National Assembly - 29 October 2002
TUESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2002 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:04.
The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.
MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT AND RELATED PAPERS
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I move the motion as it stands in my name on the Order Paper:
That the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and related papers tabled be referred to the Portfolio Committee on Finance and the Joint Budget Committee in accordance with the resolution adopted by the House on 24 October 2002.
Agreed to.
TIME ALLOCATION FOR QUESTIONS
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, I also move the motion as it stands in my name on the Order Paper:
That, notwithstanding Rule 113(2) the time allocated for Questions on Wednesday, 30 October 2002, not be limited to two hours.
Agreed to.
MEDIUM-TERM BUDGET POLICY STATEMENT ADJUSTMENTS APPROPRIATION BILL
(Introduction)
The MINISTER OF FINANCE: Madam Speaker and hon members, it is good to see the hon Kadar Asmal back, fighting fit. I think that the Governor of the Reserve Bank is also with us.
Our culture, our humanity, our spirit and our ability to reach out, to explore, to break new ground, to till the earth, to plant the seeds, to nurture, to care, to overcome adversity and to stand proud is recounted in our oral history. It is etched on the walls that sheltered the Khoi and the San. It is the invisible genetic threads that bind us to the cradle of our humanity. It is the vision, the intellect and the commitment of our forebears that saw beyond despair, assuaged the pain and lit the path through the darkest years of our history.
It is not quite nine years since the freeing of our spirit and the birth of our democracy. It has been nine years of hard work as we strive to build the foundations of an economy despite the shocks imposed by a faltering and volatile global economy; a caring economy, where meeting the needs of the poor and the most vulnerable occupy centre stage, an economy that recognises the importance of growth and development as the lasting solutions to eradicating poverty.
Our fiscal position is healthy and the economy is growing steadily, despite the very significant slowdown in the developed economies of the world. Our exports have increased significantly as we have penetrated new markets across the globe, allowing us to earn much needed foreign exchange and create new jobs. We have seen strong productivity improvements which contribute to making our economy more competitive and more attractive to investors, both local and foreign. We continue to create employment and empowerment opportunities for black people, thereby providing for an environment where all our people can contribute to and share in the potential of our economy.
We are now realising tangible and measurable gains from programmes designed to promote social and economic development. Nine years after the inception of the Reconstruction and Development Programme, access to basic services has increased significantly and Government is now seeking to provide a minimum package of free basic services for all.
History will surely record the fact that our democracy recognises the key role of women in our society and that they carry a disproportionate share of the burden of poverty; that we raised our voices loudly and consistently against the abuse of women and children; that we recognised the needs of the disabled and the importance of addressing these so that they too can share in the opportunities and contribute to the growth of our economy.
This period will also be recorded as one in which economic transformation proceeded at a blistering pace - budget reform, tax reform, financial reform, an entirely new fiscal system governing national, provincial and local government, financial market reforms, debt management reform, trade reform, reform of labour markets, exchange control liberalisation, monetary policy reform and much, much more.
The enormity of the task of rebuilding our country has served to remind us of the importance of eradicating poverty in our region and our continent. As Africans, we are determined to embrace these challenges and put our rich endowments to work for the benefit of all of our people. This is the spirit embodied in Nepad and championed by our President.
It is fitting that in this decade of intense reform and transformation, it was in Durban that the African Union was born, and that our President is its first guardian. To grow and flourish, the African Union needs support and nurturing, and, perhaps more importantly, it needs us all to serve as its ambassadors. Our challenge is to ensure that 10 years from now Nepad and the AU become key institutions in the global architecture.
We also hosted the World Summit on Sustainable Development. President Mbeki reminded delegates there that 10 years earlier apartheid South Africa had been excluded from the summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Johannesburg summit was a remarkable success. It unambiguously recognised that the people and the environment are a key to sustainable development. But, the summit also allowed us to show the world just how much we have achieved as a nation. The beauty of our country, the precious legacies of our ancestors, the spirit of our people, the richness of our cultures, our present and the future of generations to come meld together to create the will that has brought us here and that guarantees our future.
As we recognise our collective achievements, we are also mindful of the enormity of the challenges that continue to lie ahead - growth, jobs, education, the livelihoods of the poor and the most vulnerable threatened by food shortages and famine in parts of our region.
The tabling in this House of our Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement is an opportunity to reflect on the performance of our economy and our plans for the years ahead. It is an invitation to Parliament and to the nation to share in our deliberations about the challenges before us on, firstly, how we promote more rapid sustainable economic growth and development; secondly, how we progressively realise the social and economic rights promised in our Constitution; thirdly, how we prioritise spending to achieve a balanced and effective delivery of services to our people; and, fourthly, how we raise the finances required without unduly restraining economic activity or unfairly burdening the poor.
Despite uncertain international prospects, the economy has recovered strongly over the past year, with broadbased growth in response to domestic and foreign demand. In February, when this year’s budget proposals were tabled, we expected the economy to grow by 2,3%. We now expect an outcome for 2002 of 2,6%, rising to 3,5% next year, with further improvement in the medium term. [Applause.] That clearly is good news.
In particular, we are beginning to see important signs of investment in the productive capacity of the economy, with real gross capital formation rising by 6% in the first quarter and over 7% in the second quarter this year, on an annualised basis, with both private and public sectors contributing.
Private consumption expenditure is growing steadily at around 3% a year, supported in part by the tax reductions announced in the Budget this year, and spending on Government services is also expanding in real terms. The proposals set out in this year’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement will reinforce this trend in the years ahead.
Against the background of persistent current account imbalances and foreign debt problems in many industrialised and emerging market economies, our balance of payments is in healthy shape.
For the first time since 1994 we expect a modest surplus on the current account, partly because our trade performance has responded favourably to the depreciation of the rand last year.
Net inflows from abroad of R30 billion were recorded on the financial account of the balance of payments for the first half of this year, compared with a net outflow of R11 billion last year. These inflows include net foreign direct investment of over R8 billion, which reflects continued inward investment by foreign companies and the repatriation of the profits of offshore investments by South African companies.
Although our financial and trade links are global in their reach, growth has been especially rapid in our engagement with the rest of the African continent. The continuation of this trend is a critical success factor for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. It is for this reason that the next steps in exchange control liberalisation will be focused on promoting expanded investments in Africa.
In the 2002 Budget no changes to exchange control regulations were announced, pending the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry into the Rapid Depreciation of the Exchange Rate of the Rand. The commission has now completed its work and its findings support Government’s gradual approach to exchange control liberalisation.
We are now in a position to announce the following changes which take immediate effect: Firstly, the allowance governing South African corporates’ use of South African funds to finance new approved direct investment in Africa is increased from R750 million to R2 billion. [Applause.] Secondly, the allowance for the use of South African funds is expanded from just the financing of new approved foreign direct investments to include also ``top-up’’ funding for the financing of expansions of existing approved investments on the African continent. Details are being provided by the SA Reserve Bank in a statement today.
I have mentioned the benefits that South African industry, and particularly our exporters, have gained from the more competitive level of the rand this year. The fiscus also gains as higher profits by our mining companies and other exporters translate into higher tax payments.
But these gains will be short-lived if inflation simply rises to accommodate the effects of the depreciation of the rand. Following the depreciation of the currency last year, and rising oil prices and marked increases in food prices this year, we have seen consumer prices rise faster over the past 12 months than we have experienced in South Africa in a decade. CPIX, that is the consumer price index excluding mortgage interest, is expected to average 9% this year, up from just 5,8% in the year to September 2001.
The rise in inflation this year is a setback for the inflation reduction objectives agreed between the Government and the Reserve Bank. Hon members will know that we planned that inflation should fall to between 3% and 6% this year and next year, coming down to a range or target between 3% and 5% in 2004. In response to rising inflation, the Reserve Bank has raised interest rates four times this year.
We believe that the rate of inflation will decline during the course of next year as the effect of the depreciation dissipates. Nonetheless, the inflation targets for 2002 and 2003 are likely to be missed, with the CPIX average unlikely to fall below the 6% mark until the last quarter of 2003.
Under the circumstances, Governor Mboweni and I have agreed that the inflation target should remain at 3%-6% for 2004. The 3%-5% target falls away until further notice. But, as the governor said earlier, nobody should get the idea that we are soft on inflation.
Details of the performance of our economy and prospects for the years ahead are set out in Chapter 2 of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which members now have.
Let me turn to the framework it outlines for the Budget next year. Following the successful stabilisation period after 1996, the growth- oriented fiscal stance set out in the budgets for this year and for last year will continue. Our priority will continue to be on programmes and policies that create jobs, encourage investment and growth, improve on the delivery of services and ensure that increased resources are allocated towards addressing poverty and inequality.
The Budget framework provides for real expenditure growth of 4,7% a year over the next three years. New allocations amounting to R57,1 billion over the 2003 MTEF period will be added to national, provincial and local baseline spending plans. In addition, adjustments for higher inflation amounting to R3,4 billion in the current year and R27,8 billion over the next three years are proposed.
General Government tax revenue is proposed to remain at around 27% of GDP, with national Budget revenue stabilising at 24,5% of GDP. A Budget deficit of 2,2% is projected for the fiscal year 2003-04, falling to 2% in the fiscal year which ends on 31 March 2006.
The framework takes into account financing arrangements to settle foreign exchange forward market losses incurred in recent years by the Reserve Bank, which are for the account of the fiscus. Government bonds amounting to R7 billion have been issued to the bank this year, and provision is made in the budget framework for further issues of R7 billion a year over the next three years. These extraordinary payments raise future interest costs above the levels projected in the 2002 Budget, but debt service costs are still projected to decline steadily to just under 4% of GDP by 2005-06.
National Budget revenue collection this year is running ahead of target, offsetting in part both the adjustments to expenditures proposed and the costs of compensating the Reserve Bank for forward losses. At this stage, we expect revenue to exceed the February Budget estimate by R8 billion. This reflects continued improvements in tax administration, together with the positive revenue impact of higher than anticipated GDP.
Following far-reaching reforms to the income tax structure in recent years, tax policy is currently in a consolidation phase. Reforms announced in the 2002 Budget - including the introduction of a learnership allowance, further relief for public benefit organisations, accelerated depreciation allowances for manufacturing assets and extended tax relief for small businesses - have been dealt with in this year’s Revenue Laws Amendment Bill. Incentives in terms of the new strategic investment programme have to date been awarded to five projects entailing investment of R2 billion and an estimated 10 573 new jobs.
Robust revenue growth allows for a moderate real reduction in the personal income tax burden again next year, concentrated on lower and middle-income earners.
A thorough review of the taxation of retirement savings is under way, with a view to legislative overhaul in 2004. In keeping with the provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill, a royalty regime will in due course be introduced, bringing the tax treatment of our extractive industries in line with international best practice. The National Treasury is also studying the possible role of taxes and charges in addressing environmental aspects of long-run sustainable development.
Chapters 5 and 6 of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement deal with the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the division of resources between national departments, provinces and support for local government. It takes as a point of departure the priorities highlighted by the President in his state of the nation address of 9 February this year, and it draws on an extended assessment of policy options by Cabinet, by the Ministers’ Committee on the Budget and by the provincial executive councils.
Let me take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to my colleagues in Cabinet and to provincial executive council members for whose advice, good judgment and understanding of the fact that our spending plans have to be tempered by both realism and affordability, I am deeply grateful.
The proposed Medium-Term Expenditure Framework prioritises the following areas:
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extending social assistance, health and education programmes administered by the provinces;
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enhancing investment in municipal infrastructure and basic services in support of the rural development and urban renewal strategies;
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expanding capacity in the safety and security sector to prevent and to combat crime, including a particular focus on the functioning of the courts system;
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higher education restructuring, including support for institutional mergers and investment in infrastructure;
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accelerating land reform and restitution programmes;
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re-engineering services to citizens provided by the Department of Home Affairs;
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increasing support for the national research and development strategy to enhance growth and technology advancement; and
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a growing international role through increased regional representation, support for the African Union and Nepad.
However, the 4,7% real growth in noninterest expenditure will not on its own guarantee better outcomes, and Government will continue to strengthen administrative capacity and improve co-ordination between national and provincial departments and municipalities to ensure that a higher proportion of spending reaches the intended beneficiaries and that the quality of that spending is improved. In addition, we propose to target spending towards high-impact components and initiatives. The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement provides several examples of what we mean.
Increased funding, for instance, will go to providing learner and support materials in schools and medicine supplies in clinics. Clearly, it is our duty to ensure that the teachers and nurses we employ have at their disposal the basic tools of their trade. Secondly, additional resources will also go to the police and the courts for addressing crimes against women and children. There is no excuse any more for missing files or telephone calls that go unanswered. [Applause.] Thirdly, so too we will progressively extend basic services to households. Evidence shows that not only have we been able to expand access to electricity, for example, from 30% to 70% of households, but we have also been able to reduce the unit cost of electrification as we have built capacity and improved efficiency over time.
Poverty reduction remains the overarching goal of Government policy. Education, health services, welfare, social security and other social services account for 57,5% of consolidated, noninterest spending and will remain our first priority in the years ahead. Within the social services cluster spending on health care is expected to rise most strongly, as provincial health departments build their capacity to manage the enhanced response to HIV/Aids announced by Cabinet in April this year. [Applause.]
Our social assistance programmes remain the central platform in Government’s income security and poverty reduction strategy. The recent inflation has particularly serious consequences for the poor. In this light, the proposed Budget framework includes provision for R5,6 billion in adjustments to social grants in order to compensate for inflation. [Applause.] With effect from 1 October this year, the old age pension and disability grant is increased by R20ÿ.ÿ.ÿ. [Applause.] … while the child support grant is increased by R10, bringing the total increases in grants this year to R70 for old age and disability grants and R30, or 27,3%, for child support grants. [Applause.] In addition, provinces will budget for the continuing strong growth in the enrolment of beneficiaries - particularly for the child support grant - over the years ahead.
We also recognise, however, that our established social assistance programmes, although in general well-targeted, cannot meet the needs of everyone. South Africa does not face the critical food shortages that confront several other countries in our region, but, nonetheless, rising food prices this year have threatened the livelihoods of vulnerable households. We expect food price inflation to moderate significantly over the year ahead, but Cabinet has indicated its intent to keep a close watch on the trend. However, in partnership with communities and relief organisations, we need to provide special assistance to the most vulnerable. Beginning this year, and provided for in the adjustments estimate, an amount of R400 million a year is set aside for emergency relief for those facing desperate circumstances as a result of food shortages and food price rises. [Applause.]
The proposed framework for the 2003 Budget shifts resources gradually towards provinces and local government over the next three years, in relative terms. Provinces will receive an additional R49,8 billion over the next three years, national departments R28,7 billion and local government R6,4 billion. Compensation for higher inflation comprises about one third of the increases.
Supplementary allocations to provinces will support the broadening and deepening of social security and welfare programmes, education and health services and improved maintenance of provincial roads and other infrastructure.
Allocations to local government will continue to be focused on municipal infrastructure investment, which complements provincial spending on housing projects, and the broadening of access to free basic water and electricity services. Government’s rural development and urban renewal strategies provide a co-ordinating framework for creating jobs and extending the development of communities.
This year we have not published an Intergovernmental Fiscal Review. We shall table the next IGFR about a month after tabling the Budget in February, in order to provide Parliament and provincial legislators with additional information for purposes of participating in budget debates.
In sum, the 2003 Budget will build upon the policy priorities of recent years, with continued emphasis on infrastructure investment, the extension of coverage and quality of basic service delivery, enhanced economic development and well-targeted interventions to meet critical needs.
I am pleased to commend the 2003 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement to this House. In deliberating its proposals, let us remain mindful of the constitutional mandate that is the bedrock on which our strategy rests: the progressive realisation of social and economic rights within secure and sustainable fiscal policy foundations.
Just a reminder that we have available over the next three years just over R1 trillion to spend, and Parliament should obviously participate in ensuring that we spend it wisely and correctly.
I turn now to the Adjustments Appropriation Bill, through which the executive seeks parliamentary authority for its revised spending plans for the current fiscal year.
The adjustments Bill provides for various kinds of change to spending plans, detailed in section 30(2) of the Public Finance Management Act. As members will recall, the law sets strict limits to the adjustments that may be proposed. The adjustments proposed raise the Main Budget estimated expenditure level of R287,9 billion by a further R3,8 billion. Details are set out in the 2002 adjusted estimates of national expenditure, which includes the breakdowns of all the changes on each national Budget Vote.
In the February Budget an amount of R700 million was announced to supplement infrastructure spending this year. Strict criteria were applied in allocating these funds with a view to supporting Government’s broader urban and rural development strategies and supplementing existing initiatives with a proven track record. The R700 million now includes allocations of R120 million to accelerate the rehabilitation and revitalisation of hospitals; R115 million for sanitation programmes overseen by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and R188 million for transport infrastructure, and some R250 million for renovations and refurbishment of courts, police stations, museums, parks and heritage institutions. [Applause.]
Also announced in the February Budget was a contingency reserve of R3,3 billion to provide for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure and in recognition of the likelihood that inflation would be higher than anticipated at the time of the departmental estimates. The revised estimates include a total of R3,4 billion for higher inflation adjustments and R3,4 billion for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure. A further R400 million is provided for, but not yet allocated to a Vote, for emergency food relief. A total of R1,2 billion is added to the national department appropriations as roll-overs of funds unspent in the previous fiscal year.
The inflation adjustments and provision for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure largely go to provinces. Including adjustments to conditional grants, the additional allocations to provinces amount to R4,4 billion and will assist in meeting inflation-related salary adjustments, the October adjustments to social grants, the faster than expected growth in numbers of beneficiaries of social grants, stepped-up expenditure in education on learner support materials before the new school year and unanticipated cost increases in health services associated with the depreciation of the rand.
There are also adjustments proposed for local government. In addition to the R100 million to compensate for higher inflation, an amount of R22 million will go to the Local Government Transition Fund in keeping with the settlement agreement between national Government and the district municipalities of Uthukela, Amajuba and Zululand, which did not initially receive allocations from the local government equitable share.
As in the past, the Treasury Committee has been scrupulous in reviewing requests from national departments for funding of unforeseeable and unavoidable expenses. The additional allocations recommended amount to R1,4 billion, or about 1,4% of the national share of total expenditure. The largest amounts are the following:
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R67 million for Foreign Affairs, comprising unanticipated costs of hosting the inaugural summit of the African Union, provision for South Africa’s term as chair of the AU, costs of the secretariat established to give effect to the agreement between parties involved in the conflict in the DRC, provision for the Nepad secretariat and an obligatory contribution to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation;
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R157 million for the Home Affairs Vote, mainly to compensate for unanticipated foreign exchange costs and price escalation on equipment and services for the national identification system project, called Hanis, in Government;
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R202 million for Public Works, including R172 million for municipal rates and taxes which have increased as a result of the review of valuation rolls by municipalities and the incorporation of various state properties into the rates net;
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R50 million for Statistics SA, as the adoption of new data processing technology has made possible an earlier than anticipated completion of the 2001 Census process;
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R212 million for the Department of Health, mainly to meet the costs of HIV/Aids interventions and compensate the KwaZulu-Natal province for the costs of addressing the cholera epidemic;
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R82 million to Defence for deployments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi and for unanticipated expenditure on security associated with the World Summit on Sustainable Development;
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R116 million to Safety and Security for World Summit on Sustainable Development costs and to comply with the provisions of the Telecommunications Act;
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R158 million to Environmental Affairs and Tourism to meet unforeseeable and unavoidable costs associated with hosting the World Summit on Sustainable Development;
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R50 million to meet the unanticipated progress with the land restitution programme, and R200 million for the Transport Vote to address unanticipated commuter transport costs. [Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: What about Foreign Affairs?
The MINISTER: Foreign Affairs was the first one on this list. It had an amount of R67 million.
These and other changes are set out in the adjusted estimates. This year the explanatory memorandum on each Vote includes an outline of the changes to key outputs, indicators and targets for service delivery, further extending the information available to Parliament through which departments are held accountable for the funds at their disposal. I am pleased to be able to report that, partially offsetting these increases in expenditure, departments have identified savings of R38 million and the National Treasury has reduced its projections of the cost of servicing state debt by R267 million.
Taking these changes into account, we expect expenditure on the national Budget this year to amount to R291,8 billion. The revised estimate of revenue is R273,3 billion, bringing the projected deficit for the year to R18,5 billion, or 1,6 % of GDP.
Our culture, our history, our spirit as a people embolden us to persevere to face the challenges, to choose not the easy road, but the road that stretches furthest into the future. And as we travel this road, as we seize the opportunities, as we tell our stories, we capture the richness of our past and the potential of our future.
Members will, I know, wish to join me in thanking my colleagues for their discipline in exercising oversight over expenditure, but also for the progress made in improving and extending service delivery with the resources available to us. We also owe a vote of thanks to Commissioner Gordhan and his staff at the SA Revenue Service. [Applause.] The revenue that we raise is given value and meaning by our spending plans and their effectiveness and efficient implementation.
Our thanks also to Maria Ramos and the team at the National Treasury for their hard work and dedication. [Applause.] Our revised plans for this year, and our preliminary framework for the years ahead - in fact, to the fiscal year ending on 31 March 2006 - are now tabled for discussion in this House. I thank you for your patience in listening. [Applause.]
The Minister of Finance tabled:
(1) The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement;
(2) Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure 2002;
(3) The Adjustments Appropriation Bill.
The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement referred to the Joint Budget Committee and the Portfolio Committee on Finance. The Bill, together with the related papers tabled, referred to the Portfolio Committee on Finance for consideration and report.
The SPEAKER: Before we proceed with the rest of our business, I wish to recognise the presence in the House of a delegation from both Houses of the Parliament of Nigeria, led by Senator Daniel Saror. We welcome you and look forward to further interactions between our parliaments. [Applause.]
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr F BHENGU: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the focus theme for this month is the Rights of the Child;
(b) the Department of Social Development -
(i) is refining the National Strategy on Child Abuse, Neglect
and Exploitation; and
(ii) has revised the guidelines to protect children from abuse
at early childhood development centres run by NGOs; and
(c) all provincial departments have implemented the Child Protection
Register, which serves as an important tool for monitoring
progress in child abuse cases;
(2) believes that this reflects the commitment of the ANC Government to uphold and defend the rights of the child, and to promote the ideals of a humane and caring society that loves and values its children; and
(3) welcomes the programmes on which the Department of Social Development is embarking in order to minimise incidents of child abuse.
Mr N J J KOORNHOF: Madam Speaker, I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that in the last election the ANC got only 37% of the vote in the Cape Town Unicity but has been handed the city by the New NP;
(2) notes further that in two years the Democratic Alliance has -
(a) put 700 municipal police on patrol in Cape Town;
(b) provided free water and electricity to all council-served
households;
(c) give a R20 a month grant to poor households; and
(d) set up HIV/Aids prevention programmes throughout the city; and
(3) believes that, given the ANC’s poor record in other municipalities this handing over of power by the ANC’s junior partner will guarantee a retaliation of the city’s voters against the New NP at the next election. [Applause.]
Mr M S M SIBIYA: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House, I shall move on behalf of the IFP:
That the House -
(1) notes that Eskom has been given the go-ahead to increase its prices by 8,4% next year;
(2) further notes that the increase will be passed on to all Eskom customers, while the customers being served by municipalities will see a similar increase; and
(3) hopes that the increases in electricity costs will not have a negative influence on economic growth and social development.
Mr M S MANIE: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) today marks the end of the Democratic Alliance control of the
Unicity of Cape Town; and
(b) racial divisions and an unprecedented escalation of
maladministration, scandals and corruption marked this
Democratic Alliance era;
(2) believes that the ANC/New NP partnership will -
(a) bring stability and dignity and will unite all the people of
Cape Town, irrespective of race, colour, religion or sex; and
(b) provide much-needed service to all the people of Cape Town, not
just a privileged few; and
(3) wishes the ANC/New NP partnership well in their mission to build a better life for all the people of Cape Town.
[Applause.]
Mr J DURAND: Mevrou die Speaker, hiermee stel ek namens die Nuwe NP voor:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem dat -
(a) die agb leier van die DP/DA, Tony Leon, die meer as 417
raadslede wat sy party verlaat het, uitgekryt het as leuenaars
en as mense wat nie beginselvas is nie;
(b) hy hul optrede ook as verraad teenoor die kiesers bestempel het
en dat hulle die kiesers se mandaat verbreek het; en
(c) die DP/DA 'n groottotaal van 17 raadslede in die oorloopproses
gewen en verwelkom het; en
(2) ‘n beroep op die agb Leon doen om -
(a) duidelik te sê of sy party se skamele 17 winste ook beginsellose
leuenaars is wat verraad gepleeg en die kiesers se mandaat
verbreek het;
(b) ondubbelsinnig te verklaar of hy en sy party ten gunste is van
die oorloopwetgewing; en
(c) kennis te neem dat die dubbele maat waarmee hy meet, óók die
maat is waarmee hy gemeet sal word.
[Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)
[Mr J DURAND: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move on behalf of the NP:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the hon leader of the DP/DA, Tony Leon, denounced the more than
417 councillors who left his party as liars and unprincipled
people;
(b) he also labelled their actions as a betrayal of the voters and
that they violated the voters' mandate; and
(c) the DP/DA gained and welcomed a grand total of 17 councillors in
the floor-crossing process; and
(2) appeals to the hon Leon to -
(a) state clearly whether his party's meagre 17 gains are also
unprincipled liars who committed treason and violated the
voters' mandate;
(b) state unambiguously whether he and his party are in favour of
floor-crossing legislation; and
(c) notes that the double standard by which he is measuring is also
the standard by which he will be measured.
[Applause.]]
Mr M N RAMODIKE: Madam Speaker, I will move on behalf of the UDM at the next sitting of this House:
That the House -
(1) notes that escalating inflation in the past 12 months, especially with regard to the cost of food, has caused untold suffering for millions of South Africans;
(2) further notes that one of the prime root causes of inflation is administered prices by Government or entities reporting to it;
(3) acknowledges that these administered prices increase the cost of production, which is the case in terms of the fuel levy included in the price of petrol;
(4) recognises that the cost of electricity is such an administered price, which directly feeds into the price of production throughout the economy, and that Government and entities reporting to it that increase administered prices at rates higher than inflation make a mockery of Government’s own stated inflation-targeting policy;
(5) therefore condemns the above-inflation increase of 8,4% in electricity charges that Eskom will implement from the beginning of next year; and (6) urges the Ministers of Finance and of Minerals and Energy to intervene to ensure that Eskom does not prolong the inflation woes of ordinary South Africans far into the next year.
Mr G P MNGOMEZULU: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the hon Nkosazana Zuma, handed
over humanitarian aid to the Angolan ambassador, Isaac Dos
Sanjos; and
(b) this humanitarian aid was made possible by nongovernmental
organisations, individuals and the private sector who heeded the
call by the South African Government for donations;
(2) believes that -
(a) this reflects a strong feeling of solidarity between the people
of Angola and South Africa; and
(b) is an acknowledgement of sacrifices made by the people of Angola
during the struggle against apartheid; and
(3) congratulates all South Africans who contributed to these donations of humanitarian aid to the people of Angola.
[Applause.]
Ms C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ACDP:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) on 31 October 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in
Wittenberg;
(b) by God's grace, Luther's courageous act of challenging
corruption and unbiblical heresies launched the Great
Reformation; and
(c) Martin Luther said: ``Unless I am convinced by Scripture or
clear reasoning that I am in error - for popes and councils have
often erred and contradicted themselves - I cannot recant, for I
am subject to the Scriptures I have quoted; my conscience is
captive to the Word of God. It is unsafe and dangerous to do
anything against one's conscience. Here I stand. I cannot do
otherwise. So help me God'';
(2) commends Frontline Fellowship on the Reformation Conferences held on 31 October each year to celebrate the heritage of faith and freedom through Reformers like John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, John Knox and William Tyndale;
(3) acknowledges the sacrifices made by Reformers, and the far-reaching impact of their courageous application of the Word of God to every area of life … [Time expired.] Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that the Department of Public Works claims that the sale of a state-owned property for R440 000 to Mrs Zanele Mbeki was above board and a market-related price;
(2) further notes that Mrs Mbeki resold the property a few months later for almost 100% profit at R875 000;
(3) questions the method used by the Government to value this property at the time of the sale to Mrs Mbeki; and
(4) believes that the interests of the taxpayers are not best served when members of the ANC elite make extravagant profits out of state assets.
Mr G B MAGWANISHE: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the ANC Youth League and Sasco team won all 15 SRC seats in
elections at the University of Zululand on 25 October 2002; and
(b) the ANCYL/Sasco team defeated four other student political
formations that campaigned under a single banner;
(2) believes that -
(a) this victory represents the increasing popularity of the ANC
amongst young people in the rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal and
intellectuals; and
(b) lays a good foundation for the ANC in the province to
consolidate its support ahead of the 2004 elections; and
(3) congratulates the ANCYL abd Sasco for their continuing efforts to represent the aspirations of young people.
[Applause.]
Mr W J SEREMANE: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes that Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Pahad’s statement that Nepad’s African peer review mechanism will not include the political review of African governments has horrified, astonished, confused and dismayed diplomats;
(2) further notes that this statement further undermines Nepad and erodes world confidence in Africa;
(3) believes that donor countries have been misled into thinking that, in return for their contribution in uplifting our people, African leaders would demand and insist on good governance from their peers; and (4) calls on President Mbeki to repudiate Deputy Minister Pahad.
Dr R RABINOWITZ: Madam Speaker, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House -
(1) notes with appreciation a video presentation by the Health Systems Trust to the Health committee, which outlines the harrowing conditions in hospitals and clinics in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape; and
(2) appeals to all Ministers to take note of the facts that until -
(a) there is effective integration of rural development so that
clinics can be accessed by roads and serviced with water and
power;
(b) realistic integrated development plans have been laid down by
local government;
(c) district health authorities are established as intended, to co-
ordinate local health services; and
(d) there is clarity as to who is responsible for what health
services at local, provincial and national level, vast numbers
of people will struggle as a result of Aids, malnutrition and
inadequate services which are changeable if there is a change of
heart and rural spending becomes a greater priority of
Government.
Ms M M SOTYU: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ANC:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) the Department of Social Development has developed draft
procedures to safeguard undocumented children, children of
illegal immigrants and children of refugees; and
(b) these procedures require thorough investigation of the child's
circumstances, including the tracing of the child's family and
placement of children in communities or in places of safety;
(2) believes that this initiative reflects the commitment of the ANC Government to a safe and secure future for all children;
(3) agrees that this demonstrates the commitment of the ANC government to uphold the rights of the child; and
(4) welcomes the draft procedures that have been developed by the Department.
[Applause.]
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Mevrou die Speaker, ten spyte van die feit dat ek ‘n oud- Matie is en in die Goue Leeus se opvanggebied woon, sal ek nogtans môre voorstel:
Dat die Huis die Blou Bulle gelukwens met die verowering van die Curriebeker. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.) [Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, in spite of the fact that I am a former Matie and live in the intake area of the Golden Lions, I shall nevertheless move tomorrow:
That the House congratulates the Blue Bulls on winning the Currie Cup.]
Mr S ABRAM: Madam Speaker, I give notice that I shall move:
That the House-
(1) recalls its commitment to the safety of our children, as recently expressed in the parliamentary debate on child rape;
(2) notes that the response of the criminal justice sector to the heinous crime of rape has been inadequate, and that arrest and conviction rates are lagging woefully behind the actual incidence of this horrific crime;
(3) condemns the reports last week that, amongst others, an eight-year- old girl in Kagiso was raped by a fellow pupil during school hours in the presence of her classmates, whilst the police in KwaMashu have confirmed that a two-year-old baby has been raped;
(4) recognises that these crimes will continue as long as there is no effective and utterly convincing deterrent for these criminals; and
(5) calls upon the Government to hold a referendum to ask the South African people whether they want the death penalty to be reinstated, since it would serve as the ultimate deterrent to sex crimes, especially those committed against children.
[Applause.]
Ms C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, I shall move on behalf of the ACDP:
That the House -
(1) congratulates the 6 out of 11 judges who agreed that sex for reward should remain illegal;
(2) notes that trafficking in women is a multibillion dollar market and that traffickers and pimps prey on the dreams and vulnerabilities of women seeking employment and opportunities for the future;
(3) further notes that the decriminalisation and legalisation of prostitution not only cause an increase in the trafficking in women to meet the demand created by a legalised sex industry, but make it difficult to hold traffickers accountable for their activities, as traffickers and pimps evade prosecution by claiming the women knew what they were getting into, and prosecutors have a hard time establishing the line between voluntary and forced prostitution;
(4) notes that Sweden recently passed a law to combat violence against women that created a new offence, ``gross violation of a woman’s integrity’’, and that the purchase of sexual services is now prohibited and punishable, effectively targeting the demand for trafficked women by holding users accountable … [Time expired.]
The SPEAKER: Hon members, the time for notices of motion has expired, and I will now consider adjourning the House as there are so many other meetings going on. Assuming they end, we can then proceed with the business of the House, which is motions without notice.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SOUTH AFRICAN SPORTING FIGURES
(Draft Resolution)
Ms Annelizé VAN WYK: Madam Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) salutes Ms Natalie du Toit for the grit and determination she has shown as a South African athlete on the international stage;
(2) recognises that Ms Du Toit has in true South African spirit excelled despite all the odds, and is thus a true ambassador for our country;
(3) acknowledges the role of Mr Rudi Koertzen, South African international cricket umpire, in representing our country at the highest tier of international cricket with excellence; and
(4) congratulates -
(a) Ms Du Toit on her nomination in Britain as sportswoman of the
year; and
(b) Mr Koertzen for his award by the top cricketers of the world as
the best umpire of the game.
Agreed to.
MEDICINES AND RELATED SUBSTANCES AMENDMENT BILL
(Second reading debate)
The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Madam Speaker, hon members and fellow South Africans, it is now nine years since the ANC health plan was developed, which outlined the National Drug Policy. This National Drug Policy is aimed at ensuring access to medicines that are safe, effective and of consistent quality at affordable prices in a sustainable manner. This translated into legislative changes that put South Africa in a global agenda on access. Therefore, when we tabled Act 90 of 1997 in this Assembly for hon members’ consideration, we were aware of the significance of that action. And, though we were disappointed, we were not surprised by the reaction of the pharmaceutical industry.
We are, however, happy that that period of conflict and suspicion seems to be behind us. On our part, we reiterate our commitment to a strong principled partnership with the pharmaceutical industry based on the recognition of the complementarity of our efforts, but not blind to the contradictions that originate in the mandate we derive from our respective principals and constituencies.
I wish to recognise the constructive dialogue we have had with the pharmaceutical industry since the resolution of the case on Act 90 of 1997, and in the department we have already taken steps to lay the foundations for the implementation of this Act.
I know that for those who bear daily the brunt and scars of unaffordable medicine, every minute has been a period of despair. Through our collective effort, however, we can restore their faith and justice in the health-care system of our country. I shall do my part, especially for the children of our country, whom we are celebrating during this month.
My pledge on behalf of our Government is that no child will go without immunisation because of the escalating cost of medicines. As a bottom line, we are fully committed to honouring our promise of free health care for children and pregnant women. This is our contribution as the health department towards poverty alleviation.
Hon members will recall that Act 90 of 1997 was released from the stranglehold of the courts in April last year. In June we published the regulations that would facilitate the implementation of that Act. It was in part the public response to those draft regulations that necessitated the technical amendments that are before this House today.
We have, whilst working on this Bill, been simultaneously recrafting the regulations, taking into account the public inputs. A joint team of the department and the Medicines Control Council has all but completed this task.
As soon as Parliament passes this Bill and the President signs it into law, we shall be ready to usher in what surely will be a signal point in our journey to transform our health system.
Let me remind the House of the key objectives of this policy framework, which remains the cornerstone of development, as it touches on health, economic and national development objectives.
The health objectives are: to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential drugs to all citizens of our country; to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of drugs; to ensure good dispensing and prescribing practices; to promote the rational use of drugs by prescribers, dispensers and patients through the provision of the necessary training, education and information; and to promote the concept of individual responsibility for health, preventive care and informed decision-making.
The economic objectives are: to lower the cost of drugs in both the private and public sectors; to promote the cost-effective and rational use of drugs; to establish a complementary partnership between Government bodies and private providers in the pharmaceutical industry; and to optimise the use of scarce resources through co-operation with international and regional agencies.
The national developmental objectives are: to promote the knowledge, efficiency and management skills of pharmaceutical personnel; to reorientate medical, paramedical and pharmaceutical education towards the principles underlying the National Drugh Policy; to support the development of the local pharmaceutical industry and the local production of essential drugs; and to promote the acquisition, documentation and sharing of knowledge and experience through the establishment of advisory groups in rational drug use, pharmacoeconomics and other areas of the pharmaceutical sector.
In the recent past, we have seen public health issues balanced with trade, the emergence of the Doha declaration and an enormous public response. This has elevated the debates on access to affordable medicines, essential drug lists and the control of drug expenditures.
The role of medicines in the delivery of health services is key to improving health outcomes, when they are used appropriately and rationally. The provisions to regulate marketing activities of medicines through the development of ethical codes is key to controlling inappropriate use and aggressive marketing and to replacing perverse activities with objective and balanced promotion that is informative to the public.
Pricing issues have remained a challenge over the past five years. The existing legislative framework is deficient on providing affordable medicines in this country, and even tendering has not achieved lower-priced insulin for the diabetic patients in our country.
The establishment and appointment of a pricing committee has been prioritised in the implementation process. The pricing of medicines is highly regulated in Europe and other countries in the north. Similarly, South Africa must intervene in instances where public health is compromised by the high cost of medicines.
We have seen in the recent past the challenges faced by South Africa as a result of a weakened inspectorate. The legislation will strengthen and empower the inspectorate to deal with all forms of pharmaceutical crime, corruption and diversion through access to records and documentation and the power to search and seize. All will be done within the parameters of our constitutional order, of course.
I wish to appeal to fellow South Africans and all health professionals to embrace the changes that are aimed at improving how new medicines are prescribed and dispensed. The pharmaceutical industry has over the years enjoyed enormous benefits in that a number of services are rendered for the registration of medicines at no cost, despite the high costs of medicines in this country.
An opportunity now exists for extra revenue generation and retention by the Medicines Control Council to adequately fund its operations and extend its services to ensure that safety, efficacy and quality care are consistently assured.
The amendments that are being introduced are minor and have been formulated to ensure operational feasibility, especially in the areas of licensing that require major administrative support.
We have now reached the point where we should proceed with the implementation of Act 90 of 1997. The amending Bill facilitates that. This will indeed usher in a new era in pharmaceutical management in our country and establish us firmly as leaders in this area.
It has been a long road, but every step has been worth the effort. A glorious future beckons South Africans, and we have to discharge our duties diligently to give effect to our dreams of a better life for all our people.
Once again, I must thank the portfolio committee and, in particular, the chairperson for allowing a vigorous debate on the Bill. Now I humbly request hon members to render their full support to this Bill, which will make quality medicines accessible and affordable, and will provide improved health care for all our people. [Applause.]
Mrs S V KALYAN: Madam Deputy Speaker, Act 90 of 1997, the Medicines and Related Substance Control Amendment Act, has been mired in controversy since its introduction in 1997. It was the subject of a court action by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association. The PMA withdrew its challenge in April 2001 after consultation with leading world figures like Nelson Mandela and Kofi Annan.
Despite this conciliatory gesture on the part of the PMA in the interests of health care in South Africa, the Minister of Health declared this to be a personal victory and promptly declared immediate action. Yet, despite all her puffing and panting, all that has happened is that Act 90 of 1997 remains unpromulgated and unoperational, and yet another amending Bill is offered instead.
What is this victory that she speaks of? Has the system of generic substitution that she referred to in her grand plan of things in April 2001 been activated? Regretfully, no. Delaying and procrastination have been the trademark of the Minister of Health, and she owes Parliament an explanation for the delay in the promulgation of this Act.
The Bill before us today is rather prescriptive and, as expected, gives undue powers to the Minister. Many parties that made submissions to the parliamentary Health committee, Cosatu and the TAC in particular, raised concerns about the autonomy of the Medicines Control Council. It is the DP’s considered opinion that the operational independence and integrity of the MCC is compromised by the deletion of necessary qualifications as previously stipulated in Act 90 of 1997. There is also no provision for public nominations. The MCC is a specialist regulatory body and should therefore have a minimum specified number of members representing particular sectors having specific subject knowledge. The most up-to-date knowledge would surely be found in the manufacturing industry, yet they are specifically excluded from the council. This just does not make good sense. It is quite clear from these amendments that political considerations have been placed above the public interest, and this casts doubt on the MCC’s autonomy to handle the drug regulation process.
Clause 8 provides for the establishment and functioning of a pricing committee. The committee will determine its own regulations, and this is itself a dangerous practise. One of the pricing committee’s mains functions will be price control. Now, not only is price control anticompetitive, but it actually conflicts with Government’s present macroeconomic policy of free trade principles. Furthermore, the Competition Commission has stated clearly that Government should not control prices except in situations where there is a clear monopoly, for example Telkom, which has no competition.
The concept of a single exit price is also anticompetitive. While the intention of controlling the unethical practice of perverse incentives, bonusing and sampling by insisting on a single exit price is honourable, the principle of increased access and affordability to drugs as outlined in the National Drug Policy cannot be achieved because volume discounts for over-the-counter medication may possibly not occur. Spaza shops which sell self-medication may discontinue the sale of such if they cannot access discounts for bulk purchases, and the consumer is surely going to be the loser.
The promotion of the dispensing of generic substitutions as a mechanism for the reduction of prices in clause 7 is welcomed, but the question that begs an answer is: Why does Government not also advocate the use of, and dispense, generic antiretrovirals in respect of HIV/Aids? The DP’s proposal to amend the Patents Act by declaring a national emergency and allow generic antiretroviral medication to be compounded and distributed in South Africa is in keeping with both the proposed amendment of generic substitution and brand South Africa.
Another area of concern in this Bill is the whole issue of appeals against the decisions of the MCC. The Director-General and the Minister of Health are responsible for drafting and implementing policy and legislation, and they also sit in sole judgment of any appeal to challenge legislation. Now, one asks, how can administrative prevail under such restrictions and is this process not unconstitutional - the more so and specially in view of the fact that the right of appeal to the High Court has been under question?
In conclusion, it is unacceptable that the regulations are still in draft form some five years later. It is dangerous practice to pass legislation in this manner as the full impact on health care cannot be determined. In view of the above concerns, the DP cannot support this amending Bill. [Applause.]
Mr L V J NGCULU: Madam Speaker, Minister and hon members, on 25 June 1999, our President declared, and I quote:
Steadily, the dark clouds of despair are lifting, giving way to our season of hope.
As we debate this Bill today, we can boldly confirm that indeed hope has taken the place of despair. The ANC continues to move forward in realising its stated goal, a better life for all. No one can today deny the fact that the transformation agenda of the ANC has always been driven by the need to address poverty through programmes aimed at accelerating equitable access, especially to basic services, with a special focus on the poor and vulnerable.
Underpinning this agenda of the ANC has been the need to address the matter of meeting the basic needs of our people, including improved health care, access to health and affordable medicine. The Bill before us seeks to address this transformation agenda, in particular measures to achieve access to cheaper medicine. In doing so, we depart from the premise that health is a basic human right.
However, those who stand to gain from high prices of medicine and an unregulated pharmaceutical industry decided to strenuously oppose this legislation, in particular with regard to parallel importation and the powers of the Minister vis-à-vis the Medicines Control Council.
Kuya mangaza ukufumanisa okokuba nanamhlanje ohloniphekileyo, uSandy Kalyan, uzama ukuxhasana nabo abangayifuniyo impilo engcono, kunye nabo abafuniyo amayeza afunyanwe nguwonkewonke. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[It is amazing to find that even today the hon Sandy Kalyan is trying to support those who do not want a better life for all and those who do not want medicines to be provided for the public.]
We should also remember that the pharmaceutical companies indeed abandoned the retrogressive policies of the DA and decided to support this Bill, precisely because the masses of our people mobilised in support of this Bill.
Regarding the pricing committee, its basic function will be to set up a transparent pricing mechanism. We would like to stress here that the objective of the pricing committee is not to restrict the market activities of the drug companies but rather to allow them to set up a single exit price for any medicine.
Into ebalulekileyo apha kukuba silazi ixabiso elenziwe ngalo iyeza, ukwenzela into yokuba, xa ubani elifumana ekhemesti, abe nolwazi malunga nokuba kutheni libiza kakhulu okanye kancinci. (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[It is important that we should know the production costs of medicine so that when one buys buys it at the chemist, one should know why its cost is high or low.]
The key question here is cheaper drugs and medicines. Anyone who advocates higher prices for drugs wants to relegate our people to continued ill- health and poor conditions of living. The question of the single exit price will allow for the end user to know the price from the manufacturer, and thus we can guard against artificial inflation of the prices of medicines. In this way we can guarantee that there will be cheaper medicines.
Secondly, regarding the question of perverse incentives such as sampling bonuses by the industry and other incentives that give rise to the dispensing of medicine so that it favours one drug over another one, it is important to know that they must be abolished, because, at the end of the day, those sampling bonuses are not passed over to the consumer and thus the prices of medicines continue to be expensive.
Thirdly, we have to deal with the question of the MCC. Suffice it to say we have a Government and a Minister and we are not in a state of anarchy. It is therefore important that when one governs one should govern. The MCC in our own view has never been questioned regarding its independence. Yesterday we debated the question of nevirapine. All members including the hon member who spoke before me agreed that in this particular instance the MCC discharged its duties well.
The Bill requires that those who will dispense medicine should be licensed and that licences shall be issued when such persons have undergone a supplementary course determined by the SA Pharmacy Council. Some people oppose this clause on the basis that it should not be the SA Pharmacy Council that determines the course but the Health Professions Council. However, our view is that the development of a supplementary course should be the responsibility of the SA Pharmacy Council. The reason for allowing the SA Pharmacy Council to determine the said course is that the competency of compounding and dispensing medicine is the domain of pharmaceutical sciences and the pharmacy profession, and the SA Pharmacy Council is the custodian of that profession. There is no stipulation in the Bill that the SA Pharmacy Council will offer the course. It will just determine the course.
We have outlined some of these key principles to underscore the point we have made earlier, that this Bill is about access to affordable medicine and necessary regulations to arrive at that agenda. We are happy to announce that various stakeholders took part in the public hearings and that their submissions were good and helped guide our deliberations. We would like to thank in particular members of the portfolio committee for their hard work and dedication. We would also like to thank members of the Department of Health. They were with us in all our deliberations and displayed their commitment and dedication to their work.
We can say, as we said earlier on, that the hour of hope has arrived. This Bill, whichever way one wants to project it, is actually a Bill for better health for all. This is a Bill for cheaper medicine and drugs and for access to health and for affordable health services in our country. No one in his right mind can boldly stand up here and oppose this legislation. People who do so will be against progress and against better health for all.
We now table this Bill before this House. We do so confident that this legislation puts us firmly on the road to a better life for all. Indeed the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill gives rise to the season of hope our President talked about. The ANC supports this Bill. [Applause.]
Dr R RABINOWITZ: Madam Speaker, this amending Bill and its parent Act, Act 90 of 1997, released from a court challenge, essentially deal with the policing, regulating and scheduling of medicine sold in the country. Therefore they should deal with, firstly, issues of quality, safety and efficacy, and, secondly, setting minimum standards and preventing corruption, whether in the private or public sector, relating to medicine sales. The overall result should be better access to better quality and cheaper medicines.
The IFP supports the amending Bill as it deals with mainly technical issues, and we support any effort to improve scheduling, to improve the control of medicine imports and exports and to amend the power for search and seizure so that they become constitutional.
But we have major concerns with this amending Bill and even more serious concerns in relation to the parent Bill, which the IFP opposed. Our main problem with the amending Bill is the in-house appeals process. The Minister appoints the director-general and the appeals committee. The director-general will be empowered by the parent Act to decide, on the basis of demographic need, whether a practitioner should be licensed to dispense medicines. This is after such professional has been licensed by his or her professional board and has passed an exam set by the SA Pharmacy Council.
Firstly, the IFP believes that it is impossible for the director-general or a delegate to do this fairly and without exposure to corruption and unintended consequences. Secondly, if a person wants to appeal against the decision of the director-general or a delegated person, the route is to the Minister, and we are unlikely to see any difference there.
The IFP would prefer for practitioners to be licensed on the basis of an objective exam and then for incentives to be used to draw dispensing practitioners to the most needy areas, where they should be efficiently policed.
The second aspect of appeals we are concerned with deals with appeals against decisions of the Medicines Control Council. The parent Act had the following clause:
An appeal shall lie from any decision of the appeal committee to the High Court.
This has been scrapped. Why? So that if, for example, the MCC decides to deregister nevirapine, the High Court may not judge on the merits of the decision, but only on the process that was followed. We do not support this.
Other issues in the parent Act that are touched on by the amendments are the fixed pricing of medicines and the overriding of patents. Section 15C, around which the court case hinged, undermines patent protection. It allows for the overriding of patents so that compulsory licences can be issued for generic medicines to be produced or imported. It also allows for the purchase of patented medicines from other sources than the South African manufacturer with a patent, if the overseas price is cheaper than in South Africa.
But these clauses are not necessary if the Minister uses current provisions in the Patents Act, which enables patents to be overriden if they are exploited. The provisions were allegedly needed to source cheaper Aids medicines, but to establish exploitation the Minister has to put out a tender for medicines. This she has never done. The clause is also unnecessary in view of the current issuing of voluntary licences to Aspen by Boehringer-Ingelheim and SmithKline to produce medicines to treat HIV.
Thirdly, the Minister has declared that she will not use these provisions to override patents. So why are they there? Should 15C be used as allowed, and unless the licensing is done under the same strict requirements that apply to all medicines produced and sold in South Africa, the door is open for the flooding of our markets with counterfeits. Neither the Act nor the amending Bill has provided assurance that such strict standards would be required, and we as members of Parliament will not see the regulations.
The provision for medicine pricing will not, we believe, bring down medicine prices. It requires a pricing committee to set a fixed exit price for all manufactured medicines and that this shall be the only price at which medicines are sold. This rules out the possibility for bulk discounts. Not only is this against free-market practice and shown to be ineffective in other parts in the world, but it will discourage large chains from buying medicines and selling them cheaper to the public.
The IFP would reduce prices by fixing maximum prices, allowing for bulk discounts, having transparency along the entire chain of medicine supplies, whether the pharmaceuticals like it or not, and privatising the entire chain of medicine supplies from producer to patient so that prices are not raised to cope with huge losses from theft. We would also like to see practical measures implemented against all forms of corruption, and the Act does make good moves in this direction.
Unfortunately, the entire process, embarked upon when the South African
Medicines and Medical Devices Regulatory Authority Bill was adopted and
withdrawn, has been ignored in the current legislation, and therefore the
regulation of the alternative industry remains in disarray. Licensing to
dispense is complicated by the dual definitions of alternative
practitioners as therapists'' if they are poorly trained and
practitioners’’ if they are well trained, and by the absence of a
definition of medicines that takes account of alternative health care. This
confusion is carried over into this Act.
The IFP proposes, as regards generics, that doctors should tick on every script whether or not they approve of generic substitution. We would also like to see duly qualified professionals on the MCC. Our proposals were not agreed to, yet we hope that we can continue to dialogue with the department to advance health reforms in a constructive manner.
Dr S J GOUS: Madam Speaker, it would be fair to say that medicine legislation has been highly controversial over the past five years. Medicine control is serious business, not only in terms of the financial implications, but also because of the inherent dangers that the loss of medicine control holds for the health of South African citizens.
It all started five years ago with Act 90 of 1997, which was an amendment to Act 101 of 1965, the principal medicine Act. Act 90 of 1997 was challenged by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association, which led to the high-profile court case. In the meantime the South African Medicines and Medical Devices Regulatory Authority Act, which was supposed to replace Act 90 of 1997, was procedurally incorrectly promulgated and had to be withdrawn. The legislation in front of us today deals with amendments to Act 90 of 1997. We are therefore amending an Act that was promulgated but not implemented for five years.
Act 90 of 1997 dealt mostly with measures to ensure the supply of affordable medicines and introduced concepts like those in section 15C, which allowed for parallel importation and compulsory licensing, the banning of the sampling and bonusing of medicine, a code of ethics for the pharmaceutical industry, the licensing of dispensers, generic substitution and a pricing committee. The legislation in front of us is an attempt to fine-tune and clarify some of these issues. The success or failure of many of these measures will be largely dependent on the regulations that still have to follow. The New NP would therefore ask that if it becomes clear that some of these are obviously flawed, they should be referred back for amendment sooner rather than later.
One of the measures on which the New NP could not reach consensus was the licence to dispense. Therefore we did not support this clause. In a perfect world it would be fair to expect pharmacists to dispense and doctors to diagnose and prescribe. Unfortunately ours is not a perfect world. We understand that dispensing is a sensitive issue and that professionals jealously guard their territory.
Historically, the lack of pharmaceutical services, especially in rural areas, led to the practice of medical practitioners dispensing medicine. This resulted in doctors regarding it as their inalienable right to dispense medicine. After all, their training is more than adequate to allow this.
Unfortunately, this led to a situation where a small minority of doctors dispensed for profit and it also became a major part of their practice. Perverse incentives reared their head. In this regard the New NP believes that the new measures, if implemented, would effectively address most of these anomalies.
We support the concept of a licence to dispense because it can assure safe and best practice. However, we cannot support the manner in which this legislation proposes that it be achieved. In future, a professional, other than a pharmacist, who wants to dispense must complete a course determined by the SA Pharmacy Council after consultation with the relevant professional board, must have the dispensing premises inspected by the Medicines Control Council and, lastly, must obtain a licence from the director-general after supplying required information.
The New NP is not in favour of the course being determined by the SA Pharmacy Council because this would mean that different professional boards regulate one profession. This would inevitably lead to grey areas and create a legal minefield. It would also jeopardise interprofessional relationships. We can also see a backlash from the Health Professions Council.
The second area of concern is the information that has to be supplied to the director-general before a licence can be issued. It is clear that this decision to grant a licence could be based on political or subjective grounds and could furthermore open the door for corruption.
We are of the opinion that the criteria for the granting of a licence should be determined by legislation and not regulation. We also believe that this will diminish some of the essential services, especially to the underprivileged who are currently relying on the so-called package deal from doctors, which includes medicine at a very reasonable cost.
Despite our reservations, the New NP will support this legislation. [Applause.]
Mrs S F BALOYI: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon members, the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill aims, amongst other objectives, to make medicine cheap and affordable for the majority of our people.
This Bill arises from one of the three transformatory Bills that were passed in 1997. The amendment takes this process forward to expand and promote universal access to safe, effective and affordable medicines, thus translating policy into action. As members will recall, the Bill generated a lot of resistance and opposition from local and international pharmaceutical companies and from some opposition parties in this House. However, the ANC and Government stood steadfast in their pursuit of their policy of equitable distribution of medical and health resources to benefit the majority of our poor and disadvantaged people by putting in place measures to reduce the cost of medicines, and therefore fulfilling the ANC Government’s constitutional obligation to provide affordable health care to every citizen of our country.
Ill health has or knows no political boundaries. The beneficiaries of the outcome of this legislation are all South Africans, the majority of whom are appreciative of Government’s effort to afford access to a caring health system for the first time.
Generic substitution is a strategy aimed at reducing the high cost of medicines whereby branded medicine is substituted with a medicine that is a cheaper copy of the brand or original medicine whose patent has expired. This is vital and key in the reduction of medical and health care costs, as drug prices are the key element in determining access to cheaper drugs, which impact directly on our policy choices. It is therefore important that the Minister should look into manufacturing these drugs locally so that all life-saving and essential drugs can be provided cheaper and thus made available to those who need them most and cannot currently afford them.
The use of generics in terms of the provisions of this legislation is most significant for developing countries, and presents an opportunity for the creation of a domestic pharmaceutical industry to reduce dependency on advanced countries. In too many instances our people have to resort to using dangerous self-medication practices in trying to alleviate their pain and conditions, resulting in serious health consequences for them.
I also want to allay the fears of those who do not appreciate the value of generic medicines. The provisions of this amendment do not mean that these drugs will be let loose on the public, as these generics have to go through a process of registration and licensing by the Medicines Control Council, which ensures that standards of safety, efficacy, quality and integrity are met for all medicines to safeguard public health and protect the public from harm and also to prevent the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard drugs in our markets.
Pharmaceutical corporations’ profits are substantial in this country because the cost and price of medicines are high. The amount spent on medicine is nearly double or triple that of developed countries, hence the high profits made by the industry. It is therefore important to note that reduced medicine prices, which are more accessible, are what the Government’s health plan is addressing in the legislation. Generic substitution is already practised in both the public and the private sector.
Policies that have been legislated are to make medicines more affordable, and a cost reduction has been experienced where these practices have been initiated. Therefore substitution is the expansion of our legislation to extend and accelerate the agenda of access. A doctor or any other person who prescribes medicine shall undergo training in dispensing practice, and a licence to dispense shall be given on successful completion of the course. This is to ensure that appropriate prescribing and dispensing practices are adhered to.
We recognise the role that pharmaceutical companies play in South Africa and thus we urge pharmaceutical multinationals and local manufacturers to make their medicines cheaper so that people benefit from this.
We also recognise the support and collective effort of both local and international agencies and NGOs which supported this groundbreaking legislation during the court case because they understood that it would set standards not only for South Africa but for developing countries all over the world as well.
Lastly allow me to congratulate Dr Nkosazana Zuma on the prestigious award that she received for her contribution towards our health system, for it is this legislation that we are debating today that she pioneered.
The ANC supports the amending Bill. [Applause].
Ms N C NKABINDE: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon members, the UDM supports the Bill. The regulation of medicine and related pharmaceutical substances in South Africa is a vital task. In an age when the variety and the quantity of medicine available grow exponentially every year and the possibility for abuse increases at the same rate, it would be remiss of us not to ensure that the mechanisms intended to regulate this facet of our society are capable of meeting the challenge.
The scale of South Africa’s medicinal needs combined with continued controversy surrounding the price of certain medicines such as HIV/Aids- related treatments further compounds the necessity to ensure that the regulation of medicines occurs within the proper legislative framework. Therefore the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill before us today seeks to improve the regulatory framework for medicines and matters incidental thereto.
The Bill provides for the replacement of a council member, should that office become vacant, as well as the appointment of a registrar and one or more deputy registrars. The Bill furthermore empowers the Minister to make regulations with regard to the marketing of medicines after consultation with the industry and stakeholders. Furthermore the Bill provides in clause 8 for the terms of office of members of the pricing committee as well as refining the recommendation of the committee regarding the fee charged by wholesalers.
The prime aspects of the Bill are, however, to be found in clauses 5, 6 and 7, on the one hand, and clause 11 on the other hand. Clause 5 of the Bill puts in place stringent measures with regard to substances banned under Schedule 8 as well as Schedule 5 substances, which are subject to greater control due to international requirements. Clause 6 of the Bill deals with the vital matter of licences to compound and dispense medicine. It contains the safeguards that are required to prevent controlled substances and medicines ending up in the wrong hands and provides that those responsible for dispensing and compounding such medicine are compelled to do so in a proper and responsible manner.
Clause 7 of the Bill provides that pharmacists and others that dispense medicines are obliged to inform patients of the availability of generic substitutes. This is a vital measure in the current context of high prices.
Lastly, clause 11 of the Bill seeks to rectify the problems that were identified by the Constitutional Court with regard to the search and seizure powers of inspectors. The necessity for inspectors cannot be doubted, given the incidence of substance abuse in South Africa and the massive social and economic damage caused by such abuse. It is hoped that the new provisions will pass constitutional muster and thereby ensure that the capacity to inspect premises suspected of criminal conduct related to medicines and related substances can be restored.
Ms C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, while the ACDP recognises the need for generics and therefore the necessity for ministerial authority to act for the supply of affordable medicine to the state when public interest demands, concerns have been raised that the Department of Health will now have the legal right to arbitrarily interfere with the Patents Act and the individual rights of patent holders.
At the same time, this legislation is silent on volume discounts, which are a universally practised business reality in South Africa, and amendments should provide for a discount mechanism whereby large purchasers of pharmaceuticals can purchase at a reduced rate and pass these savings on to the consumer.
Pharmacy ownership is also an issue as it is currently an unacceptable monopoly due to the Pharmacy Act, which states that only a pharmacist may own a pharmacy, and the amendments do not address this either. Pharmacy ownership should be extended to other role-players in both the health care and business sectors, so as to allow legitimate competition, as this situation contributes to the high cost of medicines in South Africa.
The ACDP is not in favour of state interference in pricing and believe availability of generics and open competition will be sufficient to drive down prices. As the Bill stands, the pharmaceutical sector and private hospitals are not even represented on the pricing committee. They are regulated, controlled and dictated to without representation.
The ACDP recommends that the pricing committee be scrapped, as it will only drive up costs and ultimately prices. There are 15 000 manufacturers in the vicinity of Bombay alone, and, provided medicines are tested and regulated, such huge competition will be the only effective way to drive prices down. The ACDP also objects to competition policy being decided by the DG through licensing determined by need, which will again drive up prices. Liberty requires more public choices, therefore the more supply points the better.
We recommend that additional courses to dispense must be available and encouraged, but not mandatory, for medical doctors, especially doctors who are already dispensing. In fact, this material should be included in the university curriculum to encourage more access points for medication for the public, just as pharmacies should be able to prescribe ethical medicine, thereby giving the public more choices, and that is the best public protection.
This Bill does not achieve the necessary objectives and the ACDP will vote against it.
Mr I M CACHALIA: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon members, the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill of 2002 seeks to amend the Medicines and Related Substances Act of 1965. The Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act of 1997 amended the 1965 principal Act. On 17 September 2002 the various role-players in the health sector made submissions to the Portfolio Committee on Health. I believe the engagement with them was largely constructive and fruitful.
Health care inflation in South Africa is increasing at twice the rate of consumer inflation. This has impacted negatively both on the consumers, where quality care has almost become unaffordable and beyond the reach of an average family, an on the employers who subsidise their employees’ medical aid premiums. Both the employers and the employees are feeling the pinch and are demanding that those who fund private health care find ways to reduce contributions and medical inflation.
Two of the factors that contribute to high inflation are the overpricing and unnecessary use of medicines and the nonutilisation of the most cost- effective medication available. In order to bring costs down to international norms, without compromising the quality of care, the two inflation drivers, namely volume and costs, need to be reduced. In pricing, the question of vested interests and profit motives must be addressed as well.
Members of the public must be protected against the negative effects of rising health care costs without compromising the quality of care. It appears that the pharmaceutical companies are inflating prices. Therefore the expeditious establishment of the pricing committee, under section 2 of the Medicines and Related Substances Control Amendment Act of 1997, which recommended the introduction of a transparent pricing system with a single exit price, will be very welcome.
Drug prices may be considered crucial in determining access to services. They also impact directly on policy choices, such as whether or not to offer HIV/Aids drugs and related drugs in the public sector. The cost of drugs is a prime consideration in whether or not they are included in the Essential Drug List. The NDP, the National Drug Policy, was launched by then Minister Zuma in 1996, with the objectives of the NDP being focused on, firstly, health; secondly, economics; and, thirdly, national development.
With reference to health, the aim was, firstly, to ensure the availability and accessibility of essential drugs to the people of this country, and, secondly, to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of the drugs. The national development objective was to support the development of the local pharmaceutical industry and the local production of essential drugs.
The amending Act of 1997 addresses the objectives of the NDP. In the preamble to this Act it states that the Act provides for, amongst other things, measures for the supply of the most affordable medicines in certain circumstances, generic substitution of medicines under section 22F and the establishment of a pricing committee under section 22G.
The Essential Drug List was drawn up of medication needed to treat 90% to 95% of common health problems. The Government will also be able to purchase, through tender procedures, large quantities of the medicines on the list at reduced prices and make them available in both the public and the private sectors. This reduction in cost will also translate into a reduction in the cost of medical aid. It will also enable the Government to cut down costs through parallel importation and there will be generic substitution as a mechanism of reducing price levels.
In this respect I would like to express the hope that the Medicines Control Council will exercise extreme vigilance and adopt stringent criteria in the licensing and registration of the generics so that safety, quality, efficacy and bio-availability or therapeutic equivalence will not be compromised in any way whatsoever.
Thirty percent of the money spent by medical aids in South Africa is used for medicines, compared to only 8% in the United States. Fifty percent of the medicines prescribed in the USA are generic, compared to 22% in South Africa. Increasing the use of generics to 50% or more will therefore, I hope, substantially reduce health care costs.
Manufacturers defend their prices on the grounds that huge amounts of money are spent on research and development. The use of generics needs not hamper this process. They have several options to generate further revenue once the patent has expired. They can launch their own generics, drop the price of their brand product, start supplying raw materials or cease to manufacture the brand product itself.
An analysis of the top drug manufacturers in America in 1999 showed that the percentage of revenue dedicated to research and development was 12,4%, whereas a median of 37,3% was dedicated to marketing and administrative costs. For the past ten years the pharmaceutical industry has been the most profitable industry in America, with median profit rates treble those of the leading companies.
When the ANC came to power in 1994, the long haul for transforming the health system was set in motion. We then committed ourselves to reducing the burden of illness and the burden of injury and disease. We committed ourselves to making health care more affordable and more accessible to all the people of this country.
This Bill most certainly addresses the objectives of the NDP formulated in
- We need to thank the Minister of Health, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, and the Department of Health for bringing to fruition the vision encapsulated in that policy. [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, the transformation process has been extremely progressive and the transformation and revamping of South African legislation appears to be doing well, too.
This Bill amends an Act that was promulgated in 1965. The bulk of paperwork that faces this legislature is enormous, but it has to be done for the wellbeing of the people.
The management of medicines and related substances is extremely important in view of the corruption and backdoor dealing that South African society appears to be no stranger to. The prices of medicines are also extremely draining at times. With a large society where health problems are not rare and the poverty epidemic is present, it is often very difficult for a patient. Not only is it difficult to obtain the medical treatment that he or she needs, but the necessary medication can be even more choking in its exhausting prices.
The MF is pleased to note the provisions made in this legislation to administer medicines and related substances. The provision concerning the licensing of dispensers is extremely important, as often cases are related of persons or patients being issued with drugs that require a medical certificate and the necessities are not complied with.
It is hoped that this Bill will put in place a shift in the negligent process overseeing the medicine and related substance industry.
The MF supports the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill. [Applause.]
Mof S K MNUMZANA: Motlatsa Speaker, ho ya ka leano la ANC, kgwedi ena ya Mphalane ke kgwedi ya bana, mme Lefapha la tsa Bophelo bo Botle le behile ka sehlohong tsa tlhokomelo ya bana, haholo mabaka a bakang mafu le ho hlokahala ha bana le baimana.
Mmoho, re lokela ho tshwarahana, ho neha bana mofuthu wa lerato, tlhokomelo le polokeho kgahlanong le tlhekefetso, haholo peto ya bana. Re tshwanetse ho ntlafatsa maemo a sebaka bakeng sa dijo, tshireletso, thuto, ntlafatso ya bophelo bo botle bakeng sa bana ba rona, e leng setjhaba sa ka moso. (Translation of Sesotho paragraphs follows.)
[Ms S K MNUMZANA: Deputy Speaker, according to the ANC’s plan, this month, October, is children’s month, and the Department of Health is concentrating on child care, especially in relation to reasons for the diseases and deaths of children and pregnant women.
We have to stick together and give children warmth and affection, care and safety from abuse; especially child rape. We have to make improvements concerning food, protection services, education and health care for our children, who are the nation of the future.]
Medicines play a crucial role in saving lives, restoring health and preventing diseases and epidemics, but they also have to be safe, effective, of acceptable standards and consistently safe.
Section 27 of the Constitution places an injunction on the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within reasonable resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of health care services. This is why medicines legislation was introduced: to protect our citizens at large.
From time to time we read unsubstantiated claims regarding the therapeutic excellence and physiological effects of medicines. Substances for the treatment of human ailments are as old as humankind, and therefore an effective system of medicine regulations must safeguard public health and protect the public from potential harm.
Coming to the Bill we are debating today, section 28 of the Act deals with the powers of inspectors, allowing an inspector to be appointed by the director-general to ensure the essential enforcement of this Act. The powers of inspectors are to police the industry and individuals, to enter premises at any given time, to seize any book, records or documents, to take samples and to inspect any medicines to ensure that the objectives of the Medicines Control Council, which are to ensure the safety, quality and effectiveness of medicines, are met.
This amendment enables inspectors to inspect any institution at any time, to check for expiry dates, the pricing of medicines and the registration of generics and to ensure that consumers get quality medicines at an affordable price. This is in line with the agenda and the policies of the ANC.
In the year 2000, the medicines Act was challenged in court by the pharmaceutical industry. The court endorsed the Act but declared a section dealing with inspection inconsistent with section 13 of the Constitution.
As the ANC, we welcome the court’s recommendation to tighten up this particular section. The acknowledgement of the rights of the individual and the need for legislative provisions for the effective regulation and control of medicines has been an important and bold step that the ANC supports.
The powers bestowed upon inspectors, in particular those who must ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act, are a commitment to protecting the South African public against quackery and any form of pharmaceutical crime.
I mentioned earlier that inspectors have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the law is complied with. Where violation occurs, offenders will face heavy penalties and even imprisonment. I want to urge the Minister to strengthen the office of the inspectors to enable them to do their work efficiently and effectively.
I want to commend this Bill to the House. This legislation is but another example of the ANC moving to put in place more and more ground-breaking legislation to protect our people and to ensure that, indeed, we comply with the injunction to provide the best possible health.
This legislation is about providing equity. Every South African, young or old, rural or urban, will use some form of medicine which is safe, effective and of quality.
Before I sum up, I want to thank everybody who deliberated during the process of preparing the Bill, particularly The Department of Health and the state advocates, who did a good job. However, I would like to say to Ms Kalyan that the problem of the volume discount is not going to benefit the consumers. Our stand, as the ANC, is that we are going to protect all the inhabitants of this country and we are going to make sure that we come up with legislation that protects the inhabitants if this country.
The ANC supports this Bill. [Applause.]
UNGQONGOSHE WEZEMPILO: Sekela likaSomlomo ngiyabonga kakhulu. Uyabona-ke i- DP ne-ACDP babodlela nje emswaneni, badliwe ivoti ngesikhathi kade sicwaninga lo mthetho, libadlile ivoti sebezobhodlela emswanini nje khona lapha. Asingabathathi-ke seriously ngoba thina, ake ngithi ukubakhumbuza ngeSingisi kancane: (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[The MINISTER OF HEALTH: Madam Speaker, thank you very much. The DP and the ACDP are crying for something that cannot be changed now, they lost the vote when we researched this Bill. They lost the vote and now are crying here for something that cannot be changed. We should not take them seriously because, let me briefly remind them in English:]
If we were travelling in Britain, there is good chance that we would feel it costs a fortune to buy a hamburger and a cup of coffee. But we would get a big bargain if our medicine ran out and we had to replace it. Despite the weakness of the rand against the pound, we might actually pay less for the medicines in the UK than we would in South Africa. This is precisely because in that country the prices of medicines are controlled.
Iyona-ke into esizama ukuyenza lapha ukuze sikhusele abantu bakithi. Ngelinye ilanga ngihambe ngayothenga ama-antihistamine, ama-antihistamine kwenye ikhemisi abewutheni ngabhadala u R120, ngathi cha akulungile lokhu, ngaya kwelinye ikhemisi ngafica yona leyo mithi efanayo ama-antihistamine kwelinye ikhemisi ewu R50. Kungaba yini-ke kungafanele nje sikhusele abantu bakithi bangaxhashazwa uma beyofuna imithi. Lo mthetho-ke ungalokho ukuthi sizobakhusela abantu bakithi bangaxhashazwa uma beyofuna imithi.
Enye into esizoyenza ukuthi sizobe sibambisene futhi nongxiwankulu ukuze sikwazi ukubheka ukuthi ezimakethe imithi siyithola nganani lini engabiziyo ukuze sikwazi … (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[That is what we are trying to do here so that we can protect our people. At one time I went to buy some antihistamine at a certain pharmacy. I paid R120, and I said, ``This is not good.’’ I went to another pharmacy, where I found the very same medication at a cost of R50. So why should we not protect our people from being exploited when they want medicine? This Bill is about just that, namely that we will protect our people from being exploited when they want medicines.
Another thing that we will do is work together with businesspeople so that we will be able to see what is the cheapest price we can pay so that we will be able to …]
Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: I would just like to point out that there is no interpreting service. Consequently, even if the Minister is making a wonderful speech - though I doubt it - we cannot understand her.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: OK. Can we have some interpreting please? Proceed, hon Minister.
UNGQONGQOSHE: Ngiyabonga Mhlalingaphambili. Ngikhuluma nabantu bakithi nje ngesikhathi samanje. Engikushoyo ukuthi sizama ukubakhusela ukuze bangaxhashazwa, kanti sizobe sibambisene naleli komidi. Leli komidi into okufanele liyenze ukuthi lingisize ukuze ngikwazi ukubheka ezimakethe ukuthi imithi ngingayithola kanjani ngenani elingakhulile kakhulu ukuze nabo bangaxhaphazeki abantu bakithi, sizobe sibambisene nabo-ke.
Enye into engifisa ukuyisho ukuthi ngempela amafamasisti amaningi asinawo, noma sesizamile ukuwathumela amanye emakhaya. Into ebiyenzeka njengoba uhon Rabinowitz esesho nje na bebazi ngempela ukuthi nabo abanikeze izigulane imithi. Kodwa akusiyo into abayifundele leyo. Into abayifundele ukuthi bakwazi ukudayaginoza bakutshele ukuthi uguliswa yini amafamasisti bese kuba yiwona-ke akupha imithi.
Into-ke esizoyenza manje ukuthi laba odokotela, esingasho ukuthi abanganikezi imithi, kodwa kufanele ukuthi bathole imvume kithina balayisenswe ngu-director-general ukuze bakwazi ukuthi banganikeza ngaleyo mithi na, ukuze futhi siphelise lezi ezinye izinto zokuxhaphazeka ne- corruption ukuthi odokotela njalo bathole amaphakhejiyana athile, bathole izimali zokuhamba baye eMauritius, bathole izimali zokwenza lokhuya nalokhuya ngoba laba ababanikeza imithi befuna ukuze baxhaphaze abantu bakithi.
Mina ngiyathanda ukusho ukuthi le nto esiyenza namhlanje ukuthi futhi enye into esizoyenza namhlanje ukuthi abantu bakithi bathole ulwazi olwanele ngemithi, ungaxhaphazeki nje bakunike lo bakunike lo kanti akuyona ngempela le nto udokotela akunikeze yona. Siyajabula-ke ukuthi noma udadewethu laphaya ecabange ukuthi abavumelani nathi laba bama-pharmaceutical industries, abayisho yonke le nto ayishoyo. Bavumelane nathi savumelana nokuthi sizoletha nalo mthetho. Ngicela ukubonga ukuthi iningi lethu liyavumelana nalo mthetho. Abasale-ke benjalo i-ACDP ne-DP thina siqhubekela phambili, yibona abazolokhu beya ngale ngale beya ngale, thina kodwa siyawela. [Applause.] (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[The MINISTER: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am talking to our people at the moment. What I am trying to say is that we are trying to protect them so that they will not be exploited, and we will be working together with this committee. What this committee needs to do is to help by telling me so that I will be able to see in the market how I can get medicines at a cheaper price so as to protect our people from being exploited. So, we will be working together with this committee.
Another thing that I want to mention is that we do not have enough pharmacists, although we have tried to bring some back home. What used to happen, as the hon Rabinowitz has said, is that the doctors knew that they should give medicines to patients. But that is not what they were trained to do. What they were trained to do was to diagnose and tell one what it was that one was suffering from, and then the pharmacist would give one medicines.
What we are going to do now regarding these doctors, although we do not say they should not give medicines to patients, is to say that they should get permission from us so that they will be licensed by the director-general, which means they will be legally allowed to dispense medicines. This also will help us to stop the exploitation and corruption where doctors get particular packages, where they get money to go to Mauritius, where they get money to buy this and that because the people who give them medicines want the doctors to exploit our people.
I would like to say that what we are doing today, as well as what we are going to do, is aimed at ensuring that our people get knowledge about medicines, so that one will not be exploited when one gets this and that medicine which is not what the doctor prescribed. We are happy, although my sister over there thought that the pharmaceutical industries did not agree with us. But they did not say what she is saying. They agreed with us and agreed with the fact that we would bring this Bill to the Table. Let us leave the DP and ACDP like that. We are progressing; they will always go here and there, but we are crossing. [Applause.]]
Debate concluded.
Bill read a second time (Democratic Party and African Christian Democratic Party dissenting).
THE SHARP INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SKILLED SOUTH AFRICANS LEAVING THE COUNTRY, RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF VALUABLE EXPERTISE.
(Subject for Discussion)
Dr B L GELDENHUYS: Madam Speaker, for the record, I am not Mrs Camerer, although it is at her request that we are discussing this subject.
Business Day of 14 June 2002 reported the following comments about people leaving South Africa:
``At the first hint of trouble, the Jews pack their bags,’’ a black executive recently commented.
``At the second hint, the Wasps (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants) go. Soon it will be like it was in the Transvaal and Free State republics of the mid-19th century - just us and the Boers,’’ the executive said.
He meant that shortly the only people remaining in South Africa would be black people and Afrikaners. But I have news for this black executive: Blacks and Boers are also leaving the country in droves. An emigration agency indicated that 60% of all enquiries they receive are from black people. Out of 58 nurses canvassed by a specific agency to go and work in Britain, 52 were black.
An article in the Sunday Independent had the following heading, ``It’s a new Great Trek - but this time the boers are heading for Britain’’. Now can you believe that? Emigration is a serious problem with devastating consequences for the economy of the country. In 2001 alone, 884 managers, 358 engineers, 353 teachers, 286 artisans and 1 848 students left South Africa. Fifty percent of all community doctors currently working overseas are not coming back. Twenty percent of doctors who graduated between 1990 and 1999 have left the country. About 5 000 doctors trained in South Africa are currently living abroad. An HON MEMBER: Why?
Dr B L GELDENHYUS: Yes, I will get to the why soon. To aggravate the situation 300 nurses are leaving the country on a monthly basis. It can now be accepted that 12% to 14% of all South Africans with a tertiary education are living abroad.
Suid-Afrika verloor jaarliks miljarde rande as gevolg van emigrasie. In 1997 alleen is sowat R67,8 miljard se investering in mensekapitaal verloor as gevolg van mense wat die land verlaat het.
Personeelomset as gevolg van emigrasie kos die land sowat R2,5 miljard per jaar. Die totale verlies aan inkomstebelasting as gevolg van emigrasie het al twee jaar gelede R8,4 miljard beloop. Die tyd het aangebreek dat die staat ‘n wetenskaplike ondersoek doen na die redes hoekom geskoolde mense die land verlaat en wat gedoen moet word om die probleem teen te werk. Die hoë misdaadsyfer en oordrewe regstellende optrede en rigiede arbeidswette speel ‘n rol en moet beredder word. Persoonlik, dink ek nogtans nie dis die hoofrede hoekom mense groener weivelde verkies nie. Swak werkomstandighede, veral in die gesondheidsbedryf, en die afwesigheid van mededingende vergoedingspakkette is die groot dryfveer om die land te verlaat.
Globalisering vereis absolute mededingendheid op die gebied van wêreldhandel. Suid-Afrika sal eenvoudig ook mededingend moet word op die terrein van die internasionale arbeidsmark. Al hoe meer maatskappye besef dit en doen alles in hul vermoë om kundigheid te werf en te behou met vernuwende inisiatiewe. Die staat sal doodeenvoudig dieselfde roete moet volg deur dit vir mense finansieel aantreklik te maak om hierheen te kom, of om hier te bly. Talle studente gaan werk oorsee om hul studieskuld af te betaal, en ‘n mens het begrip daarvoor, maar die staat kan gerus oorweeg om hierdie studieskuld oor te neem op voorwaarde dat die studente vir die staat werk vir dieselfde getal jare wat hy of sy gestudeer het.
Privaatondernemings kan dit gerus ook oorweeg, want baie van die studente wat oorsee gaan werk om hul skuld af te betaal, kom nie altyd terug nie. Buite en behalwe wat studente self betaal, bestee die staat sowat tussen R16 000 en R20 000 per jaar per student. Sou so ‘n student verkies om dadelik ná sy of haar opleiding die land te verlaat - ek wil klem lê op die ``haar’’, want statistiek dui aan dat meer vroue die land verlaat as mans - is dit niks minder as reg om die bedrag wat die staat aan hulle bestee het, terug te betaal nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[South Africa is annually losing billions of rands because of emigration. In 1997 alone about R67,8 billion’s investment in human capital was lost because of people who have left the country.
Personnel turnover as a result of emigration costs the country about R2,5 billion per annum. The total loss in income tax as a result of emigration already amounted to R8,4 billion two years ago. The time has come that the state undertakes a scientific research into the reasons why skilled people are leaving the country and what must be done in order to curb this problem.
The high crime rate and excessive affirmative action and rigid labour laws play a role and must be addressed. But, I personally think that this is not the main reason why people are flocking to greener pastures. Poor working conditions, especially in the health industry, and the absence of competitive remuneration packages are the biggest motives for leaving the country.
Globalisation requires absolute competitiveness in the area of world trade. South Africa must simply therefore become competitive in the international labour market arena. More and more companies realise this and go out of their way to recruit and retain skills with innovative initiatives. The state must therefore quite simply follow the same course by making it more lucrative to come here or to stay here. Scores of students work overseas to pay off study debts and one understands this. But the state can consider taking over these study debts on condition that the student will work for the state for the same number of years for which he or she studied.
Private companies may very well consider this option as well, because many of the students working overseas to pay off study debt do not always return. Apart from what the students pay out of their own pockets, the state invests between R16 000 and R20 000 per annum per student. If such a student chooses to leave the country immediately after his or her training
- and I want to emphasize ``her’’ because statistics have shown that more women than men leave the country - it is just fair to repay what the state invested in them.]
People who leave the country should not be labelled as traitors. Many of them openly say they miss the highveld, the thunderstorms, the rhythm of Africa, braais, biltong and rugby. Unfortunately, this alone will not lure them back to South Africa. A lower crime rate, a sunset clause for affirmative action, flexible labour laws, improved working conditions and competitive remuneration packages may do the trick.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The hon Bapela is going to make his maiden speech. [Applause.]
Mr O BAPELA: Madam Speaker, we are decision-makers in society. What we do and say has an impact on our people and the nation in general. As leaders, decision-makers, public representatives and social scientists we must provide leadership, visionary ideas and ideals, and must give confidence that our country is indeed on the right course and is the best place to be in.
We hope the snap debate topic today, ``The sharp increase in the number of skilled South Africans leaving the country, resulting in the loss of valuable expertise’’, as put in focus and on the agenda, is not there to create panic or for us to be alarmists, that we are not to be destroyers of the very confidence we have built and continue to build in our nation through projects such as nation-building, nonracialism, nonsexism and the democratisation of our society. The brain drain, as people commonly refer to it, is a human phenomenon that has been there since time immemorial and is not something new to South Africa. The brain drain is not only affecting South Africa, but is affecting many countries in the world.
Since the advent of democracy in 1994, we joined the international community as a free nation. We are now members of the international body politic and we live in an open society, and in a changing and globalised world. Just as we, as a country, interact in the world, so it is with our people in their person-to-person relations. Our people are embracing the new challenges and new ideas and are gaining new experience across our borders and oceans.
The mobility of skills in our modern and globalising world is becoming a trend that no country can reverse or stop, except to appeal to those leaving to remain loyal and patriotic and become our goodwill ambassadors, as happened in one of the cases where our expatriates in the United Kingdom organised funding to support development projects in South Africa. We should encourage our expatriates to promote the Proudly South African philosophy.
Looking at statistics, unfortunately they only capture and are confined to those individuals who expatriate to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada in the main, and also to France and Israel, which have dropped to zero. Less is said about those expatriates who, after realising that it is better to be home and that there is no place like home, quietly come back.
A distinction is made between academics who leave their countries to seek experience abroad and return, and those who leave as a result of factors such as crime, affirmative action, discrimination and better living standards. The intellectual diaspora was or is viewed as a developmental problem created by historical conditions that lead to the displacement of people across the world under different circumstances or forms of compulsion. In particular it is those who left citing crime or policies of ours that they do not like, such as affirmative action, that are quietly coming back. They have realised that our policies are the best.
The recently published book South Africa: How are you? bears testimony to the fact that South Africa’s policies are the best. The book gives an analysis of what investors are looking for when making decisions to invest in a country and cites, among other things, the political stability which we have, Government policies which are the best and working skills, which is an area in which we are striving to produce the best. That is just to mention a few. It is such debates as expressed in the book that encourage us to realise that there are South Africans who appreciate the changes and the transformation that our country is undergoing.
The issue of perception versus reality is what we need to deal with, and our communication strategies become key in sending proper information to our populace. To many people change carries with it fears. Within our eight years of democracy, many people have realised that perceptions do not represent the actual reality. To many people, South Africa is the best place to be.
The research done by the Development Policy Research Unit of the University of Cape Town summed it up. Their assessment of the South African brain drain, which the ANC concurs with, puts it as follows:
The issue should not be overdramatised. The country is not under threat of a sudden and massive desertion of its talent.
In other words, South Africa is not about to collapse as a country; it is not coming to an end tomorrow or the following day. The issues should not be narrowly politicised. The phenomenon does not originate in the recent political changes, though they have had an impact on its evolution. The issues should be addressed over the longer term. The country cannot afford to continue to lose these skills that are increasingly necessary to its development.
South Africa belongs to all those who live in it. That is what our forefathers said in Kliptown in 1955, when the Freedom Charter was adopted
- a vision that guided us in struggle, and which continues to guide us even today as we transform our society. One cannot but agree with the sentiments expressed: not to dramatise the issue or politicise the matter, but to engage with the issue soberly with the aim of retaining as many skills and as much expertise in the country as we can. In doing so, the challenge to us is to improve on our statistics and include skills retention. Skills are gained when people return, as most bring more exposure and advanced skills back, having spent years in foreign countries, and those skills come our way from other countries.
In handling the debate, we should, at most, appeal to our people to prioritise, in their individual choices, remaining and contributing to nation-building, transformation and the development of their country. Those who have genuinely left in pursuance of broadening their skills and expertise should continue to hoist the South African flag, as is mostly done by sportsmen and sportswomen who, while they are expatriates, remain loyal South Africans and continue to respond to the call to represent their country at the Olympics and other sports meetings in national squads, in science and engineering research and in other related skills.
We should take advantage of the fact that South African expatriates can still contribute. In fact, we should encourage them to contribute to their country’s development without necessarily coming home. Many of those who left South Africa return not always with the same fanfare they received when they left.
South Africa, for all its challenges, still remains a wonderful country to live in. Those who do not return bring back skills and experience that not only add to the rainbow nation’s cultural tapestry, but contribute to the economy with new skills and technologies. A few South Africans have outgrown the local stage and are now actors on the global platform. These personalities enhance our image as a nation. Should we disown Judge Goldstone, Ernie Els and Charlize Theron, to name but three, because they are disloyal and now choose to live abroad? No. We embrace them as we should all other South Africans abroad. A classic case in question was when Mark Shuttleworth went to space. No one bothered about whether he stayed physically in South Africa or in Britain. The whole of Africa claimed him as their own.
South Africa is one of the leading countries when it comes to sending out religious missionaries. Should this work stop, even when South Africans are playing an important role in building the church in their new environment? I am sure they are doing this work with the blessings of hon members and mine.
The time has come to stop whinging and play a positive role. Globalisation is here to stay, and migration is here to stay. We need to use these trends to our advantage. We need to tap into the rich vein of experience abroad and use it. We should urge all those who choose to remain, committing their skills to the development of their country, to remain solid in their resolve. South Africa is indeed a great place to be, and its challenges needs their expertise and skills. Let us build this nation and country. [Applause.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Speaker, the brain drain, as the hon Boy Geldenhuys indicated, is certainly not exclusive to whites. He quoted some concerning statistics, but they are extremely relevant to this debate. Many South Africans across all racial groups are deeply concerned about the quality of life in South Africa and have left or are contemplating leaving.
The previous speaker from the ANC does not seem to see the situation as very serious at all. It is not just a case of people whinging and leaving for no reason. There are very real reasons for people leaving. [Interjections.] Speak up so I can hear you, Ben.
Prof B TUROK: What about the quality of the DP … [Inaudible.]
Mr M J ELLIS: We will show you in 2004. [Interjections.]
There are obvious reasons for people leaving and unless they are addressed there is no real prospect of this brain drain ending. This will have severe consequences for this country. People do not readily leave the country of their birth. The emotional pain of leaving one’s family, friends and colleagues is, indeed, great and they only do so when their comfort zones are threatened. Perhaps some out-and-out racists will leave South Africa for political reasons, but this number is small. People will only go if the personal pain of staying is greater than the personal pain of leaving.
The high crime rate and the fact that many South Africans feel insecure, even in their own homes, is certainly a major factor. Despite Government’s attempts to persuade people that serious crime is on the decline, there is no indication that this is the case. The horrific stories of rape, murder, assault and hijackings continue. If one can afford to buy a better, safer life for one’s family elsewhere, why not? Most South Africans have relatives close to them who are victims of one crime or another, and this certainly impacts on their decision to go.
But it also goes beyond issues such as this. The Government itself does little to encourage its own professionals in the public sector to stay. Members of certain professions, such as nurses, police officers and teachers, are constantly being poached by the UK and other countries. Scotland Yard recently stated its intention to try to recruit 5 000 of our police officers. If we take into account that a qualified constable earns just over R3 600 per month, few will be able to resist the temptation to leave to earn pounds. The same applies to nurses - a qualified nurse with a diploma or degree earns R4 750 per month after three or four years of studying - and teachers certainly are no better off. These professions are all receiving far better deals overseas. The number of South African teachers now working in places such as the United Arab Emirates, for example, grows every year.
But the unfortunate situation in which Government employees find themselves extends into the top professions as well. For example, despite the loss of many South African doctors over many years, little is done to seriously encourage them to stay. There are constant threats to cut overtime pay, which accounts for about one third of their salary; there are staff shortages due to frozen posts, which affect the workload of doctors; the facilities in hospitals are deteriorating, which affects the morale of doctors; medical supplies are often stolen, affecting their ability to treat patients; and so it goes on. Many South African doctors are now certainly, and have been for some time, looking overseas for new job opportunities.
Judge Heath, reporting in April on the medical brain drain, showed that 95% of doctors canvassed indicated that they had already found jobs overseas, had decided to leave or were considering leaving. Much of this has to do with the attitude of authorities towards them as employees. We just do not seem to learn.
But there can be no doubt that one of the reasons for many professionals leaving South Africa is the way the Government has implemented the policy of affirmative action. The Democratic Alliance has always supported the policy of affirmative action, but too often the way it has been implemented has led to highly qualified, skilled people having to realise at a relatively early age that their talents are no longer required and that they will receive no further promotions. They are left with little alternative, in a country where the number of jobs is becoming smaller and smaller, but to sell their services elsewhere.
Young, skilled South Africans want South Africa to succeed, but begin to see no role for themselves in this country. No job and no promotion opportunities creates a problem for young people, especially those with families, who are often concerned as to whether the position will improve or get worse. They leave, often out of a sense of despair. The final sign of no confidence in one’s country is, in fact, the decision to leave it.
But there is, of course, another side to the brain drain. The problem is that, while we lose many professionals or skills in all spheres of the job market to other countries, we are unable to attract the same professionals or skills from other countries. Of the 3 623 documented immigrants accepted into South Africa in the first half of the year, only 367 were in professional, semiprofessional and technical occupations, while 232 were in managerial, executive and administrative occupations and 2 956 were categorised as not economically active. This is no compensation for the losses we have experienced.
So why do we not attract people? For many of the same reasons that we are losing so many people, namely the crime factor, racial and gender discrimination and an uncaring Public Service. Add to this a high unemployment rate, a concern that South Africa might become a second Zimbabwe, a volatile exchange rate, economic illiteracy, poor labour legislation and an immigration policy that is hardly conducive to encouraging people to emigrate to South Africa. There are also the skills levies placed on imported skills, the difficulty in obtaining entry permits and the moratoriums on the registration of foreign qualifications in certain professions.
As John Kane-Berman says of the 3 053 immigrants in 2001:
It is obviously better than nothing, but it is the smallest inflow of people since the end of the Second World War.
He goes on to say:
Of course it is more than likely that the inflow of illegal immigrants far outweighs the number of people leaving. The Director-General of Home Affairs recently admitted that border control is collapsing. But it is doubtful that these immigrants possess the skills the economy requires.
Unless we attempt to address some of the very real needs and very real concerns of our own people and try to prevent them from leaving the country, the situation in South Africa will only get worse, with fatal results for our economy and the subsequent effect on the people who live here. [Applause.]
Mr M F CASSIM: Madam Speaker, I rise on behalf of the IFP to address an issue that is of great importance to this country, namely the brain drain. There are, as we see it, three categories of people. There are those who cannot go anywhere and therefore will not go anywhere because they do not have the requisite skills. There is a second category of those who will not go anywhere because they are determined to stay here and to build this country with the expertise that they have.
There is a third category that will leave the country, but of these there are two types. There are the younger people who will leave to achieve greater skills elsewhere and who are determined to come back. But there are a very large number of people who indeed are leaving our country, and, as Parliament and as politicians, we would be failing our country if we did not investigate the real reasons for their leaving and the immeasurable loss that their going away entails for our country.
Now, amongst these people are the highest skilled, and we know that in this age, which is the age of information and knowledge, knowledge is as important as the gold that we mine in our mines. And we need to nurture those who have the expertise and the knowledge. Why such people are leaving never to come back again ought to be the subject of a proper inquiry. Maybe the Government should undertake such an inquiry as to what needs to be done.
One of the great deficiencies of our Parliament is that we do not address political issues often enough, as we did with finance this afternoon. Each year the Minister of Finance, on two separate occasions, announces to Parliament and to the nation the policy directions in respect of economics. We should also be doing a similar thing in respect of our politics, to ensure that the gains of 1994 are never diminished, but that we continue to make greater gains.
Certainly the question of crime has to surface right up there as the most pertinent reason why people leave. Now if it were crime of an ordinary nature, that would be understandable, but what makes the South African crime situation particularly alarming is the vicious nature of the crime. The crimes that are committed in South Africa tend to be generally ones in which a gun is used, where ordinary citizens can expect to be killed for the slightest of reasons. When life has such little value, it is at that point that people start to ask themselves, ``But surely we need to do much more than that?’’
The gun laws that have been enacted need to be enforced. We need to have regular roadblocks and search-and-seizure operations in order that guns can be removed from those who should not be bearing guns. We need to do this so that, as I have indicated, the gains we made, the very great gains of 1994, are consolidated. There is no person in this country no matter what the colour, the race or the creed of the person is, who is not equally exposed to this horrendous tide of crime, and unless we bring this down and can satisfy the country as a whole that we have the issue in hand, a large number of people will begin to feel that the future is not secure.
This is the push factor - the factor that pushes people away from the country. The pull factor, of course, is globalisation, as our colleagues have indicated. People will go where they are offered more. Now, in this respect I think the loss that we are incurring in the medical field is one that has to be addressed very seriously indeed, if we are not going to experience great shortages. It is fortunate for us that for the time being we are able to import doctors from Cuba and elsewhere, but we must ask ourselves: On balance, are we gaining more or losing more? What is the nature of the brain gain as opposed to the brain drain?
This is not a matter that should be debated today and forgotten and buried. If we do not deal with it consciously and consistently, it is our economy that will be the first to express the suffering as a result of overlooking this.
Therefore it is our bounden duty as Parliament to consistently interrogate this issue. I am happy indeed that the matter was raised here, in order that we could look at the skills gain as opposed to the skills loss. For now it would appear that the skills loss is greater than the skills gain that we should be experiencing as a dynamic, new democratic country.
Mr M N RAMODIKE: Madam Speaker, hon members, I believe that the purpose of bringing this subject for debate in this House this afternoon is not to encourage or to incite professionals and academics to leave our country, but to find ways and means of addressing this problem jointly, as members of this House. The latest figures released by Statistics South Africa indicate that at least 7 400 professionals and graduates left South Africa in the first half of this year.
However, we need to put it on record that this is not a phenomenon peculiar to South Africa, but is symptomatic of challenges facing developing countries. Our greatest concern is that this figure may only be the tip of an iceberg, with the South Africa Migration Project estimating that the real emigration figures may, in fact, be four times more than the official statistics. The lack of reliable statistics on emigrations is something which Government must attend to as a matter of priority.
Current emigration regulations are such that those leaving the country are not compelled to inform the authorities that they are permanently emigrating. It is perhaps time for legislative measures to ensure that proper records of those leaving permanently can be kept. I strongly believe that the best way to resolve a crisis or to solve a problem is not to run away from it, but to find ways and means to solve it. The deficit created by this flight of skills from our country is further compounded by the fact the vast majority of people migrating to South Africa are semiskilled or unskilled workers.
The types of skills that this country is losing as a result of this emigration pose a serious threat to the South African economy. Engineers and other technology experts take with them highly specialised abilities that no modern economy can do without, and this stimulates the cost of economic activity since these skills have to be acquired at a higher price, often from overseas.
The danger of doing without these skills cannot be overemphasised. Suffice it to say that settling for less experienced or less qualified expertise will directly lead to the failure of our economic endeavours.
Adv Z L MADASA: Chairperson, this is a very important debate in the fight for the improvement of service delivery. It is common cause that the so- called brain drain mostly affects the rural poor especially, in the education and health sectors. Even to the rural poor, migration to the cities has huge impact. To understand and reverse this horrible brain drain phenomenon, we must address it in a comprehensive, honest and accurate manner.
Blame can and should be apportioned to both the Government and individuals themselves. We must blame the Government if the cause for skilled people who want to remain in the country leaving is bad policies, bad laws and bad governance. We must blame the Government where people leave, for example, purely because of crime. We must blame the Government where doctors leave because of lack of adequate equipment and deteriorating working conditions in rural hospitals.
But there is a problem that is purely attributable to individuals themselves. We must blame the individuals who have left or are leaving purely for opportunistic reasons - what we could call unpatriotic behaviour. But we cannot blame people who leave because of better opportunities elsewhere. We are now part of a global economy, and therefore we must expect people to leave for genuinely better opportunities, and accept it. The latter category may actually turn out to be a long-term investment for the future and should not be discouraged. The antidote for political emigration is nation-building and continued racial reconciliation. All South Africans must be made to feel welcome in this country and not be treated as aliens. We must be intolerant of xenophobia so that foreigners willing to come and work here feel free to do so. We must give incentives in order to attract and retain highly skilled employees and professionals. In some cases parents can play a decisive role and persuade their own children to stay in the country in order to build a better future for all. Where legislative reforms are necessary the Government must move swiftly to make changes.[Time expired.]
Ms J MOLOI: Chairperson, hon members, there can be little doubt that debates about migration and the so-called brain drain or skills flight have become a subject of intense debate amongst scholars and politicians. Unfortunately, reason and common sense are often the first victims in this debate. Most arguments posed by opposing parties who are always striving to undermine the good intentions of our Government are based on the deep- seated believe that Africa is doomed, that South Africa is going down the drain and that the current Government is incapable of leading this country. No amount of reason, no facts or figures and no statistics will change their mindset. We have to realise that migration and the mobility of skills are a worldwide phenomenon. It is not only in South Africa that there are concerns about professionals leaving the country. First World countries like New Zealand and Australia are complaining equally hard that lucrative salaries and fringe benefits are attracting their professionals to Europe, North America and the East. Equally so, countries like Germany and Ireland are experiencing a severe shortage of skilled people in areas such as information technology. They are recruiting actively in countries such as South Africa and also in India and Australia.
The most comprehensive survey conducted on these issues was recently published by the HSRC. The conclusion of this study is that the extent of the so-called skills flight is often exaggerated and that there is strong evidence that many South African professionals currently working abroad intend to return to this country.
Statistics show that, during the second half of 2002, approximately 7 400 South African graduates and professionals left South Africa, and this is an allusion to the South African brain drain. However, most specialists in SAP
- that is a software programme - gained valuable experience overseas and are now returning to South Africa. In this regard, Mr Org Geldenhuys, a director at a Pretoria-based IT company, was quoted in Business Day last week as saying: ``We are noticing that a lot of people are coming back and are bringing enhanced skills back with them.’’
However, we acknowledge that there is a critical shortage of skills in certain sectors of our economy. For example, in the actuarial sector of our country there are only 400 qualified actuaries, of whom 200 work in the UK, US and Australia. There are currently 800 trained actuaries in South Africa compared to the 4 000 trainees and 4 000 qualified actuaries in the UK. In the main arguments put forward for current situations and lamentations that come forth, one will find that there is a lull concerning the hiring and remuneration overseas, less political and economical uncertainty, a more peaceful environment, better lifestyle prospects - those are some of the things that one will find people mentioning in most cases. If some of these arguments put forward are true, we have to acknowledge that we are on the correct path in addressing the imbalances that exist from the past.
The dramatic and somewhat painful structural changes were necessary to positively impact on transformation. As South Africans, we believe that we need to address the challenge facing us in a positive manner. We believe that all patriotic South Africans could solve this situation through commitment. It is the duty of all graduates and qualified professionals to plough back into this country what they have achieved in order for all other South African to share in the richness of this country’s resources. Let us contribute to the positive changes that were brought about by the ANC-led Government to make this country one in which all inhabitants are committed to a better life for all.
However, we are aware that emigration entails the movement of relatively highly educated individuals from the developing to the developed countries. In other words, developed countries gain at the cost of the less developed countries. Human capital is flowing to what are already rich countries. The effect on rich countries is positive, but it is impoverishment for the Third World. Thus, in most cases, it is the First World that wins at the expense of the Third World.
In 1998 statistics showed that South Africa’s brain drain in percentage terms equalled approximately 2,79% while the immigration rate was approximately 0,4%. These statistics also showed that the number of people emigrating to the US equalled approximately 32,4%. In total this amounted to approximately 22 678 people.
According to the statistics, emigration from South Africa forms a relatively small percentage of the total labour force if we take the labour force as a whole without actually focusing on a few individuals based on the areas where they live. Statistics further reveal that according to the 1996 Census, migration constituted less than 2% of the entire South African population. Research by the Stanford University Centre for Research on Economic Development and Poverty Reform in March 2002 showed that most countries that combine low levels of human capital and low migration rates of skilled workers are positively affected by the brain drain - perhaps we need to say ``brain gain’’.
Thus the traditional perception of the brain drain, according to which rich countries import the most valuable human resources from poor countries, has no empirical justification. There are winners, there are also losers. It leaves us with the policy alternatives that we need to embark on. The following measures could prove to be vital in this regard: We need to tighten our border control without compromising our objectives of attracting skills where required. We need to ensure that our trade policies and relationships with neighbours are directed at creating a positive environment to enhance a developmental agenda.
Furthermore, pieces of legislation such as the Employment Equity Act have opened new doors and created new opportunities for the majority of our people, for women and for the disabled. It addressed the underutilisation of talent, the skills and the abilities of millions of South Africans. The economy has been thrown wide open for all to compete on a basis of equity and justice.
We have to recognise that in most cases the cross-border migration or the movement of human capital across borders had been linked to a development of economies. Particularly in South Africa, cross-border migration differed due to specific and historical processes. It took account of the implications of the region in terms of the historical role that South Africa has played in the region. Cross-border migration is multifaceted and has both push and pull factors. The push factors normally refer to the high unemployment and instability that exist in any country that is experiencing a degree of brain drain. The pull factor normally refers to the available employment opportunities that exist in both formal and informal employment.
In any country the effects of migrant labour are twofold: It either substitutes or implements local labour. In our country here, the effect of importing foreign labour generally has a positive effect on our labour market and tends also to be ambiguous in the agricultural sector. Policy measures … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Dr P W A MULDER: Mnr die Voorsitter, die amptelike syfer toon dat Suid- Afrika tussen 1989 en 1997, 11 000 hoogs opgeleide mense deur emigrasie verloor het. Die Universiteit van Kaapstad bereken egter dat die werklike syfer byna 300% hoër is. Hul syfer is nader aan 42%. Net in die eerste ses maande vanjaar het reeds 7 400 gegradueerdes die land verlaat. Dit is ‘n baie ernstige probleem, want elkeen wat die land verlaat, is ‘n klomp werkgeleenthede minder.
Die VF se jeug het in Julie vanjaar hul hele jeugkongres aan hierdie probleem gewy. Die kongrestema wat hulle gekies het, was: ‘n Prop vir die breindrein. Hulle het moeite gedoen om te bepaal waarom kundiges Suid- Afrika verlaat en ‘n spesifieke taakspan aangestel wat hieroor navorsing in die buiteland en in Suid-Afrika gedoen het.
Wat was die bevindings van die taakspan? Hulle sê daar is hoofsaaklik twee redes waarom mense die land verlaat. Die eerste is die moderne tendens van globalisering, wat, myns insiens, ‘n groot rol speel. Kundiges beweeg tans van land tot land, oor die hele wêreld heen om hul kundigheid aan te bied en te kyk waar hulle die beste inkomste kan kry. Dit is waar vir Suid- Afrika, maar dit is ook waar vir alle ander lande. Die verskil is egter: in ons geval was daar ook ‘n tweede rede, naamlik dat kundiges ‘n groter wordende vervreemding in hul eie land ervaar. Dit kom uit gesprekke in die buiteland: uit onderhoude wat hulle gevoer.
Die vervreemding het hulle aan vier redes toegeskryf. Eerstens is daar regstellende optrede, wat ‘n demper plaas op werkgeleenthede en bevordering. Tweedens is dit die onveiligheid in Suid-Afrika, as gevolg van moord en gewelddadige misdaad - 60 moorde per dag in Suid-Afrika teenoor die ongeveer 60 moorde per jaar in die Skandinawiese lande. Die derde rede, veral wat minderheidsgroepe betref, en veral Afrikaanssprekendes, is ‘n gevoel van kulturele minagting van hul taal en kultuur, met die oënskynlike onverskilligheid van die owerheid teenoor hulle. Die vierde rede is die frustrasie weens dalende standaarde, hetsy op onderwysvlak of die mediese vlak.
Nou kan ons sê dit is goed of sleg, of dit is feitelik reg of verkeerd. Die nugtere feite is die persepsie soos hulle dit sien. Die jeug het ‘n sewepuntplan ontwerp oor hoe om hierdie breindrein te keer - en ongelukkig het ek nie tyd om al sewe punte te noem nie. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Dr P W A MULDER: Mr Chairperson, the official figure is that between 1989 and 1997 South Africa lost 11 000 highly trained people to emigration. However, the University of Cape Town calculates that the true figure is nearly 300% higher - their figure is closer to 42%. In just the first six months of this year 7 400 graduates already left the country. This is a very serious problem, because each person who leaves the country amounts to a number of job opportunities fewer.
The FF youth devoted their entire youth congress in July this year to this problem. The congress theme which they chose was: a plug for the brain drain. They went to a lot of trouble to determine why skilled people leave South Africa and appointed a specific task team to do research on this topic abroad and in South Africa.
What were the findings of the task team? They said there are primarily two reasons people leave the country. The first is the modern trend of globalisation, which in my opinion plays a big role. Skilled people are currently moving from country to country across the world to offer their expertise and to see where they can get the best income. This is true for South Africa, but it is also true for other countries. The difference is, however: In our case there was also a second reason, namely that skilled people are experiencing a increasing alienation in their own country. This emerged from conversations abroad and interviews that were held. They attributed the alienation to four reasons. Firstly, there was affirmative action, which puts a damper on job opportunities and promotion. Secondly, there is the lack of safety in South Africa as a result of murder and violent crime - 60 murders per day in South Africa as opposed to the approximately 60 murders per year in the Scandanavian countries. The third reason, particularly with regard to minority groups and Afrikaans speakers in particular, is a feeling of cultural disregard for their language and culture, with the apparent indifference of the authorities towards them. The fourth reason is the frustration at dropping standards, be it at educational or medical level.
Now we can say this is good or bad, or it is factually correct or incorrect. The hard fact is the perception as they see it. The youth have designed a seven-point plan on how to stop this brain drain - and unfortunately I do not have time to mention all seven points. [Time expired.]]
Mrs M A SEECO: Chairperson, hon members. When local skilled professionals leave their country en masse to seek greener pastures elsewhere, especially when they are needed most by their country, it is not a healthy sign for foreign investors or the economy at large. It is not unusual for individuals to leave their country of origin to seek employment opportunities in foreign countries, in most cases aided by their government when that country enjoys an oversupply of skilled professionals, for example Cuba. However, in South Africa it is a cause for concern. South Africa is a unique country with a highly sophisticated economy that requires the support of skilled and highly trained personnel to keep pace with the demands of an open global economy, if we are to compete successfully with the rest of the world.
The reality is that the majority of South Africans are not skilled to meet the demands of our economy. We all know the reasons as to why many of our people lack the requisite skills. Our education and training systems are not responsive to the needs of our economy, because of historical reasons. The irony is where we are expected to provide or feed the system with skilled personnel at all levels of our economy, including the governmental and private sectors.
As a country we are caught in an untenable situation. We are expected to address historical imbalances and at the same time to encourage those who are highly skilled to share their expertise with fellow South Africans, in order to fast-track skills transfer.
Ra re go motho go thebe phatswa. [Nako e fedile.] [There is no place better than home. [Time expired.]]
Dr M S MOGOBA: Chairperson, the increase in the number of skilled South Africans leaving the country is a matter of grave concern to all South Africans. During the old dispensation in South Africa some people left countries mostly under black rule to find greener - or was it whiter? - pastures in South Africa. In our country only whites who were opposed to the military conscription of their sons felt the need to leave the country.
When the new democratic Government came into power, some people started leaving the country. Most of them were skilled people, who went to our best schools and universities at the expense of the majority of the children of our nation. It is, of course, their democratic right, but it smacks of exploitation, even treason.
When there was a debate on the possible closure of Medunsa in favour of Pretoria Medical University, some of us raised serious concerns. We argued that Pretoria University had trained a small, almost insignificant number of black doctors. Medunsa in its short period of existence had produced about 90% of existing black doctors. Pretoria and other former white universities had produced 99% of white doctors. Most of these white doctors were tempted to migrate mostly to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Our view was that these doctors owed the country a lot of money which they should have repaid in part or in total, before they were allowed to leave the country. This, we felt, was natural justice.
Our opinion is that South Africans must resolve their identity crisis. The South African who did not have a sense of belonging, and who even had several passports in his pocket, was actually a tourist and not a loyal citizen. We want to emphasise that all South Africans, irrespective of their colour, who love this country, love its soil, sunshine and people, are genuine South Africans - ware Suid-Afrikaners, amaAfrika potho - who will stick to their nation through thick and thin. Of course we must improve living conditions and not make life unbearable for the sons and daughters of the soil. [Time expired.]
Mnr J P I BLANCHÉ: Mnr die Voorsitter, die agb Geldenhuys is bekommerd oor die toename in die getal hoogs opgeleide Suid-Afrikaners wat die land verlaat, en hy het rede om hom daaroor te verknies, want hulle verlaat die land in dieselfde tempo en om dieselfde redes waaroor die Nuwe NP- ondersteuners sy party verlaat. Hulle het vertroue in die ANC-regering verloor, wat nie misdaad kan bekamp nie, nie werkloosheid die hoof kan bied nie en nie aan Afrika leiding uit armoede kan gee nie. Hierdie Suid- Afrikaners het vertroue verloor in die ANC, omdat hy met ‘n tweederdemeerderheid nie kan regeer nie en wil saamsmelt met die Nuwe NP, wie se leiers die mandaat van hul kiesers verruil het vir persoonlike voordeel en tydelike magsposisies. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: Mr Chairperson, hon Geldenhuys is concerned about the increase in the number of highly trained South Africans leaving the country, and he has reason to fret, because they are leaving the country at the same rate and for the same reasons why the New NP supporters are leaving his party. They have lost faith in the ANC Government, who cannot combat crime, counter unemployment and lead Africa out of poverty. These South Africans have lost faith in the ANC because it cannot govern with a two-thirds majority and wants to join forces with the New NP, whose leaders have exchanged the mandate from their voters for personal benefit and temporary positions of power. [Interjections.]]
We have heard reasons this afternoon for why South Africans leave, but be assured, between the brain drain and the ANC-New NP-Communist coalition stand other democratic parties that are not willing to create a one-party state, which is another reason why so many people leave. [Interjections.] A party that honours the mandate given to it by the voters has no problem keeping voters in its fold, but a party and a government that use the polls to secure power and thereafter fail to deliver that which they promised will lose the support and the confidence of the people.
The DA calls on all South Africans to stand together and oppose the Zanufication of our region, which is another reason that was not mentioned here this afternoon. We can only stop the brain drain from our country if we restore confidence in the leadership of our country, and we can only bring wealth and jobs to the nation if we stop buying aeroplanes for the President and selling Government houses to the families and friends of Government members, who then resell them at a huge profit. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon member, your speaking time has expired.
Mr J P I BLANCHÉ: I was going to say something about the mother of the Nation as well. [Interjections.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Chairperson. South Africans have the best skills, and that is why they are offered better jobs overseas. The MF notes that South Africa is home to a number of top universities and other academic institutes that produce a great number of skilled and learned people for our labour force. At these many institutes we also have a number of foreign students that, on graduating, either stay or take home the South African knowledge taught to them. Likewise, we have South African students studying abroad and returning home with knowledge of the ways and advancement of many other countries.
The MF has noted, though, that there a number of graduates and skilled persons exiting the country to put their skills to use in other countries. Many factors and reasons are said to influence this choice of movement. Among these reasons are that the South African rand is currently not worth that much compared to other countries’ currencies, such as the British Pound.
Another influence on this exit is the escalating crime in the country that has sent many packing to protect their families. There are a number of economic, political and social factors that influence this, and the MF feels we need to address these issues earnestly to minimise these exits.
There has to be a major confidence injection made into the community as to the benefits and advantages that South Africa holds.
We cannot afford to lose or risk the loss of any more professionals for the sake of our economic, social and political welfare.
The MF, however, does feel that we have a lot to learn from countries abroad, and if persons were set to sail to broaden their knowledge, then that would be to our benefit on their return. However, a mechanism should be put into place to curtail the number of professionals exiting the country. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mnr C AUCAMP: Mnr die Voorsitter, niemand mag toelaat dat sy beste talent uitwyk na groener weivelde nie. Dit het die WP op die harde manier geleer toe hy toegelaat het dat een van sy eie seuns, Derick Hougaard, die Curriebeker vir Noord-Transvaal wen.
Unisa meld in ‘n studie dat, in totaal, 1,6 miljoen Suid-Afrikaners hul in die buiteland bevind. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die syfer van kundige tersiêr geskooldes is meer as ‘n halfmiljoen, terwyl 70% van professioneel geskooldes in die studie aangedui het dat hulle emigrasie oorweeg.
Die AEB vestig die aandag op drie faktore wat beredder moet word. Sestig persent van emigrante gee misdaad aan as die belangrikste rede. Dit moet onder beheer gebring word, en die basiese reg op veiligheid van lewe en eiendom is ‘n ononderhandelbare voorvereiste.
Tweedens moet regstellende optrede beëindig word. Hier stel ek graag die nuwe minister van plaaslike regering in die Wes-Kaap, mnr Cobus Dowry, aan die woord, wanneer hy sê: Regstellende aksie is een van die hoofoorsake van die breindrein. Die slagoffers is jong bruin en wit professionele mense wat die land verlaat. Dit moet beëindig word sodat mense op grond van verdienste en prestasie kan meeding. Ons kan nie een vorm van diskriminasie met ‘n ander vervang nie.
In dié verband ondersteun die AEB die gelykheidsakkoord van MWU- Solidariteit, by uitstek die aanbeveling dat eerste toetreders tot die arbeidsmark nie gestraf mag word vir dinge waaraan hulle geen aandeel gehad het nie.
Die laaste faktor is dié van negatiewe persepsies. Hier doen ek veral ‘n
beroep op mede-Afrikaners. Ja, daar is baie dinge verkeerd in die land. Die
AEB sal onverpoos veg om dit uit te wys en reg te stel. Laat ons egter waak
teen die donkermiddernagsindroom; teen doemprofete wat van Suid-Afrika ‘n
tweede Zimbabwe wil maak. Natuurlik het die beleid van stille diplomasie
baie daarmee te doen, maar ons Afrikaners praat ons dikwels so in ‘n
depressie in. Ons floreer so op die worst case scenario'' dat ons net so
aandadig is aan ons eie kinders wat die land verlaat. Ons kan nie verwag
dat ons kinders hier moet bly, as ons in 'n gees van ongelowige fatalisme
verval nie.
Kom ons pak die probleme en uitdadings van Suid-Afrika aan in die gees van
ons is hier om te bly’’. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairman, no-one should allow their best talent to emigrate to greener pastures. This is what Western Province found out the hard way when they allowed one of their sons, Derick Hougaard, to win the Curry Cup for Northern Transvaal.
Unisa has reported in a study that a total of 1,6 million South Africans are living abroad. [Interjections.] The number of skilled, tertiary schooled individuals is over half a million, while 70% of all professionally schooled individuals have indicated in this study that they are considering emigration.
The AEB wants to draw attention to three factors which should be addressed. Firstly, 60% of emigrants identify crime as the most important reason. This should be brought under control and the basic right to security of life and property is a non-negotiable prerequisite.
Secondly, affirmative action should be ended. Here I would like to refer to the new minister of local government in the Western Cape, Mr Cobus Dowry, when he says:
Affirmative action is one of the main causes of the brain drain. The victims are young brown and white professionals who are leaving the country. It should be ended so that people can compete on the basis of merit and performance. We cannot substitute one form of discrimination with another.
In this regard the AEB supports the equality accord of MWU-Solidarity, in particular the recommendation that first-time entrants to the job market should not be penalised for things which they did not have a hand in.
The last factor concerns negative perceptions. This is where I appeal to fellow Afrikaners in particular: Yes, a lot of things are wrong in the country. The AEB will fight unrelentlessly to point these out and set them right. However, let us guard against the darkest-of-nights syndrome, against the prophets of doom who want to turn South Africa into another Zimbabwe. Of course the policy of quiet diplomacy has a lot to do with it, but we Afrikaners so often do talk ourselves into a depression. We thrive so much on the worst-case scenario that we are just as instrumental in our children leaving the country. We cannot expect our children to stay while we fall into a mood of sceptical fatalism.
Let us tackle the problems and challenges of South Africa in the spirit of ``We are here to stay’’.]
Dr R T RHODA: Chairperson, is the brain drain a myth or a fact? The Department of Trade and Industry’s latest report clearly illustrates that South Africa’s economy has changed dramatically. While it still holds its old basic strength in minerals and raw materials, it is today, without doubt, fast becoming a high-tech industrial giant. Industrial production in South Africa is currently increasing at a rate that is only exceeded by China, amongst industrialising countries of the world. Today South Africa is in better financial health than it has been for the past 20 years.
In an independent and an increasingly global economy, maintaining and enlarging a skilled labour force is vital to South Africa’s national interest. Yet South Africa appears to be in a tight squeeze. South Africa is a developing new democracy, committed to eradicating the massive social, economic and political disparities of its apartheid past. Part of this project is the empowerment and expansion of the pool of radically disadvantaged workers.
But this cannot be achieved overnight. While statistics differ widely, significant numbers of educated professionals and entrepreneurs have been leaving South Africa to find work elsewhere, taking with them skills crucial to the success of the country’s development, and it appears that this flight has been exacerbated not only by the turmoil accompanying democratisation, but also by the social changes brought on by the postapartheid transformation. Thus, attempts to train new skilled workers may strain to keep pace with the skills lost through emigration, producing a net loss of skilled workers or what is known in South Africa as the brain drain.
Yet estimates of the size and the impact of the brain drain vary widely. An analysis of its causes remains speculative. Needless to say, the present and potential sizes of the skills exodus, as well as its actual and potential economic, social and political impacts, are, I am sure, a major concern to policy-makers.
Since the origin of our species, the various families of the human race have moved from country to country and from continent to continent in search of a better life. Some men and women are born out of place - so much so that the seed of their genius may never take root unless it finds soil of a very different kind from that of their birthplace. Migration is a fact and, in a globalising world, South Africa will just have to adapt to satellite communication and online information technology.
Just as our manufacturers are exploring new possibilities for their commodities, so too are skilled South Africans selling their talents on international markets. Many developing countries around the world are losing their highly educated people, which means that pouring money into education may not have the desired effect.
A major unresolved question that remains is: What is - or rather, what will be - the actual size and impact of the brain drain in South Africa? It has been stated in some reports that near worthless migration figures actually disguise the brain drain and that, in fact, South Africa loses four professional technicians or managers for every one that it gains. If this is indeed the case, then we need to urgently find a far more reliable and accurate way of assessing the true extent of emigration.
Certainly, part of the brain drain is caused by push factors that range from crime … [Time expired.]
Mr R J B MOHLALA: Chairperson, hon Minister and colleagues, a butterfly is a very beautiful thing, and when it lands in one’s open palm one can only stare in wonderment at its delicate form and beautiful colours as it sits there quivering its wings. But if one closes one’s hand tightly to try to keep it there forever, it will be crushed to death. Although it has been kept from flying away, it will still be lost, for it will be dead.
With regard to the brain drain, let me say that I am very concerned about the talent and skills that are leaving South Africa. As a developing country, whose human capital development was hampered by apartheid, its skills shortages are causing tremendous bottlenecks in the economy. These shortages have to be addressed. The Government is doing this through appropriate education policies, the Skills Development Act and the various Setas.
What is encouraging is that this very serious issue is being addressed, even by business, labour, educational institutions and other sectors of our society. I am confident that the problem of bottlenecks will be a footnote in the history of the South African economy in a few years time.
The brain drain is not a new phenomenon, nor is it unique to South Africa. Researcher after researcher has pointed out that even at the beginning of the Second World War, this country lost qualified human resources in very sizeable numbers as people departed from this country. A few years ago Britain also experienced a brain drain. Migration is part and parcel of globalisation. The world is getting smaller and people are more mobile.
In the past, a person would work for one company for the whole of his life. Today people can change careers two or three times, or even more, during a lifetime. Let me say even MPs had careers beside politics. Well, some know how to advance these careers, but that is not what we are debating today. Part of this process is moving between cities and countries. Migration - or the brain drain, as some call it - is something we have to live with. It is going to continue and even grow faster. We must therefore manage the process by limiting the negative consequences and promoting the positive aspects.
I have already stated that the bottlenecks of the past should be limited to appropriate education and training. From time to time there are going to be mismatches in supply and demand in certain fields. Currently we have an oversupply of teachers and nurses, hence we find a lot of them still unemployed. People of these qualifications find themselves in a situation where they are facing but only two alternatives: to leave their chosen professions or to migrate to a place where their skills are in short supply.
Basic economics teaches us that where supply is low and demand is high, the price will be high. I hope those who wrote their economics exams know that. Teachers, doctors, nurses and many other professionals are therefore tempted by high salaries to leave South Africa. What this is testimony to is our high quality of education. Many developed countries actively recruit in South Africa because we simply have the best.
Accepting that global migration is a process that will not reverse itself in the foreseeable future, we need to ask the question: How are we going to manage the process? Let me say, at this point, that today more and more people are citizens of their companies rather than being citizens of their countries. If a company wants to turn around its business overseas, it comes to where it is established, takes an executive, sends him overseas and adjusts the salary accordingly. Does that amount to negative brain drain? No, I do not believe so.
We need to recruit skills that we need. The private sector and the learning institutions regularly employ foreign people to undertake certain tasks. The immigration laws in South Africa are very discouraging and, to an extent, discourage this. I therefore appeal to hon members to consider that this may be the issue that we actually need to debate now, rather than facing doom and gloom.
We should also use South Africans living abroad to promote the interests of our country. There are few South Africans who have left because they were racist or could not fit in the new society. Those whom one hears will tell one about crime and all sorts of other things. They will even bring in Zimbabwe. Today we even have a Zimbabwean opposition party in our own Parliament. It is a crazy situation, but this is not what we are interested in.
What we are interested in is ensuring that these South Africans are potential assets even when they are outside South Africa. Professor Kaplan put it this way, and I quote:
These countrymen could aid in transforming by applying their own skills and providing access to their own very extensive networks. This is what Sansa is all about.
Sansa is the South African Network of Skills Abroad. Using electronic and other methods of speedy communication, Sansa plans to link skilled South Africans now living overseas with local projects and researchers in order to contribute towards the development of a competitive and knowledge-based economy. Individual members will make their own decisions as to the kinds of contributions they could and would wish to make. The types of contributions may include the following: receiving South African graduates in laboratories or training programmes; participating in training and research with South African counterparts; transferring technology to South African institutions; transmitting information and the results of research which are not readily available in South Africa; facilitating business contracts; and initiating research and commercial projects.
A century ago the sun never set on the British Empire. This was because the British went out and conquered the world with their guns and cannons, and they occupied land around the world. Sixty years ago the sun finally set on the British Empire and it is no longer that British Empire.
For the past 70 years the Americans, who conquered the world and the sun, have been enjoying the sunshine in their empire. But this they created not through the barrel of the gun but by exporting their suns to other countries.
So what I am saying is that we need to look at other solutions. Maybe it is now high time that we stopped exporting jobs. We must think of exporting unemployment. We must skill our own people. We must make a lot of effort to ensure that there is human resources development so that, if our people are skilled, we can export them to go and work in other countries and thus export unemployment. Then we will never have the problem of the brain drain and so forth and we will be following the global trend that is now evident. [Applause.]
Mrs ANNA VAN WYK: Chairperson, today’s debate has been interesting listening and extended the discourse on the loss of intellectual capital … [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Please carry on, hon member.
Mrs ANNA VAN WYK: Will I have more time for interruption, please, sir?
It is good that Parliament has expressed itself today, on the whole in a very balanced way, met so een of twee klein wanklankies hier en daar [with one or two minor discordant notes here and there].
We have heard a lot about the international migration of skills, of drain and gain across our borders, but we often forget about the rural brain drain. I would like to thank my colleague Dr Kobus Gous for drawing my attention to it, and I would like to remind the House specifically of the loss of health care professionals in the rural areas in favour of the cities, where better infrastructure, working conditions and sometimes remuneration pertain. That does not only apply to health care.
According to SA Medical Association, in rural areas there is one doctor for every 10 000 people. The New NP hopes that the measures being considered to remedy the deteriorating health care situation in the platteland and elsewhere will soon bear fruit.
Die situasie ten opsigte van wetenskaplikes en tegnici in Suid-Afrika is werklik kritiek. Die skaars kundiges bevind hullle in ‘n situasie waarin hul vermoëns gesog is in lande waar die vergoeding, werkbevrediging, en soms ook lewensomstandighede, beter is as hier. Hier word hulle nie genoeg waardeer nie. Ander faktore speel ook ‘n rol. Een daarvan is dat die Regering te min bestee aan navorsing en ontwikkeling. Besteding oor die openbare en private sektore heen deur die Organisasie vir Ekonomiese Samewerking en Ontwikkeling beloop gemiddeld 2,15% van hul BBP, en state soos Finland en Korea bestee veel meer. Suid-Afrika bestee tans net 0,7%.
As die staat so min hieraan bestee, stuur dit ‘n negatiewe sein na die private sektor toe, wat dan toenemend eerder tegnologie invoer. In so ‘n milieu is dit geen wonder dat ‘n wetenskaplike eerder verhuis na ‘n ander land waar dit nie ‘n gesukkel is om geld en bystand vir projekte te kry nie.
Die nuwe navorsing- en ontwikkelingstrategie van die Regering sal afhang daarvan dat die huidige begroting tot ten minste een persent van BBP styg om ‘n volhoubare strategie vir ‘n deur kennis gedrewe ekonomie in te stel. Daarsonder kan ons nie hoop om die huidige navorsersgemeenskap te behou, nuwe generasies te ontwikkel en knap wetenskaplikes uit ander dele van die wêreld hierheen te lok nie. Intellektuele en geldelike investering gaan hand aan hand: Breinkragte moet geld bestuur. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The situation with regards to scientists and technicians in South Africa is really critical. These scarce experts find themselves in a situation where their abilities are sought in countries where the remuneration, job satisfaction and sometimes living conditions are better than it is here. Here they are not appreciated enough. Other factors also play a role. One such factor is that the Government invests too little in research and development. Spending for the public and private sectors by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development averages 2,15% of the GDP, and countries such as Finland and Korea spend much more. South Africa is currently spending only 0,7%.
If the state invests so little in this it sends a negative signal to the private sector which then rather increasingly imports technology. In such an environment it is no wonder that a scientist would rather move to another country where it is not a struggle to get money or support for projects.
The new research and development strategy of the Government will depend on the current budget increasing to at least one percent of the GDP to establish a sustainable strategy for a knowledge driven economy. Without that we cannot hope to retain our current research community, develop new generations and entice clever scientists from other parts of the world to come to our country. Intellectual and monetary investment goes hand in hand: Brains should manage money.]
According to South Africa’s national research and development policy document, recent studies show loss rates for researchers of approximately 11% from Government laboratories and 15% per annum from universities. Of those, about 5% from Government laboratories and about 22% of the academics emigrate. In what should be one of our areas of strength, compared to the rest of Africa and the Third World, our museums, the number of scientists has declined so drastically that overall capacity in the natural sciences is now dangerously low. A very large part of natural science research is obviously carried out in museums, where the collections are housed.
Die agb Cassiem het heeltemal gelyk wanneer hy sê dat ons die politieke faktore moet beredder. Die onderliggende filosofies-politieke probleme wat aanleiding gee tot die uitdagings, moet openlik en met vrymoedigheid deur die Regering aangepak word. Die elemente wat ingestel moet word om waardevolle mensemateriaal te behou en nuut te ontwikkel, sluit in - en dit is geensins volledig nie - die taal- en kultuurkwessie binne die opvoedkundige stelsel. Minister Asmal moet bes gee oor moedertaalonderrig en Afrikaans moet in ere herstel word. As ons praat oor Vigs, moet ons die feite kaalkop stel teen promiskuïteit en vir beskeidenheid en seksuele eksklusiwiteit.
As die Regering ernstig is oor die morele herlewing, moet hy hoër standaarde stel vir die inhoud van programme oor die openbare uitsaaier waarmee die publiek gekondisioneer word. Hoekom is daar soveel vulgariteit en geweld? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[The hon Cassiem is absolutely right when he says that we should address the political factors. The underlying philosophical political problems which give rise to these challenges should be addressed openly and candidly by the Government. The elements which should be established to retain valuable human resources and to newly develop them includes - and this is by no means comprehensive - the language and culture issues within the education system. Minister Asmal must give his best with regard to mother- tongue education and Afrikaans should be restored to its proper place. When we talk about Aids we should speak out against promiscuity and in favour of modesty and sexual exclusivity. If the Government is serious about the moral renaissance it should set higher standards for the content of programmes broadcasted by the public broadcaster by which the public is conditioned. Why are there so much vulgarity and violence.?]
The Public Service is the delivery system and the implementation engine. Appointees should meet strict requirements.
If we get the fundamentals right, the rest will follow, then all our brilliant expatriates from the African diaspora in all its colours will return to build our own country.
South Africa has reached the required degree of maturity to be honest with itself and its critics, and to fix up what we do not do correctly. [Applause.]
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Mr Chairperson, one should probably thank the hon Camerer in absentia for raising the issue of the sharp increase in the number of skilled South Africans leaving the country, resulting in the loss of valuable expertise. We raise this because indeed the issue of skills mobility is a matter of concern and it should actually have provided us with an opportunity to separate fact from fiction and to deal with the matter rationally and dispassionately. However, it did not quite happen that way this afternoon. What I believe a number of hon members overlooked is the fairly common conceptualisation of globalisation, one that emphasises the exchange of all resources and, more recently, the cross-border and international migration of human capital. Even those who worship neoliberalism should have at least noted that, but it disappeared off the radar screen.
The state being the employer of over a million employees, the skills shortage is a serious challenge that the state faces in our rendering of essential public services, hence our whole thrust and focus on the transformation and the restructuring of the Public Service. It grapples with the issue of the skills requirements within the Public Service, how we can recruit scarce skills, retain them and look at various creative ways of dealing with this.
The figures for the first five months of this year show that the total number of economically active people who emigrated from South Africa was up by 18.4%. It is a matter that was reflected by others. We, however, noted, against the background of the definition I gave of globalisation generally, that the occupations most severely affected - this was referred to earlier as well - are doctors, managerial, executive and administrative occupations and engineers. These are areas that we have identified as scarce skills in the Public Service.
This afternoon, we have heard the reasons why people migrate. They vary. The research has indicated that there are some South Africans who leave the country because they cannot reconcile themselves with our democracy and particularly with majority rule. Listening to some of the leaders of political parties this afternoon, I felt it was once again shameful, because they were not infusing confidence; they seemed to join the bandwagon of those who are afropessimistic. I actually wonder why they do not leave; that could do us a favour here.
Others cited crime. I do want to say that this is misplaced, if we look at the interventions that have been made, and also if we are a bit realistic about what happens globally and look at the realities in other parts of the world. Let us move from that a little bit and look at unfortunate situations. It is an excuse we cannot accept if we look at 9/11 and at Bali on 12 October. I think there is a need for us to temper the view of what we want to add to this argument around perception and making anecdotes realities.
On the issue of unemployment or affirmative action, I again want us to guard against us joining that bandwagon that says this is what results in this problem. Let us look at what is central to the whole basic philosophy of the ANC itself. We have always stated as an organisation that we should ensure the equality of all the peoples of South Africa and that we will ensure the equality of black people in general and African people in particular; the empowerment and the affirmation of the people.
Today those in the opposition speak of affirmative action in a very limited way. What is our consideration of the affirmation of women in this country, and the affirmation of the disabled? At this particular point in time, if I were talking about women in senior management in education at district level, I would quote the level of 15%. In Public Service central management, we are talking about 20%. It is about a glass ceiling that is hit globally, and it is problematic. Do we really want to join that bandwagon and say affirmative action has led to this problem? In essence we should rather be saying, because we are committed to the Constitution of this country and to building a nonracial and nonsexist society, that there is a need to take certain clear steps to make it happen. What are these steps? Are we not willing to engage in them? From certain quarters we hear that affirmative action leads to the brain drain - and that is a very narrow view.
Let us look at the brain gain. Let us look at the reality that 70% of PhDs in the US and UK are held by foreigners or represent foreign skills. It is because the bulk of Americans do not necessarily want to study further. Hence, they have a clear recruitment strategy which tries to keep foreigners in their economy. In the US they also tend to be from India and Latin America. What should we do? I think we should acknowledge the reality of the mobility of skills at this point in time. We should acknowledge it and ask: How do we get those skilled people to come back? We should have made an appeal today - and I want to make that call on behalf of Government and say: Come back on short-term contracts - come back and help build the capacity in Government!
In the ICT Advisory Council that is chaired by the President, where we had a number of key people from all the ICT companies internationally, we raised a particular reality. We said that we would like to have a situation where, from the Public Service, we attach our IT-skilled professionals to private companies, the IT vendors, for a certain period of time, and we are willing to bring their skilled people into the Public Service for a period. We want to call it a kind of an innovative mentorship. We are not going to restrict it to the area of ICT. We want it across Government as we look at the areas of professionals in scarce skills that are required.
We also have just had a discussion, led by the President on Friday and Saturday, in which we spoke to patriotic South Africans - not some of those who sit in this House and do not sound patriotic - and said: Let us look at what categories of skills we can draw on and again look at innovative attachments in Government.
I would call on members actually to look at the department’s strategy for the accelerated development of scarce skills. Let us look at the interventions that the departments are engaging in before we stand on roofs and beat our chests and say things are not happening. That also is a reflection of our lack of willingness to inform ourselves. We misinform our youth, which leads to pessimism out there, and we say that we do not know why they are leaving.
We do not take into account the kinds of skills that they can bring back into the country - the kinds of skills through which they have developed expertise and also bring hard currency back into this country. I am talking about those that have left for short periods.
I would like to conclude by raising three aspects. The first is that medical professionals who leave the country generally do not emigrate. They go for short periods on contracts and then return to South Africa. To a large extent, this has been dealt with by the Ministry of Health, which has facilitated a Commonwealth agreement that deals with these movements of skills.
Secondly, I think it is necessary to say today that at the June meeting of the SA Council of Educators, where they reviewed leave provisions in line with those of the Public Service, they said that teachers could not take leave for up to three years at a time, and that if any teachers wanted to leave they had to resign. Since then there has been a trickle-down of teachers that have left.
Let us just conclude by talking about the temptation of perceived rewards abroad that fall short of expectations. When a cup of coffee in the UK costs R40, then the pound does not seem that strong. I think we should take that into account. When the reality of teaching at an inner-city school strikes home, the challenges of transforming the education system in South Africa become quite appealing.
I think we should also bear in mind that with the meltdown in the IT industry abroad, particularly in North America and Western Europe, we are seeing the IT specialists coming home. The young people are coming home. They want jobs at home and the State Information Technology Agency looks appealing. If hon members look again at the transformation and restructuring of the Public Service then they will see that it does indeed say that we do want to have the best within the Public Service and it will be the preferred employer. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 17:31. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
MONDAY, 28 OCTOBER 2002
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
(1) The Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM) on 28 October 2002 in terms of
Joint Rule 160(3), classified the following Bills as section 75
Bills:
(i) Merchandise Marks Amendment Bill [B 63 - 2002] (National
Assembly - sec 75).
(ii) Patents Amendment Bill [B 64 - 2002] (National Assembly -
sec 75).
(iii) Deeds Registries Amendment Bill [B 65 - 2002] (National
Assembly - sec 75).
(2) The Minister of Health submitted the Wysigingswetsontwerp op
Medisyne en Verwante Stowwe [W 40 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec
75) to the Speaker and the Chairperson on 25 October 2002. This is
the official translation into Afrikaans of the Medicines and
Related Substances Amendment Bill [B 40 - 2002] (National Assembly
- sec 75).
National Assembly:
- 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
Water Affairs and Forestry and to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts:
Letter from the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, in terms
of section 65(2)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999
(Act No 1 of 1999), setting out reasons for the delay in the
tabling of the Annual Report and Financial Statements of Bloem
Water.
(2) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Public Enterprises and to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts:
Letter from the Minister of Public Enterprises, in terms of
section 65(2)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act
No 1 of 1999), setting out reasons for the delay in the tabling of
the Annual Report and Financial Statements of Transnet Limited.
(3) The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report and to the Portfolio
Committee on Minerals and Energy for information:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Central Energy Fund
(Proprietary) Limited Group Annual Financial Statements for 1999-
2000 [RP 59-2002].
(4) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Arts, Culture, Science and Technology:
Report of the Human Sciences Research Council for 2001-2002 [RP
170-2002].
(5) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Housing. The Report of the Auditor-General is referred to the
Standing Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and
report:
Report and Financial Statements of the Department of Housing -
Vote 16 for 2001-2002, including the Report of the Auditor-General
on the Financial Statements for 2001-2002.
(6) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Justice and Constitutional Development :
(a) Proclamation No R 63 published in Government Gazette No
23674 dated 31 July 2002: Commencement of the Promotion of
Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No 3 of 2000).
(b) Government Notice No R 1022 published in Government
Gazette No 23674 dated 31 July 2002: Regulations on Fair
Administrative Procedures, made in terms of the Promotion of
Administrative Justice Act, 2000 (Act No 3 of 2000).
(c) Proclamation No R 67 published in Government Gazette No
23761 dated 16 August 2002: Commencement of the Implementation
of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act,
2002 (Act No 27 of 2002).
(d) Government Notice No R 1089 published in Government
Gazette No 23761 dated 16 August 2002: Implementation of the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act, 2002
(Act No 27 of 2002).
(e) Proclamation No R 70 published in Government Gazette No
23862 dated 23 September 2002: Referral of Matters to the
existing Special Investigating Unit and Special Tribunal, made
in terms of the Special Investigating Unit and Special
Tribunals Act, 1996 (Act No 74 of 1996).
(7) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Agriculture and Land Affairs. The Report of the Auditor-General is
referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for
consideration and report:
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Ingonyama Trust
Board for 2001-2002, including the Report of the Auditor-
General on the Financial Statements for 2001-2002.
(b) Report and Financial Statements of the Agricultural
Research Council for 2001-2002, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2001-2002 [RP
191-2002].
(8) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Provincial and Local Government:
Report of the Public Service Commission on Fleet Management in the
Eastern Cape - 2002.
(9) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Education and to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts:
Letter from the Minister of Education, in terms of section
65(2)(a) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of
1999), setting out reasons for the delay in the tabling of the
Annual Report and Financial Statements of the Department of
Education.
(10) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Finance:
(a) Resolutions of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts
for 2002 and replies thereto obtained by the National
Treasury - Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and Seventeenth
Reports, 2002.
(b) Government Notice No R 1141 published in Government
Gazette No 23801 dated 6 September 2002: Notice in terms of
sections 1 and 5 of the Military Pensions Act, 1976 (Act No
84 of 1976).
(c) Government Notice No R 1163 published in Government
Gazette No 23816 dated 6 September 2002: Regulations issued
in terms of section 18A (1A), made in terms of the Income
Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of 1962).
(d) Government Notice No R 1168 published in Government
Gazette No 23820 dated 13 September 2002: Regulations: Steps
to be taken to liquidate, wind up or deregister a company,
made in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No 58 of
1962).
(e) Government Notice No 1159 published in Government Gazette
No 23817 dated 13 September 2002: Determination of interest
rate for purposes of section 105(b), made in terms of the
Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No 91 of 1964).
(f) Government Notice No 1160 published in Government Gazette
No 23817 dated 13 September 2002: Determination of interest
rate for purposes of the definitions of "prescribed rate" in
section 1, made in terms of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991
(Act No 89 of 1991).
(g) Government Notice No 1161 published in Government Gazette
No 23817 dated 13 September 2002: Determination of interest
rate for purposes of the definition of "prescribed rate" in
section 1, made in terms of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No
58 of 1962).
(h) Proclamation No R 71 published in Government Gazette No
23894 dated 30 September 2002: Date of coming into operation
of sections 40(1) and 41(1), made in terms of the Revenue
Laws Amendment Act, 2001 (Act No 19 of 2001).
(11) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio
Committee on Trade and Industry. The Reports of the Auditor-
General are referred to the Standing Committee on Public
Accounts for consideration and report:
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Department of
Trade and Industry - Vote 31 for 2001-2002, including
the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements for 2001-2002 [RP 177-2002].
(b) Report and Financial Statements of the Competition
Tribunal for 2001-2002, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2001-
2002 [RP 205-2002].
(c) Report and Financial Statements of the National
Lotteries Board for 2001-2002, including the Report of
the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for
2001-2002 and the Report of the Auditor-General on the
National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund for 2001-2002.
(12) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee
on Justice and Constitutional Development. The Report of the
Auditor-General is referred to the Standing Committee on
Public Accounts for consideration and report:
Report and Financial Statements of the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development - Vote 23 for 2001-2002, including the
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2001-
2002 [RP 210-2002].
(13) The following paper is referred to the Portfolio Committee
on Justice and Constitutional Development:
Report of the South African Law Commission for 2001-2002 [RP 209-
2002].
(14) The following papers are referred to the Portfolio
Committee on Finance for consideration and report:
(a) Convention between the Government of the Republic of
South Africa and the Government of the United Kingdom of
Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double
Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with
respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains, tabled in
terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
(b) Agreement between the Government of the Republic of
South Africa and the Government of New Zealand for the
Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal
Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, tabled in terms
of section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
Report of the Auditor-General on the Group Annual Financial Statements
of the CEF (Proprietary) Limited for 1999-2000 [RP 59-2002].
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
National Assembly:
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Finance on the Gas Regulator Levies Bill [B 47 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 77), dated 25 October 2002:
The Portfolio Committee on Finance, having considered the subject of the Gas Regulator Levies Bill [B 47 - 2002] (National Assembly
-
sec 77), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a money Bill, and having consulted the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy, reports that it has agreed to the Bill.
TUESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2002
-
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
(1) The following Bill was introduced by the Minister of Finance in
the National Assembly on 29 October 2002 and referred to the Joint
Tagging Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule
160:
(i) Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B 66 - 2002] (National
Assembly - sec 77).
The Bill has been referred to the Portfolio Committee on Finance
of the National Assembly.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of
the Bills may be submitted to the Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
within three parliamentary working days.
National Assembly:
- The Speaker:
(1) The following members have been appointed to serve on the
Committee mentioned, viz:
Joint Budget Committee:
African National Congress
Baloyi, M R
Hanekom, D A
Hlangwana, N L
Hogan, B A (Alt)
Kgwele, L M
Mahlangu, M J (Alt)
Masutha, M T (Alt)
Mohlala, R J P
Moloto, K A (Alt)
Mtsweni, N S
Nene, N M
Schneemann, G D (Alt)
Sikakane, M R (Alt)
Sithole, D J (Alt)
Tsheole, N M
Zita, L
Democratic Party
Taljaard, R
New National Party
Rabie, P J
United Democratic Movement
Koornhof, G W
Inkatha Freedom Party
Woods, G G
African Christian Democratic Party
Southgate, R M
(2) Mr N M Nene has been elected as co-chairperson of the Joint
Budget Committee with effect from 29 October 2002.
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The President:
Report and Financial Statements of The Presidency - Vote 1 for 2001-
2002, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements for 2001-2002 [RP 220-2002].
The Minister of Finance:
(a) Medium Term Budget Policy Statement 2002 [RP 222-2002].
(b) Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B 66 - 2002].
(c) Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure 2002 [RP 223-2002],
which includes:
1. Memorandum on Vote No 1 - "Presidency", Adjustments Estimates,
2002-2003;
2. Memorandum on Vote No 2 - "Parliament", Adjustments Estimates,
2002-2003;
3. Memorandum on Vote No 3 - "Foreign Affairs", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
4. Memorandum on Vote No 4 - "Home Affairs", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
5. Memorandum on Vote No 5 - "Provincial and Local Government",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
6. Memorandum on Vote No 6 - "Public Works", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
7. Memorandum on Vote No 7 - "Government Communications and
Information System", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
8. Memorandum on Vote No 8 - "National Treasury", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
9. Memorandum on Vote No 9 - "Public Enterprises", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
10. Memorandum on Vote No 10 - "Public Service and
Administration", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
11. Memorandum on Vote No 11 - "Public Service Commission",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
12. Memorandum on Vote No 12 - "South African Management
Development Institute", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
13. Memorandum on Vote No 13 - "Statistics South Africa",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
14. Memorandum on Vote No 14 - "Arts, Culture, Science and
Technology", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
15. Memorandum on Vote No 15 - "Education", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
16. Memorandum on Vote No 16 - "Health", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
17. Memorandum on Vote No 17 - "Housing", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
18. Memorandum on Vote No 18 - "Social Development",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
19. Memorandum on Vote No 19 - "Sport and Recreation South
Africa", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
20. Memorandum on Vote No 20 - "Correctional Services",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
21. Memorandum on Vote No 21 - "Defence", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
22. Memorandum on Vote No 22 - "Independent Complaints
Directorate", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
23. Memorandum on Vote No 23 - "Justice and Constitutional
Development", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
24. Memorandum on Vote No 24 - "Safety and Security",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
25. Memorandum on Vote No 25 - "Agriculture", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
26. Memorandum on Vote No 26 - "Communications", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
27. Memorandum on Vote No 27 - "Environmental Affairs and
Tourism", Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
28. Memorandum on Vote No 28 - "Labour", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
29. Memorandum on Vote No 29 - "Land Affairs", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
30. Memorandum on Vote No 30 - "Minerals and Energy",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
31. Memorandum on Vote No 31 - "Trade and Industry",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
32. Memorandum on Vote No 32 - "Transport", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
33. Memorandum on Vote No 33 - "Water Affairs and Forestry",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003;
34. Memorandum on Vote No 34 - "Arts and Culture", Adjustments
Estimates, 2002-2003;
35. Memorandum on Vote No 35 - "Science and Technology",
Adjustments Estimates, 2002-2003.
- The Minister of Trade and Industry:
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Competition Commission
for 2001-2002, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the
Financial Statements for 2001-2002 [RP 144-2002].
(b) Report of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South
Africa Limited for 2001-2002.
- The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development:
(a) Treaties between the Government of the Republic of South Africa
and the Governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Democratic
People's Republic of Algeria, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
the People's Republic of China on Extradition, tabled in terms of
section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
(b) Explanatory Memorandum to the Treaties.
(c) Treaties between the Government of the Republic of South Africa
and the Governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Democratic
People's Republic of Algeria, the Federal Republic of Nigeria and
the French Republic on Mutual Legal Assistance, tabled in terms of
section 231(2) of the Constitution, 1996.
(d) Explanatory Memorandum to the Treaties.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
National Assembly:
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry on the Merchandise Marks Amendment Bill [B 63 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), dated 29 October 2002:
The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry, having considered the subject of the Merchandise Marks Amendment Bill [B 63 - 2002] (National Assembly - sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 63A - 2002].
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism on the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, dated 29 October 2002:
The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, referred to it, recommends that the House, in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, approve the said Agreement.
Report to be considered.