrant place for learning and teaching. In addition to technikon type education, Umtata will be the centre for distance education, community development, and regional development. If the member has a pipe, he will put that in his pipe and if he is able to do so, he will light it and smoke it … [Laughter.] … because this kind of illiteracy in this House does not do justice to the remarkable progress we have made in trying to get an agreement about the real future of our education system, which deserves further and more serious consideration.

Transformation, therefore, requires that the system be expanded and made accessible to a broader and more diverse group of students. We propose to increase our participation rate from 15% to 20% over the next ten years by recruiting an additional 200 000 students into the system. The participation rates of coloureds and Africans are appalling, namely 12% to 14% of the group aged 18 to 24 years. For whites it is 42%, which puts them in the highest category in the world. For Indians it is 39%. So we can no longer tolerate the exclusion of large parts of our community. Therefore, we must take measures to bring most students into the higher education system.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme will support many of these students. This scheme is undoubtedly one of the most successful mechanisms to promote equity and redress in higher education. We go for redress for individuals, for groups of people, and not for mythical institutions. This year alone, we have provided R800 million in loans and grants. A total of 232 000 young people have gone through higher education because of the Government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

Transformation also requires that we pay attention to the curriculum in higher education and to the quality of teaching and learning. I will soon be calling a conference with key role-players in higher education to address this matter so as to ensure that the curriculum reflects the values and ethos of our democracy. In addition, the power structure and the culture of the formally privileged institutions must undergo fundamental change to reflect the constitutional and political imperatives of our society. [Interjections.]

Mr G B D McINTOSH: How?

The MINISTER: In Greytown there is no higher education system and the member does not know what happens in the higher education system.

The strategies for the transformation of the higher education system are at last in place. The Higher Education Act provides for a three-month period in which role-players can make representations regarding their views on the Government’s proposals. I look forward to these responses. Much work has to be done in the coming months. However, we have no choice. We must turn the higher education system around. We must transcend the divisions of our past if we are to meet the aspirations and the hopes of future generations of South Africans.

It is clear that we have vastly improved access to education, and are continuing to do so. We are therefore in full support of the objectives of the Dakar Declaration of 2000, pledging education in primary and secondary schools for all by the year 2015.

The second theme which I mentioned earlier, and which frames our efforts, is that of success. We cannot build a high-quality education system by simply increasing access. We also need to ensure that our learners, our pupils, are able to achieve their true potential.

The importance of this is reflected, for example, in higher education where only 15% who enter the system actually graduate. This is clearly an enormous waste of both human and financial resources. It is for this reason that we will deal squarely with improving success rates in the implementation of our National Plan for Higher Education.

I am sure that hon members will agree that, without doubt, the matric results of 2001 have been a key milestone in our efforts to ensure success. From a starting point of below 50% not so long ago, we have improved the national pass rate to over 60%. However, that is only one indicator. We have therefore gone beyond that and inquired more deeply into the soul of the system. What we have found in schools was not very healthy.

Some schools have failed to embrace the values and symbols of our new democracy. We found often that religion, in certain instances, was being handled in a very insensitive manner. We found a culture of bullying and abuse. We found teachers and principals who preached democracy, but acted like dictators in the classroom. Respect for authority, which we must support and develop, must be earned by personal behaviour.

We do not wish to expand access to these types of learning areas. We have therefore embarked on a number of initiatives which seek to change the ethos of our schools so that they support a democratic climate and promote the values enshrined in our Constitution.

Our primary instrument in this regard is through the revision of the National Curriculum Statement based on firm, irrevocable support for outcomes-based education. Apart from the necessary streamlining of the design, the statement provides profound new directions with respect to human rights, national identity, an appreciation of the great diversity - I draw Mr Aucamp’s attention to this - of this nation, and innovative approaches to learning. The new statement will be introduced in the Foundation Phase in 2004.

We have also played a leading role in the national campaign to instil a moral purpose in our society through our associated Values in Education initiative. The South African History Project has a special focus on the content and quality of history teaching, and the revitalisation of individual knowledge as part of the curriculum. These are important achievements which have changed not just the way we do business, but also, more importantly, the very reasons as to why we do it. We have tried to ensure that all the role-players engaged in education share a passion and a commitment towards our special responsibilities.

Sadly, our successes are threatened. Vigilance is the price of democracy, and we cannot allow our hard-won gains to be compromised. There are two threats currently confronting us: One is indiscipline, and the other is HIV/Aids.

We have recently seen yet another bout of unacceptable and undisciplined behaviour by some students. They have damaged property, burnt buildings and looted from the poor. In doing so, they have burnt their own homes, stolen from and injured their own mothers and fathers and, of course, they have given away their own education. We must remind our students about what Bertolt Brecht, an extraordinary revolutionary, said:

Never forget that men like you got hurt, that you may sit here … and now don’t shut your eyes, and don’t desert, but learn to learn …

The overwhelming majority of our people, both black and white, want a new life for themselves, especially those who have been deprived in the past. The few cannot be allowed to destroy these hopes and dreams. The majority deserve our support while they study to become the future leaders of our country.

There is a need for a serious debate about the whole matter of discipline and accountability in education. Discipline must be a central component of all that we do. For real change to take place, we require the highest levels of ethical and professional behaviour from our administrators and officials as well as from our teachers and lecturers.

The second threat confronting us is that of HIV/Aids. It stands to undermine all our successes. It is a real threat and a current one. This threat is undoubtedly compounded by the levels of sexual abuse found in our sites of learning. Last week, we held the first ever National Conference on HIV/Aids and Education, which was attended by over 500 delegates from all over the country. Together we applied our collective wisdom in developing a creative and humane response to the crisis. I hope we can have a debate in this House on how to deal with HIV and education.

Mine is a small department whose budget is insignificant in relation to national spending on education and which operates under the framework of our Constitution with the provinces. Our successes are not therefore ours alone to claim. They are a result of the hard work displayed by all those who have worked hand-in-hand with us on this difficult but necessary journey.

In this regard, I must express my appreciation to all our partners. This includes the teachers, the unions, the university and technikon communities, and the MECs for Education together with their officials. I also wish to thank our donor community, both local and international, for the continued support and solidarity they have shown for our transformation agenda. [Applause.]

We are now practising joined-up government. We work very closely with the Department of Labour, not only in terms of quality assurance, but also in terms of all the other areas that impinge on education. This also requires our special thanks.

My sincerest gratitude goes to the portfolio committee, under the leadership of the able chairperson, Shepherd Mayatula, which has virtually sat in permanent session this year. My special thanks go to the Deputy Minister, Mosibudi Mangena, who has led his areas of responsibility with quiet passion and dedication. His involvement has cemented a patriotic alliance that supersedes narrow party political interests.

I must pay special tribute also to my Director-General and officials who have had to work inordinate hours to meet the new challenges posed. Finally, I must praise my personal staff for their continued support.

Let me end by saying that, in our celebrations, we must not forget the telling words of the great poet William Blake, adapted to the South African context, when he wrote:

I will not cease from Mental Fight Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand Till we have built Jerusalem … … in South Africa’s diverse and pleasant land

Our own Jerusalem is an education system for the 21st century. Together we will build it. [Applause.]

Mr R S NTULI: Mr Chairperson, the hon the Minister, colleagues, members of governing bodies, teachers and learners, the enormous importance of education in laying the foundation for addressing the development needs of our democratic country cannot be overemphasised. The foregoing explains why the nation as a whole focuses so much on this department.

So, the crucial questions are: Is the taxpayers money being spent appropriately? Are we making bold, effective moves towards quality education for all?

Certainly, there have been significant improvements in certain areas. For example, as the Minister indicated, the comparatively good performance of the Grade 12 class of 2000 was consolidated last year, though qualitatively no significant improvement was noticeable, especially in critical subjects such as mathematics and science.

We also note with appreciation the bold and tenacious intentions of the Minister to restructure and transform higher education in spite of strenuous resistance from some quarters. Fragmented along racial and ethnic lines, the higher education system has reflected severe social inequalities, and this situation cannot be allowed to continue. We wish the Minister well in this herculean task, and hope that he soon strikes some accord with the relevant stakeholders.

However, the entire education system still reflects grave shortcomings, which we cannot deny. School infrastructure improvement paints a very sad picture. Provinces have spent, on average, in the previous financial year, only 71% of the money allocated for that programme. Whatever the reasons may be, it is the poor, historically disadvantaged teachers and learners who suffer most. Usually, they are located in rural areas. It is high time that we start showing care and empathy for the poor, for whom education is the only way to escape from poverty by providing the necessary resources.

Equally sad is the underspending by provincial education departments on HIV/Aids education, which the Minister touched on. Only R25 million was spent while R38 million still lies in the coffers. The two worst performing provinces are the Eastern Cape and Limpopo. Again, it was largely the poor, historically disadvantaged learners who were the victims.

The Minister should indicate to this House how he is going to ensure that the provincial departments have the structures in place to ensure proper implementation of the Aids education budget. We suggest, in the meantime, that such moneys should be channelled to organisations that are serious about combating Aids.

The quality of the schooling system also needs improvement. The developmental appraisal system never got under way. Yes, indeed, the department did develop the whole-school evaluation and systematic evaluation programmes. However, we have not seen much of it happening on the ground. For the quality of education to improve a holistic approach to these things is essential. It is totally unacceptable, partly because of lack of proper evaluation, that in many schools learners are still wasting their time. They are virtually on the road to nowhere.

How can a learner remain positive and motivated in a school with a 0% pass rate, where basics of accountability do not exist, and where many teachers are not even good role models? The image of the teaching profession suffers further because of certain teachers who have criminal tendencies. They indulge in rape and drug abuse. We suggest that the Government, with the unions, should flush out such teachers as a matter of urgency.

I would like to deal briefly with the issue of the pervasive uncertainty regarding curricular development. We are aware that Grade 9 learners should be evaluated at the end of the year according to OBE Curriculum 2005. The crucial question is: Who will do the evaluation? Is it going to be done at provincial, district or school level? If it is going to be school level, are our teachers equipped to handle this complicated process? What is cause for further concern is the Grade 10-to-12 learners who will be moving on. If they are going to move to the traditional method of education, it seems that this will create problems, because the learning areas and the subjects in the old syllabi certainly do not articulate matters properly. Perhaps, the Minister will clarify matters regarding that.

I would now like to reflect on the conduct of students and learners. The conduct of students at the University of the North is shocking. It is disgraceful that students should resort to destroying property because they have been denied enough money to drown their sorrows in liquor. During the apartheid regime, violence was imported to the institutions by apartheid agents. Today, the source of destruction comes from within. This comes at a time when higher education is increasingly becoming accessible to many poor but deserving students.

These events, linked to the behaviour of Cosas, are disturbing in that the Government certainly has done more than the previous apartheid regime. We should ask ourselves: Why do these students not buy into our society? What prevents them from behaving in a normal way? Perhaps we need to reflect on that. How do they feel knowing that Government Ministers and the black elite, including their own teachers, send their children to former Model C schools and private schools, and, most likely, later to historically white universities? In short, they find themselves living in the same parlous conditions that existed under apartheid. Their parents are still poor. Their economic and social circumstances have remained static. For them black empowerment happens only to those with political connections to people who matter.

Yes, indeed, these are possibly serious omens that we have not advanced enough to improve the quality of our education. We in the DP are committed to providing relevant, nondiscriminatory quality education for all, because we believe that education is a means to self-fulfilment and the development of people’s full potential. [Interjections.] We believe that education is a means to contribute to progress and prosperity for the country and all its people, a key to addressing unemployment, and a critical success factor in making our economy globally competitive.

Quality education in the classroom is non-negotiable. Standards in education must be guaranteed by means of benchmarking, enforcement of norms, assessment and certification. Where excellence currently exists, as seen in independent and private schools, it must be acknowledged and protected.

The DA believes that it is important to instil discipline and core values at school level. Without these things, there is no hope for the future. [Applause.]

Prof S M MAYATULA: Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, guests and students, allow me to open this debate with the wise words of Jesper Morch, the Unicef representative to South Africa, who said, and I quote:

As we embark on the next phase of work towards the realisation of children’s rights, we are guided by the lessons learned in pursuing the goals of the 1990 world summit for children and inspired by the comments proposed for the next decade. In a global movement for children, heads of state and government from every corner of the world, the children of the world and civil society leaders are resolved to ensure that: all children have access to quality basic education, health and nutrition; all children are protected from exploitation and violence; and all children have the possibility to live in a world free from HIV/Aids.

Article 28 of the Children’s Rights Charter states, and I quote:

The child has a right to education, and the state’s duty is to ensure that primary education is free and compulsory, to encourage different forms of secondary education accessible to every child and to make higher education available to all on the basis of capacity. School discipline shall be consistent with the child’s rights and dignity. The state shall engage in international co-operation to implement this right.

Section 29(1)(a) of our Constitution and the South African Schools Act have translated these declarations into laws that govern and protect our children. The education budget that we are debating today is geared towards breathing life into these noble intentions.

The computer software donation by Microsoft that was announced by the President in his state of the nation address this year, which is a stepping stone in building the bridges for our learners to access and utilise technology to ensure that they are digitally literate, has already been turned into a contract that commenced on 21 May 2002 and ends on 31 December 2004. The programme is targeting approximately 32 000 schools that have severely limited financial resources and little hope of purchasing modern information and communication technology.

The department has put aside money for the following programmes, among others, to which my colleagues will refer. The higher education sector has received R7,99 billion; financial management and quality enhancement have received R224,320 million; the early childhood development grant has received R52 million this year; Thuba Makote - Schools as Centres of Community Development programme has received R34 million; the national Ikhwelo project has received R40 million in this year’s budget; and the HIV/Aids programme received a grant of R142 million. This brings me to the HIV/Aids conference that was hosted by the Department of Education in Johannesburg last week, where the hon the Minister, Prof Kader Asmal, reminded us, and I quote:

Education is a social vaccine against HIV/Aids.

The highlight of the conference was the live presentation of real stories by little children who shared their HIV/Aids-related experiences. These included how they had been orphaned and had to look after their siblings; how they had been raped by their own relatives; how they did not have money for uniforms and as a result were sent home from school; how they went to school hungry but their schools would not allow them to participate in the feeding scheme because they had not paid their school fees; and how some teachers went the extra mile and assisted them both emotionally and financially. We salute those teachers.

Some children boldly declared their HIV-positive status. These stories left an indelible mark on the minds of most delegates. We are living in a cruel world. Some of our people have lost their sense of ubuntu. Our good policies and laws are either unknown or deliberately ignored. How on earth can a person deprive a hungry child of food, let alone state food?

According to the South African Schools Act, schooling up to Grade 9 is free and compulsory in our country. Under no circumstances should anybody prevent children from attending school. As if the children’s stories were not bad enough, we also got reports that despite the good work done by the South Africa Council of Educators in deregistering a number of offending teachers, there were still some teachers who continued to have sexual relations with learners. This is culturally and morally reprehensible, and the educators’ code of ethics does not allow it.

These teachers are taking advantage of vulnerable learners who out of respect cannot stop their advances. They not only deflower and demoralise them, but they also infect them with HIV/Aids. To such people, Leopus Kalka had this to say, and I quote:

The purpose of life is to help others and if you cannot help them, would you at least not hurt them?

In the name of Letsema, let us all join hands to root out this scourge. Let our communities, school governing bodies, principals, teacher unions and student unions break their silence. They should break the rules of protocol, if there are any, and report these cases directly to the heads of departments, MECs, the South African Council of Educators, the national Minister of Education and even the Portfolio Committee on Education. Let us engage in a campaign to name and shame such teachers.

As we debate this budget in this month which has been declared Youth Month, we cannot ignore the horrible incidents involving our youth that occurred in the past two weeks, to which the hon Ntuli referred. I am referring to the burning down of property at the University of the North and the violent behaviour of our youth in the streets of Johannesburg. One cannot help but ascribe this behaviour to reactionary individuals who continue to tarnish the name of the organisation for their own narrow and ill-informed, selfish needs. Ironically, all these acts are committed in the name of education.

In the dark days of apartheid, blacks were treated like slaves and worse than animals in the land of their birth. They had no rights whatsoever. The violent reaction of the apartheid regime to peaceful protest left students with no option but to retaliate with everything at their disposal. In some instances this included violence. However, there is no reason to resort to such archaic forms of protest, as the democratic dispensation allows for dialogue and constructive engagement.

In this day and hour, when the whole continent is looking up to our youth for leadership and guidance, I was happy when I heard that the Youth Commission was moving around, campaigning for clean-ups in different towns. This shows that the majority of our youth out there still have the moral fibre that we need.

As we speak, our country is hosting an important Nepad conference. When section 23(2)(c) of our Constitution gives us the right to strike, there can be no excuse for the use of any form of force or violence, however aggrieved our people might be.

The report on the transformation and reconstruction of the higher education system was unveiled last Thursday. It is a great improvement on the report of the working group. The relevant structures have a further three months to make their comments before it is finalised. I will not comment on the proposed measures for now, but I will confine myself to the broad objectives outlined in the national plan, which we sometimes lose as we discuss the real mergers.

I am referring to increasing access and producing graduates with the skills and competences necessary to meet the human resource needs of the country. I am referring to the special attention which is going to be paid to ensuring that the fee structures and admission requirements of these restructured institutions do not adversely impact on access. I am referring to the promotion of equity of access and outcomes, and to reducing past inequalities by ensuring that student and staff profiles reflect the demographic composition of South Africa. I am referring to promoting institutional diversity in order to meet national and regional skills and knowledge. The plan refers to building research capacity, including maintaining existing research strengths and ensuring that research contributes to the national development needs.

The new academic policy is intended to improve the portability of our education qualifications, thus promoting greater student mobility between different institutions and qualifications. This will go a long way in addressing the plight of many students who are roaming the streets with incomplete degrees because they lack one or two courses which they can only complete by going back to their original institutions.

I am referring to the equity targets which, it is said, should focus on the fields in which black and women students are under-represented, particularly business, commerce, science, engineering and technology programnes, as well as postgraduate programmes in general. If members look at our research output, members will find that women represent less than 2%. If we do not consciously try to change this around, it will never change. That our Parliament has as many women represented here as it has was not through a stroke of lightning, but through a conscious decision that there was a need to include them, not only to be with us, but to lead as they do in many departments even now.

Equity in access must be complemented by equity in outcomes, through the development of academic development programmes. Language will not be allowed to act as a barrier to access or success. I remember when I was recruited by my professor to do my honours degree in economics. In the second week he referred me to a number of so-called very important pieces of literature in Afrikaans. I told him there and then that I was not going to read that. I would rather fail before I started than start and be part of my own failure in the process.

In conclusion, whatever shortcomings the Department of Education might have, I think we can all agree that it does have a plan which is contained in this document. It does have a vision and there is a definite positive movement forward. If we all join hands and do our little bit, victory is certain. The ANC supports this Vote. [Applause.]

Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members …

… bafowethu nodadewethu, manene namanenekazi [brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen …]

… the delivery of quality education is a significant step towards social progress, social justice and affirmation of individual dignity. This is in, fact, a constitutional imperative.

Prior to 1994, South Africa’s education system was fragmented along racial and ethnic lines. Today we have a department that is united and co- ordinated, amalgamating the various departments into a single entity. Today there is better co-operation between national and provincial departments. This is a significant achievement. [Applause.] Wait! [Laughter.]

I have no intention of undermining the above achievements, but they are simply structural and legal. The IFP believes that education is not simply a commodity, but a human right. I know that through various legislative efforts and budgetary interventions, such as the one we are discussing this afternoon, the department is striving towards the achievement of the basic education ideal. But an hour’s visit to the countryside still tells one a story of neglect, deprivation, wastefulness and inefficiency.

Wastefulness and inefficiency are the two ills that are inflicting the most harm on our recuperating system of education. One example of wastefulness is the overdependency on consultants. Although consultants are necessary, we are wasting funds by relying too much on them when we should rather be strengthening those whom we have employed. What baffles me is the fact that a manager who was inefficient in his job suddenly becomes a good consultant upon resignation.

It appears that the policy and structural changes have not had the desired effect of galvanising and strengthening our system of education. We are concerned that the policy changes have not been accompanied by sufficient attitudinal changes to turn the system rapidly towards the achievement of the desired goals of efficiency and quality.

We have said this before, and we want to repeat it today. We - especially those who were disadvantaged - must stop behaving like victims, because a victim will always whine, cringe and succumb to his or her situation and wallow in self-pity. Aikhona! No! We must rise above what is seemingly insurmountable. Inefficiency, indolence, greed, foot-dragging, nepotism, incompetence, favouritism, drug abuse, harassment, drunkenness, maladministration, demotivation, you name it - all these are self- inflicted, but curable diseases. As we have pointed out already, the department can boast a number of educational reforms; yet it seems there is something that we are just not doing right.

Students of military strategy - I am tempted to look at the right side of the House; of course I can look at this side too - will know that timing is everything. Those who are familiar with township slang will know what we are talking about when we refer to an older person as a timer - I am not referring to the Minister. It is because we connect that man with the experience he has.

Sithi umuntu akathayimi. [We say a person does not time well.]

I am saying timing is everything. Doing the right things in the wrong order and at the wrong time invariably leads to disappointment and often to failure to achieve the original objectives.

Outcomes-based education, OBE, and Curriculum 2005 were good policy changes, necessary for the mindset change which looks at phenomena with critical thinking as opposed to the old carbon-paper way of learning. The introduction of the core curriculum, OBE, has however been marred by inadequate preparation. Our human component is simply not able to deliver the revolution that the new curriculum is calling for.

We need to develop a new teacher training strategy as a response to both the demands of the new curriculum and the attrition which is a result of the HIV/Aids pandemic. The present teacher training strategy is simply inadequate, or even unsuitable to the present situation. We do have proposals in this regard. Let us start serious discussions on the teacher training strategy where we can explore various models. I know, of course, that both the Department of Labour and of Education have developed a human development strategy, but I am calling for a more specific and focused discussion on teacher training, not in a once-off conference.

We must remember that different provinces have their own peculiar needs and requirements. This, therefore, calls for a multistrategy approach to teacher training. For the system to work efficiently and effectively, it will depend on a supply of teachers who have learnt the best of available practices, rather than simply perpetuating traditional teaching strategy. Teacher training may rightly be defined as a provincial competence which does not fall within the realm of the national debate.

This leads me to another weakness of the system, which is a source of major concern to us, and that is accountability. The present confused accountability for the nation’s education system may lie at the heart of its poor performance.

Evidently, responsibility cannot safely be divorced from authority if people and organisations are to be held accountable for their actions and the results they achieve with the resources at their disposal. Yet this divorce has characterised our education system at all levels. Each time teachers are not paid and support material is not delivered, district managers shift the blame to regional offices, and regional offices shift the blame to provincial offices, and provincial offices shift the blame to the supplier - the supplier who on occasion does not have the necessary resources to deliver. We have seen this in the case of the Eastern Cape. I am not singling out the Eastern Cape; this is prevalent in most provinces.

Clearer accountability for different aspects of the education system is urgently required. I think we have a meeting of minds here. I heard the Minister also mentioning that accountability is a problem in our education system.

Better management training for both principals and district officials is also an urgent need. I know that district renewal courses have been offered, but these have been described by independent observers as patchy and mediocre. We propose the establishment of an institution or centres to help potential principals and managers, on an ongoing basis, to acquire the skills and knowledge they will need in what is a new management era for education.

At school level, efforts should be concentrated on eliminating the waste and inefficiency that sometimes go with teaching empty desks. Parents, teachers and learners need to know how well they are mastering the new curriculum and vision.

We are a product of unequal treatment and to a large extent our education landscape still reflects that legacy of discriminatory practices in the allocation of resources. Our budget, in accordance with our unequal past, must be a corrective one. It needs to take account of the particular problems of teaching both in urban and in deprived rural areas.

For instance, what are the budgetary incentives for those who teach in deprived rural areas? The introduction of norms and standards in the funding of schools has been a welcome policy intervention, but it has unfortunately resulted in roll-overs, because schools lack budgetary capacity and skills. [Interjections.] The IFP is not in the habit of saying ``we told you so’’. We support this Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Mr L M KGWELE: Mr Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, after listening to the inputs of the hon Mr Ntuli of the Deurmekaar Alliance'', the DP - Harksen alliance, I am inclined to agree with Winston Churchill thata pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty’’.

DP/DA ba tshwana le dintsi tse ditala, bo mabodisa nama, tse di sa jeng nama mme di etalafatsa fela. [The DP/DA are like green flies whose job it is to make meat rotten. They actually do not eat meat but just make it green in colour.]

They are spoilers. As we celebrate the turning of the tide of the matric results and the overall success of appropriate interventions by the Department of Education, we need to recognise that education is the seed and flower of development. Indeed, broad-based and high-quality education reduces poverty and inequality, and is essential for sustained economic growth. Combined with good macroeconomic policies, it is fundamental to the construction of democratic societies and globally competitive economies.

It is the key to creating, applying and spreading new ideas and technologies, which in turn are critical to sustained high growth. It augments cognitive and other skills, which in turn improve the productivity of labour. Better educated women are more effective in improving household welfare, promoting children’s health and enhancing intergenerational social and economic benefits for their children. Education is also the great equaliser and the ultimate liberator in that it provides poor people with access to productive assets such as land and capital, and empowers them to make personal choices.

It is important that I should emphasise that with regard to school education - which is the focus of my input in this debate - the national department is responsible for policy-making, monitoring and support, while provinces are responsible for the actual service delivery and financing of education.

The total learner support material allocated for 2002, calculated from the individual allocations to provinces amounts to R1,2 billion. This represents an increase of R392,6 million on the amount for the 1998-99 financial year. Despite the amount of funding made available, very few provinces reported, we must admit, 100% delivery of learner support material to schools before the first day of school.

By May some schools in provinces such as the Eastern Cape had not received learner support material. However, we should acknowledge that delivering learner support material to more than 30 000 schools is a huge logistical task, filled with problems ranging from lack of security at schools to delays in tender processes. Other problems include failure by the most critical structure in the delivery of service, the district, in providing ongoing support to schools, and the return rate of textbooks to schools.

Despite all these problems, provinces such as Limpopo have been successful with regard to the delivery of learner support material. The province has already started with the requisitions for next year’s learner support material.

We need to focus on the functionality of districts and to ensure that officials at this level of service are held accountable for service delivery and are responsive to the needs of communities. We should make sure that these officials regularly visit schools and give support to school managers and school governing bodies. We should not blame the system for the incompetence of individuals.

In order to alleviate the plight of learners who go to school without food, the department has prioritised the extension of the net of the primary school nutrition programme to reach more than 4 719 489 learners who currently benefit from the scheme. As the ANC, we wish to support the process of review of the programme, specifically in areas of coverage, targeting and menus, so that the system is effective and achieves its intended purpose, and reaches all needy learners across the board. We hope that such a review would also appropriately locate the programme for effective monitoring and evaluation.

In support of this Vote I also wish, on behalf of the ANC, to congratulate the Ministry of Education on a successful conference on HIV/Aids in the education sector, held over the past weekend in Johannesburg. Given the enormity of the challenges posed by the pandemic, the conference proved vital in finding holistic solutions to the intricate array of challenges. [Interjections.] Unfortunately, no members of the opposition attended that conference or participated as speakers. [Interjections.]

The conditional grant for HIV/Aids was introduced in the Supplementary Budget for 2000-2001 and was tabled in Parliament on 14 June 2000. [Interjections.] A total amount of R31,295 billion was granted for education in 2000-2001, of which R26 930 billion was allocated to provincial education departments and R4 365 billion to the Department of Education. The HIV/Aids programme is a three-year programme, which commenced in the 2000-2001 financial year.

The main reason for the low spending in the 2000-2001 financial year is that the transfer of these funds was only gazetted on 28 August 2000. Therefore, this project could only commence late in 2000. However, during the 2000-2001 financial year, project managers and financial administrative officers were appointed in the provinces to manage the project. The printing of learner material was undertaken and the materials distributed to the provinces. [Interjections.]

During 2000-2001, 1 289 workshops were conducted for master trainers and teachers; 803 master trainers were trained; 29 966 teachers were trained; and 4 353 peer educators were trained. [Applause.] Given the above, we are satisfied as the ANC that the department is dealing urgently and purposefully with the HIV/Aids emergency in and through the education and training system. We call on all our parents to support these initiatives as necessary interventions for the future of our children.

As we build a caring and people-centred society, I feel strongly that we owe it to the learners who, at the conference, reported abuse, ill- treatment, discrimination and stigmatisation, to rid the education system of heartless educators, school managers and officials who abuse our children, and distort, misrepresent and undermine our policies and transformation agenda. In protecting our children and defending our democratic gains, we should deal with them like a dog deals with a bone, as we used to say in the trade union movement, which Comrade Randall will remember.

We also call on the Department of Education to investigate the alleged victimisation of educators who have declared their HIV/Aids status, such as Ms Sibongile Mkhize, an educator allegedly dismissed by a school manager in Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal. There should be no room in the Public Service for those who are not committed to serving our people with honesty, loyalty, commitment, dedication and compassion.

School governing bodies, school managers, parents, educators and learners should, as part of their contribution to building a people-centred and caring society, expose perpetrators of these ghastly acts. We call on educators in our schools to identify vulnerable children, to assist Government in establishing a database, and to co-ordinate support and care for children affected by and infected with the disease.

As part of Letsema, we wish to encourage schools to form support groups with community outreach programmes for those affected and infected with HIV/Aids. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, the previous speaker made a telling point when he said that education was the great liberator.

I thank the hon the Minister for this pen, which I found in the Vote package. I am always short of pens because I am computer illiterate, but I plan to join adult basic education and training as soon as possible.

Edmund Burke said: ``Education is the cheap defence of nations.’’ Therefore, the R7,9 billion earmarked in the Budget for the national Department of Education will be money well spent. As much as 90% of the department’s budget will be spent on higher education, and I will follow the same pattern in my speech.

The three teachers’ trade unions recently gave the Minister of Education an overall E'' on his report card. Perhaps they were a bit too harsh on the hon the Minister. Reforming the country's education system within a short period of time is a mammoth task. Because of the hon the Minister's sheer determination to make a difference - and yes, indeed, he did make a difference - he should get anA’’. But when it comes to the language policy of universities, where a new form of Milnerism is apparently hovering, I am afraid the Minister will not pass. I will come back to this point later on.

It seems as if the current system of differentiation in secondary schools, namely higher and standard grades, is causing many problems. The system is mostly misused by schools when they force learners into standard grade in order to attain a 100% pass rate in matric.

Citadel chairman Louis Fourie said that if only 7% of matriculants find jobs in the formal sector, the fault does not lie with the economy, but with the quality of people created for that economy. And this is borne out by the fact that in 2001 only 7,8% of matriculants wrote mathematics higher grade and only 9,4% wrote accounting higher grade. Although the hon the Minister indicated in a reply to a question in Parliament that he had no intention of doing away with the standard grade course in secondary schools, it would be worthwhile to reconsider the matter.

The uneven distribution of qualified teachers countrywide is a serious matter and should be addressed urgently. However, we do not believe that the proposed amendment to the Employment of Educators Act is the answer to the problem. This amendment transfers the governing body’s power of appointment with regard to first applicants to the various education departments. Parental involvement through governing bodies is an important requirement for successful school management and should not be tampered with.

There are other methods of ensuring a more equitable distribution of qualified teachers. For example, an agreement should be reached with learners that learners will study free of charge in exchange for required service delivery wherever needed, equal to the years spent studying. When the hon the Minister unveiled his plan for higher education, he said: If apartheid's engineer Hendrik Vervoerd knew how the tertiary education landscape was about to change, he would not just be turning in his grave, he would also be doing somersaults''. Theturning in the grave’’ part I understand, but the ``somersault’’ part I do not understand, because one usually dos a somersault when one is elated about something, as Breyton Paulse does when he has scored a try in a test match. The only thing that Dr Verwoerd could be happy about - and I am also happy about it - is the fact that Fort Hare, which obtained full university status during the apartheid era, still maintains its autonomy in terms of the newly announced plan.

The New NP welcomes the Cabinet’s recommendation that the number of higher education institutions be reduced from 36 to 21. A country with 42 million people cannot afford 36 higher education institutions. Keeping Fort Hare and the University of the Western Cape as autonomous institutions is a wise step and reconfirms the principle that there is a place for universities with an own institutional character.

Robert Sobukwe’s vision that Fort Hare should be for the African what Stellenbosch is for the Afrikaner can now be accomplished. I therefore cannot agree with Prof Badat, Chief Director of the Council on Higher Education, when he writes in the Sunday Times, and I quote:

We must also avoid claims to safeguarding institutional traditions and culture as if these are frozen conditions.

As is the case with Fort Hare, I believe that there should be room for universities with an own institutional character. A university is much more than a mere technical institute for occupational training. There is an intimate bond between a university and the specific community it serves, which in turn will determine the institutional character of that university.

In this regard I have a question for the hon the Minister. The management of the Potchefstroom University decided to retain the word ``Christian’’ in the name of the university. Will the Minister, consequently, allow them to do so by approving the statute of the university, which is now his responsibility?

The three months set aside for comments should be utilised by the special unit which will oversee the mergers, and get the support and co-operation of institutions affected by mergers. The whole process will be still born if there is no proper consultation, and I think the Unisa debacle emphasises the need for consultation amongst the parties concerned.

Mergers cannot happen overnight, and the five-year phase-in period is to be welcomed. This period should be used by all higher education institutions to create a culture of academic co-operation in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of scarce resources.

Perhaps voluntary co-operation should have preceded formal mergers, as is the case in Taiwan. Eight of the island’s most prestigious national universities have announced their decision to band together and form two university systems. The universities involved will maintain their independent status, their names and own organisational and administrative structures, whilst promising to share academic and physical resources in areas such as biotechnology, medicine and social sciences. Perhaps this route could also have been followed in South Africa or should be followed before the official mergers.

Allow me also to register my concern about the proposed mergers between universities and technikons. Nowhere in the world have such diverse institutions been merged before and it may be worthwhile to take note of presentations in this regard in the coming weeks.

I am now going to switch over to Afrikaans.

‘n Mens sou verwag dat die aanbeveling van die Gerwel komitee ‘n rol sou speel in die Minister se finale aanbeveling oor die moontlike samesmelting van universiteite. Trouens, in antwoord op ‘n vraag in dié verband vroeër vanjaar het die agb Minister aangedui dat dit wel die geval sou wees. Nou lyk dit of dit nie gaan gebeur nie. Ek wil weer vra: wanneer gaan die agb Minister die aanbevelings van die Gerwel-komitee bekend maak?

Dit sal ook goed wees as die agb Minister die Huis inlig oor presies wat sy taalbeleid vir hoër opvoedkundige inrigtings is. Die Minister het ook vroeër in die Parlement aangedui dat hy dit moontlik gaan oorweeg om … (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[One would have expected the recommendation of the Gerwel committee to play a role in the Minister’s final recommendation on the possible merger of universities. As a matter of fact, in reply to a question in this regard earlier this year the hon the Minister indicated that this would indeed be the case. Now it would appear that this is not going to happen. I want to ask once again: when is the hon the Minister going to release the recommendations of the Gerwel committee?

It would also be a good idea for the hon the Minister to inform the House precisely what his language policy for higher education institutions is. The Minister also indicated earlier on in Parliament that he may consider …]

The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Madam Speaker, can I do it now?

Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, I would really appreciate it if he would reply to this very important issue. I hope I will get injury time. [Laughter.]

The SPEAKER: Order! Are you injured? [Laughter.]

Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, not yet.

Die Minister het ook vroeër aangedui dat hy bepaalde universiteite verantwoordelik gaan maak om spesifieke landstale te bevorder as akademiese tale. Ons steun dit, want gelykberegtiging van alle landstale is ‘n grondwetlike reg. Al 11 landstale moet uiteindelik ontwikkel tot akademiese tale.

Wat ons veral van die Minister wil weet, is wat die posisie van Afrikaans in die nuwe universitêre landskap gaan wees binne die konteks van gelykberegtiging van landstale. Uit die kabinet se aanbevelings oor die samesmelting van universiteite blyk dit dat die histories Afrikaanse universiteite almal tot tweetaligheid gedwing gaan word, selfs op voorgraadse vlak, met die gevaar dat Engels Afrikaans uit daardie universiteite gaan verplaas weens praktiese redes.

Ons weet dat vyf Afrikaanse universiteite te veel is, maar tog regverdig die studentegetalle van Afrikaanssprekendes dat daar ten minste twee universiteite sal wees wat die opdrag het om Afrikaans as akademiese taal te ontwikkel. Dit is die enigste ander taal naas Engels wat reeds die status van wetenskapstaal bereik het. Hierdie status moet aan die vyf histories Afrikaanse universiteite wetlik beskerm word. Taal mag nooit as ‘n rookskerm gebruik word om studente doelbewus om ander redes uit te sluit nie.

Aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch, wat Afrikaans as onderrigtaal in sy instituut verskans het, word nie-Afrikaanssprekende studente effektief geakkommodeer, sonder om die status van Afrikaans as onderrigtaal aan te tas. Dit sou verkeerd wees om alle hoër opvoedkundige instellings sonder meer te verengels.

Die agb Minister het vroeër in sy toespraak gesê: ``We are not penalising Afrikaans medium institutions.’’ Maar ongelukkig word Afrikaanse universiteite benadeel wanneer hulle teen hoë koste gedwing word tot tweetaligheid, terwyl histories Engelstalige universiteite nie tweetaligheid hoef toe te pas nie.

Of die Nuwe NP die begrotingspos vir onderwys sal steun of nie sal afhang van die Minister se antwoord op hierdie vraag wat hy netnou al wou beantwoord. Ek hoop sy antwoord is positief. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.) [The Minister also indicated earlier on that he was going to make specific universities responsible for promoting specific official languages as academic languages. We support that, because the equal treatment of all official languages is a constitutional right. All 11 official languages must ultimately develop into academic languages.

What we would specifically like to know from the Minister is what the position of Afrikaans is going to be in the new university set-up within the context of treatment of the official languages? Judging by the Cabinet’s recommendations on the merger of universities it would appear that the historically Afrikaans universities are all going to be forced into bilingualism, even at undergraduate level, with the danger that English will replace Afrikaans at those universities for practical reasons.

We know that five Afrikaans universities are too many, but the number of Afrikaans-speaking students nevertheless justifies the existence of at least two universities, which have been entrusted with developing Arikaans as an academic language. It is the only language other than English that has already achieved the status of a scientific language. This status must be protected by law at the five historically Afrikaans universities. Language may never be used as a smokescreen deliberately to exclude students for other reasons.

At the University of Stellenbosch, which has entrenched Afrikaans as its language of instruction, non-Afrikaans-speaking students are being effectively accommodated, without assailing the status of Afrikaans as the language of instruction. It would be wrong simply to Anglicise all higher education institutions.

The hon the Minister said earlier on in his speech: ``We are not penalising Afrikaans-medium institutions.’’ But unfortunately Afrikaans universities are being adversely affected when they are forced into bilingualism at great expense, while historically English universities need not introduce bilingualism.

Whether or not the New NP is going to support the Education Vote will depend on the Minister’s reply to this question which he wanted to answer a while ago. I hope his reply will be positive. [Applause.]]

Nk P N MNANDI: Somlomo, boNgqongqoshe abahloniphekile, malungu ahloniphekile, othishela nabafundi, maqabane nezihlobo, kulowa nyaka ngenkathi sidingida uhlelo lweSabiwomali ngathi: lube uphaphe esigqokweni sakhe uNgqongqoshe uTrevor Manuel. Ngonyaka odlule ngithe uHulumeni oholwa nguKhongolose, phansi kukaMongameli uThabo Mbeki, udodile. Kulo nyaka ngithi uHulumeni oholwa nguKhongolose uzibhidlizile izindonga zobandlululo kwimfundo ephakeme. Avulekile amasango. [Ihlombe.]

Namhlanje kuyakhanya bha kumphakathi wonkana waseNingizimu Afrika ukuthi lo Hulumeni usahamba ezinyathelweni zawo uSomqulu weNkululeko, wona othi: Amathuba okufunda kanye namasiko ayokuvuleleka kuwo wonke umuntu; UHulumeni uyothuthukisa futhi akhuthaze amathalente akhona ukuze enze ngcono impucuko yethu; Wonke umnotho wempucuko uyokutholwa ngabantu bonke; Inhloso yemfundo kuyokuba ukufundisa intsha ukuthanda izwe layo, ithande abantu bakubo, ithande amasiko ayo, ihloniphe ubudlelwano nenkululeko noxolo; Imfundo iyoba yinye, ifane kubantu bonke; Ubandlululo ngokwebala ezintweni zempucuko, emidlalweni nasemfundweni kuyoqedwa nya.

Uma ngiqeda ukucaphuna kuSomqulu weNkululeko, ngithanda ukungena ngqo odabeni lweNyuvesi yaseNyakatho, eLimpompo. Kubafundi abangaphezu kwama- 800, kusuke abafundi abangevile kuma-200, abanye babo ababona nabafundi kule nyuvesi, babhikisha befuna kukhishwe ngenkani imali engamarandi ayi- 300 000 yokuba kwenziwe indumezulu yegigi lokwamukela abafundi abasha. Kuyacaca ukuthi iningi lale mali belizosetshenziswa ekuthengeni amanzi amponjwana.

Okunye okunyanyisayo ukuthi bebebhikishela ukuthi emagumbini lapho kuhlala khona abafundi kufuneka kube uthelawayeka kuwo - zonke nje zihlale ndawonye. Kule nyuvesi kuke kwaba khona lokhu kuhlalisana ndawonye ngaphambilini. Kodwa-ke kwaba nezinkinga zokuhlukunyezwa kwabafundi besifazane, abanye babo baze badlwengulwa nokudlwengulwa. Kwaba khona nokungaphephi kumantombazane. Kwavalwa-ke ngenxa yalezo zinkinga. Izingane zethu ziyela ukuyofunda emanyuvesi, hhayi ukuya kokipita.

Kuyacaca-ke ukuthi likhona leli dlanzana elingafuni ukuthi le nyuvesi iphathwe ngobuqotho. Bafuna nje kube kukampunzi edla emini. Kuyajabulisa ukuzwa ukuthi iningi labafundi kule nyuvesi alihambisani nale midlwembe ecekela phansi impahla ekhokhwa ngabakhokhi bentela. Thina, singuKhongolose, siyahambisana nalokho okushiwo ngabaphathi benyuvesi ukuthi: Labo ndlavini abangavunyelwa ukubeka imicondo yabo emagcekeni ale nyuvesi. [Ihlombe.] Bonke abathintekayo ekucekelweni phansi kwempahla mababoshwe. Abaholi bezinhlangano zabafundi nezentsha mabaphumele eshashalazini, bazigxeke izenzo ezifana nalezi. Kubafundi bonke sithi: Uma bevukwa ufuqufuqu, mabangacekeli phansi impahla. Mabaphuze amanzi.

Udaba lolimi luseyinkinga kwimfundo ephakeme ngoba zisekhona izikhungo zemfundo ephakeme namhlanje ezisebenzisa ulimi njengesihibe esenza ukuthi abanye abafundi abangalwazi lolo lwimi bangakwazi ukufunda kulezo zikhungo, kumbe bahluleke nokuphumelela ezifundweni zabo. Ngonyaka odlule, kuthe sihambele izikhungo zemfundo ephakeme safika kwenye inyuvesi okufundiswa kuyo ngolimi lwesiBhunu nesiNgisi, uma besho. Emini, uma kufundiswa, kufundwa ngesiBhunu sodwa bese kuthi uma selishonile ilanga, laba abangasizwa isiBhunu bathole incazelo ngesiNgisi.

Okwangimangaza kakhulu ukuthi ngenkathi sixoxa nabafundisi balesi sikhungo, babedamane bexolisa bethi abakwazi ukuyibeka kahle inkulumo yabo, ngoba phela ulimi lukaJoji aluvuki kahle ngakubona. Ngazibuza ngaziphendula ngathi: Hhabe! uma besho kanje kithina, kangakanani kumfundi ongasizwa nhlobo isiBhunu?

Nansi-ke enye inselele esibhekene nayo: imfundo ephakeme yezilimi zabomdabu. Iningi lezilimi zethu alifundiswa nokufundiswa emanyuvesi. [Ihlombe.] Kulezo eziyingcosana ezifundiswayo, zifundiswa ngesiNgisi kanti futhi zifundiswa ngabamhlophe abangenalo ulwazi ngemikhuba namasiko alaba bantu abakhuluma lezi zilimi. Uye uthole ukuthi enyuvesi ethile umnyango wesiZulu uphethwe umlungu omhlophe qwa okuthi uma ukhuluma naye ngolukaPhunga noMageba, kuvele kudume upotiyane. Lokhu-ke kugcina sekunemiphumela yokuthi abafundi badikibale, bagcine sebezigwema izifundo zolimi lwabomdabu.

Iminyango yezilimi zabomdabu ayiphathwe ngabomdabu kumanyuvesi. Makwenziwe ucwaningo olunzulu ngezilimi zakithi ngoba uma izilimi zethu zingathuthukiswa kumazinga emfundo ephakeme, zizonyamalala bese sigcina sesifana nse namaNgisi amnyama. [Ihlombe.]

Indaba-ke lena yokubaluleka kolimi ngiyibone kahle ngisenguthisha ngifundisa isiNgisi kumatekuletsheni. Ngomunye unyaka ngahamba nami ngaya ePitoli ngiyomaka amaphepha esiNgisi. Ngangimaka iphepha lokuqala. Kwakunesihloko esasikhuluma ngezidakamizwa. Ngamaka iphepha lomfundi owayebhale ngesihloko esithi ``The Shadow of the Chicken’’. Mina-ke angibanga nenkinga ngoba ngavele ngabona ukuthi phela lona ukhuluma ngomthunzi wezinkukhu, insangu belu. [Uhleko.] Kwathi ukuba amaphepha ami aye ku -moderator, kwasuka esinamathambo ethi yena lo mfundi akalifeyile leli phepha ngoba ayikho into okuthiwa yi-shadow of the chicken ngesiNgisi.[Uhleko.] Ngagcina ngalowo nyaka ukuyomaka ePitoli, angiphindanga ngaya.

Ngabe ngenza iphutha uma ngingangabongi ukundlondlobala kwesikhwama sokusiza abafundi kwimfundo ephakeme, esibizwa ngokuthi yi-NSFAS. Kulo nyaka lesi sikhwama sinikezwe imali … [Kwaphela isikhathi.] (Translation of Zulu speech follows.)

[Ms P N MNANDI: Madam Speaker, hon Ministers, hon members, teachers and learners, comrades and relatives, the year before last, when we discussed the budget, I said it was a feather in the cap of Minister Trevor Manuel. Last year I said that the ANC-led Government, led by President Thabo Mbeki, had done well. This year I am saying that the ANC-led Government has broken down the walls of apartheid in tertiary education. Doors are now open. [Applause.]

Today it is clear to all South Africans that this Government is implementing the steps stipulated in the ANC Freedom Charter, which says: Learning opportunities and cultures will be open to all people; the Government will promote and develop existing skills so as to improve our civilisation; economic civilisation will be achieved by all people; the aim of education will be to teach the youth to love their country, their own people, their own culture and to respect relationships, freedom and peace; there will be one education which will be the same for all; racial discrimination in matters of civilisation, sport and education will be abolished.

In concluding the quotes from the Freedom Charter, I would like to discuss the issue of the University of the North in Limpopo. Out of 800 students, 200, including students who are not registered at this university, embarked on mass action, demanding that R300 000 be made available to them so that they could throw a big welcoming party for new students. It is clear that a large percentage of this sum of money was going to be used to buy alcohol. Another disgusting thing that they were demanding was that their residences should not be separated according to sex, they should be mixed. There was this staying-together at this university before. But incidents of female victimisation, including incidents of rape, were reported. Female students felt very unsafe. This was then stopped because of these problems. Our children go to university to study not to cohabit unlawfully.

It is clear that there is this group of people who do not want this university to be administered properly. They want it to be a place where everyone does whatever they wish. It is gratifying to hear that most students are against these hooligans who are destroying the property that was bought with taxpayers’ money. We as the ANC agree with the university management that these savages should not be allowed to set foot on university premises. [Applause.] All those who were involved in the destruction of property should be arrested. Leaders of youth and student organisations should come forward and criticise this behaviour openly. We would like to say to all students that if their evil energy gets the better of them, they must not use it to destroy property. They should just drink water.

The language issue is a problem at tertiary level because there are still those institutions of higher learning, which use language to prevent students who do not speak that language from entering those institutions or from passing at those institutions. Last year when we visited institutions of higher learning, we visited a university, which claimed that it used both English and Afrikaans as mediums of instruction. During the day they teach in Afrikaans and in the evening those who do not understand Afrikaans get the English version.

What shocked me was that when we talked to the students at this university, they always apologised saying they could not express themselves well because they did not understand English well. I asked myself this question: Hey! If they say this to us, how much more to a student who does not understand Afrikaans?

Here is another challenge that we are facing: higher education in African languages. Most of our languages are not even taught at university level. [Applause.] Those few that are being taught are taught in English and usually by white lecturers who do not have knowledge of the traditions and cultures of the people who speak these languages. One finds that at a certain university, the head of the department of African languages is a white person who cannot understand one when one speaks Zulu to him. This causes students to lose interest and end up avoiding studying African language.

Departments of African languages at universities should be headed by Africans. Thorough research should be done on our languages because if African languages are not improved at tertiary level, they will disappear and we will end up being like African English people. [Applause.]

I experienced the importance of languages first hand when I was a matric teacher. I once went to Pretoria to mark English papers. I started marking the first paper, which dealt with drugs. I marked the paper of a student who wrote an essay entitled ``The Shadow of the Chicken’’. I myself did not have any problem with this because I knew that this student was talking about dagga. [Laughter.] When my papers went to the moderator, he berated me saying that the student had failed the paper because there was no such thing as the shadow of the chicken in English. [Laughter.] That was the last time I went to Pretoria to mark papers. I never went again. I would be making a mistake if I did not express thanks for the development of the fund that is aimed at helping students at tertiary institutions, which is called NSFAS. This year this fund received a sum of … [Time expired.]

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Madam Speaker, on 16 May 2002 MEC Tolo and I visited Letsatsing Science High School in Mafikeng, North West province. This is part of the push by the Department of Education to increase the enrolment of our youth at tertiary institutions by at least 200 000 in the next few years, and to ensure that the ratio of 40:30:30 relating to the arts, science and business-orientated studies at our universities and technikons is achieved.

It is part of the drive to ensure that we succeed, as a country, in developing a relevant and appropriate human resource base to serve us in a fast-changing world. It is a recognition of the fact that, if we are to succeed in all these endeavours, we must have millions of young, hot and breathing bodies sitting behind desks in our classrooms all over our country, successfully learning mathematics, science and technology-related subjects.

Letsatsing Science High School is an ordinary state school to which children from petty-bourgeois, working-class and peasant families go. But it is also a school where everybody, the teachers, the learners and the school governing body, do their bit. The school opens a week before other schools at the beginning of the year on a voluntary basis, and both teachers and students come to school on Saturdays and during school vacations.

In May each year they finish the Grade 12 syllabus and they engage in revision and self-enrichment in all subjects. The teachers are motivated, dedicated and loving, while the children are happy, confident and know exactly where they are going. Perhaps they all take after the Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal, whose energy and drive at the head of this Ministry sometimes leave many of us gasping for breath.

It is a joy to be in their midst and a confirmation of the fact that we can succeed in producing learners from our schools who can proceed to tertiary institutions sufficiently prepared to tackle their studies in the sciences and business-orientated disciplines. This also tells us that there are wonderful teachers in our system who deserve our love and support. We should spare a thought for them when media headlines scream dishonourable things about some in the teaching profession.

These good teachers are not to be found only in the 102 schools but they are to be found throughout the system. Let us therefore heed the words of Jacques Barzun when he says, and I quote:

Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.

These great teachers are indeed an asset to us in our endeavour to inculcate and nurture a strong love for mathematics, science and technology in our youth.

Madam Speaker, if Hip2b2 does not mean anything to you and me, it is because it was not meant for our appeal or fancy. Thanks to the ``First African in Space’’ project, we had a way to communicate audibly. One of the major challenges we face today is to ensure that our education system encourages more and more learners to take up and succeed in the gateway subjects of mathematics, science and technology. The partnership we have had with Mark Shuttleworth in the past few months has opened fresh insights and given us more cool ways of reaching out to the youth. It is only through innovative and original ways that talk directly to the youth that we can hope to sustain our gains and multiply the yields of our efforts. We wish to take this opportunity to interest members in the initiative in which the Department of Education is engaged in an attempt to leapfrog to the level of technological sophistication that characterises the global village.

In September 2000 the Minister of Education and the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology addressed a conference that resolved to focus the strategy for science, mathematics and technology education on three thrusts, namely to raise the participation and performance of historically disadvantaged learners in senior certificate science and mathematics; to provide high-quality science, mathematics and technology education to all learners taking the first FETC and GETC; and to increase and improve the human resource capacity to develop quality science, mathematics and technology education.

Cognisant of the effects of the technological advancements and the digital divide that widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and responding to the President’s call in his opening address to Parliament in 2000 and 2001, the Department of Education has initiated, amongst other things, two critical mathematics, science and technology projects, namely a reskilling and upgrading project for teachers in the intermediate and senior phases, as well as Dinaledi, a mathemathics, science and technology project that reaches out to 102 senior secondary schools. The two projects are part of a roll-out of the strategy we launched in June 2001, a strategy whose motto is ``Creating tomorrow’s stars today’’.

The Dinaledi of tomorrow are indeed the innocent youth who spend no less than six hours a day in our schools. They are the children of Letsatsing Science High School in Mafikeng, the wonderful girls of Motse Maria Girls High School at Gamashashane, KwaMgaga High School in Umlazi, Beacon High School in Phutaditjaba, Soa Ramakgakgalala High School in Gobokwane, Kasselsvlei Comprehensive School in Bellville, Monwabisi High School in De Aar, Residentia High School in Sebokeng, Sandy High School in Umtata, and thousands of other schools all over our country. The reskilling and upgrading project for intermediate and senior phase teachers is a two-year programme that started with an intake of 1 350 teachers at the beginning of 2001. These teachers are registered with higher education institutions across the country. At the end of two years, they will emerge with an Advanced Certificate in Education or a National Diploma in Education, depending on their qualifications when they joined the programme. On completion, these teachers are also provided with mathematics and science kits as part of our commitment to providing schools with the resources they need for effective teaching. At the end of this year, approximately 2 700 teachers will have been trained.

The Dinaledi project, on the other hand, focuses on one or two schools. Amongst the targets that these schools have to achieve in the current year is an increase in the number of learners that enrol for mathematics and science at the higher grade. Our analysis has shown that, whereas the overall participation rate in mathematics and science has remained steady over the years, the number of learners registering for this subject on the higher grade has been decreasing. This has been accompanied by a marked increase in learners registering for these subjects on the standard grade. Against all expectations, however, the pass percentage remains lower on the standard grade than on the higher grade by an average of between 1% and 3%.

The increase in the participation rate of learners in general and girl children in particular has become our first target. This has been accompanied by teacher development programmes, infrastructural support programmes, learning support materials provisioning, and school management development. All these are attempts at improving the quality of life and the experiences of children in our schools, and to ensure that we keep pace with worldwide developments.

One of the major milestones of the first year of the Dinaledi project was the Autumn Clinic that was held at the Eskom Convention Centre in April of this year. The main objective of this exercise was to build up confidence among the educators, particularly those who were not comfortable with the offering of higher grade mathematics and science. It was also an opportunity to pay tribute to Dinaledi teachers for the role that they play in making their schools functional and successful centres of excellence. Principals and teachers of mathematics and science from all the 102 schools sacrificed their school holidays to attend the clinic. None was wearing a long face. They were a happy bunch full of beans and oomph.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of visiting some of these 102 schools in the past few weeks, Letsatsing Science High School being one of them. During my visits, I came across many reasons to have my spirits raised enough to be in a celebratory mood. I have been thrilled, for example, to get reports of and see for myself evidence of schools that have maintained a steady improvement curve that has brought most welcome changes. Most of these schools are in the most humbling of surroundings, indeed.

The enthusiasm, in the eyes of both young and old, and the commitment to excellence demonstrated by all is unequalled, and their focus and purposefulness enviable. We need to increase the number of these schools and thereby invest in our youth. In the process, we will kill this notion that kids from our townships and villages are inevitable candidates for bridging courses, remedial measures or intervention programmes at our universities and technikons. All we need to do is to prepare them well throughout their schoolyears. As we keep saying, there is absolutely nothing wrong with our kids. If we create a suitable learning environment for them, they will excel.

We must express the department’s gratitude to the many social partners that have joined us to alter, in a very fundamental way, the material conditions of our people. Included in this list is the Mark Shuttleworth Foundation for the management and financial support that it has given us; Multichoice for the satellite dishes donated to each of the 102 schools; Sasol for the mathematics and science books; and US Aid for the science kits donated to all our schools. These and all other supporters, including Tantana, continue to help us make the dreams of many of our children come true in the true spirit of Tirisano.

Our children cry out for quality education in a conducive and safe environment. This is surely not much to ask for, and the Ministry of Education is determined to make this a reality for them. Since 2000, we have worked in a focused way to make all our public institutions functional, safe and high quality learning centres. We started dealing with the more visible indicators of dysfunctionality by bringing back a culture of discipline into our schools. We have worked to ensure that there are firm and enforceable policies in all our schools regarding tardiness, absenteeism and appropriate classroom behaviour for both teachers and learners.

We are proud to say that, increasingly, our schools are showing the necessary discipline and there is no doubt that in the majority of our schools, teachers and teaching and learning are at the centre. We have also worked hard to develop systems and practices to make these three principles an integral part of how the education system functions. To realise this, we have, since the beginning of this year, intensified our work in 16 education districts across the country. These districts are part of the nodal areas identified by the President within the Urban Renewal and Rural Sustainable Development Programmes. Through this initiative, we will be working with over a million learners in 2 300 schools. We are determined that, by the end of 2004, we will be assured of effective leadership, a capable and positive teaching force, effective support from the district offices and support for learners in all their needs in those schools.

Prince Charles is reputed to have said: ``I learn the way a monkey learns - watching its parents’’. If the British monarch had been to school at all, he would have expressed himself differently. [Laughter.] In this country, we are fortunate to have a lot of good teachers our children can watch and learn from. [Applause.]

Mrs D G NHLENGETHWA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister - it looks like he is not here at the moment - hon members, allow me to begin my speech by reading a few clauses from the ANC bible - the Freedom Charter. These clauses were prophesied by our own political prophets: James Phillips, Yusuf Cachalia, Dr Moroka, Gandhi, Chief Luthuli, Rev Thansi, Dr Moleme and others. I would like to quote a verse from chapter 7, which reads as follows:

The doors of learning and culture shall be opened! The government shall discover, develop and encourage national talent for the enhancement of our cultural life;

All the cultural treasures of mankind shall be open to all, by free exchange of books, ideas and contact with other lands;

The aim of education shall be to teach the youth to love their people and their culture, to honour human brotherhood, liberty and peace;

Education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all …

[Interjections.]

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mrs D G NHLENGETHWA: Madam Speaker, I am talking about the Freedom Charter.

Waar was daardie lid in 1955 toe die mense van Suid-Afrika hierdie Vryheidsmanifes aanvaar het? [Where was that member in 1955 when the people of South Africa adopted this Freedom Charter?] [Applause.]

Was education free in their apartheid days?

Ngifuna kukubeka kucace kahle hle kutsi ngesikhatsi selubandlululo, ngisafundza mine, angizange sengilitfole litfuba lekufundza imfundvo lengiyo nalekhona. Nakukhulunywa ngebhayoloji kwakushiwo kutsi sitawufundza ngetinhlanti, ngetinkhala, nangeticoco, tintfo nje letingenamsebenti walutfo. Khona nyalo ngingentani nje mine ngenhlanti njengobe ngime lapha.

Ngesikhatsi sitsatsa tintsambo, tsine ANC nga 1994, kwaba ngulapho kwafanela khona kutsi sibuke emuva le, ku-Freedom Charter kutsi bantfu lababekhona ngabo 1955 babetsini ngalesikhatsi, ngobe kwakuphrofethiwe kutsi inkhululeko yona sitayitfola. Nyalo-ke njengobe sesikuyo sentani?

Setama kugucula lemfundvo yemanga lesayitfola, njengobe sebashito labanyenti labakhulume kucala kunami, siyente ibe yimfundvo lencono. Ikakhulu sibukele tifundvo temetsi netesayensi, njengobe liSekela leNdvuna selike lasho.

Ngesikhatsi kusafundza tsine kwakutsiwa imetsi nesayensi ifundvwa bantfu labahlakaniphile nalabanemali kuphela. Singu-ANC siyetama-ke kucedza lesisho lesitsi, isayensi ifundvwa bantfu labahlakaniphile bodvwa. Incabhayi seyisele kubafundzi ngoba nankha ematfuba asavuliwe yi-ANC. Bafana nemantfombatana kufanele bavuke batentele.

Imiphumela yamatekuletjeni yanga 2001 yebafundzi kumetsi nakusayensi yayingajabulisi. Eveni lonkhe kwakubhalise bafundzi labati-4 000; bantfu labamnyama, emandiya nemakhalatsi, babeti-2000 kwaphumelela 3 128 kuphela. Emva kwaloko kwabe sekubonakala kutsi kuhle sekuhlanganiswe tinhloko kudzingidvwe lendzaba. Kwatsi mhla ka 11-13 Septhemba kwaba nekhomfa eMidrand eGoli.

Kuleyo khomfa kwavunyelwana kutsi kufanele kuhlanganwe kukhetfwe tikolwa kuleti tasemakhaya letatingavunyelwa kutsi tifundzise imetsi nesayensi kuze bakwati kungenela lomchudzelwano lowabekwa ngesivumelwano salekhomfa. Kwavunyelwana kutsi kufanele kube khona i-national strategy for maths, science and technology education. Ngulapho-ke kwavuncuwa khona kutsi kufanele kukhetfwe tikolwa letite lutfo njengobe besengishito.

Tifundza-ke tabe setikhetsa letikolwa lesengitishito tasemakhaya, sifundza ngesifundza kwema kanje: e-Eastern Cape taba li-15, eFree State tisitfupha, eGauteng tili-11, KwaZulu-Natal tingema-23, eMpumalanga tilisontfo, eNorthern Cape tatitine, eNorthern Province tingema-23; eNorth West tilisontfo, eWestern Cape tisitfupha. Setitonkhe letikolwa letakhetfwa tangenela lomchudzelwano tatili-102. Ngitakwenta sibonelo-ke ngemphumela wesincumo lesatsatfwa kulekhomfa yaseGoli: Kulendzawo lengihlala kuyo kunesikolwa lesibitwa ngekutsi yiTakheni Secondary School. Lesikolwa saphuma saba sesitsatfu kumiklomelo yavelonkhe (national awards) yetikolwa letatichudzelene ngemetsi nangesayensi. Edvutane naso kunalesinye sikolwa lesibitwa ngekutsi yiNganana High School. Kumiphumela yangemnyaka lophelile kwabakhona umfundzi wakuleso sikolwa, Mthokozisi Nkambule, lowatfola ema-distinction lamane, emkhatsini wawo kunemetsi nesayensi, ngikhuluma ngesikolwa sasemakhaya lesite lutfo ngisho nelabhorethri kute. [Tandla.] (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[I want to state clearly that during the apartheid regime, while I was still at school, I never had the opportunity to get a proper education, which is available now. With regard to biology, it meant that we were learning about fish, crabs, and frogs, only useless things. What can I actually do with knowledge of fish as I am standing here? Nothing.

When we, the ANC, took over the reins in 1994, it was only then that we could look back to the Freedom Charter, to see what those people who were living in 1955 said about the time that has now dawned. It was prophesied that we were in fact going to receive our long desired independence. Now that we are living in it, what are we doing about it?

We are trying to reverse the false education that we received, as some hon members who spoke before me have already said, and make it better. We are particularly targeting maths and science, as the Deputy Minster has said.

During our time, when we were still at school, it was said that maths and science could only be studied by the rich and intelligent. We as the ANC are trying to eradicate the notion that maths and science are only for intellectuals. Now, the challenge is that of the learners themselves, because the ANC has opened up opportunities to all. So, boys and girls should wake up and do it for themselves.

The 2001 matric results in maths and science were not very encouraging. The overall registration was 4 000 black learners and 2 000 coloureds and Indians, of whom only 3 128 passed. It was decided that this should be examined at and discussed. A conference was held on 11 to 13 September at Midrand in Johannesburg.

At that conference it was resolved that there should be another meeting at which certain schools would be selected from the rural areas where schools were forbidden to teach maths and science, so that they could also participate in the competition that was agreed upon as a conference resolution. It was also resolved that there would be a national strategy for maths, science and technology education. That is where it was agreed that it would be those schools that were disadvantaged and had absolutely nothing to go by which would be selected, as I have already said.

Districts then selected those rural schools, district by district, as follows: Eastern Cape 15; Free State 6; Gauteng 11; KwaZulu-Natal 23; Mpumalanga 7; Northern Cape 4; Northern Province (Limpopo) 23; North West 7; Western Cape 6. The selected schools that entered the competition numbered 102 in all.

I wish to give an example of the results of the resolution that was taken at that Johannesburg conference: In the place where I live there is a school known as Takheni Secondary School. That school came third in the national awards amongst all the schools that entered the maths and science competition. Next to it there is another school called Nganana High School. In the previous year’s results there was a learner, Mthokozisi Nkambule, who got four distinctions, amongst which was maths and science. I am talking about a rural school which has absolutely no equipment in its laboratory. [Applause.]]

It became clear that we have a powerhouse. I would like to say to the hon the Minister that we are challenging him to give us resources to generate that powerhouse.

Loko-ke tsine lapha ka-ANC sikubita ngekutsi liLima/Letsima. Kunetinhlelo lesitibekile, njenganyalo kuta tikolwa tasebusika, bafundzi batawuhlangana basebente ndzawonye bahlephulelane lwati. Sikolwa lesingenatinsita sitawusitwa ngulesi lesinetinsita, kanjalo nebafundzisi batawuhlephulelana ngelwati. Lapho-ke sitsi; umuntfu ufundzisa umuntfu. Ngitsandza kwatisa iNdvuna kutsi tsine sisive lesimatasatasa ngemsebenti. Nome laba bekunene lapha ngesheya balibele kubanga umsindvo kuhle iNdvuna yati kutsi tsine siphikelele embili siyibambe esidvukwini. [Kuhlaba lulwimi.]

KuBhajethi yangemnyaka lophelile kubekwe tigidzi letingema-R20 [R20 million] tesikhwama semali lekutsiwa yi-National Student Financial Aid Scheme, tekutsi kuceceshwe bafundzisi bemetsi nesayensi, laba labacashwa bangakakufundzeli kufundzisa imetsi nesayensi. Nyalo-ke siyabakhipha etikolweni kutsi bahambe bayewufundzela kufundzisa imetsi nesayensi kuze sibe nemiphumela lemihle nalebonakalako. (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[That is what we, the ANC, call liLima/Letsima. There are programmes that we have put in place, and right now winter schools are being planned, where learners are going to meet and share knowledge. A school that is not well equipped is going to be helped by one that is well equipped. Likewise, the teachers are going to share knowledge and experience. That is where we say one teaches another. I would like to inform the Minister that we are a nation at work. Though the opposition might be making a noise, the Minister must know that we are determined to ignore them and go forward. [Interjections.]

In last year’s Budget, R20 million was set aside for the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, so that those who were employed to teach maths and science, for which they were not trained, could be trained. We are now taking them out of teaching to become skilled in teaching maths and science so that we can get better results at the end of the year.]

Following on the President’s state of the nation address, the Minister requested that those provinces which find themselves in critical situations where children learn under trees, should eliminate that situation in the shortest possible time. Also, with the launch of the Schools Register of Needs for 2002, the Minister urged the provincial MECs to submit the business plans of their departments for infrastructure delivery over the next three years. The business plans should have included quantified targets to eliminate the classroom backlogs, and water and sanitation backlogs.

Ngingati-ke nome umhlonishwa Gibson uyangiva yini ngobe ngambona nga- Janawari, ngesikhatsi simatasatas ngeluhlelo lwekuvakashela tikolwa, ngaba neletsemba lekutsi njengobe umhlonishwa naye akhona utawufaka sandla atsatse libhulashi apende, kantsi ngikhe phansi ngashiya esitjeni. Ngatsi ngimbona ngambona nanguya ayawushona etindlini tangasense nakhona wafike wakhomba ngemuno kuleto letivalekile. Ngitsandza kumbuta nje nyalo kutsi kungabe uke wabuyela yini kuleso sikolwa kuyawubasita, nome abebukisa ngabo nje, ngobe afuna kutfola emavoti amahhala? [Tandla.]

Nanyalo-ke leso sikolwa solomane siyahlupheka kodvwa umhlonishwa abeme kuso abukisa ngabo akhomba tindlu tangasense letingekho! Siyakwati loko kwekutsi kunetikolwa letingenato tindlu tangasense. [Kuhlaba lulwimi.] Loko futsi sakutsatsa kubo, ngibo lababona kutsi umuntfu lomnyama kufanele afundzele ngaphansi kwesihlahla. [Saphela sikhatsi.] [Tandla.] (Translation of Siswati paragraphs follows.)

[I doubt whether the hon Gibson is listening to me, because I also saw him in January when we were engaged in the programme of visiting schools. I had high hopes that as the hon member was there he was also going to take a brush and do some painting, but I had deceived myself. In the twinkling of an eye, I saw him disappearing into some toilets, where he just pointed with a finger at those that were dilapidated. Now, I want to ask him whether he has ever gone back to those schools to help them or was he just showing off to gain some cheap political votes? [Applause.]

To this day that school is still in dire need, though the hon member was standing there pointing at toilets which were not in order! We know that there are schools that are without toilets. [Interjections.] That is also what we inherited from them; they are the ones who deemed it fit that a black child should be taught under a tree. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]

Mr T ABRAHAMS: Madam Speaker, a fundamental move that was effectively made by the ruling party, and one that the party deserves due credit for, was the eradication of the abhorrent apartheid system of education from the statutes. History will one day record that the destruction of that system was vital for the restoration of South African society.

However, the realisation that we all have to work at building an equitable replacement for the key elements of racial discrimination has not, as yet, dawned on all of us. Highlighting that which is base and deplorable is one thing; establishing that which is noble and just calls for serious collective commitment.

The UDM wishes the Minister well in his vigorous efforts. He has hurled abuse, though, at one of our colleagues for having moved a motion that did not satisfy him. But, strangely enough, when one of his colleagues later spoke in the very same vein in this debate, he applauded. He got us a little confused about that.

I want to say that the party will accelerate the process of reconstruction when it assumes control. It will put into action many of the things that the Minister so eruditely vocalised. One shift that can be expected in that case is one that involves a transfer in thinking from the scaler to the victor. As much as speed differs from velocity and distance from displacement, it is equally true that change does not constitute transformation. That is where we would place the emphasis. Change can be effected from the top down. Transformation, on the other hand, can most effectively and most expeditiously be brought about when the people at large accept and buy into the concept.

The hon the Minister’s nimble pianist fingers have pressed on several key matters in education in his brief spell as political head of education. They produced a sound note when he identified a dearth of black people, particularly coloureds and Africans, who leave school skilled at maths and science. I am happy for the support my party leader has received from him in addressing this weakness in the trouble-torn Eastern Cape.

The 102 schools project is a major attempt to create an interest in the sciences on a national scale. It is sincerely hoped that this programme will yield worthwhile results. A special plea is made to the Minister to make a valuable investment in the longer term as well. For this one has to look at the lower grades. It is commonly known that it is in the lower grades that the essential foundations are laid for studying the sciences. It is at that very time in a scholar’s life that either a love of or a lasting aversion to such subjects is inculcated. Perhaps for a few years at least, the best educators we have should be attracted to nurture these subjects in the lower grades.

I would urge the Minister and the very capable director-general of the department, Mr Thami Mseleku, to note the fact that some school principals have become so taken up with their role as business managers that there is no space in their vocabulary for humanity. Complaints have reached me that besides admission problems, there are particular schools, especially in Mitchells Plain and in Gauteng, where pupils and their parents are being intimidated and humiliated for school fees, even in cases where the breadwinner has become unemployed. Children are called out in front of the class and threatened that unless they speak to their parents to come and pay their fees, they will not be allowed to write their exams. In this way they are humiliated in front of their peers. I am not asking the Minister to step in himself, but he should influence his MECs in whatever way he can to take charge of this problem in the provinces.

The amendments to the restructuring plan for higher education institutions were received earlier this week with some measure of relief. Of particular note is the scrapping of the earlier intention to merge UWC and Pentech. The revised plan for higher education in the Western Cape makes more sense and has a greater chance to succeed. The recognition of the unique character of UWC, and the role it has to play as a flagship university, is noted. However, we do have reservations about the restructuring plan for the very expensive dentistry faculty, largely because of its intended removal from the large Tygerberg Hospital.

It is, however, regarded as vastly more important that each of the 11 universities, six technikons and four comprehensives will have to declare their particular targets for integration over the next few years and that access to these institutions must not be denied on the pretext of academic or administrative standards or language. The time is long overdue for all of these institutions to follow the lead of UWC and become racially integrated. Whether the Minister likes it or not, the UDM supports his budget. [Applause.]

Mr L M GREEN: Madam Speaker, hon Ministers, members, the director-general of the Department of Education and staff, the vision of the Minister of Education and his department is a commendable one. I quote:

… a South Africa in which all our people have access to lifelong education and training opportunities, which will in turn contribute towards improving the quality of life and building a peaceful, prosperous and democratic society.

I doubt if there is any member of this House who would not support such a vision. Noah Webster in his original American Dictionary of the English Language speaks about four minimal goals of education. He says, and I quote:

Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, form the manners and habits of our youth, and fit them with usefulness in their future stations.

We regret the recent mass action taken by Cosas where, in the name of improving the quality of their own education, they defied law and order, robbed and looted the poor by stealing from street vendors who could least afford this, and indiscriminately smashed the windows of motor vehicles. In this day and age there is no need for this kind of destructive behaviour by our youth. We have a democratically elected Government with sufficient channels to address grievances. Criminal activity by learners must not be tolerated at all. Perpetrators of violence must be brought to book.

The President said, and it was mentioned today, that no child should learn under a tree. I would also like to add that no child should learn in a classroom that is so damaged that it becomes a hazard to the learner’s health. I refer to classrooms where there are no windows, no floor boards, and no decent staff rooms. Here I do not wish to lay the blame on the Minister but at the door of provincial education department heads who fail to give sufficient attention to the improvement of school buildings.

In conclusion, learners not only learn from what we teach, but also from the examples we set. The ACDP supports this Vote.

Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Speaker, in May this year I had the privilege to officially visit different European countries. The Commissioner for Education and Culture of the European Union is Mrs Viviane Reding. She believes in cultural pluralism and her real passion is languages. She defends minority languages and argues that there should be no big or small languages in Europe, only mother tongues.

In February this year, 59 members of the pro Kurdish Peoples Party were arrested in Istanbul. The reason was that they took part in a protest in which they asked that the Kurdish language be used as the language of instruction in certain universities in Turkey. Why is this a sensitive matter? It is sensitive because Turkey aspires to become part of the European Union and the EU has very strict guidelines for the cultural rights of minorities, including the right to have mother tongue education at all levels, up to tertiary level.

Coming to South Africa, when I test this Government’s education policy, I am afraid they will not pass the international guidelines, as I experienced it there, for minority language and cultural rights. The question is: how serious are we about section 6(2) of the Constitution, which states that the state must take practical and positive measures to elevate the status and advance the use of indigenous languages. My question then would be: is IsiZulu a backward language? Will IsiXhosa never become a university language?

In our memorandum to the Gerwel Commission, we proposed that specific universities be made responsible for the development of the country’s other official languages up to university level. The FF did not react to the Minister’s proposal for the consolidation of universities and technikons because the Minister indicated that the Gerwel proposals would be discussed later. But the more I study these proposals and listen to the Minister, as I did also today, the more I come to the conclusion that the Gerwel proposals were postponed because they do not fit in with the Minister’s transformation agenda.

I want to quote from yesterday’s Cape Times which the Minister might have seen. They reported on his briefing of the Portfolio Committee on Education in Parliament. The headline reads ``Asmal takes swipe at Maties’’. The report quotes the Minister as stating that language will not be allowed as a barrier for access, particularly at Afrikaans institutions. My question is: why particularly at Afrikaans institutions? Maties is in the Western Cape where 60% of the population speak Afrikaans. The majority of this 60% did their secondary education in Afrikaans. Why is English not a barrier for access for these students at the University of Cape Town? If the Government’s policy is dual-medium teaching, will the Minister force UCT to teach their courses in Afrikaans and English, since it is situated in the Western Cape?

If the Minister will do this, then I will help him to force the universities in KwaZulu-Natal to teach all their courses in English and IsiZulu, and I will help him to force the University of Potchefstroom to teach all its courses in Afrikaans and Setswana because it is situated in the North West Province. That is fair, and in line with the Constitution and the international principles of minority languages and cultural rights, if we go this route of dual education.

Why is Afrikaans or IsiZulu a barrier for access, but not English? Is it because the Minister believes there are superior and inferior languages? He is saying no. Is it because one can only become a medical doctor by means of English as the medium of instruction? That is nonsense! The Cuban doctors that the ANC so proudly imported did their training through the medium of Spanish and can hardly speak English. Are they bad doctors because they were taught through the medium of Spanish?

Why is language and education such an emotional issue? It is because the continued existence of an ethnic group or cultural group depends on the extent to which the group succeeds in conveying their language and culture, through education, to the children of that group. History shows that where imperialists and colonialists wanted to assimilate or wipe out a cultural group they tried to do so through education. In our history there is more than one example.

One of the ANC’s criticisms in this House against Dr Verwoerd is that he used education as an instrument for social change and social manipulation. I have listened carefully to the Minister and I can only come to one conclusion: that the hon the Minister sees education in exactly the same way as Dr Verwoerd - as an instrument for social manipulation and change.

The modern international approach to education is, for example, that Parliament budgets an amount for education. Then it is calculated what amount is spent on every individual child. The parents may decide to send their children to a Muslim school, a Christian school or a Government school. The amount of money budgeted goes with the child to his or her school. This is democracy, this is freedom and it is the modern approach away from governments trying to misuse education for social manipulation and their own short-term political benefits.

The Minister is on record as being in favour of mother-tongue education. Let us stick to this policy. I think it is the only way that is going to solve our education policy problems in South Africa. [Applause.]

Mr I S MFUNDISI: Madam Speaker, hon members, the current appropriation of the Department of Education places the department among the top five departments to receive the highest allocations. This is an indication that Government has education as a priority and that with the indefatigable Minister there is hope. All Minister Asmal needs is support; he has the passion.

We applaud the gradual phasing in of early childhood development in primary schools. This ensures that learners are put into school at quite an early age. It is regrettable, however, that most provincial education departments that have allocations for early childhood development projects are unable to sustain them over the medium term. It is equally important to note that in one of the Minister’s reports last year on the state of and access to early childhood development in the provinces, it was reported that in the North West some R22 million accumulated for early childhood development needs during the Bophuthatswana days was lying idle. Money should not be allowed to remain unused while there is a shortage of infrastructure.

Dynamite surely has to be used on Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North West for failing to spend the millions of rands allocated to them as conditional grants for early childhood development. These provinces show no seriousness in their business, which is the education of the children of the nation. While the Minister has no control over the MECs for Education, we maintain that he is best placed to prevail upon them to give a thought to Africa.

The state of repair of some primary schools leaves much to be desired. The Vezukhono Primary School on the East Rand is in a pitiable state. Children cannot show and display their ability, as the name suggests, when they are compelled to learn under deplorable conditions. We also hope the issue of the school of shame in the Brits area is a thing of the past, as the Minister said during the briefing to the portfolio committee.

Educators continue to experience problems in accessing their registration certificates from the SA Council for Educators, to the extent that they have to travel to Centurion at great cost to pick them up. Officers at SACE have been on radio, admitting that they have problems in sending the certificates and virtually appealing to educators to come and fetch them from their offices.

When the hon the Minister took over as Minister of Education he came up with the Tirisano principle and swore to break the back of illiteracy in five years. We do not doubt his intention and resolve. We support him fully in that, but we sympathise with him in that people who have to deliver are not in tandem with him. Of all the nine provinces, only three have budgeted more than 1% for adult basic education and training. This shows no seriousness in eradicating illiteracy. What hurts again is that where attempts are made, there is poor control in that division.

We call on all political masters in charge of education to keep pace with housing development plans. Residential houses are mushrooming across the landscape, but no schools are being built simultaneously with them. The result is that young children have to commute for schooling, and those whose parents are less endowed financially, walk long distances, thus becoming vulnerable to abuse and exposure to the elements of crime and truancy. We plead for better co-ordination among Government departments to obviate this situation. The UCDP supports the Vote in any case. [Applause.]

Mr B M KOMPHELA: Madam Speaker, hon members …

… terwyl ek daar gesit het, het die agb Pieter Mulder vir my gevra dat ek hierdie toespraak vir die volk in Afrikaans lewer. En rêrig, ek het hom belowe dat ek vir die volk sal sê hoe die lewe van die mense beter gaan word as ons hier vandag die begroting aan die mense voorlê. Ek dink ek sal vandag vir my kollega Pieter Mulder net kan sê dat ek rêrig om verskoning vra by die volk omdat ek vandag net in Afrikaans praat, veral sodat Cassie Aucamp my mooi kan hoor. [Gelag.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[… while I was sitting there the hon Pieter Mulder asked me to deliver this speech to the nation in Afrikaans. And really, I promised him that I would tell the nation how the lives of the people would improve when we submitted the budget to the nation here today. I think I can only say to my colleague Pieter Mulder today that I really apologise to the nation for only speaking Afrikaans today, especially so that Cassie Aucamp can understand me properly. [Laughter.]]

Our movement had to lead a struggle against very stubborn and repressive white minority rule in our country. The ANC had to lead the masses of our people to defeat the most naked racism ever experienced by our people in this country. That system was called apartheid and was ruthlessly implemented.

Today a white racist minority is the first to say apartheid is dead. But somewhere in the corners one sees a shadow or a skeleton of apartheid emerging. Apartheid is not totally dead. We need to make an effort to bury this scourge of racism, which is not prepared to die.

We all know that education was a good instrument in the past. The ANC today is engaged in a type of education that deepens democracy, builds the nation and makes a better life for all our people. Today we pride ourselves on the many achievements which were not obtained by anybody else in this country.

I would like to say to the hon the Minister that the surprise visits that many hon members of the ANC have undertaken to some schools, after they committed themselves to seeing to it that the very first day of the school year became the first day where the nation was at work, have assisted in calming down and bringing stability in various schools. I would like to commend them and thank them for that job. [Applause.]

Many times, little is said about the commitment manifested by my colleagues in ensuring that we all contribute equally. Education does not belong to Prof Kader Asmal alone. It belongs to all of us. Some of my colleagues did not go to schools during their reopening only, but continued visiting these schools. Their presence all over the country has resulted in us getting it right on the first day. I want to demonstrate this to members.

Let me share with this House some of the greatest achievements by the Department of Education in this country. On that day, 95% of educators attended. We wish to congratulate them and urge them to keep it up, as the nation needs them. The 95% of learners who attended that day was very remarkable, considering the history and the turbulence that we passed through, but we managed to get it right.

I think educators and learners deserve our compliments and we say to them that they should keep it up. Well done to educators and learners who have proved many people wrong, people who said that education is in anarchy, because it is not. Education is in the process of being corrected to make it better. We attribute this to ``Vuk’uzenzele’’ because nobody will wake up and get it done except we ourselves.

We welcome the attention given to early childhood development. When other people do not understand what is going on, I think it is better for them to sit down and listen. We pride ourselves on the early childhood development centres that have mushroomed throughout the country. The number of early childhood development centres has increased. I do not know who has not done that research and seen that we have put a tremendous effort into making sure that early childhood development centres become vibrant and thrive.

Mosotho o re thuto ha e tsofallwe. [The Sotho say one is never too old to learn.] We have committed ourselves to helping people to read and write. The programme of Abet is succeeding on a daily basis. Provinces have increased the enrolment of learners and reduced the learner drop-out rate at Abet centres. We need to acknowledge and appreciate that, because the percentage of people who enrolled last year and this year has improved. We appreciate the reduction in the drop-out rate.

While we increase enrolment, we must also improve the number of learners who achieve a general education and training certificate. Something that we want to know is: Have a number of those people benefited from Abet? Yes, that is the case. And I think it is important for the Minister to give people statistics, to show that Abet is helping people and that our parents love the fact that they are now able to read and write, especially when they are at the bank.

Despite all the difficulties, there has been an improvement in the provision of education in this country. Yes, there are weaknesses here and there, but they should not detract from the achievements and the gains that we have made in this country. For example, in my constituency in the Free State, the year started off on a very high note, and the nation is at work. My province has taken part in the national well-performing school awards. I can boastfully say that Grey College obtained the third position in the whole country in the category of technology. [Applause.] That was a good performance by that province.

Tsoseletso High School, in Mangaung township, obtained first position in the whole country. [Applause.] And, it obtained that position by being a school that has for more than seven years consistently excelled with a 98% pass rate. Well done, Tsoseletso High. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Dr M S MOGOBA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, the debate on education again offers us the annual review of progress made in education. This debate is a mirror of the nation. Unfortunately, what we see in the mirror does not look good. Perhaps this debate will offer some explanations.

Six years after Bantu education, we should have some tangible gains. Our goal should remain free and compulsory education, not only up to matric, but also up to the end of the first university degree. This commonly stated maxim for a developing country, emerging out of centuries of enforced backwardness, does not lend itself to easy debate. The current demonstration by students, although unfortunate, even tragic, paradoxically underscores the truth of this ideal. When people in this day and age cry out ``we want education, but cannot afford it’’, we have all the elements of a classic Greek tragedy.

One other area of concern is motivation, which many pupils have or ought to have. One factor which stimulates the interest of many pupils, is the availability of jobs at the end of a school or tertiary education career. The number of qualified graduates who are unemployed and roaming the streets cannot be a source of inspiration for those who are still sweating it out in classrooms, lecture rooms and libraries. Our school curricula should be urgently reviewed to align them to the requirements of the work market. Those who have already been pushed out of our sausage machine must be re-educated and retrained. To ignore or blame them would be insensitive and irresponsible.

The morale of the teaching fraternity is another critical factor in assessing the success of an education programme. Some of our teachers have lost a sense of vocation. The recent shocking case of teachers refusing to subject themselves to inspection is a case in point. It does not matter what fine-sounding arguments were advanced; the truth was obvious to all. There is no hardworking teacher who would fear inspection of his work. In fact, such a teacher would look forward to inspection and the resultant affirmation of his work. The teachers who do not want inspection want to cover up their laziness and irresponsibility, hiding behind rights and privileges. Such teachers are a national liability, a disgrace to the noble profession and must be weeded out. [Interjections.]

Education should be removed from the sphere of political conflict. We need a broad national consensus, otherwise we will spend millions of rands on useless undertakings instead of using the money for developing our valuable national asset, our precious human resource potential. We should delineate parameters of consensus on national policy and argue about style and details of implementation.

This is clearly illustrated in the restructuring of higher education. The major transformation and rationalisation of our higher education was discussed with stakeholders, accepted, rejected, ignored, tolerated, accepted again, etc in a litany of confusion. What seems to be clearly indicated is that a speedy consensus, a national consensus, is needed. It is very expensive to go through an exercise, then have it reversed and then go through the exercise again!

This ritual dance is not funny, and costs an arm and a leg. We need one major summit representing the Government, leaders of political parties, principals of universities and technikons, leaders of student bodies and other major stakeholders representing parents. A week after that summit there must be implementation, and this will reduce the misinformation and cut out fickleness and politicisation of the event.

Education demands that we put everything we have into it. It is in our interest and in the interests of the nation. The PAC will support this Vote.

Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, in our Constitution of 1996 we undertook to make education accessible to all as a human right and not a privilege. The harsh divisions of the apartheid regime had left our nation predominantly illiterate, with education being provided according to race and colour.

These inequalities have been the central issue for reconstruction and transformation in this department. The transformation of education in order to achieve equality in education and education for all is strongly supported by the MF.

We have seen the hon the Minister and his department hard at work, but often getting a hammering from dissatisfied and concerned persons. Nevertheless, their hard work, dedication and commitment to educating our nation are evident, and criticism as a contribution to the betterment of the Ministry is welcome.

It is partly for this reason that we firmly believe in transparency and public participation, because we are a Government by the people, for the people. Lately concerns and dissatisfaction have been expressed about the hon the Minister’s plans for higher education. However, the MF feels that people should allow the broader picture to emerge before criticising it.

A media report dated 29 May 2002 stated that among the many changes planned for higher education was a transformation process that would take about four to five years. We note that the Minister will be earnestly involved and that special units to oversee the process will be set up.

Secondly, increased responsibility will be transferred to groups largely excluded up to now, such as the disabled and those in informal learning institutions. This is especially pleasing to the MF.

Thirdly, the quality of higher education teaching will be boosted by means of special incentives, and attention will be given to low academic salaries. This the MF feels is long overdue.

Furthermore, South Africa requires that human resources in the fields of science, and administration and information technology should be boosted by 60%. The MF is pleased with these proposed changes and hopes that these suggestions will deliver the intended results.

In view of the budget allocated to the department and the programme and projects aimed at the undertaking, the MF is assured of the department’s delivery. It is, however, crucial to ensure earnest consultation with all parties concerned on this, as the satisfaction of our people is a priority. Our main aim is to educate our nation, because an educated nation makes a stronger nation. The MF supports this Vote. [Applause.]

Mr R P Z VAN DEN HEEVER: Madam Speaker, in his address on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the ANC on 8 January 2002, President Thabo Mbeki called on the citizens of South Africa to take the lead in rendering voluntary service to our people. In fact, there is a wonderful leading article on this matter in the Tirisano News Bulletin, which is available at the information stalls which the Department of Education has set up in Parliament today, with a beautiful picture of the President handing out textbooks on the first day of school this year.

All over South Africa our fathers and mothers, our community leaders and our children have since then donned their work clothes, cleaning schools, raking gardens, scrubbing hospital floors and beautifying old age homes. The President has awakened in the South African nation a realisation that if we want our country to work, we must get off our high horses and get down to the business of literally dirtying our hands to build a better country.

In his address to us here today, our Minister of Education has referred to the values in the education component of our National Curriculum Statement, through which we are attempting to build a common national identity, national symbols, heritage and history. This component of values in education is just as essential as our achievements in formal examinations.

However, the Minister also referred in his address to a number of schools that have failed to embrace the values and symbols of our new democracy. I would like to address some of the problems which I believe lie at the root of this failure.

I am now switching to Afrikaans …

… want ek wil hê die agb Aucamp en die agb Mulder moet my mooi hoor! [Tussenwerpsels.]

Deur middel van ons uitkomsgebaseerde onderwysprogram van Kurrikulum 2005 is ons besig om ‘n beter begrip by ons kinders te skep van wát hulle leer, hoekóm hulle leer en wáárheen hulle op pad is. By wyse van Kurrikulum 2005 wil ons ‘n begrip van en waardering vir die diversiteit van kulture, godsdienste en tale by ons leerlinge skep wat eie is aan die reënboognasie van Suid-Afrikaners. Ons strewe dus deur ons kurrikulum na die ontwikkeling van kritiese en verantwoordelike burgers wat konstruktief kan deelneem aan ‘n kultureel diverse en veranderende gemeenskap.

Daar is egter nog steeds ‘n eng, rassistiese reaksie vanuit baie geledere in die voormalig bevoordeelde blanke gemeenskap wat ons strewe na ‘n nie- rassige onderwysbestel in die wiele ry. Dit het byvoorbeeld al in die platteland ‘n gewoonte geword dat, sodra bruin en swart kinders hulle in noemenswaardige getalle by voormalige model C-skole inskryf, daar ‘n uittog is van blanke leerlinge na naburige dorpe waar hulle hul in groot getalle by eksklusiewe skole registreer.

Ek wil vir agb lede ‘n paar voorbeelde uit my eie kiesafdeling in die Karoo noem. Daar was ‘n uittog van wit leerlinge uit Hoërskool Murraysburg na meer eksklusiewe skole in Graaff-Reinet. Daar was ‘n uittog van wit leerlinge uit Hoërskool Laingsburg na meer eksklusiewe skole in Oudtshoorn. So, is ek seker, is daar baie ander voorbeelde in ander dele van die land waarop ander agb lede ons kan wys. Op ons plase gaan dit nog erger. Die agb lid Komphela het reeds in sy toespraak daarna verwys.

Ek dink nie ek wil die getallekaart in hierdie sensitiewe kwessie van skoolopvoeding speel nie; dit is te gevaarlik en dit sal ons brose demokrasie skade aandoen. Ek weet ook dat dit nie die besluit van leerlinge as sodanig is of hulle uit oorwegend gekleurde skole moet trek nie. Dit is hulle ouers wat in die meeste gevalle daardie keuse uitoefen. Daardie ouers is lede van bepaalde politieke partye, die VF en die DP in die besonder.

Daardie partye lê ongelukkig nie enige leierskap aan die dag ten opsigte van ‘n bydrae om te bou aan nie-rassige skole met ‘n diversiteit van kleure, kulture en tale nie. Dit is hierdie einste partye wat die aankweek van nie-rassige waardes en kulture in hierdie Parlement teenstaan soos dit vervat is in die Nasionale Kurrikulumverklaring, en so die twyfelagtige voorbeeld stel van rasse-ekslusiwiteit en kultuurgeslotenheid. Kultuur is nie staties nie; dit is dinamies, en Kurrikulum 2005 is die één geleentheid wat ons opkomende geslag het om ‘n kultuur van ‘n demokratiese Suid- Afrikaanse nasie te bou met wedersydse respek vir mekaar se kultuur, godsdiens en taal. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[… because I want the hon Aucamp and the hon Mulder to hear me clearly! [Interjections.]

By means of our outcomes-based education programme of Curriculum 2005 we are creating a better understanding among our children of what they are learning, why they are learning it and where they are heading. By way of Curriculum 2005 we want to create an understanding of and appreciation for the diversity of cultures, religions and languages on the part of our learners which is peculiar to the rainbow nation of South Africa. Therefore, through our curriculum, we are striving to develop critical and responsible citizens who can participate constructively in a culturally diverse and changing society.

There is, however, still a narrow-minded, racist reaction from within the ranks of the previously advantaged white community that is putting a spoke in the wheel of our pursuit of a nonracial educational dispensation. For example, it has become the practice in rural areas that as soon as coloured and black children enrol in significant numbers at what were previously Model C schools, there is an exodus of white children to neighbouring towns where they register in large numbers at exclusive schools.

I want to give hon members a few examples from my own constituency in the Karoo. There was an exodus of white learners from Murraysburg High School to more exclusive schools in Graaff-Reinet. There was an exodus of white learners from Laingsburg High School to more exclusive schools in Oudtshoorn. I am certain that there are many such examples in other parts of the country that other hon members can point out to us. On our farms it is even worse. The hon member Komphela has already referred to this in his speech.

I do not think that I want to play the numbers card with regard to this sensitive question of school education; it is too dangerous and it will damage our delicate democracy. I also know that it is not the decision of learners per se as to whether they should leave predominantly coloured schools. It is their parents who in most instances exercise this choice. Those parents are members of specific political parties, the FF and the DP in particular. Those parties, unfortunately, do not display any leadership with regard to a contribution to building nonracial schools with a diversity of colours, cultures and languages. It is these very same parties who oppose the fostering of nonracial values and cultures in this Parliament as contained in the National Curriculum Declaration, and thus set the questionable example of racial exclusivity and cultural reservedness. Culture is not static; it is dynamic, and Curriculum 2005 is the one opportunity our future generation has to build a culture of a democratic South African nation with mutual respect for one another’s culture, religion and language.]

The problem, unfortunately, in this House is that the official Opposition, the DP, wants to be an opposition for the sake of opposition, and they want to tell all and sundry that they are fighting the ANC because this is their claim to fame. [Interjections.] In their fervour to demonstrate their machismo, they lose entirely the opportunity to be part of the reconstruction and development of a society devastated by the ravages of apartheid. [Interjections.] So in spite of the many positive things he said, the hon Ntuli was forced by his party-political hacks to be negative as well in this debate. [Interjections.]

The hon Ntuli was present, for example, when the MEC from the Eastern Cape addressed the Portfolio Committee on Education. He acknowledged in the meeting that the province was doing well under very difficult circumstances, but as soon as he gets to this podium, he gets onto the Eastern-Cape-bashing bicycle of the DP. [Interjections.] This is opportunist and it smacks of armchair criticism, while the MEC and the department in that province have to deal with the reality of the delivery of education on the ground.

Let me turn to schools with a 0% pass rate in Grade 12. This is rapidly diminishing with every examination, but the DP is not even prepared to acknowledge that. The whole school evaluation is still a young process. [Interjections.] The hon Ntuli still sees that there is not much happening. Obviously it is just starting, it is a young process. Mr Donald Lee must still speak, but there are no surprises in store for us. [Interjections.] He will be as negative as only the DP can be in a country basking in the glow of democratic governance, redress and equity.

In the remaining time at my disposal, I want to reflect on the many comments and remarks that have been made about the state of education in the Eastern Cape. As I have indicated, the MEC for Education in the Eastern Cape, the hon Stone Sizani, addressed the portfolio committee on the state of education in that province. The MEC gave a very honest, no-holds-barred account of the state of education in the Eastern Cape. And in listening to the report given to us …

Ms J A SEMPLE: That was shocking!

Mr R P Z VAN DEN HEEVER: It was shocking, but the hon Ntuli agreed with us in the meeting about the trying circumstances under which people … [Interjections.] She was not there!

Listening to the report given to us by the MEC and his directorate, we were struck not only by the complexity of the situation in the Eastern Cape, but also by the urgent and proactive attempts made by that provincial department to improve the situation. [Interjections.] For example, the Eastern Cape has the largest number of public schools in South Africa, 6 278 in total. The Eastern Cape also had to deal with the legacy of forming a single provincial education department out of three Bantustan and three tricameral education departments, each with enormous problems and complexities of their own.

My time has expired, Madam Speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I am glad you are aware of that.

Mr R P Z VAN DEN HEEVER: However, I maintain that the province is doing its utmost under trying circumstances. [Applause.]

Mr C AUCAMP: Madam Speaker, yesterday the funeral service of a famous South African, Hansie Cronjé, was held. It was a ceremony that touched the heart of every South African. What does this have to do with a debate on education? Let me explain to hon members.

Hansie’s wife and parents could have chosen any venue they liked, but they decided on a school, Grey College in Bloemfontein, Hansie’s alma mater. The person who concluded the ceremony, with a word of thanks and appreciation, was none other than Mr Johan Volsteedt, the headmaster. The guard of honour consisted of the boys of the first rugby and cricket teams of Grey College, and contained in the rolls of merit against the walls were the names of Hansie, his father and his brother. Mr Volsteedt said: ``Hansie is all over here, behind us, in front of us, and next to us’’, and he pointed to Hansie’s South African jersey and cap against the wall. There could not be a more appropriate place to bid farewell to a great man.

The above gives us a glimpse of what role an institution such as a school can and must play in the lives of South Africans. It must be a centre of excellence, a place near to one’s heart, an inseparable part of one’s life. Yesterday I realised this again, and this is my plea to the Minister today: let us build on what we have, let us strive to extend and expand this excellence to all the peoples of our country, and let us stop scratching where it is not itching. Let us embark on the road to improvement and transformation with due respect for what we have inherited.

Let me mention a few examples. Earlier this year the Minister wrote a letter to the Citizen newspaper about school uniforms. He said: ``This is really a leftover from the colonial system, based on strict regimented systems of schooling, much like an army.’’ Does the Minister remember that? It is our fear that there is, within the Ministry and the department, antagonism towards and intolerance of the traditions and values of substantial sectors of modern society in South Africa. If the Minister had seen the guard of honour yesterday, he would think again. These were not the Protea team-mates, but schoolboys in their uniform.

Let me refer to respect for tradition. Grey College is named after Sir George Grey, a colonial governor. After Britain confiscated the then Transgariep during the Battle of Boomplaats in 1848, the yoke of colonialism was thrown off with the establishment of the Republic of the Orange Free State in 1854, but up to today the name Grey College has stayed intact, even in the heart of the most Afrikaans-speaking city in our country. That is an example for us.

Let me turn to accessibility and nondiscrimination. Three of the 10 boys who sang in the little choir yesterday were black, fully integrated in the values and traditions of their new alma mater.

Waarom noem ek hierdie dinge? Omdat ons vandag ‘n toenemende aanslag ervaar op skole wat presteer. Noem maar op! HTS Louis Botha in Bloemfontein, Hoërskool Ermelo, Hoër Landbouskool Bekker in Magaliesburg, almal onderworpe aan vervolgingsaksies deur provinsiale departemente, en in elke geval het die departement sleg tweede gekom met geen substansie nie.

Die onderwysdepartement van Gauteng het die Hoërskool FH Odendaal in Pretoria probeer dwing om sy taalbeleid te verander. Die hof het egter hul poging met koste verwerp en ouerseggenskap bevestig.

Die AEB doen ‘n beroep op die Minister om liewer op te bou as om af te breek. Transformasie mag nooit ontaard in deformasie nie. Ons beleef ‘n toenemende aanslag teen bestuursliggame. Kragtens voorgestelde nuwe wetgewing wat binnekort ingedien word, verloor bestuursliggame hul bevoegdheid om self nuwe personeel aan te stel en boonop moet die departement dan ‘n etiese kode opstel vir bestuursliggame. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

Why am I mentioning these things? Because today we are experiencing an increasing onslaught on those schools that are performing. Just name them! HTS Louis Botha in Bloemfontein, Ermelo High School, Bekker Agricultural High School in Magaliesburg, all subject to legal proceedings instituted by provincial departments, and in each case the department came off second best and without substance.

The education department of Gauteng tried to force the FH Odendaal High School in Pretoria to change its language policy. However, the court threw out their attempt with costs, confirming parental say.

The AEB appeals to the Minister rather to try and build than to break down. Transformation should never degenerate into deformation. We are experiencing a growing onslaught against governing bodies. In terms of proposed new legislation soon to be tabled, governing bodies will be stripped of the power to appoint their own new staff, on top of which the department will then have to draw up an ethical code for governing bodies.]

Governing bodies are affronted by the Ministry’s proposal to treat school governors, elected parents, adult educators and adult non-educators as if they were children at a school and as if the head of the department was a governor of school governors. This translates into treating democratically elected school governors even less democratically than learners are treated. The move is demonstrative of a disturbing mindset of antagonism towards and contempt of school governing bodies, which has already manifested itself in the past and is now more palpable than ever. There are already sufficient provisions in place to deal with members of school governing bodies who abuse their positions.

Ons weet daar bestaan massale probleme in talle ander skole. Ons weet daar bestaan twee wêrelde in die onderwys in Suid-Afrika, maar dit is nie nodig om die een af te breek ten einde die ander een op te bou nie.

Die AEB pleit vir differensiasie in die hantering van skole; dat ‘n skool deur prestasie ‘n groter mate van selfstandigheid kan behaal; dat presterende skole uit die ou bedeling nie as ‘n bedreiging gesien moet word nie, maar as ‘n bron en sentrum vanwaar standaarde en uitnemendheid ‘n uitvoerproduk na ander instansies kan word; en dat meegewerk word, en sentrifugale krag sal uitgaan na ander skole en gemeenskappe. Dit geld ook vir universiteite. Die agb Mulder en Geldenhuys het daarna verwys en ek gaan nie daarop uitbrei nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[We know there are massive problems in many other schools. We know there are two worlds in education in South Africa, but it is unnecessary to break down the one in order to build up the other.

The AEB is appealing for differentiation in dealing with schools; that a school may by way of performance attain a greater degree of independence; that schools from the old dispensation which perform well should not be seen as a threat, but as a source and centre from whence standards and excellence may become an exportable commodity to other bodies; and that there may be co-operation, with a centrifugal force extending to other schools and communities. This also applies to universities. The hon Mulder and Geldenhuys have referred to this and I am not going to elaborate on it.]

That brings us to the matter of the religious ethos of a school. The AEB had fruitful discussions with the Minister last year, and as a result the Minister held a meeting with the education committee of churches from the reformed family and was then invited to nominate a member of the Minister’s advisory council. Can the hon the Minister inform this House what progress has been made in this regard?

Ek wil afsluit deur die volgende te sê. [I want to conclude by saying the following.]

South Africans, across the board, acknowledge the need for and will be devoted to an education system that takes the whole country forward. Give them the security of respect and appreciation for what has already been achieved, of what is dear to them, and they will embark with the Minister on the long road of what still needs to be achieved, so that every school in South Africa can eventually become a centre of excellence, tradition and loyalty, as we witnessed yesterday when we said goodbye to Hansie.

Mnr T D LEE: Mev die Speaker, normaalweg as ‘n ramp ‘n gebied tref, word so ‘n gebied deur die regering tot rampgebied verklaar. Ek kom van die Oos- Kaap - en ek het opdrag van my kiesers gekry om hieroor te praat - waar die staatsadministrasie in totale chaos gedompel is. In der waarheid, administratief gesproke, is die Oos-Kaap ‘n rampgebied wat astronomiese afmetings aangeneem het. [Tussenwerpsels.] Om die Huis so ‘n kykie in die situasie daar te gee, wil ek graag die gebeure in die onderwys as voorbeeld gebruik om bostaande stellings te ondersteun. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Mr T D LEE: Madam Speaker, normally when disaster strikes an area, such an area is declared a disaster area by the Government. I come from the Eastern Cape - and I have been instructed by my voters to talk about this - where the state administration has been plunged into total chaos. In fact, administratively speaking the Eastern Cape is a disaster area that has assumed astronomical proportions. [Interjections.] To give the House a glimpse into the situation there, I would like to take the events in education as an example to support the above-mentioned statements.]

Madam Speaker, I come from a province where there is money to pay ghost teachers, whilst some teachers who diligently do their duty go unpaid, some of them for three years. [Interjections.] I come from a province where, as I speak, 250 schools are still waiting for their textbooks. It is therefore not surprising that my province produced some of the worst matric results last year. A basic thing such as delivering school books does not happen. [Interjections.] This Minister visited the province. Was it just a social visit or will action follow? And if it will, when will this action follow?

I come from a province where some teachers abuse learners sexually and physically on a regular basis, while children are denied access to institutions of learning because they cannot afford school fees. Finally, I come from a province where the director-general of education, Mr Manya, who dared to root out corruption, was threatened with death - we are aware of this - and had to flee the province, vowing never to return. This happened one and a half years ago and we are still waiting for a substitute to be appointed. I do not think this is good enough.

The Minister’s smug expression is an indication that he thinks - I can read his mind - that Mr Lee should know that education is a provincial matter. [Interjections.] However, I have news for the Minister. According to the learners, the unions, the teachers and the parents of my province, the buck stops with the Minister. In fact, section 100 of the country’s Constitution prescribes exactly what steps the Minister can take when a province cannot or does not fulfil its executive obligation. This is not something I recommend lightly, but the situation in the Eastern Cape is desperate and it therefore calls for desperate measures.

Education in the Eastern Cape is in a terrible mess. It needs bold, dramatic and imaginative steps to save the situation. [Interjections.]

Mr R P Z VAN DEN HEEVER: What do they want?

Mr T D LEE: The saying goes: Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That hon member, whatever his name is, is not the man. [Interjections.] [Laughter.] The hour for saving education in the Eastern Cape has come. I hope that the hon the Minister is the man. [Applause.]

Prof S S RIPINGA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister of Education and hon members, if the hon Mr Lee was a member of the Portfolio Committee on Education, I think he would have had something to say this afternoon. Members of Parliament are not delegates; they do not come here to speak when they are not even alternates in committees. In fact, he would have heard a full account from the MEC for Education, who presented a full account of the situation in the Eastern Cape.

The ANC concurs with the Minister of Education when he says that we had a good year, and we have advanced. True South Africans who have traversed the length and breadth of this country will bear testimony to this. There is a need for some hon members to transcend their ideological parameters and see South Africa through the eyes of a true South African.

Any vigilant person who passed through the corridors in front of the Old Assembly this afternoon and cared to peruse the mass of documents displayed there would appreciate that the Department of Education is a department at work. The restructuring of higher education has been a hotly debated issue in our country, especially following the release of the National Commission on Higher Education discussion document, the White Paper, National Plan for Higher Education'' and, of late,Restructuring of Higher Education System - South Africa’’.

This should be so, for higher education institutions are the academic focus of national life reflecting the social, economic, cultural and political aspirations of the people. They shape national and international ideas. They offer innovations, encourage global competition and train the future citizenry. So the shape and future landscape of the higher education system should be thoroughly and hotly debated. However, the debate must at some point come to an end. We must take decisions to take us forward.

The higher education sector, as the Minister has already indicated, broadly agrees that the restructuring of higher education is now beyond debate, that the current status quo with its inefficiencies and ineffectiveness is not desirable and that changes are needed. The proposal for restructuring and consolidation of the landscape, approved by the Cabinet at its meeting on 29 May 2002, provides a foundation for such changes in higher education to ensure an accessible, equitable, sustainable, productive and diverse higher education system that will be of high quality and contribute to the human resource skills, knowledge and research needs of the country.

We welcome the new landscape, which will consist of 11 universities, six technikons, four comprehensive institutions, two national institutes and one dedicated distance education university. We also thank the Minister for assuring us that no site of delivery will be closed, but rather restructured to facilitate increased access through the development of programmes that will address the human resource skills of rural communities.

I would like to return to the issue of the University of Fort Hare. The University of Fort Hare has not been retained as an own institution. The University of Fort Hare will incorporate the East London campus of Rhodes University and the medical school of the University of Transkei, which will remain in Umtata. It will focus on expanding access in the East London area. This decision is in line with the recent decision of the provincial government to designate East London as an industrial development zone. Fort Hare therefore is not an own institution. It would be unconstitutional to retain an undemocratic, racial and sexist institution in that fashion, as the hon Dr Geldenhuys has mentioned.

It is for this reason that all historically white institutions that will be retained as separate institutions need to vigorously refocus their institutional culture. The institutional culture and ethos in these institutions continue to be eurocentric, with little or no attempt to locate them in the context of Africa. Kwame Nkrumah reminds us in this regard, and I quote:

We must, in the development of universities, bear in mind that once it has been planted in African soil, it must take root amidst African traditions and culture.

If not, this acts as a barrier to both black students and staff, preventing them from developing their full potential. It is imperative that these institutions develop new institutional cultures, identities and policies based on the values of nonracism, nonsexism and democracy.

We also welcome the assurance by the Ministry that all higher education institutions will be required to indicate, in their three-year rolling plans, the strategies and steps they intend taking to transform their institutional culture and practice in order to create an enabling environment for all students and staff. We also note with appreciation that the Ministry will monitor changes in institutional culture and practice through its recently established Race, Gender and Values Chief Directorate.

Concerns have been raised within and outside the precincts of Parliament regarding the merger of a university and a technikon. A comprehensive institution, established from a technikon and a university, is a new institution. It is a new organisational form which does not reflect its ingredients. It will have a new mission statement. It has a new mandate, and a new mission. It will provide a programme mix. It will provide access in places where technikons were never provided in terms of the past apartheid legislation. Therefore, the international academic community will learn from us in this regard.

Implementation will be the most demanding phase of the restructuring process. There is a need for an increase in the budget allocation for higher education to enable the higher education system and institutions to effectively discharge their new mandates and missions; redress that is appropriate to the mandates and missions; access the necessary expertise to facilitate mergers; finance the building of capacity and improve salaries, and ensure that conditions of service, in general, are attractive for academics and researchers of a high calibre.

The implementation of the proposed landscape at institutional level will obviously depend, to a large extent, on the availability of administrative and management abilities and skills. The existing capacity-building initiatives, aimed at enhancing institutional governance and improving academic programmes at the historically black institutions, should be supported and intensified. There must also be great sensitivity to the employment and the implications of implementing the new landscape at institutional level. A social plan must be developed by all affected stakeholders.

In conclusion, times changes. The time to change the higher education system is now. We support the Budget Vote. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Madam Speaker, although it is late in the day, and everybody has been very patient, I am going to take issue with the hon Mr Lee, who accuses me of smugness. My mother always warned me to keep my face expressionless. I was not smug. We played cricket with him once or twice. I should tell him that my philosophy in life, in reaction to events, is like Gramsci’s - I am a pessimist of the intellect and an optimist of the will. So, it is the will that drives one. Firstly, if anything can get cocked-up, it is likely to get cocked-up. That is Murphy’s law. It is the optimism of the will that drives us on this side. It drove us for 90 years. We knew the struggle was difficult.

Therefore, I must say that we are embarking on a problem-solving approach, because old ways are no ways. We are using the problem-solving approach because we must demand a degree of self-criticism also, on all sides. We want self-criticism and analysis of what has gone wrong, and how we can put it right. That is why I think we should not treat a particular area as a disaster area. There are enormous problems there - problems of the Bantustan system which are really extensive and problems in connection with training. [Interjections.]

That hon member was lucky that, in Cape Town, there was only one Bantustan. The Northern Province has three Bantustans. There is the Eastern Cape. They were the first independent states. At the second one, as I remember, the flag fell down on independence day. I was in exile, but I remember a flag fell down as they were putting it up. [Laughter.] The flags were falling down all the time. They are still falling down, unfortunately. We have to take a progressive approach that will deal with the real problems, and we are doing it, in accordance with section 100 of the Constitution.

The hon Mpontshane and the hon Geldenhuys blur the difference between the provinces’ functions and the national functions. The state of being a eunuch does not suit me very well, I must say. The response of celibacy by par is not, in fact, the prerogative of the harlot. It is also the position of the eunuch.

I remember writing to the hon Gibson that the constitutional arrangements we have with regard to education are the constitutional arrangements of

1. On the one hand, the hon Lee asks why I act like a bystander. On the other hand, every time I introduce a Bill, to bring some rationalisation, the same party accuses me of centralisation, nogal.

What I have are regulatory powers. I have powers to lay down the standards. Can I say that we will take very seriously the regulatory powers of the national Department? The regulatory powers demand that all provinces must meet the standards laid down in legislation under norms and standards. If they do not, they must take political responsibility for that. It is very important that all of us are convinced that individual and collective political responsibility has to be taken.

On that basis, we will go forward to problem …

Mr D H M GIBSON: [Inaudible.]

The MINISTER: No, I am not. I challenged the hon Gibson to introduce a constitutional amendment to provide greater power to the national Government, but he ran away from that, unfortunately. [Laughter.]

The second point is that the public school system in its entirety encompasses nearly 30 000 schools. Enormous variations exist. We should understand there are enormous variations within a province and between provinces. For example, we have now reduced the inequalities, in expenditure between provinces by nearly 65%. That is an extraordinary thing.

Within provinces, there are still enormous inequalities. Rather than say, as the hon Aucamp has, that we must respect traditions and differences, we must understand also that there has been enormous investment in schools such as Grey College or the girls school next to it. They are enormous investments which we cannot parallel in a township school in Bloemfontein. I want to ask members, when they invoke culture and tradition, also to think of the ghost outside which has been excluded. How does one bring the ghost inside, and give it a corporeal presence? We no longer want to be excluded ghosts in the mists outside. We cannot tolerate being excluded outside. That is why it is very important that we should grapple with this.

I worked out five pages of responses that are required. What I will do, for the first time, is send my replies to every one of the hon members who participated. I promise I shall do so over the next four or five days.

What I want to deal with, therefore, are some of the fundamental issues raised. I want to deal with the hon Mnandi’s point on indigenous languages. We say in our National Plan for Higher Education that it is appalling that we do not have chairs in each of the eleven languages of South Africa. We will use money to assist the transformed universities and technikons to set up chairs. I agree that unless one has a chair in a language, that language will not develop. Nobody will study that language.

In relation to the hon Mulder, one cannot suddenly ask: ``Why cannot we have a Zulu university?’’ That is because one needs textbooks, dictionaries, the experience and the lecturers. I know that because I lived in Ireland where there is an Irish university in Galway. In fact, there is parallel language instruction or dual language instruction in Galway. It is not as easy as the hon member thinks.

Similarly, in response to the hon Geldenhuys, we do not take our benchmarks from Taiwan, or even from the European Union, by the way. The European Union does not say that in respect of mother tongue instruction in higher education. It does not say that. It says that with respect to basic education.

We do not take our benchmarks from there. Our benchmarks are what we have worked out in South Africa. They are South African solutions for our problems. The Taiwan example is no good because - suddenly Boy Geldenhuys has become an authority on higher education, so I will tell him - there is now a fusion between technological and academic institutions. The largest universities and technological institutions in Britain are merging, such as the Manchester Institute of Technology and Manchester University, an enormous university campus. Independently of that, we came up with the creative idea that if one puts in both technologically and academically based education, one can, in this fusion, allow the students internally to be mobile - to move from one area, a purely technical area, to a more academic area. It is very important that we should do so.

In the remaining time available to me, I will deal with higher education. I promise, by the way, that I will send replies to each one of the participants, including the ones who are slightly pregnant in the sense that they have supported the proposals, on the one hand, but find enough problems in them to diffuse their support and give them a slightly pregnant'' approach to this matter on the other. I do not think doctors would approve of thisslightly pregnant’’ state of affairs. One is either pregnant or not. It would be enjoyable to tackle the hon members on the basis of real or phantom pregnancies.

Can I therefore very quickly look at higher education? Let me start by saying that the basic issue of higher education is that we need to galvanise our energies and strengths to ensure that we are able to bring about the kind of changes we need. The process is 10 years old. I would like to tell the hon Mogoba that there will not be a summit. We have gone through summits since 1991. The time has come to do things.

There are a few issues, first of all regarding the question of values. I wish to quote the words of the national working group, namely that all institutions must adopt the kind of positions that allow all students to feel comfortable in them. Cultural and social reasons will not exclude them. That is the starting point. There is no threat to anyone.

As far as the Gerwel report is concerned, I said at the portfolio committee

• many of the points raised by the hon members were raised there four days ago, and I will not take up the time of the National Assembly by repeating myself here - that we will publish the report and we are studying it. There is also the Council on Higher Education report on languages, which we have to look at very carefully. We will look at that carefully and come to a proper conclusion.

I have met, for example, the Afrikanerbond twice on language issues, so it is not for want of trying. In the same way, I would like to tell the hon Mr Aucamp, I met all the religious groups in South Africa. It was the first time a Minister had met all the religious groups, including the Zion Christian Church, which is the largest religious group in South Africa, with four and a half million members, who had never been involved in consultations.

We have come to the conclusion now. We will set up a national advisory committee on religion in education. [Interjections.] Yes. We will certainly be setting it up for advice and we will proclaim that in the Gazette. The nominations received have all been examined very carefully.

There has been no debacle at the University of South Africa. The proclamation was made by the Government last May and invitations were made for responses. One institution responded but the larger institution did not respond, and we went ahead on that basis. But if illegal action has then taken place, we must generate every kind of courage and fortitude to ensure that the public interest is served. Now, we have demanded that there should be legal action in August because there has been no returning memorandum from the authorities of the University of South Africa. My own belief is that the more one keeps lawyers away from educational matters, the better, because all these matters should be tackled, whether they are in the Free State or on the Rand, by negotiation and consultation.

I agree that these institutions are not simply spaces for the uncritical transmission of knowledge. In relation to Afrikaans, I must say that the Afrikaans vice chancellors of institutions have said before that no institution should be limited to Afrikaans. I ask members please to recognise this and not make a voting issue of it. I have said before that there is a huge amount of fluidity about Afrikaans in the institutions. If we look at the details, there is essentially no institution that teaches through Afrikaans only.

What we are now saying is that there is no reason why tuition in higher education should not be through Afrikaans. The fundamental point, though, is that we are talking about access. In higher courses, subjects like engineering and medicine, one cannot have a situation that we have to send our black students to Cuba to study, because they cannot get admission to institutions here. We have to look at the admission policies and see what the selective areas are which are barring young blacks. Here we are also saying coloureds, by the way. I am still a UDF man, so by ``blacks’’ I mean those who did not have power before 1994. [Interjections.]

Dr C P MULDER: Madam Speaker …

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

The MINISTER: Therefore I ask hon members to be very careful in ensuring that we lower the temperature. I will reply to everyone, including regarding this matter. [Applause.]

Dr C P MULDER: Madam Speaker …

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The time of the Minister has actually expired.

Dr C P MULDER: As a matter of fact, Madam Speaker, the Minister had four minutes more than the time allocated in any case.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I am the one keeping time here. The Minister had 12 minutes. [Interjections.] No, he had 12 minutes. You only know about 10 minutes and I know that he actually had 12. That is why I say that I am the one who is keeping time and who has details that sometimes go beyond what you have.

Debate concluded.

                  PUBLIC SERVICE WAGE NEGOTIATIONS

                             (Statement)

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Madam Speaker and hon members, my task before this House this afternoon is to give an account of two important matters. Firstly, I would like to thank Parliament for allowing us to postpone this statement twice in view of various processes involving collective bargaining that we were engaged in.

Today I want, firstly, to report briefly on progress regarding transformation and restructuring in the Public Service and, secondly, to give an account of the wage increase for Public Service employees for this financial year, a matter that seems to have gripped the attention of many. Those who have criticised Government on the basis of unilateralism in the past are now criticising Government for different reasons, but let me deal with these issues.

As was very vividly explained, both in the earlier debate and on previous occasions, the challenge that faces the Public Service emanates from a system that we actually inherited in 1994: a rather bitter legacy, a legacy rooted in a philosophy and design of the Public Service that was exclusive, discriminatory and served the interests of the minority to the exclusion of the majority. We saw the rationalisation process of the former apartheid establishment, the former self-governing homelands, independent states and provincial administrations. That was the first step in the transformation of the Public Service. These institutions brought with them different systems, skills profiles, cultures, work ethics and so forth, but had one common feature: they were not structured or poised to ensure the service delivery required by our democracy. We have succeeded in merging these institutions, but what remains outstanding - a difficult challenge that we are confronting and will confront now - is to ensure a Public Service in a developmental and democratic state that meets the needs of the majority of our people.

However, at the same time, while we were battling these apartheid-inherited challenges, advances made on the technological front brought forth their own challenges to all organisations, internationally and domestically, in so-called developed countries and those of us facing immense poverty issues, in the public as well as the private sector. Not a single organisation remains isolated from these contextual changes, and organisations have to ask themselves continually whether the way that they are working and structured is keeping up with the demands of the time.

Our approach to transformation is captured in the Constitution, which communicates the type of Public Service that we are trying to establish. Amongst other things, this should be a Public Service which promotes equitable, efficient and effective use of resources. These are issues raised earlier today.

It must promote a high standard and ethos as well as professional ethics, and have a developmental orientation that is responsive to the needs of all citizens. Furthermore, the Constitution demands that the Public Service should be transparent, representative and promote human resource development.

Looking at the nature of the Public Service we inherited, we have stated repeatedly that this Government has an immense task of turning the system around to move towards being consistent with these constitutional principles and values. Clearly, it would be neither realistic nor possible to try everything at once. That is why we identified a set of transformation priorities in the various policy documents.

It is, however, regrettable - and I stated this on 23 May - that the resolution on the restructuring of the Public Service was signed by only 42% of trade unions represented in the Public Sector Co-ordinating Bargaining Council. This leaves us with no option but to go ahead with the implementation as I had outlined on 23 May.

In terms of our commitment to collective and centralised bargaining, we will still attempt to ensure that all the representatives of organised labour walk the transformation path with us. However, if we cannot achieve this, we are prepared to walk the path with fewer union partners. Hence, the framework agreement resolution will be translated into regulations for gazetting on 14 June and promulgated for its effective implementation on 17 June 2002.

We are seeking to address key issues such as poor distribution of skills and resources across the Public Service in all spheres of government, undesirable attitude towards work and to our citizens, unresponsive and inefficient modes of service delivery, as well as outdated systems and procedures. All these require focused attention if we are to have a system that is consistent with the values of the Constitution.

In dealing with these matters, it would be important to keep in mind that restructuring assumes its nature, extent and pace from contextual realities. Therefore, it would be unhelpful and perhaps wrong to adopt a stance that narrowly equates transformation and restructuring with retrenchment.

Government’s approach in addressing restructuring will be based on principles stated in the transformation framework agreement, these being: Providing for redeployment, retraining and alternative employment for excess employees; secondly, developing sector strategies for job creation; and thirdly, complying with legal frameworks regulating employment. As Government we are mindful of the social consequences of restructuring and transformation. We are also deeply conscious of why we are taking this route and the fact that we want better service delivery for the South African citizenry.

In instances of unavoidable retrenchments, the inclusion of a social plan will form a fundamental part of the process. Whilst there is overstaffing in some parts of the Public Service, it should be noted that in other parts instances of understaffing do exist. This would require an accompanying increase in personnel. Hence, I would want to state today that we all should note that the nature of restructuring does not come as a packaged standardised commodity.

The critical issue is to ensure that we do what is consistent with our vision, principles and values. We will ensure that we expand where required, in line with our service delivery needs, and review where there may be excesses and see how we facilitate redeployment of those employees, first and foremost.

Let me go to the issue of the wage settlement. In line with the need for us to build a Public Service that is in keeping with the demands of functioning as a modern knowledge-based organisation, we have to think of a salary dispensation that will support the achievement of this imperative. In this vein we tackled the issue of salary increases for this year.

On Tuesday, 4 June 2002, as Government, together with our 12 labour partners in the public sector, we concluded a wage agreement for the financial year 2002-03. This was in line with our commitment to the spirit of the multiterm agreement that we had signed last year. All 12 of the unions signed the resolution and it provides for the following: An annual increase of a maximum of 9% to all public service employees at levels 1 to

1. This allows for an increase at entry level, our lowest paid employee, that translates into an increase from R25 959 per annum to R28 296 per annum. The total increase in this band stands at R2 337 per annum. All employees in levels 1 to 12 will receive a once-off final payment of R850 towards pay progression whilst the Public Sector Co-ordinating Bargaining Council is finalising the pay progression system.

Finally, this broadly increases our wage bill from R81,141 billion to R88,444 billion. The actual increase is R7,302 billion. This amount includes an increase in the pension contribution and the 13th cheque. I want to re-emphasize that the wage increase is in keeping with the multiterm agreement reached last year. It also provides us with the opportunity to deal with matters of a transformation nature, while we are bound to a multiterm remuneration agreement.

The 9% is effective compensation for the inflation increase. In actual fact, 9% is or will be below the main year-to-year inflation figure. It is thus no exaggeration to state that prices are up by 9%, compared to a year ago. And for most of the public servants who are in the R100 000 per annum bracket, their consumption basket has probably increased a bit above inflation, a bit above the CPIX average.

Our position as Government is that we are providing against the adverse effects of the rand’s decline that we saw late last year and the increase in food prices earlier this year. We would also like to retain real consumption spending power, given the price adjustments that the rand depreciation caused.

I therefore would like to dismiss allegations that this year’s adjustment serves as an inflationary signal to the private sector. I would also like to state that the bargaining processes are distinct, and if there are any linkages, it must be noted that for the past few years the public sector had lagged behind the private sector in wage settlements. Perhaps this year we should see it as a reverse.

I would like to go further and emphasize that the notion that the 9% increase works against the country’s inflation targeting strategy is incorrect and mischievous. On the contrary, as I have mentioned earlier, the multiterm agreement was linked to a wage band which we were clearly outside of; hence the settlement which we formalised on 4 June. Moreover, the notion that the 9% increase is the highest ever in the Public Service is nonsensical, false and uninformed.

In July 1996 salaries were adjusted on a 21% average, with the CPIX - inflation at the time - standing at 6,1%. I also want to state that a mandate of a 9% adjustment was a decision that was taken by the mandate committee, a subcommittee of Cabinet, which considered affordability and also current economic realities.

We are committed to pushing back the frontiers of poverty. This Government has committed itself to the transformation of the Public Service into a focused, competent, representative, coherent and democratic instrument for the implementation of Government policies and for meeting the needs of all South Africans on an equitable basis.

The Public Service, therefore, has to continue with transformation programmes and respond to and drive the agenda of Government, based on the vision of a better life for all. Delivering the best service for the people is not negotiable, and achieving a better life for all is a must. As we work towards successfully transforming the Public Service, we should do so without expecting to be mentioned or to score points. I want to quote the socialist poet Bertolt Brecht when he said:

Why should the baker be asked for if there is enough bread? Why should the snow be praised that has melted if new snowfalls are impending? Why should there be a past if there is a future?

As a result, I want to say, as we confront and engage on the issue of wage increases, we should think of that. As we confront and take forward, as revolutionaries, the real difficulty of transformation through restructuring of the Public Service, let us remember Brecht. [Applause.]

Mr M WATERS: Madam Speaker, hon Minister and hon members, the 9% across-the- board increase for all public servants agreed to by the Government and trade unions this week has two fundamental problems.

Firstly, it is higher than inflation and exceeds the 7,5% ceiling agreed to last year when the multiterm agreement was signed. The increases will have to be funded, as usual, by the taxpayer at a total cost, as the Minister mentioned, of R7,3 billion. Secondly, it is across the board and ignores the performance of individual public servants and fails to address the plunder of skills from our Public Service.

In a letter to the Reserve Bank Governor on 21 February 2000, our Minister of Finance clearly stated that the inflation target for the year 2000 would be 3% to 6%. I would like to quote the Minister here: `` The success of the inflation-targeting regime will require the participation of all of the South African public that includes the Public Service - I would like to say to the Minister - its firms, unions, NGOs and civic groups.

It is quite clear that the Minister for the Public Service and Administration and the committee she mentioned have ignored the plea made by her very own colleague. Not only will this increase put pressure on the Reserve Bank to keep to its inflation target, but it will also put pressure on interest rates, which look like they will be increasing. The DA will never stop urging Government to approach its role as an employer with a fresh, modern attitude. The current ``one size fits all’’ mentality to increases completely ignores individual performances and is totally archaic. Performance levels of hard-working public servants are neglected while lazy public servants are rewarded with 9% increases.

The Minister is inconsistent with her own performance management approach, adopted in the Public Service regulations in which every employee must be assessed according to an annual performance cycle. This also fails to address the gross underpayment of certain professions, such as nurses and police officers, who are being poached by the UK and other countries in their hundreds. The loss of skills will continue until the ANC Government modernises its relationship with its employees.

These two professions are both grossly underpaid and it is no small wonder that South Africa still has a band of very hard working and loyal nurses and police officers who continue to labour for the love of the work not the money. There are not many people in this Chamber who would do their job for the amount of money they earn. I would not be surprised if Scotland Yard were taken up on its offer to recruit 5 000 of our own police officers. Few are in a position to resist this temptation.

The DA regards the R850 once-off payment offered by the Minister as an insult if it is really intended to raise morale, as she has publicly stated. I doubt if there is one person in this Chamber who would be motivated by R850 for any length of time. Why is it then that we expect it to motivate the Public Service? Perhaps the attitude is, ``let us shut up the masses with a crumb or two’’.

The DA proposes the abolition of the central bargaining chamber of the Public Service in order for departments and sectors to negotiate directly with employees’ organisations on terms which meet their specific needs. Not only will this allow for performance to be taken into account, but it will also give the Government the latitude to award higher increases to skills that are fast becoming more and more scarce in the Public Service.

Lastly, may I once again urge the Minister to challenge the outdated assumption that should have gone out of fashion with the NP, and that is the idea that fair pay means that everyone should get the same increases or that pay and employment conditions must be set nationally. They should be the first to go. [Applause.]

Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Madam Speaker, hon members of this House, last year hon members will remember that negotiations were met with a bilious reaction from unions and stakeholders. This year we welcome the efforts of the hon the Minister and the manner in which she and her department handled the negotiations on salaries.

The bargaining councils continue to play a critical role in shaping and sharpening labour relations in the Public Service. All Government employees from Level 1 to Level 12 will receive an across-the-board increase of 9%. The IFP supports this move as this will prevent protracted standoffs between the unions and the department.

This 9%, we believe, will help to boost morale and create a strong Public Service ethos, hence increasing levels of service delivery. This also sends a strong message to trade unions about where to pitch their demands.

In essence, the Public Service in particular is the single largest employer in this country. It is also clear that poverty and unemployment are unacceptably high. The hardships and suffering of the unemployed are a severe indictment of our society.

We know that inflation this year hovers around 7% to 8%. Thus, it is common knowledge that we are in for turbulent times as consumer prices, fuel prices and interest rates begin to escalate, a sobering thought indeed.

Given the critical role of the Public Service, we must also ensure the commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders. This means that negotiations often have to go beyond the traditional collective bargaining strategies and tactics, and become more innovative so that parties can forge partnerships and deliver to the people of this country. All stakeholders should understand that the employer-employee relationship is focused predominantly on delivery.

Although the restructuring process will result in strained relationships between the unions and the department, we believe that negotiations have to be viewed as genuine, given the resolution of the impasse on salaries. I also want to stress that this will have a psychological impact on workers who endeavour towards job security and basic bread-and-butter issues. If restructuring is negatively perceived and executed, it will no doubt have a snowball effect on people’s livelihoods, the very communities and constituencies that we represent.

The main objective of restructuring is to ensure a leaner and meaner Public Service, in line with constitutional prerogatives, so that service delivery improves. It is a fact that restructuring mainly affects those workers who, in the eyes of the employer, do not deliver according to expected levels. I know that the hon Waters spoke at length about this.

So there will be resistance from those quarters. But we also need to send a strong message to those who are not performing that Government is not an alternative for them. For us to contribute effectively to the transformation of the Public Service, collective bargaining must be performed in a professional and constructive manner. In other words, it is not primarily about material wealth, it is about people. On a lighter note, my colleagues in the IFP have asked me to lobby the hon the Minister to reciprocate this 9% to the hard-working and diligent MPs who have remained behind to listen to this. [Laughter.] [Applause.]

Mr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD: Madam Speaker, during the debate on the Vote of the Department for the Public Service and Administration, I referred to the Minister’s dedication to building the Public Service into an effective and efficient organisation that requires the utmost dedication from every public servant.

One of the cornerstones of a dedicated Public Service is the morale and the wellbeing of the workforce. Financial worries and monetary constraints most probably comprise one of the biggest demolishers of morale for any person.

I have already thanked the Minister during the discussion of the Vote for timeously taking care of the uncertainty around salary increases this year. Her announcement today is proof of the success that can be achieved if a Minister works with dedication towards achieving the goals within his or her department, and I want to thank her this afternoon for the way in which she is tackling the problems in the Public Service.

Die aankondiging van die Minister vandag staan in skrille kontras met vorige jare se uitgerekte, onsmaaklike gevegte om ‘n ooreenkoms te bereik. Die Nuwe NP wil dan ook die hoop uitspreek dat die gladde verloop van hierdie onderhandelinge, en die eenparige instemming van al 12 die Staatsdiensvakbonde, die voorloper is van verdere suksesvolle onderhandelinge tussen die Regering en die betrokke vakbonde met betrekking tot die transformasie en herstrukturering van die Staatsdiens.

Die Nuwe NP wil egter ook terselfdertyd ‘n beroep doen op staatsamptenare om hulself onvermoeid te beywer om te help met die bouproses in Suid- Afrika. Hulle moet ons help om van Suid-Afrika ‘n beter plek te maak deur die diens wat hulle behoort te lewer aan elke persoon in hierdie land, sodat ons saam kan bou aan ‘n staatsdiens waarop elke landsburger trots kan wees. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[The announcement by the Minister today is in sharp contrast to the protracted and unpleasant quarrels of the past to reach an agreement. The New NP would then also like to express the hope that the smooth course of these negotiations and the unanimous agreement of all 12 Public Service trade unions is the precursor to further successful negotiations between the Government and the relevant trade unions with regard to the transformation and restructuring of the Public Service.

However, the New NP would at the same time like to appeal to public servants to strive tirelessly to help with the building process in South Africa. They must help us to make South Africa a better place by the service which they are supposed to render to every person in this country, so that together we can build on a public service of which every citizen can be proud.]

We know that there were role-players behind the scenes who made this announcement today possible. We want to thank them for their hard work and dedication to bring about the kind of result that portrays a positive image of the Public Service in this country, and we want to wish them well with future negotiations.

Finally, I think typically of the DA, we heard two speeches here today. The first speech said it is too much'', and the second saidit is too little’’. I do not know what the confusion is. [Interjections.] They are as confused by their own speechwriters as they are by the Harksen issue. [Interjections.] [Applause.]

Mr T ABRAHAMS: Madam Speaker, the wage settlement between the unions and the Government in the Bargaining Council has brought an end to a long series of meetings. While the agreement ushers in a 9% increase, it must not be forgotten that public servants are, in many cases, hard put to cope with the recent steep increases in the cost of basic consumer requirements.

Last year alone the rand lost 37% of its value against the dollar, and this has inevitably led to the sharp rise in particularly food inflation. It is simply a matter of common sense that one cannot reasonably expect increased production or improved service from people who are constantly worried about their children starving. In this sense, the agreement is welcomed and the private sector is reminded or urged to adopt a similar stance.

While business should not fear taking the same route with their employees as Government is doing with its public servants, the obverse side of the coin, the need for increased productivity and improved service delivery in the interests of building the economy as a whole, must be constantly kept in mind by employees as well. At the same time, in the context of improving the economy as a whole and in the interests of making South Africa a prosperous country, all stakeholders are urged to walk that extra mile in their service to the people at large. We support the settlement. [Applause.]

Adv Z L MADASA: Madam Speaker, we support the statement of the Minister. We believe that she has managed to achieve broad consensus on these issues and that she has done extensive consultation. The approval of the unions which have agreed is indicative of this fact. Although there might be technical problems with regard to the resolution on transformation and restructuring as long as the other unions have not signed, we believe that we have done enough. The programme of restructuring and transformation has taken into account all residual problems that may arise, and we believe that the Ministry has put sufficient mechanisms in place to deal with these. It would be unreasonable, therefore, to reject the Ministry’s restructuring and transformation programme, after such a painstaking consultative process. Some have raised the issue that the increase of 9% is below inflation, but we believe that it is nonetheless a progressive increase. [Applause.]

Mnr P J GROENEWALD: Mev die Speaker, die laaste ding waarin die VF betrokke wil raak, is in ‘n geveg tussen die Nuwe NP en die DP, maar die standpunt van die VF is dat die 9% ‘n billike verhoging is.

Ons stem egter saam dat daar gekyk moet word na die uitgawes van die Staatsdiens as geheel. In hierdie opsig was dit nog altyd die beleid en die standpunt van die Regering dat daar uiteindelik ‘n kleiner Staatsdiens moet wees. Daarom, om uitgawes te beperk, is dit die VF se standpunt dat daar ‘n kleiner, meer effektiewe staatsdiens gevestig moet word. So kan daar bespaar word.

Ek wil voorstel dat die agb Minister haar kundigheid ten opsigte van die hantering van die vakbonde miskien met haar senior kollegas ook deel, veral wanneer dit gaan oor privatisering. Party vakbonde sal dalk dan kan verstaan waaroor privatisering gaan, en daar sal dalk ook verdere vordering wees in daardie sektor. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Madam Speaker, the last thing the FF wants to become involved in is a fight between the New NP and the DP, but the FF’s position is that 9% is a reasonable increase.

However, we agree that the expenditure of the Public Service as a whole must be examined. In this regard it has always been the policy and the position of the Government that there should actually be a smaller Public Service. Therefore, to restrict expenditure, it is the FF’s position that a smaller, more effective Public Service should be established. Money can be saved in this way.

I want to propose that the hon the Minister should possibly share her expertise with regard to the handling of the trade unions with her senior colleagues, particularly with regard to privatisation. Some trade unions may then understand what privatisation is about, and there may also be further progress in that sector.]

Mrs M A SEECO: Madam Speaker, the UCDP compliments the Minister for the Public Service and Administration on the efforts she has made for our public servants. We are thankful that the unions continue to buy into the negotiations. After all, half a loaf is better than no bread. This motivation should ensure that our South African public is served with dignity. It goes with the spirit of Batho Pele and the spirit of Vuk’uzenzele, to arise and act to ensure that proper services will be rendered in our working places.

We are confident that the 9% will produce better productivity. [Applause.]

Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, after the long negotiations and many strikes, the MF is pleased to note the 9% increase in the Public Service wage budget from R81, 1 billion to R106 billion, after bonuses and other benefits. It is heartening to note the agreement concluded on Tuesday by the Government and the 12 public sector unions, clearly illustrating our ability to work together. The MF sincerely hopes that this will put pressure on the private sector to do the same. With the rising inflation rate and the economic shock of ever-rising food prices, the increase will certainly assist workers.

The MF also shares the sentiments of the hon the Minister that this increase will boost the morale of public servants to play a bigger role in improving service delivery. The MF is certain that this will stabilise the public service sector and promote sustainable development within the labour sector. The MF supports this wage increase. [Applause.]

Mnr C AUCAMP: Mev die Speaker, die Minister het twee sake aangeroer: een was die kwessie van transformasie in die Staatsdiens. Ons wil maar net daarteen waarsku dat transformasie nie moet geskied ten koste van dienslewering en ervaring nie. Daar moet dus nie ‘n uitvloei van kragte wees nie.

Wat betref die verhoging, wil ons die Minister steun. Sy het die wysheid van Salomo nodig om aan hierdie saak reg te laat geskied, maar sy het ongelukkig nie die rykdomme van Salomo om dit te kan doen nie. Ek dink 9% is ‘n billike verhoging. Ons wil ook glo dat dit sal bydra tot ‘n meer effektiewe Staatsdiens. Iemand vra nou die dag vir my: ``Hoekom het Pretoria soveel eenrigtingstrate?’’ Die persoon sê toe dit is sodat die staatsamptenare wat laat kom vir werk, nie vasry teen dié wat vroeg huis toe gaan nie.

Ons steun dit, en ons vra dat die Staatsdiens ook hierop sal antwoord met lojaliteit en toewyding sodat ons ‘n beter diens kan kry. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

[Mr C AUCAMP: Madam Speaker, the Minister touched on two issues: one was the issue of transformation in the Public Service. We would just like to warn that transformation should not take place at the expense of service delivery and experience. There must therefore not be an exodus of ability.

As regards the increase, we want to support the Minister. She needs the wisdom of Solomon for justice to be done with regard to this matter, but unfortunately she does not have the wealth of Solomon to be able to do it. I think 9% is a reasonable increase. We also want to believe that it will contribute to a more effective Public Service.

Recently someone asked me: ``Why does Pretoria have so many one-way streets?’’ The person then said it is so that the public servants who are arriving late for work do not drive into those who are going home early.

We support this, and we ask that the Public Service will also responds to this with loyalty and dedication so that we can have a better service.]

Mr P J GOMOMO: Madam Speaker and members at large, I rise to add my voice to those applauding this settlement as a step in the right direction to improve the conditions of service for Public Service employees and also to restructure the Public Service as a state vehicle to entrench a democratic political dispensation. he increment is largely a credit to the Government as a credible employer that negotiates in good faith, as its offer is in keeping with the agreement signed in 2001 and is escalated to meet the challenges of inflation.

I want to take the opportunity to commend all the parties that were involved in the negotiations and particularly those who saw a need and responded to the call for reasonableness by signing the agreement that resulted in this increment. It is a hard-earned achievement and we salute the hon the Minister’s efforts. However, we call for the harmonious environment occasioned by this agreement to be translated into renewed vigour and accelerated service delivery at all levels.

Whereas we celebrate the jubilation of the signing of the wage increment and whereas we acknowledge that previous agreements in the PSCBC saw this as an improvement in the conditions of service that would facilitate other developments, we acknowledge that there is still unfinished business, which is the restructuring of the Public Service. In this regard we note the statement that has been made by the hon the Minister for the Public Service and Administration.

I wish to put on record that we always view the restructuring of the Public Service as yet another step in the right direction, as it seeks to cement the rationalisation of a previously divided Public Service and provides a framework for an accountable and efficient Public Service with suitably placed personnel.

Being a product of the Public Service Jobs Summit Framework Agreement, the negotiation is handled within legitimate processes in terms of the established collective bargaining arrangements. We can only hope that the parties will reach out to one another so that a majority of parties sign the proposed agreement and marshal an amicable settlement. We know that it may be difficult to always resolve issues peacefully, but in this regard a peaceful settlement is not impossible.

The parties concerned, which, have no doubt, are able negotiators in their individual right, may be reminded of two things: Firstly, when discussing the transformation and restructuring of the Public Service at the Public Service Jobs Summit and noting the otherwise challenging circumstances under which such transformation and restructuring had to take place, they acknowledged that they shared a common commitment to the broader interest of serving the South African nation. Secondly, it is an acceptable reality that negotiations like those most often cannot take place in a hostile environment and that differences that may seem to be there are part of the historical legacy that has to broken.

In the light of this, I believe that there is still room for a peaceful settlement of negotiations. Consultation and persuasion must be given a chance.

I want to remind Mike Waters …

An HON MEMBER: The hon Mike Waters!

Mr P J GOMOMO: Yes, indeed. I want to remind the hon Mike Waters that we were all part of the signing of the framework agreement, and this agreement is the continuation of the agreement that we signed, all of us. We cannot sabotage it at this stage. Those members are always telling the public that they are concerned about the people on the ground who are unemployed or earning low wages. Now we are giving people very reasonable wages, and those members are also against that. [Interjections.] They should reconsider their positions.

I therefore want to reiterate my call that all parties should agree to go the extra mile and put in an extra effort to settle the matter amicably. [Time expired.]

Debate concluded. The House adjourned at 18.15. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly:

1. The Speaker:

 The Minister of Finance submitted the Wetsontwerp op Finansiële Advies-
 en Tussengangersdienste [W 52 - 2001] (National Assembly - sec 75) to
 the Speaker and the Chairperson on 5 June 2002. This is the official
 translation of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Bill [B
 52 - 2001] (National Assembly - sec 75), which was introduced in the
 National Assembly by the Minister on 29 August 2001.

1. The Speaker:

 The following papers have been tabled and are now referred to the
 relevant committees as mentioned below:
 (1)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Transport:


     The Business Plan of the National Department of Transport for 2002-
     2003.


 (2)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Public Works:


     Together pushing back the Frontiers of Poverty - Laying Tomorrow's
     Development.


 (3)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Social Development, the Portfolio Committee on Justice and
     Constitutional Development and the Joint Monitoring Committee on
     the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth
     and Disabled Persons for consideration and report. The committees
     must confer and the Portfolio Committee on Social Development must
     report:


     (a)     The Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation
          in respect of Inter-Country Adoption, tabled in terms of
          section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.


     (b)     Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.


     (c)     Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the
          Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on
          the sale of children, child prostitution and child
          pornography, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the
          Constitution, 1996.


     (d)     Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreements.


 (4)    The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Environmental Affairs and Tourism for consideration and report:


     (a)     The Convention for the Protection, Management and
          Development of Marine and Coastal Environment of the East
          African Region and Related Protocols (Nairobi Convention),
          tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
     (b)     Explanatory Memorandum to the Convention.


     (c)     The Convention for Co-operation in the Protection and
          Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the West
          and Central African Region and Related Protocols (Abidjan
          Convention), tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the
          Constitution, 1996.


     (d)     Explanatory Memorandum to the Convention.


 (5)    The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
     Labour. The Report of the Auditor-General to be referred to the
     Standing Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and
     report:


     Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Unemployment
     Insurance Fund for 2000, including the Report of the Auditor-
     General on the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December
     2000 [RP 207-2001].

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

Papers:

1. The Minister of Finance:

 (a)    Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Public Investment
     Commissioners for 2000-2001, including the Report of the Auditor-
     General on the Financial Statements for 2000-2001 [RP 50-2002].


 (b)    General Notice No 662 published in Government Gazette No 23383
     dated 30 April 2002, Statement of the National and Provincial
     Government's Revenue, Expenditure and National Borrowing as at 31
     March 2002, in terms of section 32 of the Public Finance
     Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of 1999).

1. The Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology:

 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the National Arts Council for
 2000-2001, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
 Statements for 2000-2001. 3.    The Minister of Transport:


 (a)    Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Republic of
     South Africa and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique,
     tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.


 (b)    Explanatory Memorandum to the Agreement.

1. The Minister of Labour:

 Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Compensation Fund for
 2000-2001, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
 Statements for 2000-2001 [RP 72-2002].

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

National Assembly:

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Budget Vote 4: Home Affairs, dated 4 June 2002:

 The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, having considered and examined
 Budget Vote 4: Home Affairs, reports as follows:


 A.     Introduction


     On 21 May and 4 June 2002, the Committee was extensively briefed
     by the Director-General and senior officials on the budget
     allocation for the Department of Home Affairs for the 2002-03
     financial year.


     The Committee noted that an amount of R1 251 188 000 is included
     in the government's budget for 2002-03 in respect of the
     Department. Compared to 2001 there has been an increase of R228,8
     million. The largest percentage of this increase can be attributed
     to the upgrading the infrastructure of all crucial systems,
     including rewriting the Population Register, upgrading the
     Movement Control System, and implementing the Document Management
     System and transfers to the IEC, to enable it to conduct by-
     elections, upgrade systems and prepare for the national elections
     in 2004.
 B.     Programme 1: Administration


     The budget for Administration will grow by 10,3% over the medium
     term. 64,2% of the allocation for Administration is consumed by
     personnel expenditure as posts have been filled to increase
     capacity in the Department.


     Spending on professional and special services increases by 9,6%
     per year until 2004-05 to accommodate the computerisation of the
     Department and expansion of the IT function.


     1. Computerisation of Offices


          For the current financial year, 30 offices of the Department
          for the 10 regions have been identified for computerisation.
          Regions like the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and
          Mpumalanga will receive priority as they have less than 50% of
          their offices computerised at present. An amount of R215 000
          will also be spent on equipment to upgrade the passport
          system.
          The Committee notes progress in this area, but a lot still
          needs to be done. This will go a long way towards providing
          efficient services to our people.


          We also believe that computerisation will contribute to the
          elimination of corruption.


     2. Task Team on Electoral Act
          In March 2002, the Cabinet adopted the Department's Cabinet
          Memorandum 3 of 2002, on the establishment of an electoral law
          task team. The Committee notes that the Cabinet Memorandum
          provided for R450 000 for the work of the task team. However,
          the chairperson of the task team drew up a budget for the task
          team that amounted to R3,5 million.


          The Committee notes with concern that not enough money has
          been allocated for the task team to do its work. The team has
          been allocated R450 000, whereas it needs R3,5 million.


          We appeal to the government to attend to this matter, as the
          task team is expected to finish its work by November this
          year.


     3. Personnel Establishment


          The Committee has noted with concern that the Department is
          still functioning with a staff establishment that was fixed by
          the Office of the Public Service Commission in 1995. 730 of
          the Department's posts are vacant; only 234 of these vacancies
          are funded, and the Department is in the process of filling
          them. The remaining 496 posts are unfunded and cannot be
          filled due to public service regulations. These vacancies
          severely hamper the Department in its efforts to provide an
          efficient and accessible service to citizens. The results are
          long queues at virtually all the Department's regional and
          local offices.


          The Committee notes with concern the shortage of staff in the
          Department. We therefore urge the Department to finalise the
          compilation of a scientifically-based staff establishment.


 C.     Programme 2: Service to citizens


     The amount allocated to this programme is R580,799 million, and
     the main spending items include:


     *  The Hanis project


     *  Rewriting the population register


     *  Implementing the Electronic Document Management System.


     1. Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS)


          The Committee has been informed that the total expenditure on
          HANIS until March 2002 amounted to R495 122 478. The
          Department has also introduced an additional phase, which will
          be the expansion of HANIS to regional and subregional offices.
          The Identification Subsystem is being upgraded to cater for 42
          000 forms per day, and should be completed at the end of
          August 2002, according to the Department.


          The budget allocated for 2002-03 will be spent as follows:


          Personnel      R7,593,042 million
          Administrative expenses   R1,131,600 million
          Inventories    R1,124,000 million
          Equipment      R148,622,899 million
          Professional Services     R59,458,459 million


          The Department is optimistic that it will be able to generate
          funds for the National Treasury by providing a Remote
          Verification Service to cater for the needs of the Commercial
          Sector. This will enable interested parties to query HANIS
          databases and to do reliable data verification. A call centre
          for this purpose will be established later in the year.


          The Committee noted the progress made by the Department in
          establishing the HANIS system. It is, however, clear that a
          lot of interaction with the Department is still needed,
          especially in the form of committee briefings, to ensure that
          the implementation of the system occurs with some speed. We
          also believe that this will go a long way to eliminate
          corruption in the Department.


     2. Population Register


          The Committee notes the work done by the Department on the
          population register, especially the registration of three
          million children eligible for a grant by 2005.


     3. Electronic Document Management System (EDMS)


          The objective of the EDMS is to implement an effective, real-
          time, on-line solution that will cater for the automated
          document management process, resulting in overall business
          process efficiency. The system will make all Home Affairs
          records and archiving information immediately available for
          access to any authorised individual at any workstation in the
          system, both nationally and internationally.


          Phase 1 that is currently being implemented, includes:


          -   The implementation of a centralised EDMS to cater for the
              Department's management of business processes related to
              births, marriages and deaths, and an effective Management
              Information System


          -   High volume document capture modules


          -   Centralised indexing environment


          -   An effective on-line storage environment


          -   A disaster recovery facility


          -   Integration with the National Population Register


          The budget for phase 2 is R35 million, and it is envisaged to
          be utilised for:


          Hardware R8 million
          Workflow Software    R4 million
          Training R2,95 million
          System Integration   R3,3 million
          Professional Services     R2,7 million
          Infrastructere upgrades   R5,5 million
          Hard- and Software support      R5,45 million
          Change Management    R3,1 million


     4. Improvement of services to poor, rural and disadvantaged
          communities


          Infrastructural Development


          The Committee commends the Department for its partnership with
          a private company, which will provide the Department with 100
          freight containers, to be deployed in rural communities, where
          access to services is difficult due to geographical and
          logistical reasons.


          The Committee urges the Department to expedite the opening of
          these offices as part of the overall objective of service
          delivery by the government.


          We continue to express concern about the delapidated state of
          buildings that are used for the provision of Home Affairs
          services in a number of areas.


          Rural masses continue to be denied access, or experience
          difficulty to obtain access to, Home Affairs services. It is
          important to move with some speed to ensure that Home Affairs
          has offices in the rural areas.


          We commend and note the container solution that will make
          services more accessible to rural and disadvantaged
          communities. It is, however, only a short-term solution. A
          clear long-term strategic plan should be developed to provide
          permanent infrastructure for the Department in these
          communities. The Committee recommends that the Department
          should draw up a strategic infrastructure development plan to
          accomplish this.


     5. Reorganisation and restructuring


          The Committee notes that the Department recently tabled its
          second strategic plan. We also note that the Minister
          emphasised that the reorganisation and restructuring of the
          Department should be shaped by the Immigration Bill and the
          devolution of civic affairs delivery functions to
          municipalities.


 D.     Programme 3: Migration


     The reprioritised amount allocated to this programme is R230 139
     million. The main issue addressed in this programme is the
     redesigning of the Movement Control System (MCS) to a real-time on-
     line system.


     1. Movement Control System


          The Committee notes the progress the Department is making in
          redesigning the Movement Control System to a real-time on-line
          system.


          The objectives of the Movement Control Project are as follows:


          -   Implement a centrally driven and managed system, which
              will function on a real-time on-line basis


          -   Permit immediate and simultaneous access to movement data
              by all Ports of Entry


          -   Ensure information integrity and validity pertaining to
              the movements of aliens and South African residents
              across our borders


          -   Improve and enhance service to persons utilising the
              services of the Chief Directorate: Migration


          -   Enable integration between all systems and databases
              utilised by the Chief Directorate: Migration


          -   Remove backlogs and current inconsistencies in the
              Movement Control environment


          -   Introduce electronic workflow to the Movement Control
              environment to ensure reduction in fraud and corruption
              opportunities


          The budget allocated for the MCS for the current financial
          year is R45 million, and the breakdown is as follows:


          Hardware R15 million
          Software R5 million
          Workflow Software    R2 million
          Training R1,5 million
          System Integration   R2,5 million
          Professional Services     R6 million
          Core infrastructure upgrades    R3 million
          Change Management    R3 million
          Hardware and Software support   R7 million


     2. Implementation of new Immigration System


          The Immigration Bill was approved by the National Assembly in
          May 2002, and the financial implications of the Bill is
          estimated at R13,698 million for the 2002-03 financial year.


          The Committee notes that the Department is still busy
          finalising the allocation of funds to implement the new
          Immigration System. We also note that funds that was earmarked
          for Immigration under the previous Aliens Control Act will be
          reprioritised and integrated for implementation of the new
          system. We further note that the Department is still busy
          assessing exactly how much funds will be needed to implement
          the new system.


     3. Ports of entry


          The number of persons that use our ports of entry to enter and
          depart from our country, has grown from 19,8 million per year
          in 1994 to 28,3 million per year in 2001. This represents an
          increase of 42,9%, while the staff establishment at most of
          these ports has not been reviewed since 1995 and no real
          changes in respect of funding or accommodation requirements
          have materialised.


          In 1997, the Cabinet approved an amount of R101 million for
          upgrading the ports of entry. However, divided between 53
          ports, these improvements could still not satisfactorily
          address the needs at border posts. The Committee was informed
          by the Department that it simply cannot cope with the
          increased pressure on its budget, by means of reprioritising
          existing funds, to upgrade and staff existing border posts and
          to erect new border posts, which is the expectation raised by
          the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in its
          Cabinet Memorandum to the Cabinet.


          The Committee was further informed by the Department that,
          based on an investigation by a consultant appointed by the
          Department of Public Works, an amount of R94,6 million is
          needed to bring the infrastructure at our land border posts up
          to an acceptable level to cope with the increased flow of
          travellers through them, to create a favourable impression as
          visitors enter the RSA and to ensure an acceptable level of
          security at these ports of entry.


     4. Undocumented migration


          The Committee recognises the damage that results from
          uncontrolled and unregulated migration to South Africa. We
          believe that the new immigration legislation passed by the
          Committee will go a long way to provide the Department with
          teeth to deal with the real issues that face South Africa as a
          result of economic migration to South Africa.


 E.     Programme 4: Auxiliary and associated services
     The reprioritised amount allocated to this programme is R227 227
     million, and includes:


     1. Film and Publication Board/Film and Publication Review Board


          The increase of funding to the Film and Publication Board over
          the medium term is necessary to accommodate the expansion of
          the mandate of the Board to include the protection of children
          from exploitation and internet pornography.


     2. Government printing works


          The Committee expresses concern that the Department is owed a
          lot of money by other departments that had made use of
          printing services.


          We also note that, having completed a feasibility study on the
          possibility to privatise the Government Printing Works, and
          having submitted to Cabinet a number of alternatives, the
          Cabinet approved that a public enterprise be established, with
          a small private equity shareholding, and that the objective is
          to recover labour and material costs.


     3. Electoral Commission


          The Committee notes the Financial Statements of the Electoral
          Commission for 1998-99, 1999-00 and 2000-01, including the
          report of the Auditor-General on the same, recently referred
          to the Committee.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Transport on Visit to Durban, City Deep and Pretcon Container Terminals, dated 5 June 2002:

 The Portfolio Committee on Transport, having undertaken a tour of
 Durban, City Deep and Pretcon Container Terminals on 29 April and 3 May
 2002, reports as follows:


 A.     Introduction
     The Committee embarked on a fact-finding mission to establish the
     role played by the container terminals and private freight
     operators in promoting the use of rail. Also considered was what
     is being done to attract freight from road to rail; whether there
     are any factors that may impact negatively on the use of rail;
     and, lastly, what could be done in the short term to make rail a
     naturally preferred mode of transport.


     This follows a Cabinet decision to support a movement of freight
     from road to rail. The Committee, in exercising its oversight
     function, took it upon itself to meet with relevant stakeholders.


     A multi-party delegation of four members took part in a visit to
     Durban on 29 April 2002 and to Gauteng on 3 May 2002.


     GAUTENG DURBAN


     Mr G Schneemann (Group leader) Mr G Schneemann
     Mrs D N Mbombo      Mr N Magubane
     Mr S Farrow   Mr S Farrow
     Mr J J Niemann      Mr J J Niemann


     In order to examine these important issues, the delegation visited
     two major container terminals (City Deep & Pretcon) operated by
     Spoornet, and Durban Container Terminal operated by South African
     Port Operations (SAPO), and met with the following private freight
     operators:


     1. Rail Road Africa
     2. Cross Country Containers
     3. Roadwing
     4. MSC Logistics
     5. Intermodal
     6. Bidfreight Transport
     7. Container Liners Operator Forum
     8. Vigomaud Transport


 B.     Durban Container Terminal (DCT)


     1. Background
          The DCT is situated in a strategic position. There are three
          modes of transport used at DCT - road, rail and coastal
          shipping services. Of the cargo that is handled, 75% moves by
          road, with 40% in the Durban area and 30% to destinations
          beyond Durban. The split of cargo by transport modes is 75%
          road and 22% rail, with the remaining 3% being shipped via
          coastal services.


          DCT handles 65% of the country's container volumes.


          SAPO supports the view of moving cargo from road to rail
          because they strongly maintain that it is easier to load 100
          containers onto a single train than onto 100 individual road
          vehicles.


          Their main concern is the extent to which rail is ready to
          handle the shift. At the present moment there are challenges
          that need to be addressed in order to see the desired shift of
          containerised freight from road to rail.


     2. Constraints facing SAPO


          The constraints facing SAPO include:


          (a) High rate of copper cable theft causing train delays.


          (b) Transit time by rail on the Johannesburg/Durban leg is
              five to seven days and 24 hours by road.


          (c) There is a shortage of locomotives, causing trains to be
              delayed in the marshalling yards.


          (d) Theft of cargo occurs while being transported on rail.


          (e) Insufficient interface and compatibility of computer
              systems, which cause delays in transport due to
              insufficient information being available. It was claimed
              that 30% of containers arrive with incorrect information,
              and 15% of export containers arrive late for their
              vessels.


          (f) Rail tariffs are higher than road transport rates.


          (g) Shortage of straddle carriers.


          (h) Shortage of wharf-side cranes.


          (i) Capacity of piers and rail terminal.


     3. Solutions


          Solutions to these challenges include:


          (a) More visible security alongside rail tracks in order to
              curb theft of overhead cables.


          (b) Turnaround times of trains and transit times need to be
              improved.


          (c) Spoornet and SAPO need to interact more closely to address
              the current challenges.
          (d) Streamlining of supply chain towards a fully integrated
              seamless transport system.


          (e) Streamlining of interface with Customers and Spoornet.


          (f) Proposed repositioning of mobile cranes from Richards Bay
              and the combi terminal.


          (g) Introduction of 60 new straddle carriers by the end of
              2002.


          (h) Proposed extension of Pier 1, which includes a new small
              rail terminal.


     4. Freight operators


          When the delegation met with the freight operators, it was
          clear that there was insufficient interaction between
          Spoornet, SAPO and themselves. They alluded to the fact that
          they supported the shift of freight from road to rail but that
          Spoornet and SAPO needed to address the existing challenges
          that impact on the smooth operation of rail.


     5. Constraints


          The freight operators underlined the following constraints:


          (a) Delays in loading/offloading vessels causes additional
              costs and also causes a shift of freight onto road.


          (b) There is a shortage of locomotives and poor utilisation of
              rail wagons, including a short supply for the rail of
              empty containers, which results in congestion and delays.


          (c) Rail tariffs promote the use of road rather than rail.


          (d) There is no synchronisation of operating times between
              terminals. DCT operates on a 24-hour basis while City
              Deep operates from 06:00 to 17:00.


          (e) The need for the Department of Transport (DOT) and the
              Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) to have a common
              vision regarding the moving of freight from road to rail.


          (f) Slow turn-around of vessels.


          (g) Service Level Agreements (SLA) do not seem to work.
 C.     City Deep and Pretcon Terminals


     1. Background


          According to Spoornet, City Deep was planned specifically as a
          transit terminal for containerisation. It is situated close to
          the industrial areas of Gauteng. City Deep and Pretcon only
          deal with import and export containerised freight. Spoornet
          operates both City Deep and Pretcon terminals, which are
          inland terminals that provide an essential intermodal link
          between road and rail. City Deep handles eight trains per day
          and has the capacity to handle 2 400 containers per day, but
          currently operates at 50% of capacity. Pretcon handles four
          trains per day and has the capacity to handle 1 000 containers
          per day.


          In order to increase container security on rail, rail wagons
          have been modified to prevent container doors from being
          opened. Spoornet has 24-hour security in the marshalling
          yards.


          To make it easier for clients to track and locate their
          containers, Spoornet has designed a website where container
          information can be provided.


     2. Constraints facing Spoornet


          (a) No planned movement of containers from the port to the
              customer is provided.


          (b) Unplanned storage in the terminals causes congestion.


          (c) There is a lack of communication and information sharing
              between Spoornet, cargo owners and freight operators.


          (d) Vandalism, crime and theft are a challenge in operating
              rail.


     3. Freight operators


          All the representatives of private freight operators agreed
          that rail is the best method of transporting containerised
          freight. Their concern was that the current situation was not
          encouraging the use of rail.


     4. Constraints


          (a) Quality of service is poor and not predictable.


          (b) Rail tariffs promote the use of road instead of rail. 65%
              of City Deep/Pretcon-bound containers are transported by
              road from the coast.


          (c) There is a lack of capacity at Spoornet.


          (d) Operating hours of inland terminals need to be extended.


          (e) Constant changes in management cause a loss of experienced
              staff.


          (f) Spoornet needs to invest in new rolling stock and human
              resources.
          (g) Insufficient law enforcement of road transporters takes
              place.


          (h) Information on the Spoornet website is often incorrect.


          (i) There is insufficient planning on the part of Spoornet.
          (j) The motor industry volumes have grown by 56%, while the
              infrastructure has remained the same.


     5. Interaction with Spoornet


          Spoornet alluded to the fact that they do have capacity
          problems. They have monthly meetings with the operators in
          order to address issues which need to be resolved.


          Around the issue of security at City Deep, excellent co-
          operation between Spoornet and the operators had been achieved
          and as a result safety and security have improved
          tremendously.


 D.     Recommendations


     1. Rail transit times and the turnaround of trains need to be
          reduced.


     2. Security needs to be increased along rail lines to curb the
          theft of overhead cables.


     3. Planning and utilisation of rail wagons needs to be improved.


     4. Operating hours of inland terminals should be reviewed.


     5. Rail tariffs need to be reviewed to ensure that they are
          competitive with road transport.


     6. More effective policing of road transporters needs to take
          place.


     7. Service levels need to be reviewed and improved to promote the
          use of rail.


     8. Spoornet and SAPO need to work together as a team to promote
          the use of rail.


     9. Introduce dedicated container trains with locomotives.


     10.     Ensure effective law enforcement on overloaded and under-
          declared containers entering container terminals.
     11.     Labour relations need to be improved to prevent strike-
          related action.


     12.     Communication with customers needs to be improved.


     13.     Rail of export containers needs to be given priority.


     14.     Accuracy of the website needs to be improved.


     15.     Investigate joint venture options with stakeholders.


     16.     Empower middle management to improve decision- making
          processes.


     17.     Make available a copy of the Halcrow recommendations to
          the Committee.


 E.     Acknowledgements


     The Committee wishes extend its gratitude to Transnet for hosting
     the delegation, and also thanks Spoornet, South African Ports
     Operations and all the private freight operators for their
     participation.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on public hearings on Industrial Policy, dated 5 June 2002:

 The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, together with the Select
 Committee on Economic and Foreign Affairs of the National Council of
 Provinces, held public hearings on industrial policy at Parliament from
 23 April to 7 May 2002. Submissions were invited to address a range of
 issues related to industrial policy and to comment on the discussion
 document of the Department of Trade and Industry, entitled Accelerating
 Growth and Development: The Contribution of the Integrated
 Manufacturing Strategy, which was released in April 2002.


 The Committee reports as follows:


 1.     Introduction


     Submissions and evidence were presented by the following in oral
     and written form:


     Private sector institutions, and individuals


     Textile Federation
     Small Business Project
     Business South Africa
     South African Federated Chambers of Commerce
     George Kean, Consultancy and Commentary
     British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa
     American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa
     Caroline Skinner and Imraan Valodia, University of Natal
     Labour organisations


     Chemical, Energy, Paper, Pulp and Allied Workers Union
     South African Transport and Allied Workers Union
     Congress of South African Trade Unions
     National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union
     Food and Allied Workers Union
     National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa
     National Labour and Economic Development Institute


     Government, Public Bodies and Political Parties


     Department and Ministry of Trade and Industry
     Foundation for Education, Science and Technology
     Competition Commission of South Africa
     Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
     Nedlac
     South African Communist Party
     Motor Industry Development Programme of Department
     Industrial Development Corporation
     Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
     Commission on Gender Equality


     The hearings were held to assess the broad industrial policy
     framework and were not limited to the document released by the
     Department of Trade and Industry entitled Accelerating Growth and
     Development: the Contribution of the Integrated Manufacturing
     Strategy (hereafter referred to as the IMS). The document,
     however, clearly represents an important development in
     government's thinking on industrial policy and much of the
     engagements were centred around the core issues identified in it.
     The release of the document just prior to the hearings
     unfortunately limited the ability of several stakeholders to
     engage with it in detail. The hearings and this Report therefore
     represent an initial basis for ongoing engagement.


     The essence of a manufacturing or industrial strategy is to
     address the existing industrial structure and its implications for
     the possible future development paths of the economy. It should
     outline choices and set out the priorities of government together
     with a co-ordinated plan of the main areas in which actions will
     be taken. South African industry includes sophisticated production
     activities and developed heavy industries but in the last decade
     has failed to create employment, meaning that many engage in
     survivalist activities to make ends meet. Economic participation
     inevitably reflects the historical control over resources along
     the dimensions of race and gender. The challenges for an
     industrial or manufacturing strategy are therefore both great and
     urgent.


     Preliminary comments


     The Committee noted with concern the low level of participation by
     business. This was reflected both in the shallow engagement with
     the country's industrial policy framework by the business
     organisations which did make submissions, and the lack of
     participation by firms and representative organisations at the
     sector level (apart from the textile sector). The withdrawal from
     the hearings of organisations representing black business meant
     that the voice of this important stakeholder was absent from our
     proceedings. The Committee noted the importance of engagement by
     business if the new industrial policy framework is to realise its
     objectives.


     The Committee also noted that while institutions falling within
     the Council of Trade and Industry Institutions (COTII) did make
     general comments on the manufacturing strategy in their
     submissions, in most cases their representations did not address
     the specific roles of their institutions within the new framework.
     The activities of these institutions are self-evidently an
     important and integral part of government's industrial policy
     framework.


     The main themes from the submissions are now outlined, followed by
     the conclusions, which draw together key points on which broad
     consensus emerged and the main tensions which were explored.


 2.     Main themes


     The Committee found that there was broad consensus around the need
     to develop a manufacturing/industrial strategy that sets out key
     objectives and priorities for an industrial development path and
     the role of different groupings in it. There was agreement that
     this means moving beyond dialogue to collective action, and that
     the State has a key leadership role in achieving this.


     There was a high level of agreement that the new draft of the DTI
     policy in the IMS represents a significant advance on the previous
     policy outline produced in May 2001. This is reflected in the
     identification of the main challenges and priorities, and the need
     to move from macroeconomic stability to microeconomic action. The
     step towards customised offerings for the pursuit of strategic
     goals was also welcomed. As such, it is believed that the
     framework provides a solid basis from which to proceed.


     This Report now outlines the DTI submission and the main
     industrial policy themes raised in the hearings, with reference to
     the various submissions made. The main areas of tensions where
     further analysis and debate are required, are highlighted.


     DTI submission - An Integrated Manufacturing Strategy, and
     Microeconomic Reform Programme


     The DTI submission was based on its document, Accelerating Growth
     and Development: The contribution of the Integrated Manufacturing
     Strategy, which is linked to the Microeconomic Reform Strategy,
     also tabled by the DTI during the hearings. The IMS provides the
     basis for "a collective government position...[to] co-ordinate a
     set of actions across government". It also provides guidance as to
     what "economic citizens can expect from the DTI over the next few
     years".


     A strategy is defined in the IMS as a "long-term plan for future
     success or development". It therefore implies anticipation of the
     future and how it may be influenced, which in turn necessitates
     the collection and analysis of information, and the co-ordination
     of actions (as part of having a coherent plan). As such, the IMS
     is a crucial platform on which to build a collective approach to
     achieve the goals of employment generation and broad-based, more
     equitable, growth.


     The Microeconomic Reform Strategy sets out a vision for 2014 for
     "a restructured and adaptive economy characterised by growth,
     employment and equity, built on the full potential of all persons,
     communities and geographic areas". The requirements to realise
     this vision include:


     *  A geographic spread of social and productive investment


     *  An integrated manufacturing economy capable of high degrees of
          value added


     *  An extensive ICT and logistics system capable of speed and
          flexibility


     *  A high degree of knowledge and technology capacity


     *  Greater diversity of enterprise type and size


     *  Skilled, informed and adaptable citizens


     *  An efficient, strong and responsive state structure


     The strategy identifies the challenges in terms of the dualistic
     nature of South Africa's economy. It therefore seeks the
     improvement of cost-competitiveness in the developed economy, and
     the realisation of potential in the underdeveloped part of the
     economy, which represents the experiences of a large proportion of
     South Africans.


     The performance of the South African economy is a starting point
     for the microeconomic reform strategy as well as for several
     submissions. This performance is characterised by weak growth,
     declining investment and savings rates, low levels of investment
     in research and development, falling formal employment and high
     levels of unemployment, especially among black people and women
     across racial groups. These characteristics are manifested in, and
     reflect, the high levels of inequality and poverty.
     The strategy is an important part of the integrated action plan
     announced by President Mbeki in February 2001. This plan outlines
     the need for co-ordinated government interventions. Areas which
     are highlighted, include technology, human resource development,
     access to finance and infrastructure.


     The DTI approach identifies competitiveness (required for
     increased production and employment) as having to do with a range
     of factors which impact on the ability of firms to produce and
     sell products. These include the prices of inputs, infrastructure,
     technology and innovation, skills and effective regulation.
     Central to the impetus for growth in this approach is improved
     efficiency through integration with the international economy and
     increased knowledge intensity. Technology, innovation and
     information communication technology (ICT) are emphasised as major
     drivers in this strategy. This is contrasted particularly with the
     past reliance on natural resources and cheap unskilled labour for
     competitiveness.


     The DTI proposes a framework of value matrices for addressing the
     vertical and horizontal relationships involved in increasing value
     added across sectors, and the links with areas such as
     agriculture, beneficiation, ICT and tourism. Eight sectors are
     identified for promotion using customised services: clothing and
     textiles, agro-processing, metals and minerals, tourism,
     automotive and transport, crafts, chemical and biotechnology, and
     knowledge-intensive services. The DTI will also continue to pursue
     broad-based programmes related to competitive market access, the
     regulatory environment, investment promotion, access to finance,
     and policy coherence.


     The key performance areas are black economic empowerment, small
     business development, employment and the geographic spread of
     economic activity. Targets are to be set, with an effective
     monitoring and evaluation framework to be put in place.


     In its response to the hearings, the DTI argued that South Africa
     was already well on the way to becoming a knowledge economy and
     that the promotion of knowledge-driven activities, such as
     innovation and marketing intelligence, were a key to further
     development in all sectors. The Department also argued that a
     knowledge economy needs to draw on the experiences and capacities
     of everyone, and that in this context one of the major challenges
     was to more effectively upgrade the skills and capacities of our
     people, many of whom were at present not just unemployed but
     lacked the skills to take up employment.


     The key themes raised by the DTI's submission were the focus of
     much of the debate around the subsequent submissions, and they
     were returned to in the response of the DTI at the end of the
     hearings.


     Manufacturing strategy, industrial policy and industrial strategy


     The DTI places manufacturing at the centre of the economy, and
     emphasises the need to increase value addition. The strategy also
     incorporates the need to promote diverse areas such as the
     beneficiation of natural resources and tourism. There was broad
     agreement on the need to examine linkages between cross-cutting
     areas, such as ICT, and the development of different sectors of
     the economy. This did, however, raise the question as to whether
     industrial strategy is not a more appropriate term as it connotes
     the influencing of different industries' development paths in line
     with national socio-economic priorities. These are not limited to
     sectors which are clearly delineated in economic terms as
     constituting manufacturing. This is also consistent with
     industrial policies as being the set of interventions to realise a
     particular vision for industrial restructuring.


     Role of State: from dialogue to collective action


     The need for a coherent plan to take collective actions forward to
     implementation is a core element of the strategy. The DTI
     submission clearly articulates that they act as a facilitator for
     the Microeconomic Reform Strategy and will champion
     competitiveness and equity in the economy. This they aim to do
     through partnerships in designing the interventions required. The
     emphasis on a stronger state leadership role was widely welcomed,
     to ensure the move beyond dialogue is achieved. The rationale for
     leadership is based on the intrinsic features of the South African
     economy, rather than a narrower understanding of state action
     being limited to addressing "market failures".


     Submissions from Nedlac and the various social partners noted that
     the experience of collective engagements indicates that there are
     three key factors for success. First is the power of
     constituencies to drive the issue in question and to follow
     through. Second is leadership and constituencies' capacity to act,
     in particular government. Third is the sharing of information.
     Experiences of weaknesses across all constituencies were noted by
     Nedlac. However, particular concerns exist around the
     fragmentation of business. These concerns include difficulties in
     getting mandated positions and the weak capacity of small and
     medium business to effectively engage on key policy issues.


     In this regard, the DTI noted that their ability to move forward
     with collective actions would depend on the coming together of
     different stakeholders within sectors to move beyond narrow
     interests and lobbying to concrete analysis of the challenges and
     mapping out of the future development path. Sector job summits
     needed to fulfil this role if they were to be a mechanism for
     determining collective action in industrial policy.


     The relative success of the Motor Industry Development Programme
     was contrasted with other sectors such as clothing and textiles.
     These examples highlight the importance of well-organised
     constituencies, such as in the motor sector. But, if a
     developmental industrial policy is to be taken forward which meets
     the objectives outlined by the DTI, such as employment creation,
     increased participation and equity, then the constituencies which
     should benefit most are not necessarily those which are strongest.
     This further emphasises the key leadership role of government in
     co-ordinating and delivering on agreed actions, and in not being
     limited to a reactive role to the demands coming from sectors.


     The differences between sectors also highlights the importance of
     taking sector specific characteristics into account in the more
     targeted approach adopted in the strategy. The design and
     implementation of customised services by the DTI and the value
     matrices framework enable these sector specific factors to be
     carried through into appropriate measures. This was widely
     welcomed.


     The roles of parastatals such as the IDC and other institutions
     across government must be part of a co-ordinated approach. In this
     regard, while the IDC has evidently played a leading role in large-
     scale beneficiation projects, which would not have taken place
     without its participation, there is concern as to progress in
     other areas. For example, IDC activity in small and medium
     enterprise finance appears to be largely reactive.


     The weak representation at the hearings of other institutions
     within the Council of Trade and Industry Institutions (COTII) is
     of concern, given the need for effective co-ordination. Indeed,
     this is also an area of the DTI strategy where almost no detail is
     provided, and yet it aspires to lay the foundation for an
     integrated and co-ordinated framework. As the DTI itself notes in
     the strategy, the co-ordination and oversight of the COTII is "a
     significant challenge to the DTI and requires that DTI be equipped
     with the requisite capacities to meet this challenge".


     Clarity on the process of further engagement to develop the
     strategy is required. It was noted by Nedlac and the
     constituencies that the engagement to date had been on the
     previous version of the strategy released by the DTI in May 2001.


     Exports and trade liberalisation


     Exports are identified by the DTI as a target sector in its own
     right. Export performance and potential is also one of the grounds
     for identifying specific value chains for promotion. The DTI
     further argues that exports have been encouraged by trade
     liberalisation and that sectors with improved export performance
     have also recorded better performance in terms of employment.
     Other submissions, including those by Cosatu and affiliates,
     question this. Data on manufacturing sectors indicates that the
     best performing export sectors in recent years have recorded
     employment losses. And, sectors recording the largest net
     increases in jobs (plastics and wood products) have not had
     particularly strong export performance.


     While there was consensus that export competitiveness is an
     important aspect for improved industrial performance, the causal
     links do not appear unambiguous. The recently released UNCTAD
     Trade and Development Report 2002 explains why significantly
     increased exports by developing countries in the past two decades
     has not produced the same improvements in growth. Even in hi-tech
     exports, the production activities being located in developing
     countries are often limited to assembly operations, with
     multinational corporations being attracted by low wages and
     investment incentives. Indeed, there is a risk of a "race to the
     bottom", with countries competing with each other as an investment
     location by offering incentives, competing on lower wages, and
     compromising labour standards. As long as developing countries
     remain in activities at the bottom of the value chain, exports may
     not contribute significantly to growth. In addition, the "fallacy
     of composition" means that if countries are following similar
     approaches it will be self-defeating - what works for one country
     will not necessarily work for many as an oversupply of an exported
     product will lead to falling prices in world markets.


     While the liberalisation of trade has been linked to the
     imperatives of globalisation, submissions by the South African
     Communist Party and trade unions argued strongly that the
     different processes subsumed under the heading of globalisation
     have tendencies to reinforcing marginalisation. The outcomes
     therefore depend on the nature of engagement with these processes.
     For example, export performance is not a short-hand for success in
     industrialisation. It is possible to have improved export
     performance without increased production or employment, as has
     been the case in metals products, highlighted in the submission of
     NUMSA. Increased imports have gone hand-in-hand with increased
     exports. Import penetration in metal products has been most marked
     in the engineering and foundry products subsector, meaning that a
     tendency to more basic processing has been reinforced rather than
     the increased beneficiation which is an objective of the
     manufacturing strategy. Links between exports and technology are
     similarly not straightforward and need to be understood in more
     detail.


     Trade liberalisation has forced companies to compete with imports
     and improve efficiency levels. At issue is the nature of the
     restructuring responses of firms and the costs in terms of
     employment and production. In particular, concerns were raised
     about the adequacy and sequencing of support measures for
     industries. Growth-oriented restructuring requires high levels of
     investment to increase productive capabilities and expand
     employment. With the relatively low levels of investment which
     have prevailed, firms in sectors such as textiles have upgraded
     machinery and raised productivity but in the context of static
     production, yielding reductions in employment. In the motor
     vehicle sector, measures designed to address the specific
     restructuring requirements in that sector have had a greater
     measure of success.


     Rather than a false dichotomy being drawn between exports and the
     domestic market, an alternative emphasis proposed by Labour and
     the SACP is for a developmental strategy underpinning
     competitiveness - where links between domestic demand, meeting
     basic needs and production are developed rather than a narrow
     focus on exports. For example, products such as fridges are
     primarily oriented to the domestic market. There are also linkages
     between products such as metal pipes and tubes and infrastructure
     investment.


     Technology, knowledge intensity, and research and development


     There was broad agreement over the worrying implications of the
     decline in research and development expenditure in the economy to
     around 0,7% of GDP (compared with the 2% commonly targeted by
     industrialising countries). There was also agreement over the need
     to recognise the increasing application of information and
     communication technologies to production, and the need to improve
     South Africa's skills base, especially in science, engineering and
     technology related disciplines. The DTI places increasing
     knowledge intensity at the centre of the manufacturing strategy as
     perhaps the prime driver of growth. This is founded on the belief
     that "Old Ways Don't Work" anymore, such as strategies based on
     raw materials or labour costs. Instead it is the development and
     application of "knowledge intensity" and ICT that are viewed as
     key for the development of "integrated value matrices". The
     response of the DTI to submissions re-emphasised their view that
     economic participation required appropriate skills for the new
     economy.


     Strong submissions by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and
     Technology (DACST), the Foundation for Education, Science and
     Technology (a DACST agency) and the CSIR further developed the
     issues of research and development (R&D) and the application of
     technology. These reinforced the need to have a clear strategic
     understanding of developments in this area. The R&D policy
     framework being developed by DACST will complement the IMS, while
     the CSIR is engaged in a range of concrete initiatives. The
     development of such strategies is evidently of importance, as the
     reductions in R&D expenditure in recent years are exactly the
     opposite of what is required for the DTI's strategy.


     The causes of lower R&D expenditure were identified in the
     submissions as to do with both the private and public sectors. In
     both cases, however, the absence of a clear set of priorities for
     industrial development is an important factor. Public sector
     expenditure has declined largely as a result of shifts away from
     the apartheid priorities, without a redirection of efforts to
     priorities identified for broad-based and more equitable
     development. In the private sector, the competitive pressures of
     liberalisation have led to firms cutting costs, including research
     budgets. The "hollowing out" of corporate research has also been
     linked to the acquisitions of South African firms by multinational
     companies whose research capacity is situated primarily in their
     home base. In extreme cases, the multinational companies have
     closed significant production capabilities in South Africa and
     used the South African subsidiary as an assembly and "warehousing"
     operation for mainly imported components and products. It is worth
     noting that it is precisely the application of ICT which enables
     the more effective control by multinationals of operations in
     different countries. Gains from the technologies of globalisation
     therefore require a clear strategy of engagement. The counter-
     example of Sasol - with very high local research investments -
     illustrates the importance of domestic capabilities, and the
     possible results of State action.


     It was also emphasised that it is the application of technology
     and R&D which is the objective and not higher R&D activities for
     their own sake. Developing countries typically have a higher
     proportion of R&D spending undertaken by government. Examples were
     given of Korea (with a manufacturing leadership focus), Malaysia
     (aiming to be a fast-follower in the effective application of
     technologies, rather than primary research) and Australia (with an
     explicit focus on resources and agriculture). In this context, it
     is evidently important to avoid portraying the strategy as a
     choice between either resource beneficiation or knowledge
     intensity - the application of technologies is important for
     increased beneficiation and value added. The strategy being
     formulated by DACST has three focus areas: achieving mastery of
     technological change in the economy; increasing investment in
     South Africa's science base; and strengthening and realigning the
     science and technology machinery of government. At present, the
     research community is predominantly white, and aging, with
     research areas that reflect the previous government's priorities.


     According to DACST the local research community at present
     communicates mainly with overseas research groupings. South
     African firms also communicate mainly with overseas producers for
     technologies. Apart from notable exceptions, such as Sasol, there
     is therefore an "innovation chasm" between local research and its
     application in local production. Application of technology also
     requires increased investment expenditures in new and more
     advanced machinery and equipment. This is easier to achieve in an
     expansionary environment.


     Submissions by both labour and industry emphasised that, rather
     than treating technology independently, it must be linked into the
     wider issues of the strategies of firms and their investment and
     training decisions. Technology is not inherently biased to
     different segments of the economy. Its application can yield very
     significant gains in rural and small-scale economic activities,
     and can therefore contribute to increasing integration of the
     South African economy rather than fragmentation. But, application
     in these areas requires government leadership to a greater degree
     as there are economies of scale in research activities and upfront
     costs which make R&D less likely in smaller entities. In addition,
     while the gains to the economy as a whole are potentially very
     large, the financial rewards to an individual enterprise may not
     appear to be large (and therefore an incentive to invest in
     research activities).


     Similar issues were raised by the CSIR submission and subsequent
     deliberations by the Committee. While the many areas of consensus
     with the DTI strategy were highlighted, the CSIR's focus was on
     the need to view technology as a process from development through
     to application as part of enterprises' production strategies and
     employment decisions. There is a need to identify key issues
     within selected industries and related to key technologies, and to
     design interventions. Identification of these will be enhanced by
     business intelligence at both a global level and on domestic value
     matrices, which needs to be made available to the organisations
     with responsibilities in the field. Similarly linkages between
     initiatives such as Industrial Development Zones and Spatial
     Development Initiatives need to be spelt out.
     Initiatives such as the Auto Industry Development Centre and the
     Light Metals Development Centre in which the CSIR is engaged along
     with firms and other institutions provide examples of partnership
     in practice. However, the need to raise the majority of its funds
     from fees charged to the private sector raises questions as to the
     effectiveness of the CSIR in its role of proactively "leading"
     developments that are in line with national priorities and the
     future development path, rather than "following" private firms. In
     most industrialising countries. Research to support long-term
     priorities is given much greater state support in order to provide
     services as a "public good". For example, the USA's programmes in
     defence and space provide major support to industries engaged in
     areas such as materials development. More effective use of the
     CSIR as a public institution could be viewed as it constituting a
     major supply-side measure.


     Investment patterns and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)


     There was broad consensus about the poor investment performance in
     recent years, and the need for the investment rate to be
     significantly higher if stronger growth and employment generation
     are to be attained. Both Business and Labour submissions argued
     that more effective co-ordination of government activities across
     different departments and public institutions was necessary for
     higher investment rates. There was also widespread agreement that
     poor investment performance was due to the decisions of private
     firms rather than a lack of funds. Low levels of investment by
     government and parastatals in the last decade was noted as one of
     the factors underlying low investment rates in the economy.


     There was also consensus that foreign direct investment is
     attracted to economies which are growing rather than FDI being the
     catalyst for growth. The potential threats from FDI in the form of
     mergers and acquisitions were highlighted by several submissions
     by trade unions. In both the metals and dairy sectors there have
     been cases of foreign acquisitions leading to South African
     subsidiaries being converted into "warehousing" operations for
     imported products. The failure to realise the benefits to the
     South African economy from foreign listings was also noted.


     The Business submissions put forward a general platform arguing
     for lower taxes and privatisation rather than engaging with the
     implications for industrial policy specifically. Submissions by
     the SACP and Labour argued for the need to understand the patterns
     of capital accumulation and investment decisions as part of
     evolving corporate strategies. Given widespread market failures in
     financial markets there is a need to ensure that public
     development finance institutions, especially the Industrial
     Development Corporation, are oriented towards industrial
     development goals. Government infrastructure investment, including
     in spatial development initiatives, also has an important role in
     crowding-in private investment. By providing greater certainty as
     to future developments in these areas, government also reduces
     perceptions of risk around investment decisions by private firms.


     The need to explore measures such as prescribed assets to ensure
     that financial resources are deployed to long-term growth
     objectives was also raised by Labour and the SACP, both of whom
     also saw a need to underpin industrial policy with a comprehensive
     restructuring of the financial sector.


     Pricing of inputs and import-parity pricing


     The DTI strategy raises the pricing of inputs as an important area
     for government attention, with particular reference to services
     such as transport and telecommunications. The Competition
     Commission and others also noted the negative implications of
     import-parity pricing for the development of broad-based
     manufacturing, but few details were provided on actions in this
     area. Import-parity pricing is widely practised and effectively
     means that there are no cost advantages for manufacturing firms
     using South African produced material inputs as they have to pay
     prices equivalent to the costs of importing (including the
     transport, tariffs and related costs that they would have to
     incur). This price may be significantly above the price which
     South African producers are charging in the export market. A value
     chain approach, which examines linkages between different stages
     of processing from raw materials through to finished products
     could address such issues, provided concrete mechanisms are in
     place to enforce remedies.


     Empowerment and participation


     The poor progress in black economic empowerment is highlighted in
     the IMS, as is the lack of progress in ensuring equitable
     participation by women, with black rural women in particular
     bearing the brunt of ongoing poverty. A four-pronged approach is
     to be adopted towards black economic empowerment including new
     offerings, a partnership programme and a non-statutory black
     economic empowerment advisory council. Support measures and access
     to finance will be designed to increase the participation in the
     economy of black people and women. Other submissions noted the
     importance of integrating meaningful empowerment measures into
     government's industrial strategy. The Labour submission noted the
     need to adopt a broad definition of empowerment that extended
     beyond increased ownership to effective participation of the mass
     of the population.


     The lack of effective treatment of relationships between gender
     and industrial strategy in the various submissions was, however,
     highlighted by Committee members. As noted by the Commission on
     Gender Equality, the roles of women are influenced by traditional
     and modern practices of patriarchy which include access to
     economic assets such as finance and land. The continuing gender
     division of labour means that women (and black women in
     particular) tend to work in lower paid and less secure employment,
     as well as undertaking unpaid work in the household. The gender
     division of labour is integrally linked to the development path of
     the economy and continuing high levels of poverty.


     Industrial restructuring has evident effects on women, and their
     participation in the economy. This applies to patterns of
     employment and unemployment and, for example, the effects of
     increased practices of casualisation and outsourcing in sectors
     such as clothing and retail. Concerns raised by the Commission on
     Gender Equality include: the need to be more explicit in the
     definition of beneficiaries; ensuring that strategies designed for
     sectors under customised programmes promote the development of
     industries in a transformative manner; and that women's
     organisation need to be taken more into account in economic
     decision-making. There are implications for measures addressed at
     micro-enterprises, small firms and co-operatives, access to
     training, participation in policy formulation, elimination of
     occupational segregation, and the monitoring of policy impacts.


     HIV/AIDS


     Union research indicates that there are already effects being felt
     of HIV/AIDS on skilled categories of workers. There are also
     indications through unions' networks of shop-stewards that
     businesses are changing their decisions to take account of the
     perceived impacts of HIV/AIDS on purchasing patterns. That is,
     producers in sectors such as food and furniture are moving away
     from basic goods for low-income markets based on the belief that
     HIV/AIDS will mean declining demand in these market segments.


     The Motor Industry Development Programme
     The Motor Industry Development Programme (MIDP) was initiated in
     1996 based on an analysis of the key challenges facing the auto
     sector and was a result of industry and government agreement. It
     is viewed as a major success by DTI on the grounds that it has
     succeeded in stimulating exports, and preventing major employment
     losses. The auto firms have restructured to reduce the numbers of
     different models assembled in South Africa and have increased the
     volumes of those models which are produced and local component
     production. The main feature which has encouraged the
     restructuring is the rebate of import duties from the export of
     vehicles and components.


     An important element of the programme is the integrative effects
     along the value chain. These arise from the groupings established,
     namely the Motor Industry Development Council of the main
     stakeholders, the MIDP as the main programme, the Strategic
     Investment Team which proactively identifies investment
     opportunities in components, the Auto Industry Development Council
     which links research, training, investment and corporate
     strategies, and the "benchmarking clubs" which have been
     established to support components producers.


     A key reason identified for the success of the programme is the
     leadership exerted by firms (especially the main German
     assemblers) and by government. The take-up of government support
     measures indicates the importance of a co-ordinated sector
     strategy for the effectiveness of government initiatives. In
     addition, through the Strategic Investment Team, potential
     developments are anticipated at the industry level through
     collective information sharing and links with government policies.
     Government exerts leverage through its specific programmes such as
     the Critical Infrastructure Fund.


     Rather than being transplanted directly to other sectors, the
     lessons from comparisons with sectors such as clothing and
     textiles are that measures must be based on an understanding of
     the sector-specific challenges and that the commitment of the
     different constituencies to a commonly agreed set of concrete
     objectives is crucial. Questions were also raised about the
     concentration on a very small set of components exports (catalytic
     converters, seat-leather and exhausts) and the relatively limited
     employment creation as a result.


     Agro-processing and food production


     Submissions by the Food and Allied Workers Union (FAWU) and the
     National Labour and Economic Development Institute (Naledi) noted
     that deregulation and liberalisation mean that prices of food
     products in South Africa are now determined in international
     markets. This means that prices can fluctuate greatly from year to
     year and speculation may exacerbate the volatility of prices, such
     as when news of possible developments in other countries has a
     major impact on the prices of staple foodstuffs for low-income
     consumers.


     It was also noted that trade agreements, such as with the European
     Union, have not yielded the expected gains. Studies have
     questioned whether overall impact for the South African economy
     will be positive, especially as the opening of the EU market to
     South African produce has been much slower than anticipated for a
     variety of reasons. The ongoing (and in some cases, increasing)
     subsidisation of agriculture in industrialised countries is also
     cause for concern.


     Small, medium and micro enterprises


     The IMS notes the significance of small, micro and medium
     enterprises in the economy and identifies reductions in barriers
     facing their operations as a priority for empowerment. Measures to
     achieve this are to include a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs for
     access to finance, and attention to market access and unfair
     competition.


     The submission by the Small Business Project proposed the need for
     a regulatory review to examine the ways in which regulations
     inhibited the growth of SMMEs. The submission also highlighted the
     lack of a clear plan and concrete measures for SMMEs in the IMS.
     Committee members noted the importance of viewing SMME development
     against the legacy of apartheid and the need for proactive
     government measures, including promoting greater access to
     affordable finance, in order to empower SMMEs to contribute to
     more equitable growth. It was noted by Labour representations that
     SMMEs did, however, tend to have a shorter-term focus and were
     therefore less likely to make investments in machinery and skills
     development required for long-term growth.


     Subcontracting, outsourcing and casualisation


     There has undoubtedly been a major increase in subcontracting and
     outsourcing by firms. This has ambiguous effects which need to be
     analysed. At one level, these processes may lead to increased
     participation by SMMEs owned by historically disadvantaged
     persons. However, there are a number of negative effects. The
     increased flexibility and increased insecurity resulting from such
     arrangements conflicts with a greater emphasis on R&D and skills
     development. Evidence was also presented in the written submission
     by Skinner and Valodia on the clothing sector in KwaZulu-Natal.
     Skinner and Valodia's research found that firms are using
     outsourcing arrangements simply to by-pass labour regulations and
     health and safety requirements on a very large-scale. As such,
     these practices may simply be exploitative.


 3.     Conclusions and recommendations


     The DTI's Integrated Manufacturing Strategy is undoubtedly a major
     advance in developing an appropriate industrial policy to reorient
     the economy to achieve the objectives of broad-based growth,
     employment generation and equity. In it the leadership role for
     the state is clearly established. The challenge is to take this
     leadership through to effective strategies at the sector level,
     through the collection and analysis of information, design of
     appropriate customised measures and co-ordination of the actions
     of different government departments and institutions. The urgency
     of these measures cannot be in doubt given the large job losses
     which have been sustained across industrial sectors.


     There was broad consensus from the hearings that the value matrix
     framework was a useful approach for understanding the vertical and
     horizontal linkages between activities, within and across value
     chains. Similarly, a strong understanding of the various
     relationships between knowledge-intensity, beneficiation,
     investment, the financial sector (including the issue of promoting
     greater access to affordable finance by SMMEs) and increased
     participation in the economy is crucial for development and
     successful implementation of the strategy.


     There was also consensus on the importance of effective collective
     action, led by the state, with customised measures based on the
     specific needs of different sectors. In addition, the focus on
     research and development and the effective application of
     technology to improve production capabilities is welcome to
     reverse the declines in investment in these areas.


     There are also a range of tensions which reflect the realities of
     the South African economy. These tensions include that between the
     requirements of international competitiveness in established
     manufacturing industries, and the need to create employment and
     increase the participation of the mass of the population who are
     unemployed or under-employed. A similar tension exists between the
     emphasis on exports and production for the local market. It is
     important to note that submissions and subsequent debate in the
     hearings did not view these tensions as representing alternative
     choices. The high levels of poverty and unemployment are partly a
     result of the previous industrial policies which simultaneously
     supported the development of certain industries. And, meeting the
     imperatives to broaden access to resources, for example, in
     finance, education and infrastructure, is necessary to ensure the
     sustainable development of future productive capabilities.


     Nor was it argued that exports and local production are mutually
     exclusive. Export capabilities depend on investment and productive
     capabilities which are founded on local economic strengths.
     Increased integration in the domestic economy through better
     infrastructure provision, affordable access, improved education
     and skills development, is a key part of the platform for
     sustained industrial growth and will be supported by an effective
     set of industrial policies. The application of knowledge also does
     not intrinsically mean a focus on only one segment of the economy.
     Indeed, without developing and applying knowledge appropriate to
     economic activities across the economy increased economic
     integration will not be achieved and high levels of inequality
     will be perpetuated. This relates to the concrete measures in
     implementing the industrial strategy, and the activities of
     institutions such as the CSIR and IDC.


     Arising from the hearings and the Committee's deliberations are
     the following recommendations:


     *  Further clarification is required as to how the value matrix
          framework is to be applied in practice.


     *  There is a need for further clarity on the precise mechanisms
          through which DTI will seek to promote more effective
          collective action, including how to overcome impediments
          identified by participants in the hearings.


     *  There is an urgent need to build capacity in the DTI to analyse
          the determinants of industrial development within and across
          sectors, and to design and implement appropriate policy
          measures.


     *  More effective co-ordination around the implementation of the
          IMS is required between different branches of government such
          as DACST and DTI, and between institutions within COTII. The
          challenge facing the COTII institutions is not merely to
          comment in general on the IMS document, but to identify in
          detail how their own activities will contribute to the
          advancement of the strategy. The Committee accepts the point
          made in the Department's response that they too have an active
          role to play in ensuring the implementation of the strategy
          through, inter alia, "interrogating the mandates and
          activities" of the COTII institutions, and through the role
          they play in "debating and questioning all legislation that
          the DTI and other economic departments table".


     *  The role of the IDC needs to be addressed in greater detail, as
          part of assessing the ways in which the IMS can impact on
          investment patterns and empowerment. In particular, the IDC's
          operations in the SME sector and in empowerment must be
          reoriented to enable it more effectively to "identify and
          support opportunities not yet addressed by the market", just
          as it has historically done in large-scale upstream
          beneficiation.


     *  Specific measures to increase research and development
          activities in South Africa, including additional direct
          funding by government, are urgently needed. Serious
          consideration should be given to the proposal by the CSIR to
          make R&D support a component of customised support packages
          made available by government to support the IMS. A particular
          focus needs to be the development of technologies appropriate
          to the challenges of development and the promotion of
          employment.


     *  Visible and concrete benefits from the industrial strategy must
          be realised in underdeveloped and rural areas of the economy.


     *  The promotion of cooperatives and other forms of collectively
          owned enterprises needs to be fostered and encouraged as a
          major component of SMME and empowerment strategies.


     *  There is a need to take empowerment into account in more
          concrete terms and particularly to address the absence of a
          substantive treatment of gender. In this respect, the
          recommendations of the Commission for Gender Equality to
          engender the IMS merit careful consideration. There is a need,
          in particular, for customised support programmes to take
          account of the current gender profiles and problems in
          promoting gender equality that are specific to industries or
          sectors to which they are applied.


     *  The roles of different levels of government in industrial
          strategy must be determined. The effectiveness of many
          measures, such as linkages with infrastructure provision and
          the operation of industrial development zones, lie in the
          hands of provincial and local government and municipalities.
          It is therefore necessary to ensure a high level of co-
          ordination between a national IMS and the policies and
          programmes of provinces and local governments. The Committee
          recommends that as part of the ongoing process of
          consultation, particular steps are taken to engage with the
          provincial and municipal spheres of government, as well as
          with other stakeholders operating at these levels.


     The Committee welcomes the interaction and look forward to further
     debate and engagement in order to strengthen the industrial policy
     framework. In particular, the Committee will seek to promote
     further discussion and debate on implementation of industrial
     policy as well as on the interrelationship between industrial
     policy and:
     *  The development of a supportive macroeconomic framework


     *  Measures to promote greater access to affordable finance for
          development


     *  Empowerment and Training Programmes


     *  Further extending the State's developmental role, including
          that of parastatals


     The Committee wishes to thank all those who made submissions, as
     well as the European Union Parliamentary Support Programme, which
     made available financial assistance for research support.