National Assembly - 12 June 2003
THURSDAY, 12 JUNE 2003 __
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.
NOTICE OF MOTION
Ms R TALJAARD: Madam Speaker, I hereby give notice that I intend moving the following motion:
That this House -
(1) disapproves of the failure of the Chief Whips’ Forum to address the DA’s request for the appointment of an ad hoc committee to investigate the JIT report relating to the arms deal scandal;
(2) believes that the failure by the Chief Whips’ Forum is explained by the fact that the ANC has no desire to have a thoroughgoing investigation and will do whatever is necessary to cover up the scandal;
(3) affirms that it is entirely proper for Scopa to investigate whether it was misled by the Auditor-General; and
(4) resolves -
(a) that any further investigation into the arms deal scandal should
be undertaken by an ad hoc committee, representative of all
parties and including members of Scopa and members of portfolio
committees such as Trade and Industry, Finance, Defence, Justice
and Public Service and other interested committees; and
(b) to instruct the Chief Whips' Forum to expedite its discussion
and decision so that the House can proceed with the appointment
of the committee.
[Interjections.] [Applause.]
GROWTH IN SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM INDUSTRY
(Draft Resolution)
Mnr D M BAKKER: Mevrou die Speaker ek stel hiermee sonder kennisgewing voor:
Dat die Huis -
(1) kennis neem dat -
(a) Suid-Afrika se toerisme steeds floreer terwyl toerisme in
baie ander lande 'n afname in besoekergetalle ondervind vanweë
die oorlog in Irak en ander faktore; en
(b) die eerste kwartaal se toerismesyfers op 'n toename van
11,3% dui, wat bevestig dat Suid-Afrika sy posisie as een van
die gewildste toerismebestemmings verstewig; en
2) glo dat die toeristetoename nie net positief is vir Suid-Afrika
se beeld nie, maar ook dui op 'n toename in internasionale
vertroue in ons land. (Translation of Afrikaans draft resolution follows.)
[Mr D M BAKKER: Madam Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House -
(1) notes that -
(a) South Africa's tourism continues to flourish while tourism
to other countries experiences a decrease in visitor numbers
as a result of the war in Iraq and other factors; and
(b) the tourism figures for the first quarter show an increase
of 11,3%, which confirms that South Africa is strengthening
its position as one of the most popular tourist destinations;
and
(2) believes that the increase in tourist numbers is not only
positive for South Africa's image, but also points to an increase
in international confidence in our country.]
Agreed vote.
REGISTRATION OF YOUTH AS VOTERS
(Member's Statement)
Mr G B MAGWANISHE (ANC): Madam Speaker, during the first democratic elections in 1994 there was a high voter turn-out. Ninety three percent of young people between the ages of 19 to 25 voted in the first elections.
However, a large number of young people did not vote in the 1999 general elections. Research has shown that the low voter turn-out of youth in the last elections was because they did not register to vote due to, among other things, a lack of bar-coded identity documents.
Young people, as the future leaders, must play an active role in building a better future for themselves and for the people of South Africa, within the context of seizing opportunities created as a result of freedom. Young people must exercise their right to choose a party of their choice to govern this country and champion their cause.
The ANC calls on all young people who are eligible to vote to get identity documents and register as voters, and participate in next year’s general elections. The ANC further calls on Government to make it easier for young people in school and the unemployed youth to apply for and access their identity documents. [Applause.]
VIOLENCE IN GOVERNANCE OF ZIMBABWE
(Member's Statement)
Mr G B D McINTOSH (DA): Madam Speaker, in the past week we have all seen the horrific reality of totalitarian rule in Zimbabwe. The Mail & Guardian’s front page photograph … [Interjections.] Madam Speaker, these members seem to be insensitive to the suffering of fellow Africans. [Interjections.] The Mail & Guardian’s front page photograph of a Zimbabwean policeman’s boot pressing a citizen’s neck to the ground; photographs of opposition supporters beaten and bloodied by security forces; the appalling and dehumanising treatment of MDC leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, who was escorted into court yesterday in a prison uniform, and with his feet shackled and his hands cuffed. The old regime in this country would have done the same.
The MDC has consistently followed the route of legal, constitutional and non-violent means to assert its majority support and Mugabe’s illegitimacy as president. Yet its leader is treated like a common and violent criminal. [Interjections.] Despite these horrors and the damage to our own economy, the silence from President Mbeki has been deafening. [Interjections.] The World Economic Forum provides the perfect platform for him to break his silence. [Interjections.]
The DA calls on the President to condemn the arrest and imprisonment of Zimbabwe’s opposition leader and the brutal oppression of his supporters. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
CRIME AND THE ROLE OF JUSTICE
(Member's Statement)
Nksz M XULU (IFP): Mhlonishwa Somlomo, abantu bakithi bayahlukumezeka ngenxa yobugebengu obunhlobonhlobo obenzeka kuzo zonke izindawo lapho behlala khona. Okuyaye kube buhlungu kakhulu ukuthi esikhathini esiningi abaze bangaluthola usizo olwanele nolusheshayo kwezomthetho. Ngesinye isikhathi izinswelaboya azibanjwa, kwesinye isikhathi nesezibanjiwe zingagwetshwa. Lokhu sekuqede ithemba kwabaningi mayelana neqhaza elibanjwa yisandla somthetho ekulweni nobugebengu. Kwezinye izindawo sekuze kwabanga ukuthi abantu bazithathele umthetho ngezandla ukuze bazivikele ngezinkantolo zasehlathini. Lokhu-ke akulungile futhi kuyingozi ngoba kwesinye isikhathi kujeziswa abantu abangenacala.
Nokho kuyathokozisa ukuthi phezu kwalezi zinkinga zobugebengu ezikhungethe isizwe, kunezindawo lapho kukhona ukusebenzisana phakathi kwezisebenzi zomthetho, amaphoyisa, kanye nomphakathi ukulweni nobugebengu ngendlela eyimpumelelo. Njengasendaweni yaseBabanango - KwaZulu, imantshi, umshushisi, umphathi wesiteshi samaphoyisa, amakhosi endawo kanye nomphakathi basebenza ngokukhulu ukubambisana ekulweni nobugebengu kule ndawo. Ngenxa yalokhu kubambisana sekuboshwe izigebengu kanti nezigilamkhuba ebeseziningi sezinciphile. Okuncomekayo ukuthi kule ndawo imantshi yakhona umuntu wesifazane nomshushisi wakhona umuntu wesifazane, okuyikhona okwenza ukuthi umsebenzi uhambe kalula. Ngiyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Miss M XULU (IFP): Hon Speaker, our people are being victimised by all sorts of crime, which takes place wherever people live. What is even more painful is that, more often than not, people don’t get enough help from the law enforcement agencies, or they don’t get it quickly enough. Sometimes the culprits are not apprehended and those who have been apprehended go free. This has discouraged many people in so far as the role played by law enforcement in combating crime is concerned. In some places this has caused people to take the law into their own hands in order to protect themselves through extrajudicial courts. This is not right, and it is dangerous because sometimes the innocent get punished.
However, it makes one happy that in spite of these problems which are prevalent in the country, there are still areas where there is collaboration between law officers, the police and the community in combating crime in a successful manner. In Babanango, KwaZulu-Natal, for example, the magistrate, prosecutor, station commander, local traditional leaders and community are working together in combating crime in this area. Because of this collaboration, a lot of criminals have been arrested and the wrongdoers who had increased have been brought to a minimum.
What is commendable in this area is that the magistrate is a woman and so is the prosecutor, which is the reason why the job runs so smoothly. Thank you. [Applause.]]
LAUNCHING OF WALTER SISULU HOPE FOR CHILDREN AWARD
(Member's Statement)
Mrs M L NGWENYA (ANC): Madam Speaker, the Walter Sisulu Hope for Children Award was launched in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 10 June 2003. This award will serve to recognise the efforts of individuals who have lent a helping hand to make a difference in the lives of children. It is befitting that such an award is named after the late Comrade Walter Sisulu who, throughout his life, made immense sacrifices, fighting for freedom in order to build a better life for all and especially the children.
The ANC welcomes the Walter Sisulu Hope for Children Award, and further believes that this award will encourage later generations to carry forward Comrade Sisulu’s legacy of contributing to make the world a better place for its people, especially its children. [Applause.]
CALM SURROUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT OF SALARY INCREASES FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS
(Member's Statement)
Mnr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD (Nuwe NP): Mevrou die Speaker, die rustige atmosfeer waarin die aankondiging van salarisverhogings aan staatsamptenare vanjaar plaasgevind het, is ‘n aanduiding van die suksesse wat in Suid- Afrika behaal kan word wanneer belangegroepe bereid is om soos verantwoordelike bouers aan die nuwe Suid-Afrika te soek na oplossings rondom die onderhandelingstafel eerder as in die strate of in die media.
Anders as vorige jare waarin dreigemente van massa-aksie en gepaardgaande negatiewe persepsies die wêreld ingestuur is wat beleggersvertroue geskaad het, behoort die rustigheid omtrent die aankondiging van ‘n salarisverhoging van 9,5% positiewe seine uit te stuur.
Dit is ook verblydend dat die Minister vir die Staatsdiens en Administrasie in hierdie stadium nie bereid is om die sperdatum vir die herskikkingsproses te verskuif nie. Staatsdepartemente het voldoende tyd gehad om die herskikkingsprogram te voltooi.
Hierdie proses kan nie langer vertraag word nie, aangesien belangrike poste nou gevul moet word wat tot dusver deur die moratorium op aanstellings gekortwiek is. Hierdie moratorium het ‘n onnodige las op departemente geplaas wat teen miljoene rande van die duurste konsultante gebruik moes maak.
Die Nuwe NP wil die Minister gelukwens met haar knap en ferme hantering van hierdie baie belangrike aangeleenthede. Sy is ‘n rolmodel vir sommige van haar kabinetskollegas, veral vir die Minister van Binnelandse Sake, die alliansievennoot van die DA. Ek dank u. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)
[Mr A Z A VAN JAARSVELD (New NP): Madam Speaker, the calm atmosphere in which the announcement of salary increases for public servants took place this year is an indication of the successes that can be achieved in South Africa when the interested parties are prepared, like responsible builders of the new South Africa, to seek new solutions around the negotiating table, instead of on the streets or in the media.
In contrast with previous years, when threats of mass action, together with negative perceptions, were sent into the world, which damaged investor confidence, the calm surrounding the announcement of a salary increase of 9.5% should send out positive signals.
It is also heartening that the Minister for the Public Service and Administration is not prepared to shift the deadline to complete the transition process at this stage. Government departments have had sufficient time to complete the transition programme.
This process cannot be delayed any longer, because important positions that could not be filled because of the moratorium on appointments, must now be filled. This moratorium has placed an unnecessary burden on departments that had to make use of the most expensive consultants at a cost of millions of rands.
The New NP wishes to congratulate the Minister on her capable and firm handling of these very important matters. She is a role-model for some of the colleages in the Cabinet, especially the Minister of Home Affairs, the alliance partner of the DA. I thank you. [Interjections.]
GROWING RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
(Member's Statement)
Mr P H K DITSHETELO (UCDP): Madam Speaker, there is a worrying factor with regard to the number of people who are losing their jobs on a daily basis because of the state of our economy. Some of the problems are being attributed to the rate at which our economy is growing - as we are not meeting Gear targets - the high interest rates and the labour regime.
The major concern is the claim by businesses that they lay off workers due to the rising high costs of production, especially with the manufacturing companies. This means that this percentage adds to the already high number of unemployment and the unemployable because of lack of skills.
The Government has to rethink its policies in terms of how companies that add value to the economy of our country can be assisted so that they don’t close down.
With regard to the stimulation of the growth of the SMMEs, so far we have not seen any concrete evidence with regard to this commitment. The Minister of Trade and Industry, together with the Minister of Labour and the Governor of the Reserve Bank, must come up with immediate short-term and long-term plans to address this problem. The reality on the ground is that poverty is wreaking havoc with our people.
LAUNCHING OF TAXI INDUSTRY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN KWAZULU-NATAL
(Member's Statement)
Prof S S RIPINGA (ANC): Madam Speaker, the MEC for transport in KwaZulu- Natal, Comrade S’bu Ndebele, will officially launch the Taxi Industry’s Skills Development Project on Sunday, 15 June 2003, at Nquthu Stadium in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. The objective of this pilot project is to train 150 taxi owners in road safety and business development management. The KwaZulu- Natal Transport Department has invested R1,2 million in this ground- breaking project.
The ANC congratulates MEC S’bu Ndebele, uManzankosi, the KwaZulu-Natal transport department and other stakeholders for embarking on this project. We hope that this project will contribute positively in enhancing road safety and thus reducing the unnecessary loss of lives on our roads. The ANC further calls on other provinces to emulate this shining example and implement similar projects. Safety for our people, arrive alive! [Applause.]
ATTACK PROMPTED BY RACISM
(Member's Statement)
Miss S RAJBALLY (MF): Madam Speaker, the MF is appalled by the racist killing of 21-year-old Gugendrin Chetty near the Parow Night Club in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, on the night of Friday, 6 June 2003. Gugendrin and his friends, on the way to the club, were subjected to racist remarks by two males not sharing their ancestral heritage. A verbal response resulted in one of the attackers striking Chetty on the head with an aluminium bat and running over Chetty’s friend.
The MF expresses its disgust at this barbarism and denounces this behaviour as unacceptable in our democracy. The MF is pleased with the South African Police Services’ swift arrest of the perpetrators and hopes that charges of murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm will be met with heavy sentences as punishment. Racism and discrimination are not to be tolerated in South Africa.
The MF extends its condolences to the bereaved family of the late Gugendrin. May he rest in peace. To the victims of this tragedy, we sincerely apologise for your trauma. May God give you the strength to overcome this ordeal and not allow the infestation of hatred in our community as a result of this incident. Thank you.
TRANSPORT FOR LEARNERS IN RURAL AREAS
(Member's Statement)
Mr O BAPELA (ANC): Madam Speaker, in his budget speech the MEC for education in Gauteng, Ignatius Jacobs, highlighted that the ANC Government has set aside R34 million to improve transport for learners in rural areas. He indicated that the Government will be redesigning the rural transport system to improve efficiency and to ensure greater access to schooling for learners living far from schools, especially in rural areas and informal settlements where there are no educational services.
The ANC believes that this move will alleviate some of the challenges facing farm schools, including accessibility. This will also make pupils, especially girls, less vulnerable to rape and abuse as they will no longer have to request lifts or walk alone for long distances. The free scholar transport system will also complement Government’s plan to build hostels to accommodate learners who live far from schools.
These plans are a demonstration of Government’s commitment to building a caring environment for children and a truly dynamic education system that is accessible to all. The ANC welcomes the announcement made by the MEC during his budget speech. [Applause.]
NEW NP'S STATUS IN ALLIANCE WITH ANC
(Member's Statement)
Mr N J J VAN R KOORNHOF (DA): Madam Speaker, the New NP is reverting back to form, taking their old-style relationship of “baas” and “klaas” back on board. Only, this time they are “klaas,” according to “baas” Kader. [Interjections.]
On 4 June 2003 the hon Minister Kader Asmal, while responding to a speech by the MEC Mr Gaum in the NCOP, said the following, and I quote: I mentioned at the beginning that one of the virtues of coming to this House is that you listen to special delegates, MECs, who come with the authority of the province. Hon MEC Gaum does not speak for the Western Cape. The majority of the members of that legislative assembly are ANC members. I represent ANC policy. I speak for the ANC policy here. We have the majority in that legislative assembly and he, Gaum, has not sought the consent of the ANC element, either in the Cabinet or the legislative assembly.
It is clear that at least the hon Minister Asmal understands the dynamics of the alliance between the ANC and the New NP. The hon Asmal echoes the concerns of the hon Dr Boy Geldenhuys when he admitted that the New NP does not have any influence on the ANC. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
SOUTH AFRICA'S RANKING IN AFRICA ACCORDING TO LATEST SURVEY
(Member's Statement)
Prince N E ZULU (IFP): Madam Speaker, the study released on the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s Africa Economic Summit in Durban on Wednesday revealed that South Africa is ranked number four out of 21 African countries in a newly conducted survey by the same forum. Botswana has been ranked number one.
The survey’s terms of reference comprised the rule of law, impressions on corruption and the enforcement of contracts. The results of the survey augur well for Africa in general and for South Africa in particular. There could be no better economic news than this in the new millennium at the height of the well-conceived African renaissance era and on the eve of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
To be seen by the outside world as being on top of the problems faced by most governments, ie problems on the rule of law, corruption and botched and elite-serving contracts is a step in the right direction. The study reveals that South Africa was seen as the third least corrupt country, but the overall impression of the country was dragged down by the perceived costs linked to organised crime.
Therefore, on that very score we need, as a country, to focus our efforts on fighting organised crime if it is seen by the influential economic bodies and the outside world as dragging us down. We also need to fight some traces and remnants of corruption amongst ourselves and in the private and public organs. All state deals, as this is one of the major barometers of assessing the rule of law and level of corruption, must be transparent for all and sundry to see and reckon that indeed we subscribe to all the principles of good governance.
ERADICATION OF CHILD LABOUR
(Member's Statement)
Dr J BENJAMIN (ANC): Madam Speaker, 12 June is the World Day Against Child Labour. It is estimated that some 246 million children between the ages of five and 17 years are working instead of attending school around the world. Nearly three quarters of these children are exposed to work that is hazardous to their health.
This day has been chosen to focus the world’s attention on the urgent need to eradicate child labour. The ANC believes that the problem of child labour should be tackled by all sectors in society. There has to be national consensus, national action and political will in society to tackle this problem. The ANC calls on all South Africans to work towards the eradication of child labour. [Applause.]
INVESTIGATION INTO OWNERSHIP, EXISTENCE AND PRACTICES OF CREDIT BUREAUS
(Member's Statement)
Mr S PILLAY (New NP): Madam Speaker, the New NP is aware that credit bureaus are entrenched institutions, and as entrenched institutions they take on a life of their own and are prone to abuse their status, as they become a law unto themselves.
The credit bureaus list a person negatively and that person is effectively condemned for a period of five years. As an example, no reason is provided for the listing. The effect is that many innocent people are listed and, under the present system, very costly legal fees are needed to be cleared from the bureaus. Many aspirant businesspeople find that they are listed and that ensures that they cannot participate in the economy in terms of SMMEs and other economic activities.
The New NP therefore calls on the Ministers in The Presidency, Trade and Industry, and Finance to appoint a commission of inquiry into the ownership, existence and practices of all credit bureaus. Furthermore, the New NP calls on the relevant Ministers to re-examine the idea of a women’s bank to ensure that the prejudices of the retail banks do not affect South Africans in general and women specifically. In most instances links have been found between credit bureaus and retail banks. Credit bureaus directly contribute to denying people job opportunities and causing job losses, as some conveniently suffer from selective amnesia and blame the Minister of Labour. [Applause.]
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMMES TO BOOST EXPERIENCE
(Member's Statement)
Dr B G MBULAWA-HANS (ANC): Madam Speaker, organised youth formations and the National Youth Commission propose employment internship for youth in the public and private sectors. This programme will address the problem of lack of experience. Through this programme, young people will be exposed to a world of work. This programme will also provide a possibility for young people to be absorbed into full employment on the completion of their learnership programmes. Government can recruit these interns to provide service in needy areas and be cadres for community service.
The ANC-led Government has identified, as one of its priorities for this year, the need to recruit young people to various Government Seta programmes so that young people can get the necessary skills and experience. The ANC welcomes Government’s initiative to recruit youth to these Seta programmes. The ANC calls on the private sector to emulate this shining example and join hands with Government in tackling the challenge of youth unemployment. Now is the time, vukuzenzele. [Applause.]
INVESTIGATION OF CREDIT BUREAUS AND GROWING RATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT
(Minister's Response)
The MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Madam Speaker and members, I rise to respond to issues that were raised which relate to the economic cluster of Ministers. I would just like to say to the member from the New NP who raised the issue around the credit bureaus that indeed we will take into consideration the concerns that have been raised and I am sure that the relevant Ministers will soon be able to indicate what has been done.
With regard to the issue of the UCDP on the challenge of unemployment in our country and the issues of the growth in the economy, you would appreciate that these are matters that have been deliberated upon in the growth summit, as well as in preparation for going to that summit, by various stakeholders in Government, business as well as labour, to look at what mechanisms can be employed to ensure that we deal with the challenges that South Africa faces. If there are any proposals that the hon member would like to make, I am sure the hon Ministers would be able to look at them, and comment and indicate what would be done with those. [Applause.]
VIOLENCE IN GOVERNANCE OF ZIMBABWE
(Minister's Response)
The MINSTER OF DEFENCE: Madam Speaker, I just want to rise and say that sometime in the course of late last year the question was raised, from the floor in the House, as to ``why the ANC was not engaging in discussions with the MDC, and why we were concentrating on Zanu-PF’’.
Since then the President and President Obasanjo have led a move to initiate discussions between Zanu-PF and the MDC. I said last week that it is not helpful for the MDC to leave the talks and take to the streets and then, of course, create an atmosphere as if there is unwillingness to negotiate a settlement in Zimbabwe. [Interjections.]
We have been pushing Zanu-PF and the MDC to talk, and they must talk. They are not going to solve the problems there by running away from the talks. [Interjections.] They must go back to the talks. [Interjections.] The picture of somebody walking in chains, handcuffed and so on, is not something very grand to us. We have been subjected to worse situations by the previous government. [Interjections.] [Applause.] They must go back to the talks. We spent all of our lives persuading the white government in the past, for years, to come to talk to us. They must go back to talk it out. [Applause.]
EXTENSION OF DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF REPORT OF AD HOC JOINT COMMITTEE ON REPARATIONS
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, on behalf of the Chief Whip of the Majority Party, I move the motion printed in his name on the Order Paper as follows:
That, subject to the concurrence of the National Council of Provinces and notwithstanding the joint decision by the Speaker and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (see Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports, 24 April 2003, p 314) that was ratified by the House on 13 May 2003 (see Minutes of Proceedings, p 346), the date by which the Ad Hoc Joint Committee on Reparations has to submit a report to both Houses, be extended to 25 June 2003.
Agreed to.
YOUTH ACTION TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES OF DEMOCRACY
(Subject for Discussion)
The SPEAKER: Before the Minister takes the podium, I want to advise you that I received, on your behalf, a declaration submitted by the Youth Assembly meeting in Cape Town today. I wish to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of representatives of the youth who have brought their concerns and commitments to Parliament. [Applause.] The declaration submitted to Parliament will be tabled. [Applause.]
The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY: Madam Speaker, thank you very much. I was hoping you would say I was with you when you received it. [Laughter.]
Madam Speaker, hon members, it would seem to me that every year when we mark the occasion of June 16, it behoves us to reflect upon the fact that we are able to sit in this House, in this Parliament, debate, discuss, and pass laws in this Parliament, because very, very, very, very many young people sacrificed their blood and their lives so that we could enjoy the fruits of freedom and democracy. [Applause.]
It is also an occasion for all of us, including the old youth, to renew our commitments to the youth of our country. It is essential that we don’t speak a language which says we must give the youth opportunities, we must do this, we must do that. There is no young person waiting for us to tell them what to do. They are going to do it. The question is whether we have the capacity to work with the young people of South Africa to improve the quality of life of the masses of our people.
One of the critical structures that has assisted us in the mobilisation and galvanisation of the youth in South Africa has been the National Youth Commission. In its short life, the National Youth Commission has actively promoted youth participation across a wide range of fronts and has ensured that the voice of young people is part of the chorus of our democracy. They have ensured a better and co-ordinated policy direction, youth information sharing, capacity-building for the organisations of young people, concrete input and recommendations into important national and international forums, such as the World Conference against Racism, the WSSD, Nepad, the AU and, recently, the Growth and Development Summit.
I do know, and I’m fairly certain that this will happen when the debate takes place later, that there may be some amongst us who would argue that the National Youth Commission should be disbanded. Let me say this here and now: The National Youth Commission is not going to be disbanded, no matter what those to my left say. [Applause.] And they would be wise to take the opportunity that’s given to youth organisations representing political parties and other structures across the wide political spectrum to play a role in ensuring that the young people of South Africa play their full part in the political, economic, social and cultural life of our country. So, never mind what they’re going to say here. Let them speak; let them shout; let them scream. The National Youth Commission is here to stay. [Applause.]
Recently, Madam Speaker, we had a very interesting development in South Africa. Two weeks ago at the bi-annual general meeting of the South African Youth Council, which is a youth council which brings together representatives of organisations right across the political and ideological spectrum in our country, no fewer than 150 organisations were represented at that meeting, ranging from political formations such as the ANC Youth League - even the DA Youth League was there - to the Federasie vir Afrikaanse Kultuur. These are young intellectuals and volunteers of Africa.
What they did at that bi-annual meeting was quite clearly demonstrated: That those of us who are still backward in terms of trying to mobilise across this political and ideological spectrum in the national interest will get left even further behind. And this, in my view, was a great achievement of the South African Youth Council in which both the National Youth Commission as well as the Umsobomvu Fund played a critical role.
It is obvious that one of the most critical issues that we face today is the reality of unemployment amongst our young people, that is, specifically young women and young people with disabilities. At the core of this is the problem and the challenge of unemployment in the rural areas. Now, we cannot resolve these issues unless we act in partnership and unless we act in concert - this means the trade union movement, business, Government and broad civil society structures.
It is in all our interest that we move decisively in the direction in which we create far greater opportunities for our young people not only to find jobs, but also to enrol in the learnership programmes that will be rolled out. It would be instructive to note that one of the decisions taken at the Growth and Development Summit was to intensify the campaign to enrol young people in the learnership campaigns that are going to take place.
The issue of unemployment is not a matter just of young people getting a job, but it also has to do with the dignity of young people. Therefore, it’s quite critical that all of us, and especially those of us who sit in this House, act together and act in partnership to do something about this.
There is no doubt that the youth of South Africa is not apolitical, that the youth of South Africa is not disinterested in what happens to their country. The youth of South Africa is not disinterested in what happens on the African continent. The question is: Do we have the capacity to work with our young people? It would also be important for all of us, again across the political spectrum in this House, to intensify the campaign to ensure that every young person gets an ID card. Having got an ID card, they should register to vote. On election day, they should go and cast their votes.
Now, of course, some of the opposition parties might not be very much interested in this because they are afraid that the overwhelming majority of young people are not going to vote for them. [Laughter.] But, in the hope that maybe a teeny-weeny section of the youth will vote for them, it is still in their interest to get people registered for their ID cards and registered to vote.
Madam Speaker, you told us about the declaration that you’ve received on behalf of all of us. In conclusion, let me quote to you the conclusion of that declaration. It says:
We, the youth of South Africa, live in a unique country. Our challenges are many and complex. Our people are diverse and expectant. Our dreams are beautiful and melancholic. Our history is tragic and inspired. Our future is literally in our hands. We need a continued rebirth of hope and unity to regain and fulfil our dreams. We in the National Youth Assembly pledge to support all efforts by our Government to declare war on poverty and underdevelopment, to combat racism and imperialism. We are determined in our resolve to ensure that never again will youth be the subject of marginalisation and exploitation. We believe that our Government understands the assertion that: “One measure of a progressive state is the way it treats its youth.”
I hope all of us understand that measure. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr S D MONTSITSI: Madam Speaker, we shall forever be indebted to the youth of this country for giving us permission, through the National Youth Commission, to speak - that is, myself and the hon Minister Pahad.
You have to realise that almost every year, they actually give us permission. As I said, we are very happy and highly indebted to them. As we celebrate the 27th anniversary of youth mass action and achievement across the country, we should pause and salute the gallant fighters and icons of the youth movement like Ephraim Mogale, Siphiwe Mthimkhulu, Peter Mokaba and many others.
I wish to draw a parallel with regard to how the youth of 1976 were treated by the apartheid government and the respect that the present youth have gained both from their Government and communities. The late former president of the African National Congress, Comrade Oliver Tambo, said, and I quote:
A nation that does not value its youth, does not deserve a future.
The establishment and the location of the National Youth Commission in The Office of the Presidency speaks volumes about how the present Government espouses and cherishes the aspirations of young people in South Africa. This particular gesture and statement is intended to declare to the world and country at large that never again will the youth of this country be treated like scum, baggage or animals. The fact that the new South Africa invests in its youth as the youth is the future.
Apartheid subjected us to torture and death in detention, massive fire power on students who were unarmed. On Wednesday, 16 June 1976, we turned out in our thousands, pounding the dirty streets of Soweto with one resounding voice: Scrap Afrikaans as a medium of instruction - not as a language - abolish Bantu education and away with apartheid. The peaceful student march was met with brutal force as volleys of bullets rained on unarmed students.
Instead of breaking the spirit and instilling fear in the youth, the resolve to fight on and defy the might of apartheid went from strength to strength. This day set the pace and foundation for youth activities and mobilisation to flourish from the 70s right up to the 90s. Let me share with the youth and the country some of the most horrific experiences we have gone through.
In August 1976, I was marching alongside a fellow SRC member from Jabulane Technical School. His name was Douglas. As we were leading the march towards New Canada Station, marching to town, the police opened fire and followed up with teargas. I turned and fled, leaving Douglas behind.
At a safe distance I turned and looked for him. I saw him carrying an injured schoolgirl in his arms, with police surrounding him. He was put inside the police van with the rest of the youth who were overcome by teargas and could not run. When he was released, he told me that the girl he was carrying had had a gaping wound in her stomach and that her intestines were falling freely out of her body. Douglas did the best he could to push them back. The girl died in his arms in the police van.
These are actions of the government of the past and the horrors of apartheid. Now that we are free and the youth of this country have the right to vote, the obstacles that impede youth from being able to carry identity documents should actually be removed.
The National Youth Commission gives clear statistics regarding voter registration in 1999 amongst youth. The lowest rate emerged amongst those age between 18 and 20 years. The lowest percentages amongst provinces in terms of registration by youth is Kwa-Zulu Natal with 38% registration, and the Eastern Cape and the Northern Province with 43% each. Gauteng and the Western Cape showed at least an improvement of 62%.
We therefore call for a massive campaign amongst the young people of South Africa to ensure that they acquire identity documents in order to come and vote in large numbers. Despite the challenges which are confronting the current youth, there are sterling successes which ought to be applauded.
First, the Umsobomvu Fund is funding a project in North West’s Atamelang township where about 80 youths under the joint enrichment programme established three municipal food gardens to sustain production and earn income for themselves and for 500 community pensioners, some of whom are ill and disabled. They also assist their community with Lifeline counselling - this is the youth that was supposed to be lost and out of direction or out of step.
In partnership with the National Youth Commission, the State Information and Technology Agency is helping graduates find jobs to increase the country’s IT capability. Two-hundred-and-thirty graduates will be exposed to life skills training, case management and work experience. These graduates will be absorbed into the Public Service armed with high level IT skills to enhance the quality of work within the Public Service.
Those who are sceptical about our youth should pause and think about the abundance of loyalty and patriotism that drove Sibusiso Vilane to climb the 8 000 m height of Mount Everest and reach the summit on 26 May 2003. He had this to say to the youth of South Africa and the world over:
Putting my feet on the summit made me feel great. Africans can do everything. Nothing can stop us, as long as we prepare properly.
[Applause.] Coming to the declaration which has just been handed to you, Madam Speaker, let us remember that the youth, on the 21st anniversary of 16 June, have the theme which they called: Nonracialism, a youth vision for the 21st century. This shows that the youth are prepared, still, to reach out to the youth of other nationalities.
In the past, however, this is what used to happen. The apartheid museum has information on its walls about what they refer to as the chameleon dance. Most nationalities of South Africa were displaced. The census of that time showed that 702 coloureds were displaced and became white; 19 whites became coloured; one Indian became white; three Chinese became white; 50 Indians became coloured; 43 coloureds became Indian; two blacks became other Asians; one black became Griqua; 11 coloureds became Chinese; and one Chinese became coloured; but no black became white and no white became black. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Mr M L DA CAMARA: Madam Speaker, every nation puts its faith in its future on the promise of its youth. Consequently, every nation devotes every effort in nurturing, guiding and supporting its youth. Leaders take responsibility to protect and invest in our country’s future, making every necessary sacrifice and committing every available resource to this essential task to secure a better future for coming generations.
A nation that fails in this is doomed to blunder into the future without vision, without direction. Failure to adopt a bold vision of a future with great promise will destroy any hopes young people may hold, creating an ideal environment for self-destructive juvenile delinquency.
South Africa, unfortunately, is burdened with a mediocre Government that stumbles forward without vision or direction, providing ineffective piecemeal solutions … [Interjections] … a Government in breach of its obligations, deliberately manipulating organs of state for its own sake, to the detriment of our youth. To this Government, our future is not important. [Interjections.]
Sadtu’s right to strike when a teacher is disciplined for poor service seems more important to Government than the future of our children. What future can we expect if only 40% of scholars complete matric, which is the basic requirement for young people to develop? What future can we expect? While Sadtu is satisfied, our nation loses precious potential, which is the very essence of our future. Imagine the deep disillusionment of a young person who does pass matric when he or she learns that only one in ten matriculants will get an opportunity to develop further. How heart- wrenching it must be to have your dreams destroyed; the dreams promised by an education so brutally betrayed.
Yet it is more important to Government to satisfy the demands of Cosatu at the Growth and Development Summit than to ensure our youth’s future. [Interjections.] An opportunity to secure the future by committing substantial resources for investment in our youth and making radical changes necessary to drastically improve their prospects for employment was squandered. What a shame.
The ruling party looked after its own youth league through the establishment of the National Youth Commission. It seems more important to the ANC to decide who will be in a position to buy a silk shirt or Italian shoes with taxpayer’s money than it is to honestly face substance abuse, gang violence and teenage pregnancies, all of which threaten our future. Face those issues. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
It is more important for Government to defend the indefensible and protect the President’s standing than it is to save the lives of young people, and that’s a fact. HIV/Aids will have claimed 620 000 young, bright and talented South Africans by the end of this month. Ironically, it’s the month of the youth. Yet, no comprehensive antiretroviral treatment programme has been put on the table and made available to young people in this country. Why not? [Interjections.]
We do not have to imagine the impact this will have on our future. We can already see it in the number of young professionals who die every day, not to mention the burden placed on many young people who have become responsible for their families before they’ve had an opportunity to fully develop. [Interjections.]
Let me offer you an alternative vision for young South Africans, a vision where young people do not suffer the indignity of begging money from the meagre pensions of their grandmothers, where young people leave schools with the skills required by employers, and the opportunity to develop those and new skills further through skills transfer and training. [Interjections.]
Last week’s Growth and Development Summit finally committed to increase the number of learnerships offered to unskilled and unemployed people from 23 000 to 72 000. Besides its being primarily a commitment by business and not Government, it is also a mere drop in the ocean, compared to the 8 million unemployed young people in our country today. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
It is also nothing compared to the 4,5 million opportunity vouchers that the DA would provide for learnerships and skills development over five years. This would amount to 4,5 million job opportunities. [Interjections.] [Applause.] This is a credible vision of a better future in which young people can believe. This is a vision, a vision where international donors queue up to replenish the Umsobomvu Fund because, after five years, it has already distributed nearly R1 billion to so many successful young people and job creation projects throughout the country, a vision where young people’s lives aren’t cut short, where children do not lose their parents and families, do not …
Mr M T GONIWE: Madam Speaker, is it in order for the hon member to confuse young people? [Applause.]
The SPEAKER: Order! That is a spurious point of order. Please continue, hon member.
Mr M L DA CAMARA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is a vision where young people’s lives aren’t cut short, where children do not lose their parents and families, do not lose their breadwinners to the scourge of Aids, because those parents and breadwinners would have had access to life-saving antiretroviral treatment. [Applause.]
Seldom has a nation had the opportunity to start over as we had, nearly ten years ago. How criminal is it that we have squandered such a golden opportunity. In the past decade, we have seen Government systematically betray the youth, time and time again. We say this: Government’s celebration of June 16 has become a hollow one because there is nothing to celebrate for the unemployed young people of our country, for those young people who have Aids and those young people who have left us because of Aids, because Government does not care.
We only need to look at this declaration to see that there is no mention of the roll-out of antiretrovirals to save lives. The Government does not care. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
Dr U ROOPNARAIN: Madam Speaker and hon members, I’m reminded of a quote by Shakespeare who once said: ``Many a flower is borne to bloom unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air.’’
This is true of many of the talented youth of our country. This afternoon, I want to say, irrespective of our political and diverse roles within the Government of this country, we all share a common responsibility, that is, to address the needs of our young people.
A professor at Wits University, Eddie Webster, points out in a lead article:
If you are a young person in South Africa today, about to embark in the world, you have to master the English language, which is the language of globalisation. You have to master mathematics, you have to be computer literate, and you have to find yourself a niche.
What is happening today does not begin nor end at our borders. Yet, South Africa is experiencing a double transition. Firstly, there is the transition to a globally competitive economy, while simultaneously attempting to consolidate democracy at home. Democracy is about respect. It is about having your voice heard, it is about jobs, it is about food and it is about power.
We cannot simply create democracy via the Constitution. There has to be the requisite culture. Very often it is difficult for decision-makers, who are thrust into the position and have to come up with projects and programmes. What we should be doing is exposing the youth to a specific culture, a culture related to democratic practice and concepts. In doing this, we teach youth the values of respect, tolerance, rights, responsibilities and ubuntu.
Human instincts are not based on democracy. They are based on having food to eat. Democracy doesn’t mean a thing if people can’t eat three times a day or don’t have a job. It is about the ability to survive. Today, the human calamity faced by the Aids pandemic presents one of the greatest risks to the youth of the world. This is just one of the many problems. Democratic nations demonstrate that, indeed, democracy itself does not guarantee greater social justice. Democracy must be accompanied by political will and commitment. Therefore, there is also a need to strengthen the capacity of nations to deliver the tangible benefits of democracy. We need to move away from the ideological towards the practical.
I’m reminded of the words of Martin Luther King Jnr who said, in 1964, when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize: ``If peace is our goal, it must be our way.’’ Today, I add: If democracy is our goal, it must be the only way.
Another issue I want to talk about is the increasing number of young people brought up in nuclear and often dysfunctional families. We don’t like talking about this, but it is a reality. Too many young people have surrogate parents and communities. What does this mean for them? It means a life of vigilantism, some joining a gang and trying to emulate some infamous role model. Part of democracy is an industrialised economy. We need people who are functional, people who are stable and Government has to help create the conditions for this.
The central idea to the consolidation of democracy is the idea of social citizenship. Coupled with this is the right to income, the right to security and the right to education. The IFP believes that to be a vibrant democracy, education is the road to travel on. Education is the solid base on which democracy can be built. There is no other way.
No democracy can exist on ignorance. To pull people out of the abyss of poverty, education and skills training have to be the helping hand. The question we need to ask is: What skills are we offering? Are they productive? Are they accessible? Are they relevant? Youth have to engage in survivalist strategies, and often, they are imbued with feelings of insecurity. This creates a loss of self-worth and self-dignity.
It is very easy to lose perspective in a fast-paced world. The challenge is to foster a culture of education and skills. The protected South African economy of the past, based on mining and agriculture, is over. Right now, we are witnessing a challenge, a challenge of international competition, which is driven by information capitalism and information technology. This is the challenge for us and for Nepad.
We must inculcate the learning of science and technology. This is non- negotiable. Here, I just want to add that partnerships - I know the Minister spoke about partnerships - must be on a broad level. We have to bring all stakeholders on board.
In the absence of a base level of mathematics and science, unemployment would be burgeoning. The IFP believes that, through the actions and demands of young people, history is shaped and circumstances are changed. The youth must have a vision. Government must have a plan, even if it means refining and revising our institutions such as the National Youth Commission. Our challenges are many and complex. Our people are diverse and expectant.
We need to embark on that path. I began with a quotation from Shakespeare, and I want to end with my version of it: Let not the flowers be wasted. We owe it to the youth of our country. We need to pledge all our efforts across party lines to ensure that the youth take their rightful place in our society. Youth, your age has come. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr J DURAND: Madam Speaker, I was young once. In 1976, I was a young student. Recently I had the great pleasure of being part of a team in Parliament, the Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth and Disabled Persons, and we interviewed candidates for the National Youth Commission. At this process I could see the improved quality of our young people. One could see that they live in a country where the Government is concerned about developmental issues as far as the youth is concerned.
Two weeks ago, I attended the bi-annual congress of the youth council where the new executive was elected. Once again, I was impressed with the quality and the intelligence, but more especially, with the love and patriotism that burns in the hearts of those young people. They reminded me of myself and my colleagues in 1976 when we stood against the government then.
When we commemorate 16 June 1976, we need to remember those who made it possible. We should never forget the youth of 1976, never forget their commitment and the price they paid and are still paying to make this freedom that we all are enjoying possible. They scarified their lives, their education and their future to liberate all of us from oppression and racial discrimination. To appreciate the role of the youth, one needs to understand the conditions in this country then.
In the late 1960s, the idea of black consciousness heralded an era of alternative political awareness in South Africa. A self-empowering, vibrant, reconstructionist world view emphasised the potential role of black initiative and responsibility in articulating the power of the powerless.
Between 1968 and 1976, the black consciousness movement was one characterised by the most significant developments in South Africa, not only because of the self-confident protests and rebellion that it unleashed, but also because of the questions it posed about the nature of opposition politics in South Africa and its relation to the nature of South African society. Indeed, blacks in South Africa, in the 1960s, were ready for an ideology of liberation.
The oppression of apartheid society was overt and blatant. All opposition had been silenced and institutionalised racism flourished triumphantly. Centuries of exclusionary practices led to what might be described as the inferiorisation of blacks. They were portrayed as innately inferior, accustomed to dehumanised living, sexually promiscuous, intellectually limited and prone to violence. Blackness symbolised evil, demise, chaos, corruption and uncleanliness. Thus, black consciousness emanated from the differential material and political circumstances in which blacks were situated. Its prime movers in the early phase were relatively privileged medical students, not workers, who served as educated articulators of the plight of the unprivileged and politically excluded. Yet, unlike most medical students elsewhere, many of them came from working-class backgrounds and were not insulated from the harsh conditions of their society then. They were joined by other students on the newly created segregated black campuses where they operated under severe restrictions.
The youth of the 70s transformed negative attitudes about subordinate nonwhites into a positive discourse of resistance. It offered psychological support to oppressed groups by providing a model for positive identification and sought to alleviate the self-contempt often felt by the oppressed.
We, therefore, owe a tremendous debt to those young people who gave their all. Not only did they suffer, but also their children, who are the youth today, because they were willing to offer themselves to economic empowerment. Our debt to the youth of 1976 and their children today is not only a debt that must be paid, it is also an investment in our future as a nation.
What are some of the problems facing our youth? There is the problem of youth unemployment. The number of young people who have no skills to offer is high, but even graduates who can show a certificate cannot find jobs. There is also growing evidence that HIV/Aids is affecting the youth, ages 14 to 35, more than any other age component of the population. Clearly, the demands of the new South Africa on young people are more rigorous and less forgiving of individual shortcomings and early mistakes than was the case when some of us grew up.
The trends cited above pose difficult challenges for our society, especially the youth. They suggest South Africa’s youth are in trouble. This would make it an odd time for South Africa to be drifting into a `what will be will be’ attitude towards issues affecting the youth. We should implement the National Youth Strategy. The vision is the development of youth through providing a long-term and effective means of reconstructing South African youth through physical rehabilitation, asset- building and renewal of community resources and rebuilding the fabric of communities. The National Youth Strategy will foster a spirit of nation- building by inculcating a culture of service, a common sense of nationhood and engendering a new form of patriotism as well as promoting intergenerational understanding.
In line with this vision, the following are the goals of the National Youth Strategy: to inculcate a culture of service by supporting the youth to participate constructively in nation-building, and to inculcate in young people an understanding of their role in the promotion of civic awareness and national reconstruction.
Youth Day should be a celebration of the energies and achievements of young people. South Africa has young people coming from diverse backgrounds with different talents to offer. Some will be intellectuals and some interested in sport. Some are from rural areas and some from urban areas. Together they all can become part of an engine that can achieve excellence and make this country a prosperous one, and a great place to live in. [[Applause.]
Mr K M MOEKETSE: Madam Speaker, hon Minister, hon members, comrades and compatriots, I want to reiterate what the Minister has said: The National Youth Commission is here to stay. This august House, the very final verdict and tribunal of our people, joins the nation and young people in particular in the celebration of the heroic and selfless deeds of the youth of our country in the transformation of our land.
Ho totobetse hore histori kapa nalane ya naha ena e ngotswe ka madi a barwetsana le bahlankana, hore re iphumane re le mona moo re leng teng kajeno. [It is clear that the history of our country was written with the blood of young women and young men, for us to be where we are today.]
This debate takes place at a time when our country is confronted with the most difficult challenge of turning the tide against poverty, homelessness, joblessness and a skewed human resource development base created by the legacy of apartheid and colonialism.
As we engage in this debate in honour of the heroic deeds of successive generations of youth, we must equally take stock of the impact our Government has made on improving the lives of our people and the youth in particular, and position ourselves for challenges ahead. We do so as the ANC because of the special place the youth occupies in the centre stage of democracy, development and growth.
Of the total number of the economically active population, 72% of those who are unemployed are youth, in particular young women. Research on crime statistics also point to a scenario where youth are predominant as both the perpetrators and victims of crime.
The previous government never bothered about the welfare, development and interests of the majority of youth of this country, in particular the African youth. Skills training, employment and access to quality sports and cultural participation was a preserve of the white section of the youth of this country.
Our detractors, who represent narrow interests of the privileged section of the youth of this country, would want to convince us this afternoon that the lives of the youth in this country have moved from bad to worse since
- In doing so, they choose to ignore, amongst others, the fact that the economy of this country had witnessed a downward swing since the 1970s and the 1980s, culminating at 30% in 1993, thus shedding many jobs.
Our country has never known a culture of human rights before 1994. It is the ANC Government that has introduced this culture as entrenched in our Bill of Rights. The supreme law of our country protects and spells out in clear terms the inalienable rights that should be protected as a matter of law.
This has resulted in the transformation of the criminal justice system to be geared towards rehabilitative measures as opposed to punishment with impunity that always results in the destruction of the self-esteem of the victims. For the first time, our criminal justice system recognises the rights of the underaged to learn and not to be mixed with hardcore serious offenders whilst in custody.
In pursuit of this noble goal of protecting the rights of the youth and children who are in conflict with the law, our Government has gone the extra mile to put resources in place to create special facilities for custody of young people who are in conflict with the law. The establishment of one-stop centres to assist children or youth who are victims of violent crimes has not only increased the reporting levels of violence against children, but further heightened public consciousness around children and youth’s rights. Many children who are in custody due to being in conflict with the law are entitled to further their education as a basic right. This helps to alleviate the social burden when these children or youth are reintegrated back into society for productive social participation. It is a fact that when a child grows up in custody and is deprived of the right to learn, by the time he/she comes back, he/she loses hope in positive social participation.
We can boldly illustrate how this new system of child justice has rechannelled the energies of some young offenders who, upon return from custody, applied their acquired skills to participate meaningfully in society thus inspiring others to believe that crime does not pay. We proceed from the understanding and conviction that a child and a youth’s place is not in prison.
Certainly, crimes against the youth and children in particular cannot be policed. Its prevention resides in the mobilisation and conscientisation of communities against all sorts of crimes against the youth and children. Our Government, through outreach and community awareness programmes, has made a dent in the incidence of crime against children. The fact that the level of reportage on crimes against the youth and children has risen is a clear testimony to this reality. Through their active participation in prison workshops, the youth learn new skills to contribute positively once they are reunited with society.
The National Youth Commission has been established through an Act of Parliament in 1996 to champion youth development at the level of policy formulation by, among other things, interacting with government departments in the legislative processes to ensure a youth bias. This Act outlines very clearly what the key competency areas are for this statutory body for youth development, which are among others, the following: policy research, policy development and setting of an agenda for youth development and monitoring of policies of Government in relation to youth development.
It should be clear that some people are deliberately judging the National Youth Commission on aspects that do not concern its competency areas. The commission is a policy institution, but it has facilitated some of the pilot projects which some government departments have taken seriously. Amongst these are the following: Young Positive-Living Ambassadors, which is very supportive to young people who are HIV-positive and encourages positive living. Some government departments, like the Free State health department, have incorporated the project within their Ministries.
The National Youth Commission and the Land Bank recently launched an agricultural project in the Northern Cape and Free State in Paul Roux, the eastern part of the Free State, and this programme will be expanded to other provinces.
Skills development remains an important project for the youth, which is the best way of facilitating youth economic participation. The Department of Labour has set a target of 80 000 learnerships in 2005. It is for the private sector to play a meaningful role in youth development projects.
On the civil society level, we have the SA Youth Council which continues to be a central body for non-statutory organisations of South African youth. This organisation continues to do its work, notwithstanding its financial position. It commands the support of many youth organisations across the political and cultural spectrum.
The reality is that many of our young people are graduated to unemployment and many more are matriculated to unemployment too. This, in the main, continues to impact on the majority of our youth in particular because of deliberate programmes of the past which were meant to dehumanise us.
Some challenges are that we need a deliberate effort to find the best way of making the youth of our country participants in the economy and this can only be done by clear preferential policies under the spirit of the Black Economic Empowerment agenda, supported by both the public and private sector.
The Umsobomvu Fund, as part of the agreements of the 1998 Presidential Job Summit, was set up to assist in the creation of youth entrepreneurship. To date, approximately R1 billion has been raised. However, R1 billion is still not enough to address our problems of unemployment, given the matriculation of tens of thousands of our youth who cannot be absorbed by both our higher education systems and the job market.
There is no doubt that the ANC-led Government inherited a huge backlog in
- There was high unemployment and the economy has been in recession for some years and was structurally defective. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Adv Z L MADASA: Mhlalingaphambili, intetho yam isisikhumbuzo sikamfi uXolile Musi, umhlobo wam, esasimatsha naye, owabulawa ngo-1976, mhla sasiye kufuna inkokeli kwisikhululo samapolisa kwaLanga.
Siyi-ACDP, sihlaba ikhwelo kulutsha, sisithi malungahlali emva, lubukele izinto zisenzeka. Eli lizwe, likule ndawo likuyo namhlanje ngenxa yolutsha luka-1944, 1976 noluka-1980 olwenza intshukumo, kwatsho kwakho inguqu, le siyibonayo namhlanje. Ulutsha ndifuna ukulukhuthaza luziqalele izinto zalo. Imisebenzi inqabile yaye ayisayi kuphinda yande. Apho ulutsha lukhoyo maludibane lenze umbutho, njengawo lombutho endifuna ukufunda ngawo namhlanje.
Ndifumene isimemo kulutsha oluzibiza ngelokuba luyiSaki Macozoma Male Voices Entertaining for Tourists, yaseBhayi. Ngowe-16 kuJuni baya kuba bene`Youth Day Festival’. Bathi xa bezichaza, ndiyacaphula:
Lo ngumzekelo wolutsha oluthabathe inxaxheba, lazenzela izinto zalo apho lukhoyo. Ke, ikhwelo lam kulutsha lelokuba ningalindi uRhulumente, niya kutyiwa yindlala. Sukumani, phakamani apho nikhoyo, dibanani, nenze umbutho, niqale iinkampani ezincinci, nithethe noRhulumente, niye ezinkampanini, nize nasemibuthweni efana nalo wethu. Niyikhethe kodwa imibutho, ningahambe nijoyina nje. Jongani imibutho, okokuba ikhokelwa ngoobani, ngoobani abayiphetheyo, imele ntoni loo mibutho. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa speech follows.)
[Adv Z L MADASA: Speaker, my speech is about remembering the late Mr Xolile Musi, a friend of mine, with whom I struggled and who was killed in 1976 on the day we went to enquire about our leader at Langa Police Station.
As the ACDP we are calling upon the youth and say that they should not sit back while things are happening. This country is where it is today because of the youth of 1944, 1976 and the 1980s that were such a strong movement that eventually led to the change that we see today. I want to encourage the youth to thinK creatively and start initiating things. Jobs are scarce and there will not be any more. Wherever they are, the youth need to get together and form an organisation just like the organisation I am going to read about today.
I received an invitation from a youth organisation called Saki Macozoma Male Voices Entertaining for Tourists from Port Elizabeth. On 16 June 2003 they will be hosting a Youth Day Festival. This is what they say about themselves, and I quote:]
The festival will showcase the talented youth, the young people around metro involving traditional dance, gospel, choral music and the young people of Enkuselweni proving themselves that they are part of the community with pantsula jive, gumboots dance and lots of entertainment from them with the help of the Saki Macozoma male voices.
This is an example of young people who have taken the initiative and started up something where they live. I am issuing this warning to all youth and cautioning them that if they wait for the Government to do things for them, they will go hungry. Wake up, stand up wherever you are, get together and form an organisation and start a small enterprise and speak to the Government, go to companies and come to parties such as ours. Choose carefully though, and do not join just any party. Look at the leadership of the party and what it stands for. [Applause.]]
Ms N C NKABINDE: Deputy Speaker, hon Minister and hon members, someone once said, “Youth is wasted on the young.” In South Africa, it is too often the case that our youth never get a proper opportunity to be young. Unemployment, poverty and the death of parents due to HIV/Aids are but some of the pervasive challenges that force young people into lives of hardship and suffering.
When we speak of the youth seizing the opportunities of democracy, it rings a hollow note for many of our young people who cannot, no matter how desperately they wish to, find these opportunities in order to seize them. A recent shocking revelation has indicated the extremely poor levels of literacy among Grade 3 pupils. What opportunities will these young people be able to seize later in life?
By far the biggest challenge facing the youth is the unemployment crisis in South Africa. Of the more than 4 million unemployed adults in the country, the vast majority are younger than 30. In fact, every year, hundreds of thousands of young people matriculate and enter a job market that is unable to provide most of them with employment opportunities.
If we want to do something for the youth then we must address the unemployment crisis. Nice parliamentary speeches do not change their reality. The sad truth is that many young people are beginning to lose faith in this democracy that does not provide them with opportunities, which is why so many young people did not participate in the past election. This is a warning signal of growing discontent among our young people and we dare not ignore this warning.
Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Deputy Speaker, the FF believes that politics is always about the future. The youth is the future of a country. In politics we make decisions today that will affect people tomorrow. Today we are debating ``Youth action to seize the opportunities of democracy’’.
The opportunities in South Africa are unlimited. What a beautiful country with room and opportunities for everybody. But why are so many young people leaving South Africa?
Ek wil vir u voorlees uit ‘n brief van ‘n jong dame, en ek haal aan:
Ek is ‘n jong Afrikaner in exile. Ek woon en werk in ‘n vreemde land, nie omdat ek van benede vriespuntweer hou, graag in oorvol moltreine ry of verkies om ‘n vreemde taal te praat nie. Ek is hier omdat my vaderland nie meer vir my ‘n toekoms bied nie. Dit maak my bitter en die duiwel in. Ons jongmense kan maar geoffer word. Ons kan maar regstellende aksie en die gevolge daarvan aanvaar, maar ons moet net nie branders maak nie. Die prys wat betaal moet word, is glo as gevolg van die ``legacy of apartheid’’. Maar ons in die vreemde het boggerol te doen gehad met apartheid. Meeste van ons was skaars gebore toe die ANC ontban is. Op die oomblik is ek ‘n wéreldburger en verdien ek goeie buitelandse geld, maar as ek kon kies, sou ek eerder wou huistoe kom. Maak dit asseblief vir my moontlik. Gee ‘n plan.
Die VF sê daar is ‘n plan om hierdie jong mense weer opgewonde oor Suid- Afrika en die toekoms te maak. Artikel 9 van ons Grondwet bepaal dat almal gelyk is. Daar mag nie teenoor ‘n persoon gediskrimineer word op grond van ras, geslag of etniese afkoms nie. Hoekom word dan teen hierdie jongmense gediskrimineer? Omdat artikel 9(2) bepaal dat daar wel omrede regstellende aksie gediskrimineer mag word.
Die VF stel voor dat ons hierdie kwalifikasie in die Grondwet verander en die jeug vrystel van regstellende aksie. Die VF het so ‘n grondwetlike wysiging voorgestel. Om watter rede moet daar steeds teen hulle gediskrimineer word en vir hoe lank nog? U sal verbaas wees om te sien watter bydrae hierdie jongmense vir Suid-Afrika se toekoms sal maak, as hulle vir hulself weer geleenthede en hoop sien ná so ‘n wysiging. Ek dank u. [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I would like to read to you from a letter by a young woman, and I quote:
Ek is ‘n jong Afrikaner in exile. Ek woon en werk in ‘n vreemde land, nie omdat ek van benede vriespuntweer hou, graag in oorvol moltreine ry of verkies om ‘n vreemde taal te praat nie. Ek is hier omdat vaderland nie meer vir my ‘n toekoms beid nie. Dit maak my bitter en die duiwel in. Ons jongmense kan maar geoffer word. Ons kan maar regstellende aksie en die gevolge daarvan aanvaar, maar ons moet net nie branders maak nie. Die prys wat betaal moet word, is glo as gevolg van die ``legacy of apartheid’’. Maar ons in die vreemde het boggerol te doen gehad met apartheid. Meeste van ons was skaars gebore toe die ANC ontban is. Op die oomblik is ek ‘n wéreldburger en verdien ek goeie buitelandse geld, maar as ek kon kies, sou ek eerder wou huistoe kom. Maak dit asseblief vir my moontlik. Gee ‘n plan. The FF says that there is a plan to make these young people excited about South Africa and the future again. Section 9 of our Constitution provides that everyone is equal. No person may be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, ethnic origin. Why then are these young people being discriminated against? Because section 9(2) provides that there may in fact be discrimination because of affirmative action.
The FF proposes that we change this qualification in the Constitution and free the youth from affirmative action. The FF proposed such a constitutional amendment. For what reason must they still be discriminated against and for how much longer? You would be surprised to see what contribution these young people would make to South Africa’s future, if they saw opportunities and hope for themselves again after such an amendment. I thank you. [Interjections.]]
Mme M A SEECO: Modulasetilo, maloko a a fano a a tlotlegang, UCDP ya re go baswa ba Afrika Borwa ba ikaelele go tshela jaaka menwana ya seatla e le metlhano. Go itse setso sa bona go tlaa kgontsha baswa ba rona go dira tsa bongwana ka nako ya bongwana. Ba tshwanetse go supa maikarabelo a a kwa godimo jaaka monwana wa bobedi, ba nne bagolo ba ba nang le maikarabelo jaaka monwana wa boraro o tlhagisa tlhogo. O o latelang, o ka fa tlase go supa fa thata e ya bokhutlong. Wa kgonojwe o supa tlhogo tshweu. (Translation of Setswana paragraph follows.)
[Mrs M A SEECO: Chairperson, hon members present, the UCDP says that the youth of South Africa should strive to live like the five fingers of a hand. Knowing their culture will allow our youth to act like children when they are supposed to. They should reflect a huge responsibility, like the middle finger, and be adults who are responsible, like the ring finger. The next finger shows the strength is fading. The thumb shows wisdom.]
The youth face a number of challenges in South Africa. Amongst others, they are confronted with the challenges of unemployment, poverty, health-related issues such as HIV/Aids, lack of skills, and lack of information that would enable them to make informed decisions about their lives.
With the ushering in of democracy in 1994, the youth was seen as a vital resource for the country. Without them, there can be no future. They are the centre of reconstruction and development. Against this backdrop, this brief will consider the opportunities offered by the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Fund to assist young people to overcome the challenges that they continue to face.
There are approximately 17,5 million youth between the ages of 14 and 35 in South Africa, of whom three-fifths are unemployed. According to Statistics South Africa’s Labour Force Survey, there are a total of 31,22% unemployed people between the ages of 15 and 24, and 40,17% unemployed between the ages of 25 and 34. The youth thus make up the largest number of the unemployed.
The NYC was established to address the problems and challenges facing young men and women in South Africa. Its mandates which are set out in the Act include, firstly, implementing measures to redress the imbalances of the past relating to various forms of disadvantages suffered by young people generally, and secondly, maintaining close liaison with institutions, bodies or authorities similar to the NYC so that common policies and practices can be established to promote co-operation.
The NYC’s HIV/Aids programme is an outreach programme that ensures that the interest, awareness and participation of youth are central in the fight against HIV/Aids. It is premised on the principle of positive living. The main goal of the project is to promote acceptance and care of young people who are living with HIV/Aids and to prevent the further spread of HIV, particularly among young people. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Ms M P MENTOR: Madam Speaker, a great welcome goes to the young people of South Africa, our future. [Applause.]
The hon Da Camara said that the ANC Government is mediocre. We are actually giants. The world comes here to learn the various aspects of governance and change. The DA are giants of destruction of what we are trying to build. [Applause.]
You said that there are no jobs for young people and there is a lack of education. You forget that we have inherited a faulty economy from your predecessors. You choose to ignore the fact that, to date, we are still servicing an apartheid debt. The bulk of our GDP goes towards servicing this debt. But besides this, the bulk of our national Budget goes to education. This is what you should tell the youth.
Every single year from 1994 to date, we have been spending most of our Budget on education, and incrementally so. Your previous government taught our youth to be clerks, police, nurses and teachers. We have now opened the door for them to be anything they want to be. The future is in their hands. [Applause.]
You cannot be the custodian of the future of our youth. You cannot. Anybody who fills our youth with wrong and negative messages is the enemy of their future. Psychologists, politicians and parents know that in raising and nurturing the youth, one should always fills one’s children with positive messages, not negative ones. [Applause.]
Young people of South Africa, you are beneficiaries of democracy and freedom. This democracy was fought for with blood, tears, sweat and life itself. You should not take this democracy for granted but should value it. It has created opportunities and they should be seized. The youth are a national asset and our pride. The ANC-led Government loves the youth, and so do the people of South Africa because we know botlhale jwa phala bo tswa phalaneng. [children can give good advice to their parents].
The youth are appreciated and are encouraged to do and achieve whatever they want to. They have the ability and the capability. They can. The youth are the inheritors of the future and they should prepare for it now. The ANC-led Government has opened doors for them and they should respond accordingly and positively.
We have solicited funds for the youth. Some people have already mentioned the Umsobomvu Fund, Khula and Ntsika. The funds should be approached by the youth and made to work for them. We have created structures such as the National Youth Council and the National Youth Commission and anybody who shoots down these structures is the enemy of the future of the youth. These structures should be defended as they were put in place by them to serve the youth. They should be made to work and they should be defended with all that they have.
The media and those who do not like the future of the youth keep on saying that the youth are apathetic. I disagree. Like Mandela and his comrades in 1952, the youth are the main force in the Letsema and voluntarism campaign. They are in our police stations and police reserves. They are in old age homes and schools, in public service and doing home-based care. We are proud of the youth. The youth are involved in national life. [Applause.]
The future is in the hands of the youth … [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon members, may I request that we stop the whistling. Let us please observe some decorum in the House! Please proceed, hon member.
Ms M P MENTOR: Thank you, Madam Speaker. The youth must learn and take their education seriously. The youth must prepare for the future now. The youth is the present and the future.
Anton Lembede, Kenneth Kaunda, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, Walter Sisulu and Thabo Mbeki all started when they were young. They did not wait until they were members of Parliament to come here and critique what we are trying to build.
The youth must learn from their books, communities of the struggle for freedom of South Africans, Guinea-Bissau, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique, Angola and Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Chile and Vietnam. They should draw lessons from Frelimo, MK, MPLA and SWAPO. [Applause.]
We are proud of our youth and they in return should be proud of themselves. We love our youth. They should love themselves. The media and opposition say that the youth are apathetic to a point that they do not care about their future and they will not vote. The youth should go and get their ID’s, register and vote correctly for people who have the youth’s interest, wellbeing and development at heart. [Applause.]
The youth should assist other young people to obtain their IDs and register. They should insist that their schools, universities, churches and public servants assist. The youth should demand that public servants, whether they work for Home Affairs or not, assist in this process. This is very important. The vote of the youth, like them, is very special and important.
The lives of the youth are precious and they should ensure that they do not contract HIV/Aids. They should join the youth brigades for HIV/Aids that are proposed. We ask that working young people should donate one day’s wage into the coffers of youth development, as agreed upon last weekend at the Growth and Development Summit. We know that the youth will heed that call.
We are proud of our young people in rural areas, townships, cities and on farms. They have what it takes, and the power and future is in their hands. We call on the youth to fight gender-based violence, rape and child abuse. Some youth have physical disabilities but they have power within themselves. Some are intellectuals and can make a difference and contribute. Some are unemployed or out of school but this Government has created learnerships for the youth. These should be seized.
Business and government departments should be approached in order to obtain learnerships so that they can earn and make a difference to the economy and the lives of our people. This Government should be assisted by the youth to push back the frontiers of poverty. [Applause.]
In conclusion, Kwame Nkrumah, in quoting William Wordsworth, my favourite poet, said in 1961, when he opened the assembly for the first time in Ghana:
Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven.
I am saying to young South Africans that it is bliss for them to be living in this era that this ANC Government and the heroic struggle of our people has created for them, but that it is heaven for them to be young.
The youth should seize the opportunities that have been created for them. They should believe in themselves, just as we believe in them. We trust them and therefore they should be trustworthy. We rely on them and they should be self-reliant. The power is in their hands and they should not listen to anybody who says the youth are useless and apathetic. The power is in their hands. I thank you. [Applause.]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Deputy Speaker, June 16 is a red letter day in the history of our struggle for the liberation of our country.
It is therefore important, on this day, to remember the South African Student Organisation and its leaders who rebelled against Nusas and made history, which resulted in the Black Consciousness Movement led by our martyrs such as Onkgopotse Tiro, Steve Biko and hundreds of others. The secret trial of 18 PAC leaders at Bethal, such as Zephania Mothopeng, John Ganya and many others, must also be noted. They were sentenced to a total of 162 years for the Soweto uprising and so-called terrorism.
The best thing that can be done for our youth today is to provide them with free education. [Applause.] They cannot seize any opportunities for democracy when the vast majority of them find it difficult to acquire education and technical skills.
A nation which perpetually depends on outsiders for skills is not a healthy nation. A nation which retrenches teachers and has only 40% of its students writing matric is committing national suicide. [Applause.]
A very high price was paid for the future of our youth on 16 June, 1976 and through the imprisonment of freedom fighters, like Zephania Mothopeng. That suffering, that service, that sacrifice was meant to give our youth a bright and glorious future. [Applause.] Their future is bleak without education and jobs. [Interjections.]
Let us pay tribute to all our martyrs who fell on June 16, 1976 by invoking the spirit of …
… uphaqa njengelanga, inyathi yasenhlakanhlakeni, unokuzil’ ukudla kwamagwala. Amagwal’ adl’ ububende, uLanga phum’ endlwin’ yendlovu. Nyakambe liye kuphuma kweyengonyama. Impunzi kaNdaba bayibambe ngeendlebe, yadlamka, yadl’ amadoda. Uguqadele. Lefatshe la rona. [Our world.] [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. The most crucial stage in a child’s life is his or her primary socialisation. The apartheid era had moulded its youth to continue in gruesome segregation and today, with the onset of democracy, our status of democratic values should be administered into a child’s upbringing.
Children are influenced by circumstances around them. Their mindsets are greatly influenced by the environment of upbringing. It is therefore crucial for parents and guardians to instil democratic values in their children’s development.
As the future of our country, democratic values circumscribed by our national Constitution should form part of our school curriculum. This encourages the continuous democracy of South Africa. Schools should invest in programmes that involve their students in mock democracies that will equip them with values to be practised in the future.
It is sad to note that discrimination is evident at a number of educational institutes, which the MF firmly despises. The recent segregation in sport by the AVS’s ``Bokkieweek’’ is one of those. The MF feels that freedom to practise should be upheld but definitely not the freedom to exclude. It is discriminatory.
We as political parties also have a major role to play in involving our youth in democracy. Youth programmes and youth leagues should be embarked on as a duty to our youth and the future of South Africa. Youth input and discussions should be encouraged on a number of government issues and, in turn, youth comment should be given valid attention.
The MF feels seriously that school curriculums should encourage government issues for debate. This would contribute to our youth seizing the opportunities of democracy as our future leaders. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr C AUCAMP: Madam Speaker, thanks go to the previous speaker who calmed down the audience. [Interjections.]
Agb Speaker, die nuwe vryhede en geleenthede wat vir ons jeug oopgegaan het, bring ook verantwoordelikhede mee, wat, indien nie reg bestuur word nie, ‘n ontredderde en ontnugterde jong geslag tot gevolg gaan hê.
Kyk maar na die meeste oorsese rolprente en meestal vind jy so ‘n klein mannetjie van so tien twaalf jaar wat die hele gesin om sy pinkie draai. Vind jy ouers wat gereeld om verskoning vra omdat hulle die fyn besnaarde klein wesentjie kwansuis weer verkeerd opgevryf het. Net om te sien hoe hy hulle in ‘n volgende rondte weer gaan manipuleer. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Mev die Speaker, dis nie die tipe jeug wat Suid-Afrika nodig het nie. Hollywood verskaf nie die rolmodelle vir ons jong mense nie. Ons sal dit self doen. By al die geleenthede wat ons jeug kan gee, bly die heel belangrikste, ‘n geborge omgewing, ‘n soliede waardesisteem en ‘n stabiele gesinslewe. Ons jeug het vleuels nodig om die nuwe vryhede te verken, maar hulle het ook ankers nodig om nie reddeloos rond te dobber nie.
Ons soek jongmense met inisiatief, wat geleenthede skep en aangryp, wat hul vryheid kan geniet, maar in hul eie belang, ook jongmense wat in verantwoordelikheid daarmee kan omgaan, wat bouers word en nie brekers nie.
Daarom, agb Speaker, sal dit altyd vir my onaanvaarbaar bly dat Jeugdag in Suid-Afrika gekoppel word aan ‘n dag van opstand en rebellie. Dis nie die sein wat ons van en vir ons jeug moet uitstuur nie. Gedenk die bydrae van die jeug tot die struggle, as u wil, maar moet dit nie verbind aan Jeugdag vir al die jongmense in Suid-Afrika nie. Ons soek nie ons jeug in optogte en in massa-aksies nie. Ons soek hulle op ons sportvelde. Ons soek hulle agter hulle boeke. Ons soek hulle in konsertsale en op die verhoë. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Hon Speaker, the new freedoms and opportunities that have opened up for our youth also carry responsibilities, which if not managed properly, could result in a damaged and disillusioned younger generation.
Just look at most of the overseas films, and you will mostly find a young boy of about ten or twelve who twists the entire family around his little finger. You will find parents regularly apologising because they have apparently rubbed the highly strung small being up the wrong way again. Only to see how he manipulates them again in the next round. [Interjections.]
Madam Speaker, this is not the type of youth that South Africa needs. Hollywood does not provide role models for our young people. We will do it ourselves. Of all the opportunities that we can provide our youth, the most important remains a secure environment, a solid value system and a stable family life. Our youth needs wings to explore these new freedoms, but they also need anchors in order not to drift about aimlessly.
We are looking for young people with initiative, who can create opportunities and seize them, who can enjoy their freedom, but for their own good, also youth who can deal with that responsibly, who will become builders and not destroyers.
Therefore, hon Speaker, it will always remain unacceptable to me that Youth Day in South Africa is associated with a day of uprising and rebellion. This is not the signal that we should send out of and for our youth. Commemorate the contribution of the youth to the struggle, if you want to, but do not associate it with Youth Day for all of the youth of South Africa. We do not want our youth in marches and mass action. We want them on our sports grounds. We want them behind their books. We want them in concert halls and on stages.]
Lastly, Madam Speaker, our topic speaks of the opportunities of democracy for our youth. Let us also do something about those thousands of young people for whom opportunities have been closed through affirmative action. Give them hope as well through a new deal that will not address the lack of past opportunities by depriving a new generation of those very opportunities. I thank you. [Interjections.]
Mrs L MALONEY: Madam Deputy Speaker, before I start, I want to warn the speakers of the opposition parties that they should ignore their senior members and co-operate with the youth in the country. They are aware that their seniors are about to be recycled. [Laughter.]
At the end of the 10 year regime of B J Vorster, the longest of any Nationalist Prime Minister, and after 28 years of apartheid rule, the students of Soweto and other parts of South Africa later, with dustbin lids and stones, rose up against the imposition of Bantu education. B J Vorster characterised this uprising as the worst crisis the National Party government ever faced since it came to power. The National Liberation Movement, led by the ANC on the other side characterised this development in the following way: ``Soweto closed the debate about the legitimacy of armed struggle.’’
From then on, all those who supported the struggle against apartheid, at home and abroad, agreed that there was no other avenue open to the oppressed other than the pursuit of armed struggle. We all said that the march to freedom must be intensified with greater speed and determination.
It is not my intention here, Madam Deputy Speaker, to dwell on the history of this glorious generation of youth. I, however, would like to say that, despite all efforts of repression, brutality, torture, exile and imprisonment, the resilience of all people of South Africa made South Africa a free and democratic country. [Applause.]
We salute the youth of South Africa, the generation of Soweto and I dedicate my speech to this youth in particular, the young women of 16 June, who dared all to be counted in the roll call of heroes of our country. We are today able to stand at this podium as free and proud people, thanks to the tenacity and sacrifices of many young people of South Africa.
To me and many African women who faced triple oppression, oppressed as a class, a nation and also on the basis of gender, it is a celebration that we have rightly taken our place in this august House. We salute in particular the ANC, whose visionary policies allowed for a quota of women to be in its list. We come here, as women, not out of favour, but because we are taking our deserved places in the seats of Parliament. There are many parties, like the DP, who do not understand these revolutionary policies that help in breaking the bondage of gender oppression and ensuring that the place of a woman is in the struggle.
Many of us as women and as parents have sacrificed by leaving our children and our homes, confident that our participation in this House would enhance many of the ideals we stand for, in particular, the rights of the child, the rights of women and a better life for all.
The central challenge of the youth of 1976 was that of a better education system and better skills for black people. As I stand here, I do so with pride, because this House led by the ANC under the visionary leadership of former president Nelson Mandela and the current President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, has not failed our children and youth.
The education system today is taking in strides in realising its objective of a better and quality education. It is now designed to produce a youth that is able to think critically and better equipped to meet the skills and challenges of today.
Our children are better placed today to enjoy opportunities and protections that were not available in the past. Child support grants and other social security programmes are issues the poor warmly welcome and celebrate.
I must quickly salute the President for convening a successful Growth and Development Summit. Even those who sat on the sidelines wishing for the collapse of the GDS have been left utterly disappointed. The GDS was a resounding success.
For the youth and poor in particular, the resolutions of the GDS will help to consolidate hope and confidence that our Government is serious when it talks of a better life for all. The practical resolution on creating jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship through, inter alia, expanded public works programmes, youth brigades, training programmes and broadening skills bases are things that we applaud.
The question of youth development is not just about the youth, but also about the development of the whole nation and investment in the future. This is the core of national development and at the centre stage of all efforts of communities and sections of our society.
This issue of youth development seeks to counteract the effects of our past, which saw deliberate racial marginalisation of the majority of our youth, in particular the African youth. This is an attempt to address the developmental backlog, which I think should have, as its cornerstone, education and training.
The second question is the National Youth Service which seeks to find ways and means to respond rapidly to youth employment, deficit in skills and meaningful youth participation in the economy. We celebrate in particular the resolution on National Youth Service, because it is part and parcel of addressing issues of a generation who, though they were in the majority in the fight for a better South Africa, continue to be a statistic in issues of unemployment.
Even though these programmes may not offer full employment, we however agree that they will contribute greatly to the programme of gaining work experience, which in turn will increase employability of the youth. Those who get this temporary employment will also get subsistence income which in turn will contribute in the struggle to push back the frontiers of poverty.
As a woman activist of the ANC, I am indeed proud that my organisation has risen to the challenges of the day. These programmes, I am certain, will help in building the confidence and morale of the youth. Never again should we speak of the lost generation. To us in the ANC, it was never a lost generation, but a generation that sacrificed its future for South Africa to be free.
We are free today and we can stand here as members of Parliament because of the sweat, the blood and the class of 1976. In the struggle to push back the frontiers of poverty, there is no room for wailers and complainers, like these ones. The critical call to all of us is to put our shoulders to the wheel and advance to development and prosperity.
We should all emulate the spirit of Solomon Mahlangu, Ashley Kriel, Peter Mokaba, Parks Mankahlana and many others who have passed on. Theirs was a celebrated life and selfless service to the people of South Africa. We once again shout, ``Long Live June 16’’!
But, before I end my speech, I want to talk about … [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr M F CASSIM: Madam Deputy Speaker, as the new kid on the block, I am very very delighted indeed to participate in this debate.
It is very clear that the opportunities that democracy afford our youth really amount to their taking control over their own affairs politically. That is why the mission of the party that I am now working with and that I have for myself in politics is to ensure that young people come into politics so that they begin to understand how our democracy works, and how our parliamentary system works.
I am very delighted that this afternoon we have 40 to 50 such young people who are here where they are beginning to realise that South Africa is the most beautiful country in the world. It’s a country that affords them the opportunities to remain here, to seize the opportunities and to begin to become politically active. By ensuring that we develop the skills of leadership, and the way in which parliamentary politics work, we can guarantee this country that a future supply of capable and dedicated young leaders will be there for them to do what they think will be necessary to take our country forward.
This, to my mind, is the best way we should be working. We are also going out on the campaign that ours is a proposition party, not an opposition party. [Applause.] Though we will sit on the opposition benches, we will come to this Parliament with concrete proposals and good ideas so that if the ANC has brewed good coffee, we will not pour that coffee down the drain but, if needs be, we will provide the cream so that we finish with a very, very good and attractive cup of coffee. [Applause.]
To my mind, this will be the first time in this country or elsewhere that we will be engaging in proposition politics. So watch us with great interest. We will be making waves. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Madam Deputy Speaker, it is perhaps fitting to begin by paying tribute to the black youth that went into the streets of our country in order to transform our society. We will remember here that the youth were raising important political questions, and that is whether the youth of this country should continue to be taught in languages that they did not speak in their own homes. I am proud to say that I am happy that my organisation participated in this event of June 16.
But as I was sitting there listening to some of the speakers, I got worried that we still have vestiges of the apartheid past. I stand here to invite the youth to join hands with all of us who love the future in order to eradicate the past so that we can move freely to the future. When I was listening I said to myself: Those of you who are in the youth structures, who still have parents that teach you about the past, I invite you to join all other youth and patriots to move towards the future and disregard what your parents are teaching you. [Applause.]
This struggle will continue to persist and we must all join hands in order to eradicate that which kept all of us in bondage. It is therefore necessary for us, collectively, to think and reflect on what our new democracy offers to the youth. As we do so, we should also be aware that most of the youth are very clear and committed and they are patriots to the new dispensation. Our society should therefore get rid of all the old vestiges and also be prepared to encapsulate what our youth is here to do.
Addressing youth unemployment, youth access to education, and improving youth education should be the cornerstone of our society. I therefore urge all the youth to participate in all formations that have been created so that their future can be improved.
I was also reminded of the saying: “You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.” Indeed, Comrade Montsitsi, it appears that black will remain black, and white will remain white. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr C M MORKEL: Madam Deputy Speaker, I prepared my speech to greet the hon Minister Pahad because this portfolio of youth matters is part of his responsibility but he hasn’t even honoured us with his presence. That’s how seriously he takes this matter.
When we commemorate the events of 16 June 1976, we remind ourselves and the generations who were not there to bear witness to the atrocities of that day, that any single party who attempts to dominate another would create and precipitate conflict. In 1976 it was the minority led-government that sought to dominate the majority of South Africans who were not taken seriously enough by those that were in power then.
Similarly throughout the world, even here, in the almost 10-year-old new South Africa, and especially on our doorstep in Zimbabwe, we find that the majority of youth who is excluded by the elite feel that they are not playing a meaningful role in decision-making and are therefore feeling disillusioned, disaffected and marginalised by government and politicians in general. That answers the question why so many youth have not registered and it explains the concern of the ANC and their encouraging the youth to vote now. The youth will vote if they have a reason to vote. The elitism of the ANC-led Government is the reason why the youth is not registering.
The youth is increasingly cynical and disengaging. We have not made them that way. The disillusionment comes from the promises that you have not fulfilled. Because of the lack of delivery on the election promises that the ANC has made since 1994, South Africa’s youth is generally withdrawing from formal party political activity. They look at many leaders within the ANC-led Government, the National Youth Commission and the ANC Youth League, and they see the same people very similar to Tony Yengeni and Winnie Mandela. [Interjections.]
They see fallen heroes who fought a good fight as soldiers in the struggle against apartheid, but who have now deserted the youth in the remaining battle to achieve economic freedom. All they see is an elite who is increasingly becoming enriched at the expense of the blood of the youth who lost their lives in 1976, and those that are still losing their lives now because of the lack of delivery on treatment for HIV/Aids, jobs and poverty.
They see the cronies of the ANC Youth League dominate the structures of government such as the National Youth Commission and the Umsobomvu Fund, and they see that the few projects that have managed to roll out now ahead of the elections would not benefit anyone except the closest brothers and sisters of the ANC. The youth out there is vigilant enough to see that the ANC Youth League Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, has a brother, Jabu Mbalula, who was appointed by the President as the Chairman of the National Youth Commission. They are not stupid, they see that. They see the nepotism. [Interjections.]
You see, Madam Deputy Speaker, Government’s numerous izimbizos and lekgotlas to reach out to youth in communities have become perceived as nothing more than Government-sponsored ANC road shows ahead of next year’s elections. They see that.
A recent example of this is the road show last month which the National Youth Commission, the Umsobomvu Fund and the ANC Youth League jointly undertook through the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere to dangle the pre-election carrot of funding for young entrepreneurs. This is necessary, but don’t abuse the powers of state to do so.
It cannot be established if any votes have been bought in this manner but only time will tell whether the Umsobomvu Fund’s R850 million will be sufficient to buy enough votes for the youth constituency. Why does the National Youth Commission not consult the legitimate youth organisations of this country?
Prof B TUROK: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: Is it possible for someone to help this speaker to talk sense? [Laughter.] [Applause.]
Mr C M MORKEL: That’s why the DA won in your constituency, because you don’t talk sense.
We are consistently told that the National Youth Commission consults the South African Youth Council. Does the South African Youth Council have the participation and representivity of youth out there? The answer is unfortunately ``no’’. The youth has disengaged.
This must be the priority of Government - to find a way of building the capacity of structures such as the South African Youth Commission, because we are not against a mechanism to facilitate youth development but the bloatedness of the present National Youth Commission structure. We say the type of streamlined structure that we, as the DA, have put in place in the Western Cape government is the type of structure that we need elsewhere in the country. We don’t need a youth commission that does not have contact with the youth.
The majority of the youth who are unemployed and cannot study any further are left with little or nothing to live for. If they don’t vote for us, they won’t vote for the ANC. The DA would prefer that Government implement a basic income grant and opportunity voucher to utilise funds from, for example, the National Skills Fund. Thank you. [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Mr E N MTHETHWA: Deputy Chair, some of the things which are said by the DA really do not deserve any response. They are just jokes, seriously. The DA can never say anything about the youth because they know nothing.
We who have trodden the path of youth activism know exactly that the only thing that the DA knows, through their leader, is to be propagandists of the killing machine, the SADF of the past. That’s all they know. They are really a disgrace to the nation. Their reactionary mindset and their thoughts remind us of Jurassic Park. They belong in the past.
I want to start my contribution here by paying tribute to all the generations of youth who fought apartheid. I want to pay particular tribute to the current generation of the youth who are faced with the challenge of fighting poverty created by centuries of colonialism and apartheid. We call on the youth to acquire identity documents, even if you come across long queues and frustrations, you have to acquire them. It’s about your future.
Sihlalo, esontweni langomhla ka-26 kuya kumhla ka-30 kuMeyi siye savakashela egatsheni engilisebenzelayo endaweni yakwaMthethwa. Besinemihlangano nentsha ezikoleni zamazinga aphakeme. Ziningi izinto ebesixoxa ngazo, kusukela ezindabeni zezifundo ezibalulekile i-ANC elokhu izisho njalo zeSayensi nezoBuchwepheshe nezinye, ukwakhiwa kwama-SGB nezinye izinto ezifuze lezo.
Siye sakhuluma kakhulu ngamalungelo abantwana kanye nokuvikeleka kwawo. Kodwa enye into esike sayibalula kakhulu indaba yokuvuselelwa kwezwekazi lase-Afrika. Sigxile kakhulu siqinisa ezinselelweni ukuvuselelwa kwe-Afrika okubhekene nazo. Enye yazo ukulwisana nesihlava sokubandlululana nokucwasana phakathi kwabantu abamnyama bebodwa okwande kakhulu ikakhulukazi esifundeni engiphuma kuso KwaZulu-Natali.
Ngenxa yokuthi sasikhuluma nabaThethwa, sabakhumbuza ngeqhaza elabanjwa ukhokho wabo ekulweni lesi sihlava sokubandlululana ngobuzwe, uPixley ka- Isaka Seme mayethi ukucwasana lokhu lidimoni okumele liqedwe nezimpande zalo. Sabanxusa abafundi nothisha ukuthi balandele ezinyathelweni zakhe uSeme, uNyambose inkonyane yenkosi. (Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, during the week of 26 to 30 May we visited the branch I work for in the Mthethwa area. We had meetings with the youth at high schools. We talked about many issues of importance that the ANC is always emphasising, namely science and technology, as well as the implementation of SGBs and other things related to this.
We talked a lot about children’s rights and their protection. However, another thing that we pointed out, in particular, was the issue of the African Renaissance. We focused on challenges that the African Renaissance is faced with. One of them is the fight against discrimination among black people, which is prevalent in the KwaZulu-Natal province in particular, where I come from.
When we were talking with the Mthethwa clan, we reminded them about the role their forefathers played in fighting against tribal discrimination. Pixley ka-Isaka Seme said discrimination is a demon which needs to be uprooted. We appealed to learners and teachers to follow in the footsteps of Seme, Nyambose, the prince.]
The first major opportunity for the youth is the platform created by the democratic Government. The very fact that we and the dinosaurs of the past discussed, today, matters of youth is a step forward. Flowing from this, the National Youth Commission is in The Presidency - the highest office in the land. We need to emphasise to cynics such as the DA that the National Youth Commission’s mandate is to ensure that Government takes youth matters seriously. This therefore means that it has to be judged against this backdrop.
We know, as we have participated in the struggle for freedom, that the price young people paid for their freedom is incalculable. The National Youth Service has received a positive response from Government, and this is visible progress. The National Youth Service will help our country create a general young community worker. We call on the Gauteng and Western Cape provincial legislatures to form youth commissions, thus following the example of other provinces. [Applause.]
Since the appointment of the fund CEO, Mr M Kekana, in 2001 the roll-out programmes are beginning to make a difference throughout the country. By way of example, the youth of Mohlaletsi village in Limpopo have recently completed the Department of Public Works programme in which they have also been accredited with certificates in this field. Out of 60 of them, 57 passed; two went to school and one got a job. This is a success story of internship learning from among the many stories we have.
In Ermelo in Mpumalanga province 20 youth are being trained as red meat producers. When they finish this course, they will be in a position to start their own businesses. In KwaZulu-Natal, Umsobomvu visited the constituency I serve in March this year. Subsequent to that, the youth of Mabhuyeni grouped themselves and formed a development youth committee, and they were trained as HIV/Aids counsellors and accredited to provide home- based care.
These programmes are run in partnership with almost all government departments. We call on the youth to seize these opportunities and locate offices of the Umsobomvu Fund in their areas. We thank Government for these opportunities and proudly inform Government that there is overwhelming approval of the fund, but also a need to support and increase the Umsobomvu Fund’s coffers to face the challenge of youth development. We say this because we know that our Government is serious about youth development.
We also call on business, organised labour and all progress-loving South Africans to invest in the youth for they would be investing in the future. The area of state machinery has to be entered as well. We commend those youths who are police reservists. We further call on the youth to join the army, the navy and the SA Air Force and help us to transform this important arm of state. To the unemployed youth, we say that we are aware of your situation which reflects the legacy of apartheid. However, immense opportunities have been created for you to take advantage of.
We need to change our mindset from waiting for someone to employ us and rather organise ourselves, approach our leaders with ideas and seize opportunities for self-employment in the true spirit of vukuzenzele. To the youth who are still studying, we say that the Freedom Charter proclaimed that the doors of learning and culture shall be opened to all. Take advantage of this reality today! Change Verwoerd’s vision for blacks and Africans particularly! Learn to lead, to manage, to employ our people and not to be hewers of wood and drawers of water, as Verwoerd proclaimed.
To the youth in the minorities, we say that you need to join hands with the progressive youth alliance of the country and together engage yourselves in building bridges. Defy those who preach racism for it has no place in the country, now and in the future. We commend all youth in the national minorities, particularly white youth, for their participation at the funeral of Tata Sisulu and their attendance of the Africa Month celebration addressed by President Mbeki. This is what true patriotism means. Continue in that way because this is your country. Keep in contact with your compatriots.
To the working youth we say that the ANC Government is the only one championing your interests. There can never be any other. Take advantage of legislative and institutional frameworks created for democracy and engage your Government constructively.
To the youth with disabilities, your movement, the ANC, and Government are humbled by your immense support and positive contributions that you continue to make in the construction and development of our country. Government will continue, for its part, to pay special attention to your needs.
To young women, the Government’s policy is biased towards women particularly from the disadvantaged communities. This is because of our commitment to gender equality projects in society. Seize this opportunity to further engage Government and society in your situation.
To the youth in sport we say that you need to continue sport to foster patriotism and nation-building, raising a healthy youth and fostering academic success and excellence. It is time that sport’s transformation code is adapted to enforce transformation and deracialisation. Investment in sport development has to be fast-tracked. We must also invest in young women’s sport and encourage them to engage in all sports codes.
In the spirit of vukuzenzele we say that all youth must seize the opportunity of democracy. Clearly at the Government level, we have more effectively used people’s power to create the resources, both financial and human, to fight poverty, expand spending, social and economic investment and human development, thus responding positively to the challenges of reconstruction and development of our country.
To all young people, we say that seizing the opportunities of democracy is about taking responsibility to move our struggle to a new level. It is about the vitally important spirit and practice of vukuzenzele. In the words of wisdom expressed by Moses Kotane, I quote:
At this hour of destiny, your country and your people need you. The future is in your hands and it will be what you make of it.
We want to emphasise to those prophets of doom who come to sit here and shout slogans that there is only one thing we can assure them of: They will continue whining and we will continue to democratically rule this country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 5 - Provincial and Local Government:
The MINISTER FOR PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Chairperson and hon members, meeting at the Congress of the People in June 1955, our country’s freedom fighters promulgated the vision of a South Africa in which the people shall govern. United in a common sense of mission, they undertook to reconstruct the socioeconomic foundations of South African society, to make South Africa a place the wealth of which is shared amongst those who work it.
The vision we speak of became the legacy that tempered the steel. It inspired the youth of the 1970s. These were the young lions who took to the streets in June 1976. As they took to the streets, their roaring voice haunted the apartheid regime with a spectre of its own negation. Some of them have since passed on, leaving us with the obligation and the honour to build the South Africa of the 21st century into a monument that celebrates their dream.
Seated in the public gallery, this afternoon, are some of the pathfinders of our democratic system of government. They include members of the provincial executive councils, mayors and councillors, municipal managers and other practitioners. Sitting alongside them are the traditional leaders of our people, led by Inkosi Mpiyezintombi Mzimela. Also present in the gallery are members of the task team which is facilitating the consultative process towards the White Paper on the Role of Traditional Leaders in our system of government.
These esteemed representatives of our people are guided in their work by the slew of legislation which was passed by this House. These laws we passed in this House sought to define the meaning of national development, as well as the mechanisms and strategies by which development is to be achieved. Those who are at the coalface of the effort to make our democratic system of government functional are familiar with the syndrome of issues which constitute the formidable challenge we face.
They know what it takes to deal with the enduring legacy left by those who pursued exclusionary policies and strategies. Some of them are saddled with local areas that are without any productive economic activity to speak of, and therefore local jurisdictions without a revenue base that can be used as a platform from which to make welfare-enhancing interventions.
Previously, state structures were mechanisms of domination that discounted participation by the masses of the people. The toy telephones that were established in the townships, and in the so-called homelands, were meant to draw those who were willing to auction their souls into networks of patronage. Similar distortions could be observed in the composition and operation of the parastatals. These were part of a public system that sought to produce a racially skewed pattern of resource allocation. They were complicit in the act of spawning indigence in a country that is not only endowed with an abundance of natural and mineral resources, but also has a relatively developed industrial base.
The totality of the apartheid state machinery consisted of a central government, four administrations, ten bantustan administrations and over 1 200 racially segregated local government administrations. Within the relatively short period of nine years, we have been able to bring down that apartheid ediface, and to construct a new state machinery with an inclusive, democratic and egalitarian orientation.
When they wrote the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, our lawmakers were driven by the desire to create a structure of government which would be suited to the task of overcoming conditions of underdevelopment, conditions which, to this day, continue to beset our country. In the first five years of democratic governance, building governmental structures at the level of national and provincial spheres was an area of priority focus.
Under the rubric of the RDP, Government was able to define key sectors and areas for immediate intervention. What began with the four priority areas of the RDP, namely, meeting basic needs, developing our human resources, building the economy and democratising the state and society resulted in a fundamental reconstruction of the South African polity.
National Government’s achievement in extricating the economy from the doldrums of negative growth is a matter of record. Following growth of 3% in 2002, the economy is set to expand by 3,3% this year, rising to 3,7% in 2004 and 4% in 2005. Whilst these projections are encouraging, it is important for us to realise that the achievement of dynamic growth cannot be assured unless we have functional, efficient and developmentally oriented structures across our three spheres of government. It goes without saying that had such structures been in place from the onset of our democratic transition, we would by now have realised more robust rates of economic growth.
This year’s division of revenue provides for a strong real growth in national transfers to provinces and local government of 6,1% and 12,2% respectively over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period. These increases speak to our commitment to accelerate the delivery of free basic services and to extend the provision of these services to those who cannot afford them. The increases also signal our intention to direct resources towards the goal of creating employment opportunities through the expansion of labour-intensive infrastructure development programmes.
Provinces are increasingly proving that their place in the developmental division of labour entails more than serving as a locus of social spending. They need to be oriented more and more towards making a more intimate and substantial contribution to the national effort of growing the economy. The growing ability of provinces to make effective use of increased funding from the national fiscus is a matter that is deserving of commendation.
In this regard we are particularly heartened by the outstanding achievement of the Limpopo province. Between 1995 and the year 2000, the province experienced an average growth rate of 5,5% in real terms. This is way above the national average. Although this growth is of a low base, the fact that it is happening at all means that our confidence in the provincial government sphere is not misplaced. It is even more gratifying to see this happening in what is predominantly a rural province. It says to all of us that depending on what we do, the rural areas of our country can also emerge from the trap of negative economic growth and even from the doldrums of low surplus equilibrium.
Mindful of the need to reinforce these positive trends which are emerging within the provincial sphere, the Ministry of Provincial and Local Government has been systematically working at helping to improve provincial governments’ capacity for developing growth and development strategies and to ensure that there are synergistic links between those strategies and the Integrated Development Plans of the municipalities.
Experience has shown that the impact of the progress we make, thanks to the efforts of national and provincial government, has tended to be minimised by the absence of support from local jurisdictions. The growing maturity of local government increases the possibility for our overall system of government to pay consistent and co-ordinated attention to the problems which beset our local economies.
With this in mind, we are paying attention to the task of increasing the capacity of municipalities to make informed interventions; interventions which seek to stimulate economic growth and put us in a position to meet the basic needs of our people on a sustainable basis. Through the Integrated Development Plans, municipalities are developing local socioeconomic profiles which should help the public sector and the private sector to take decisions that are mutually beneficial.
In particular, we are encouraging municipalities that are home to designated rural development and urban renewal nodes to make use of these mechanisms in order to influence investment within the small-scale segment of the economy. The stimulation of economic activity in these areas, however small, will touch in very positive ways the lives of our people who are confined to positions that are marginal to the economy.
In the 2003 budget, we make substantial resources available to the local government sphere. This is meant to provide for poverty relief, to extend infrastructure delivery and to further strengthen the local government system. National transfers to local government increase at an annual growth rate of 18,4% from R8,8 billion in 2003 to R14,6 billion in the 2005-06 financial year.
The bulk of the additional resources will be directed towards the provision of free basic services and the extension of services to areas which are not presently serviced. Part of that resource will also be directed towards infrastructure development. In total, R4,1 billion over the MTEF period will be made available for water, electricity, refuse removal and sanitation. This will be done as part of Government’s commitment to providing free basic services to households who cannot afford them.
So immense are the responsibilities we are progressively devolving to local government that all of us will have to pay unflagging attention to the task of building local government capacity. Although uneven, the progress made by our municipalities so far is indeed significant. Key areas of progress include the fact that all municipalities have now adopted Integrated Development Plans. The overall quality of the IDPs is now steadily improving.
Further improvements are expected in the light of increased funding for various municipal, capital, operating and capacity-building grants from national Government. Municipal, capital and operating budgets are estimate to total R74,5 billion in the financial year 2002-03 compared to R64,5 billion in 2001-02. The spatial distortions which are a function of the differential impact of the apartheid legacy are manifested in part by the fact that our municipalities are variable in their capacity to discharge their constitutional mandate.
The district municipalities in particular are in the lower spectrum of capability. So far we have succeeded in augmenting the institutional capacity of district municipalities by establishing planning, implementation and support centres in 39 district municipalities. It is our intention to make sure that in the not-so-distant future, these Pim centres shall have been established in all 47 district municipalities.
An additional R300 million over this MTEF period has been set aside for capacity-building. An interim framework has also been adopted for aligning the capacity-building grants into a single grant by 2005-06.
As we all know, our local government legislation provides for a system of local government which attaches significant importance to societal participation in matters of governance. Indeed, communities in our country cannot make the transition from poverty to prosperity without governmental structures that approximate the ideal type model visualised in our local government legislation. The absence of such structures constrains our ability to achieve development.
There is a continuing need for us to ensure that we have structures of government with the necessary capacity to mobilise and arouse the masses of our people into co-ordinated action for sustainable development. On 24 and 25 June, the Ministry and Department of Provincial and Local Government are convening a national conference to look at the functional status of ward committees. Ward committees already exist in many of our municipalities. We want to learn from the invaluable diversity of experience gained by ward committee members in the crucible of practice.
The importance of ward committees cannot be overemphasised. If a ward committee does not yet exist in your local area, it means that you have not yet taken the opportunity to bring democracy to the place where you live. The quality of service you receive is only as good as the quality of democracy that you have in your local area. I therefore urge our people to take their destiny into their own hands by participating in the activities of ward committees. With each passing day, we see the tide of democratisation continually and irreversibly turning towards the pinnacle of human achievement.
Our conviction in the inevitability of that for which many in our country sacrificed their lives is enhanced by the actions of many South Africans of goodwill. We have noted with appreciation the recent study visit undertaken by the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government. Members of the portfolio committee visited 63 municipalities in various parts of the country in order to put their collective finger on the heartbeat of the system. They came to a conclusion with which we agree, namely that the system is alive. Our collective responsibility is to pay continuing attention to the health of the system.
The progress made thus far to the extent that our Ministry and Department are associated with it could not have been possible without the peer counsel of my Cabinet colleagues. In addition, the Deputy Minister, the Director-General Lindiwe Msengana-Ndlela, as well as the rest of the Ministry and departmental staff have always done what they had to do in order to render tolerable the weight of the load we carry. The premiers, MECs, traditional leaders, mayors and councillors are among the partners whose continuing co-operation is a sine qua non of our success.
Our overall capacity to serve the country of our birth has improved thanks to the contribution of our many partners, some of whom are in the gallery this afternoon. With partners such as we have, whose commitment to our country and our people is so unconditional, the prospects for the future could not be brighter. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Y I CARRIM: Chairperson, comrades and friends - and lest he gets upset, my good friend and Comrade MEC Mohamed Bhabha who is here and who, as you know, was until not so long ago, the NCOP chairperson for the committee. May I also, on behalf of the portfolio committee, welcome our many friends in the gallery.
In shaping our state, we have, we pride ourselves, broken out of the mould of unitary versus federal and forged our own unique, innovative system of co-operative governance. In the last two years and more, we have taken this further.
We increasingly speak of integrated governance, not just co-operative governance. And the imperative is simple: The need for accelerated delivery and development. We must push back the frontiers of poverty, said the President, and indeed we must. To do this effectively, we have to have more integrated governance. This is perhaps one of the most salient messages to emerge from our recent study tour of municipalities. For all the weaknesses, municipalities have made strides towards linking governance and planning through Independent Development Plans. In time, they will improve the links between IDPs and budgets, as suggested by the Minister a moment ago.
But provincial and national departments, say municipalities, ignore the IDPs in their plans, programmes and budgets. [Interjections.] Of course, IDPs may lack quality. If so, provincial and national departments have to assist municipalities to improve them.
Provinces, moreover, should develop provincial growth and development plans which should be shaped by and in turn shape municipal IDPs. The portfolio committee believes that legislation should be considered to ensure greater co-operation from national and provincial departments on implementing IDPs. The pending Intergovernmental Relations Bill should seek to address this among other issues of integrated governance and planning.
It is in terms of the need for more integrated governance towards accelerating delivery and development that the portfolio committee approached the Ministry’s and the department’s budget. Our report appeared in the ATCs of 10 June. We feel the department is more directed and focused these days. And it spent a remarkable 99,6% of its budget over the past financial year. In fact, of the R22,8 million unspent, R8,9 million constituted the allocation to the cultural rights commission, which is only to be established this financial year.
Co-ordination and coherence were the key themes of the department’s budget presentation to us. The committee certainly welcomes, as the Minister confirmed a moment ago, the rationalisation of the different grants offered to local government. The Local Economic Development Plan and Social Plan Grant are to be incorporated into the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme next year. The municipal infrastructure grant will be a new grant from this year. The local government transitional fund will be incorporated into the local government equitable share. Local government capacity- building is to be incorporated into the municipal systems improvement programme in 2005-06.
The committee welcomes the 60% increase in equitable share allocated to local government, from R3,9 billion to R6,3 billion this year. There is also a 33% increase in the CMIP grant. These increases will enhance the capacity of municipalities to deliver services, including free basic water and electricity.
The more effectively and productively municipalities use this money, the stronger becomes their case for increases in the equitable share and other transfers from national Government. And it is clear that municipalities will not be able to fulfil their constitutional mandate without significant increases in funds from the national fiscus.
More money alone is not the answer. The capacity of municipalities has to be significantly developed. This means greater co-ordination of all capacity-building role-players within a commonly accepted framework that the department is urged to finalise as soon as possible. The department also has to contribute to rescuing the local government Seta, which has been a persistent failure.
Crucial to effective service delivery and development is the proper implementation of the new division of powers and functions between district and local municipalities, which to come into effect on 1 July. Both our study tour and budget reports draw attention to the considerable challenges in this regard and we urge the department to attend to them.
The committee welcomes the more recent progress in the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programmes. We are to visit the nodes next year. While recognising the difficulties, we feel these programmes have to be more effectively implemented. For the programmes to be successful, integrated governance has to work, and the more integrated governance works, the more the programmes will be successful.
These programmes reinforce the need for a single Public Service for the country as a whole, instead of the present system in which municipal officials and staff are not included. A single service of course will allow the movement of officials from one sphere to another. We welcome the progress towards realising this.
The committee also welcomes the department’s commitment to focusing more on provincial government. To ensure more effective integrated governance, it will also be important to provide greater clarity and certainty on what precisely the powers and functions of each sphere are and in what sense they are distinct from and overlap each other. We need to ensure that the distribution of powers and functions serve to advance delivery and development. The committee feels that the department-led review of powers and functions of each sphere should be speeded up.
Of course, integrated governance is not advanced just through the department’s intergovernmental relations subprogramme, but the committee notes with concern that the allocation to this subprogramme has been decreased by 13%. Partnerships, of course, are key to integrated governance
- not just among the spheres of government, but also between the state and key actors in society. This is what underpinned last week’s Growth and Development Summit. Integrated governance is also crucial to advancing economic growth and job creation. The department’s Local Economic Development, SMMEs and other related programmes and projects need to be emphasised more.
The LED fund has R120 million to disburse. An amount of R26,7 million will be allocated to rural nodes to promote agriculture and tourism. Three thousand temporary jobs will be created in this financial year. The department needs to assist municipalities more to implement LED and locate this in the context of the decisions taken at the Growth and Development Summmit.
The majority in the committee feels that the department is coping increasingly well with its responsibilities, even if many challenges persist. As MPs, however, we realise that it is not our responsibility purely to fold our arms and criticise the department’s budget each year and offer all sorts of wise words. It is also our responsibility as MPs through our constituency work and a variety of other means to actually assist in the implementation of the programmes and projects that the Ministry, department and ourselves share collectively.
We thank the Ministry and the department for their co-operation. In particular, we congratulate the new Director-General, Ms Lindiwe Msengana- Ndlela, on her appointment and note the effective manner in which she has assumed leadership of the department. We thank all the officials of the department and the parliamentary liaision officers, the Minister and Deputy Minister and, also on behalf of the committee, I express our sincerest thanks to our secretaries Mr Llewellyn Brown - and I hope he has found it possible to tear himself away from his work to be here this afternoon - and Ms Bulelwa Madikane and our part-time research assistant, Mr Chris Sibanyoni. To all of them, our sincere thanks. [Applause.]
Mr G A J GROBLER: Minister, welcome back in South Africa and thank you for arranging such a big audience for us today.
The DA puts a high premium on the performances of municipalities. The DA acknowledges the right of municipalities to govern themselves. We agree with the increases in the allocations of the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme. We support the Local Economic Development Programme, the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy and the Urban Renewal Strategy, which are key elements in poverty alleviation. And therefore money must be channelled to municipalities through the above grants to allow them to play a meaningful developmental role.
The DA, however, is concerned about the following. With regard to municipal budgets, the operating and capital budgets of municipalities show an increase of 15,7% in comparison with the previous financial year. Capital budgets show an increase of 12% and operating income budgets an increase of 16,5%. But, one must ask oneself, when one looks at these percentage increases recently and over the last couple of months: Was this done on a scientific basis by municipalities? What guidelines were followed? Was the inflation rate taken into consideration, the one that one can believe, or maybe not?
Again we see budget increases this year well above the inflation rate. The concern is whether it can be expected from the already overburdened ratepayers to carry these higher-than-inflation hikes on an ongoing basis?
Regarding the categories of municipalities, the six metropolitan municipalities constitute 62,7% of local government budgets for 2002-3; category B municipalities constitute 30% and district municipalities only 4%. This brings me to district municipalities or category C municipalities.
This low share of category C municipalities shows clearly that through the RSC levies, district municipalities currently make a relatively low contribution to services in this sphere of government. We welcome the relook at the RSC levies and request that it should be reviewed in the light of the expansion of property rates on agricultural and communal land. Without this source of income, the necessity of district municipalities also comes into question, and the viability of these institutions should be seriously looked at.
Of the amount of R24,3 billion owed to municipalities - listen carefully - 8% or R1,9 billion is owed by central and provincial government to municipalities. This is totally unacceptable. It is R500 million more than the total revenue from RSC levies of district municipalities in all nine provinces. Minister, what steps are you going to take to alleviate the situation?
Another issue is audits and annual reports. The DA’s question here is: Is the money that is budgeted for spent to the benefit of the people, or is it wasted on incompetent administrators? Many municipalities are still not able to submit their financial statements on time, and some not at all. Information supplied by the Auditor-General on municipal financial statements as at 30 September 2002 showed that 77% of financial statements for municipal financial years 2000-01 and 2001-02 were still outstanding. Another alarming issue on these financial statements was that a very high portion of these audits were qualified. What is the reason for this unacceptable situation?
In many instances, we are now experiencing the results of municipalities appointing unqualified and inexperienced personnel. It was a case of jobs for pals. If pals are to be appointed, at least look at pals who can do the job. Let me give you an example: Teachers without the necessary qualifications were appointed as municipal managers. Lecturers in history were appointed as financial managers - to mention only two examples. [Interjections.]
It was great to hear from the Minister earlier on that a lot of money is being given to capacity-building and to rectify the situation, because we need to uplift these people who have not got the financial experience or whatever experience they need to have to be good managers in different positions.
Another concern is the salary structure of these officials, especially that of municipal managers. Just ask Minister Manuel. Salaries take up the largest share of municipal budgets, totalling 32% of operating income. If the cost of electricity and municipal transfers are excluded, the share of personnel costs may be as high as 45%. This aspect of municipal spending needs scrutiny.
I want to read from the Auditor-General’s report tabled at a district council meeting at the end of May 2003. It is a typical auditor’s report of the vast majority of ANC/New NP-controlled municipalities across the country. Let me read it:
The balance per VAT control account had not been reconciled to the VAT return which resulted in the difference of R9 750 309 at year end. An asset count was not performed. An internal audit section and audit committee was not in place during the financial year as required by the Act.
When unqualified audit reports, as experienced in all of the DA-controlled municipalities become the order of the day, the DA will support a provincial and local government Vote.
At the end, I just want to say thank you to the staff and personnel of the department. Under the circumstances, they do a wonderful job. [Applause.]
Mr J J KGARIMETSA: Deputy Chairperson, hon Minister and hon members, on 29 October 2001, the hon Deputy Minister for Provincial and Local Government, the hon Botha, made a commendable speech during the launching of performance indicators for municipalities in Pretoria when she said, and I quote:
The wheel of local government transformation continues to grind. At the centre of this transformation process is the imperative to build a developmental, democratic, accountable, people-centred and efficient system of local government that effectively responds to the needs of local communities, especially the poor.
The ANC salutes this and is on track in ensuring that there is effective delivery on the ground. It has a record and historical background of our painful past, and of course the spirit of reconciliation, reconstruction and development.
Our new system of local government was inaugurated a little more than three years ago. Our approach to the system takes into account the reality that we come from a past which was characterised by inconsistent forms of municipalities across the country, divided tax bases with systematic underdevelopment of black residential areas and poor or nonexistent municipal service delivery in those areas which lacked economic and service delivery infrastructure.
It is also important to note that the roots of apartheid local government lay in the pre-apartheid era when segregative legislation was passed and set in motion a racially divided system. The governing ideal was that urban areas were essentially white creations and dwelling places, and that blacks were only there to provide labour and move back to their reserves. Thus the Native Act of 1923 created separate urban areas for blacks known as townships. These fell under the control of white urban authorities.
To compound the problem, we had a system of local government financing that assumed each municipality’s capacity to manage its own challenges. The common practice that revenue should be self-generated suited white local authorities with wealthy populations and large economic concentrations.
From the above, it is clear that the new municipalities are not and cannot start from the same place. Some new local municipalities and metropolitan municipalities were, by and large, financially viable, a position they inherited from apartheid’s skewed distribution of resources. Their creditworthiness has never been in question and, therefore, they were even able to leverage resources from the financial institutions for use in discharging their obligations to municipal residents. The same cannot be said especially of those municipalities in provinces which are predominantly rural.
It may become necessary for Salga to assist municipalities in drafting performance contracts of municipal managers to ensure that these respond to their developmental needs. Furthermore, it may be necessary to appreciate or review these contracts from time to time.
In November 2000, the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act of 2000 was published to establish a framework for planning, a performance management system, effective use of resources and organisational change in a business context. The Act also established a system for local councils to report on their performance and give an opportunity to residents to compare this performance with others.
The Government’s commitment to assisting municipalities with poverty relief primarily through the provision of free basic services to poor households is made clear by substantial increases in the equitable share grant from R2,6 billion in 2001-02 to R3,9 billion in 2002 with a further increase of R5 billion in 2003 and R5,5 billion in 2004-05.
Before the introduction of the new system of local government, Cabinet and the President’s Co-ordinating Council adopted a trajectory of local government transformation with the following timeframes. The first was the establishment phase from 2000 to 2002 which is completed; the consolidation phase from 2002 to 2005 which is underway; and the sustainability phase from 2005 to 2010.
It cannot be denied that huge advances have been made with regard to the transformation of local government towards its being a delivery sphere of government. The municipal demarcation process has successfully been completed by reducing the number of municipalities from 843 to 284. The Municipal Demarcation Board determined that Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, East Rand and Port Elizabeth be declared as metropolitan areas. Key pieces of legislation such as the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act have been enacted. Major policy issues have been addressed such as integrated development planning, municipal performance management, local economic development and municipal services partnerships. Local government financing issues are being addressed through pieces of legislation such as the property rating Bills and the Public Finance Management Act. Local government has been refocused towards development, and poor municipalities in rural and urban areas have been targeted through the Integrated Rural Development Programme and Urban Renewal Programme.
Bagaetsho, ntetleng ka bokutshwane go leba kwa gae, kwa Bokone-Bophirima, go latlhela dikgonyana ka tiro e ntle e e dirilweng koo ke bomasepala ba rona. Se monate se ingwaelwa. Kwa Bokone-Bophirima re fetsa go amogela moletlo o motona kwa masepaleng wa Moses Kotana o o ka fa tlase ga Masepala wa Kgaolo wa Bojanala.
Go lo foo batho ba rona ba ntse sebaka se seleele, go tloga ka nako ele ya puso ya tlhaolele, ka fa tlase ga puso ya Bophuthatswana wa malobo, ba na le pompo e le nngwe ya metsi a letswai, e bile ba nna mo leroleng. Fa ke bua jaana, batho bao ba letse ba le mo moletlong o mogolo, ba amogela lefatshe la bona. Ba amogetse lefatshe le ba itumeletse mafolofolo le matlhagatlhaga a a tlisitsweng ke bomasepela foo. [Legofi.]
Fa ke bua jaana, kwa lefelong leo re tlisitse metsi a le mantsi, e eleng porojeke ka puso ya porofense e e jeleng R80 dimilione. Batho bao ba ikagetse tsela ya sekontiri ya dikimomitara di le 47 e e simololang kwa dikgaolong tse di mabapi le bona. Go ntse go le jalo ba tlhagisitse pina ke e fa ba ja, e e reng tlhaolele ya maloba e swabile, ke satane ka gonne e ne ya ba tseela lefatshe la bona. [Setshego.] Kwa morago borremogolo mmogo le dikgosana tse di neng di le teng foo ba ne ba bina jalo, ba tshwere lentswe la go poroma … [Nako e fedile.] [Legofi.] (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Allow me to quickly give attention to my home province, the North West, and say a few words about the good job being done by our municipalities. In the North West we have just thrown a big celebration at the Moses Kotane Municipality, which falls under the regional Bojanala Municipality.
Our people have waited for so long, from the time of the apartheid government to that of the then government of Bophuthatswana, when they had one tap of salty water and lived in the dust. I want to say that those people were at the celebration, receiving their land back. They received their land back and they are delighted about the enthusiasm brought about by the municipalities. [Applause.]
I also want to say that we have provided a lot of water, which is a provincial project, at a cost of R80 million. The people have constructed their own tarred road of 47 kilometres, starting in the adjacent area. They composed a song during lunch which says that apartheid is sad, and it is satan because it dispossessed them of their land. [Laughter.] In the background grandfathers and headmen were also singing in baritone … [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Mrs S A SEATON: Deputy Chairperson, as is by now customary at this time of the year, the IFP wishes to take issue with the Government in respect of its dealings with traditional leaders, and in particular in respect of the relationship between traditional authorities and the newly established system of local government.
The core issue I wish to address today is Government’s inordinate delays in officially finalising its policy in respect of this matter. I say officially finalising policy because it clearly finalised this matter years ago and is merely going through the motions of currently finalising policy, and is going through the motions of consulting in order to delay as long as possible the eventual public release of this predetermined position.
Government published a discussion document in April 2000, entitled Towards a White Paper on Traditional Leadership and Institutions. Over three years have passed since that date, and at the rate we are going, it is feasible that Government may end up delaying the release of its position until after the elections. According to a recent comment by the department, the White Paper is due this month, but in giving us this date, there were the by now standard accompanying ifs and buts, suggesting we may have to wait a little longer. Certainly if one takes heed of previous pronouncements on this matter, the precedent is clear. Allow me to trace a little history on this matter.
On 9 February 2001, the President indicated that the proper definition of
the role of traditional authorities was receiving urgent attention''.
Thus on 21 March 2001, the Cabinet appointed a Ministerial Committee to
consult all stakeholders on a Billaimed at addressing, on an interim
basis, the issues of the roles and functions of traditional leaders’’, the
outcome of which, according to the Minister on 1 June of that year, would
result in a draft Bill to be submitted to Cabinet.
The executive was clearly in top gear, with the Minister stating on 31 May
that he was ready to present this Bill to Cabinet while consultation
continued on the White Paper and its permanent solution. He said: The
White Paper will then provide us with the policy framework for permanent
legislation. All this must and can be achieved in the course of this
year.'' The President noted on 3 August 2001 that Government wasseeking
to take this matter forward expeditiously’’.
Despite the urgency and promised timing, towards year-end, it was clear that the first deadline was just not going to be met. Thus on 4 December 2001, the Minister told traditional leaders that legislation would be ``introduced into the parliamentary process, both nationally and provincially, in the first half of the year 2002’’.
The President was also confident about 2002. On 8 February he stated that
among the matters that we will bring to successful conclusion this year
is the definition of the role of traditional leaders in our system of
government''. He noted that there had been sufficient consultation to lay
the basis for the framework legislation. On 14 February he confirmed that
a White Paper on the traditional system of government will be published
this year’’.
By 13 June it was clear that the Minister had lost confidence in his earlier deadline. He now claimed that “we are determined to ensure that both the required national and provincial legislation is passed by November this year”.
Clearly this goal was proving unrealistic as well. On 29 October 2002 a draft White Paper was published. In November, the date by which the Minister had indicated earlier the legislation would have been passed by Parliament, he then appointed a task team to advise on the finalisation of the draft White Paper. Around the same time, the President too noted that parties were ``still seized of the matter’’.
So by year-end, there was still no White Paper and still no legislation. We have now reached the mid-point of 2003 and are still waiting. By April the President was still speaking of resolving matters ``as quickly as possible’’, which is similar to what he had been saying for several years. Most important though, and hinting at finality, he stated:
Obviously, we cannot celebrate our tenth anniversary of liberation in a situation in which we have not met our constitutional obligation to resolve all matters that attach to the issue of the institution of the traditional system of government.
The IFP concurs with the President on this. The issue has been on our collective agenda from the time of Codesa, and it would be unthinkable to go into elections next year with the matter still not put to bed. Still, this gives us until April next year, another possible 10 months of no progress.
Which brings us to the matter of why we are where we are today. Certainly, one would be hard-pressed to object to the delays if the end result were acceptable all round, and if the processes were really geared towards negotiating a genuine solution. However, the IFP seriously doubts if this is the case. One only has to remember the pathetic legislation half introduced to Parliament and then withdrawn, purporting to grant traditional leaders powers and functions in respect of issues such as wood collection and rain-making, to realise that the issue was not being taken seriously.
The Committee of Ministers appointed in March 2001 barely met. The consultation process resulted in a draft White Paper, ignoring the inputs of traditional leaders. On the task team appointed to advise the Minister were two traditional leaders, strangely, both from the same province, but notably not persons nominated by or carrying a mandate from the Coalition of Traditional Leaders. Indeed, it was the understanding of the Coalition of Traditional Leaders that the Minister would consult them before appointing Coalition-nominated representatives, but this never occurred, and the Minister appointed them unilaterally.
As a consequence the process remains a mess. When the task team sought to consult with the Coalition, the Coalition indicated its unhappiness with the process and refused to recognise the task team. A political wing of six persons was then established comprising three representatives nominated by the Minister and three by the Coalition, but in its six months of existence, this body has never met.
The Coalition, having studied the draft terms of reference, made recommendations to the Minister on expanding the terms of reference, and has twice written to the Minister requesting that a meeting between its leadership and the Minister take place, but to no avail. Indeed the Minister has apparently not even acknowledged receipt of this correspondence.
This is problematic to say the least, because it had also been understood that the leadership of the Coalition would, having discussed the terms of reference with the Minister, refer back to the Coalition with the Minister in the form of a joint meeting. Needless to remark, this has not occurred either. So the smoke and mirrors process continues, and there is nothing to indicate that this Government has any serious intention of negotiating anything.
The crux of the issue at stake is this: Government seeks to define a role for traditional leaders and institutions of traditional leadership, which totally exclude powers of local government - powers, which both sides agreed, traditional authorities previously enjoyed - while traditional leaders and their supporters seek to define a role premised on the return of their previous powers of local governance.
The significance of these processes, delays and difficulties lies in their constituting part of a broader backdrop in which Government has unilaterally reneged on an agreement reached with traditional leaders before the 2000 local government elections, and has generated a process to either justify its behaviour or to place such a distance between the date of the agreement and the formal conclusion of the policy process that the starting point is rendered immaterial.
It is one thing for there to be a disagreement. It is another if this disagreement is worsened by promises previously made which are summarily ignored. It has just complicated matters. Put quite simply, the executive promised traditional leaders, before the 2000 local government elections, that the local government powers they enjoyed would be returned to them by way of Parliament passing legislation before the elections, and that thereafter a process would be put into motion to finally address their powers and functions, which powers and functions would be greater than they had at the time.
From that moment on, Government turned its back on its promises. Legislation was indeed introduced before the elections, but this was a perfunctory exercise, and a botched one at that which fooled no one and embarrassed the Government. It bore no relation to the agreement and went nowhere. Thereafter not even a pretence was made of complying with the agreement. So here we are, two and a half years after the promises made before the local government elections, with no indication of any serious engagement taking place on this matter.
In conclusion, Deputy Chair, Government should come clean and put the matter to rest. We believe it has long ago made up its mind on the policy matters involved, and has further drafted legislation to give effect to this. Year after year, we go through the pretence that there is a process which could result in Government somehow changing its mind. How can it be that a few days ago we were told that the White Paper is expected this very month when a key consultative committee established by the Minister has not even met yet? Is this vaguely compatible with the good faith process? What is to be said about the imminent release of the White Paper? Clearly nothing … [Time expired.]
Mr A G LYLE: Deputy Chairperson, it is a universally held belief that since our first democratic election this country has undergone a fundamental, political, social and economic transformation, a transformation that demands from its citizenry two important elements, nurturing and defending.
We cannot divorce the depiction that I have just outlined from a well resourced and skilled nation. Clearly, skills, development and capacity- building cannot be overemphasised, particularly in the realm of developmental local government.
Certainly, the SA Local Government Association and the local government water Seta have a major role to play in this regard. We take note of the challenging problems that the Seta encountered during its restructuring phase from a nondemocratic, nontransparent and exclusive institution into a democratic, transparent, inclusive and consultative training institution.
To the Seta we would like to convey the following: With the restructuring almost complete, the Seta is now poised to embark on a training programme with much more vigour and precision. Our study tour of municipalities in January this year revealed amongst other things that the following areas need to be urgently addressed by the Seta: The failure of the local government and water Seta to perform its role effectively; capacity- building and training programmes are not providing effective training and thus not having the desired results; and there needs to be more effective co-ordination and co-operation between the local government capacity- building and training role-players.
Our portfolio committee undertook to convene a workshop with all role- players on 21 May 2003 to examine the capacity-building and training work that is being done within the sector to assess the impact and identify measures to be taken to improve the Seta’s efficacy. We would like to reiterate that our portfolio committee stands firm on the conviction that effective capacity-building and training programmes are indispensable to the successful implementation of the new system of local government and to significantly advance delivery, development and democracy.
The Seta made the following presentation outlining its plans that would strengthen its role and effectiveness, and the implementation of training programmes, starting this financial year. The Seta has taken a decision to expand to at least three provinces and indicated that it is planning to use its funds to increase its support for municipalities so as to enable them to prepare their work skills plans.
The Seta has identified the following areas as priority: Leadership skills, strategic planning, finance management, project and contract management, people management, technical skills, ICT and councillor training. The Seta looked at the following to improve on delivery, avoid duplications, synchronise plans, efforts, deliverables and the sharing of resources and vision.
The local government and water Seta must take the lead as an authority in this sector in regulating service providers. The following recommendations related to the Seta were formulated at the workshop: that the Seta must deal with its organisational issues and take the necessary measures to improve its performance; strengthen its presence in the provinces and increase its visibility; increase its attention on areas of priority for local government transformation including leadership and development; work together with DPLG and Salga to attend to the municipalities that cannot pay their levies; and the poor return rate of workplace skills.
Salga is also undergoing restructuring as I speak. The institution made its presentation at the workshop on its capacity-building strategy and covered the following areas: Determining needs and competencies; building financial and fiscal capacity; creating learning organisations; providing on-site support; measuring and monitoring impact; building individual and institutional capacity; measuring and monitoring success; and assisting in restructuring the local government and water Seta.
Furthermore, Salga, with support from the Norwegian Agency of Development and the Norwegian Association of Regional and Local Authorities, is in the process of developing and implementing phase two of the core councillor training programme. The implementation strategy of phase two will focus on all the 47 district councils by November 2003, and on the local and metro councils by June 2004.
The content material for phase two will cover the following: local government legislation; how councils function and the roles of different stakeholders in council; local government finance and IDPs; project management and community development skills; labour relations; and alternative service delivery.
Our portfolio committee assures Salga and the local government and water Seta of its maximum support. Your failure is our failure. We do not have an alternative. We must succeed. In conclusion, we wish Salga and the Seta well in their endeavours. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr J DURAND: Thank you, Mr Deputy Chair. I have recently been appointed by my party to serve on the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government, but I have had extensive experience as a councillor since 1994, being part of the evolution of local government in South Africa.
Provincial and local government is born out of a reality that we are one nation consisting of diverse groups defined by language, culture and religion. The success of democracy will be determined by our ability to fete our diversity and not to see it as lines of demarcation. We should ensure greater integrated governance and planning towards pushing back the frontiers of poverty. We need to be aware of our historical realities and deal with them in a responsible and sustained manner.
We need to train a new managerial class. South Africans are now focusing on the training of a new civil service culture in South Africa. An excellent report by the Commonwealth’s expert Committee on Southern Africa sets out a detailed rationale for the training needs of the new South Africa together with imaginative and realistic proposals to finance and implement educational programmes for post-apartheid skills. The magnitude and urgency of these needs are enormous. As has often been pointed out, the efforts to abolish apartheid pale in comparison with the task of coping with its legacy.
Provincial, and especially local government, are the spheres of government nearest to the people. It is their activities that affect the lives of South Africans. Since 1993, we have been developing a model of local and provincial government that would suit our needs and serve our people. We now have a system in place where every square metre of this country falls under the jurisdiction of a local authority.
Financial issues, certainly, constitute the biggest challenge confronting municipalities. Clearly, there is a need for a new financial system for the new model of developmental local government.
Most municipalities have a credit control and debt collection policy. However, they either cannot or do not implement these policies effectively. Most municipalities are aware that they have to do more to collect the arrears owed to them for service charges, especially from those who can afford to pay.
A significant number of municipalities said that they are not yet billing everybody using services, as they are still gathering information on residents and do not have proper systems in place. When the committee visited one area, one councillor said: “The biggest problem is the rural areas. There is no legal or administrative structure there. No title deeds, no correct address, a very weak postal service.”
Some municipalities admitted they still had different billing systems for the different areas of the previously existing municipalities that have been merged. Several municipalities explained that they also lacked suitably qualified personnel to improve their billing system. One municipality said that it had two meter readers for over 500 000 people! The meter readers did the billing manually and the mistakes made reduced the credibility of the bills, serving to discourage residents from paying. Several municipalities have introduced incentive schemes to encourage residents to pay. These have had varying degrees of success, but certainly seem to have potential.
For want of capacity, several municipalities have begun to outsource debt collection. Some argue that not only is it efficient, but it works out cheaper for both the municipalities and the debtors, as legal fees are avoided, and debt collection agencies are paid on the basis of the amount of the debt retrieved.
One of the most progressive aspects of the new system of local government is the considerable space it provides for community participation to be fully implemented. While, clearly, the enormous potential for community participation is very far from being realised, there has been a fair amount of progress. The vast majority of municipalities have at least some level of community participation, and most seem to have established ward committees. A significant number, indeed, have a council policy on community participation and on ward committees especially.
Ultimately, the test of the new system of local government will be the extent to which it leads to substantial improvements in service delivery and development. While there is significant progress in this regard, especially in the delivery of free basic services, particularly water, there is still a long way to go before municipalities effectively fulfil their responsibilities, and they have to be assisted far more by national and provincial government and other stakeholders to do this.
The portfolio committee believes that provincial governments have a crucial role to play in supporting the consolidation of the new system of local government. Despite their obvious limitations of funds, resources and personnel, provincial departments of local government and provincial governments as a whole can do more to assist municipalities without unduly interfering. National departments should co-operate more with provincial departments, particularly the provincial departments of local governments, when they deal directly with municipalities.
A brief overview of the budget: My first concern is the nearly R9 million nonspending, Mr Minister, on the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. Why has this commission not been established? These are constitutional rights and need to be promoted.
We are glad that the budget is focusing on service delivery. We welcome the R100 million provided for the delivery of free basic water and electricity. This is a very cold winter and the poor will need these services. We hope the target of 28 million people will be reached in 2004.
We believe that local government is autonomous and its integrity should be respected, but when there are constraints that affect service delivery to the people, the national and provincial departments should intervene and give assistance. We therefore welcome the decision to create units on the Urban Renewal Programme, the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme, targeted provincial support, intergovernmental fiscal relations and municipal viability, free basic services and infrastructure, corporate governance and public participation and empowerment.
The committee pointed out after one of its visits that one of the main issues that emerged from a recent major study tour it had undertaken of municipalities was that there was a need for much greater integrated governance if service delivery and development were to be advanced. The committee stressed that municipalities generally complained that national and provincial departments ignored IDPs in their plans, programmes and projects. The committee felt that the department has to do more to ensure integrated governance and is to pursue this further with the department. The committee welcomed the department’s focus on the premier’s office being responsible for co-ordinating integrated planning and we hope other provinces will follow Gauteng’s example.
The committee expressed its concern about the capacity of municipalities to effectively implement the new division of powers and functions between local and district municipalities to come into effect from 1 July this year. The committee refers the department to its report, if the department could please assist local government with recommendations.
Mr Deputy Speaker, we constantly hear the DA criticising this Government in this House and, Mr Minister, I must inform you, as a nation we are not where we want to be. There is a lot to be done. There are a lot of inconsistencies in local government.
There are three local governments that are governed by the DA: One in Pretoria, where the provincial government is now investigating the DA-led government; Eskom wants to liquidate it because they cannot pay their arrears. The other one is Meyerton in Gauteng where this gentleman comes from, where the mayor is now town clerk. While being in office, a town clerk position was created and he was appointed. That is correct.
The third example is that when the DA governed the Western Cape unicity, their leader said: “This is the shining city on the hill and an example to all.” In the end, Carol Baker of the Sunday Times said: “The DA is lurching from one failure to the other; they are praying for the New NP and the ANC to take over.” I thank you. [Applause.]
Rev A D GOOSEN: Mr Chairperson, we first of all welcome hon Durand as a member of the portfolio committee and also for his gallant approach to this debate.
Mr Grobler’s remarks that the district councils are not delivering any services are very far from the truth. District municipalities are performing an important role in the rural areas and in those areas where they are surrounded by cash-strapped Category B municipalities. It just shows how far the DA is removed from reality. [Interjections.]
The hon Seaton says that in ten years no progress has been made. Like Rip van Winkel of old, she must be sleeping through a revolution not to have noticed the progress which has been made. On the issue of traditional leadership, she is merely echoing what the hon Peter Smith would have said because she herself is not a member of the committee.
Intergovernmental relations is an operational framework through which Government intends to eradicate the legacy of the past and deliver services to communities. Through this framework, I can tell you, the ANC-led Government has achieved much more over the nine years by way of service delivery.
The opposition can howl as much as they want to, but the fact of the matter is that the department, through intergovernmental relations, has contributed a great deal to pushing back the frontiers of poverty by its service delivery on the ground through both provinces and municipalities. We who have to deal with the poorest sector of society will vouch for it that the infrastructure in our communities has changed a great deal.
So in terms of the Constitution, national Government is tasked to develop a sound IGR system that is conducive to socioeconomic transformation, assisting municipalities in effecting fundamental change at grassroots level. I quote from the FFC as follows:
The structures designed to promote co-operative governance have served to overcome many challenges to the effective functioning of the IGR system. It is important to ensure that these structures continue to involve, evolve and operate effectively.
Of course, the IGR system evolved in an informal manner since 1994. The network of institutions played an important role in planning, co-ordinating and executing Government functions. A comprehensive assessment of IGR was undertaken and this informed the IGR legislation that will come before the committee later this year.
Chair, we are aware of the many challenges which face intergovernmental relations. These include, amongst other things, important concepts such as co-operation, alignment and co-ordination that will have to be defined. As there is no legal framework for dispute settlement between spheres as required by the Constitution, this should feature strongly in the forthcoming legislation. In addition to aligning IGR with provincial growth and development planning, the department mentioned that it would introduce targeted support programmes to provinces because of their supportive role in the IGR.
The co-ordination of IGR with provinces and with national Government is of great importance. The interaction of departments within a province must be spearheaded by the premier’s office, precisely because that office is the nucleus of the provincial executive. Minister, if the IGR needs to be aligned with the provincial growth and development planning, then surely the municipal Integrated Development Plans, IDPs, must also come into the picture, because it is going to show that the IDPs are not just wish lists, as some councillors would put it, but that it would be followed by development in all the municipalities.
I want to suggest that both provincial and national departments plan their programmes and projects in such a manner that it would be consistent with a municipality’s IDP. This co-ordination is of great importance to the IGR.
I would like to stress that co-operative governance is not just the interaction between departments and spheres of government but it is also about ensuring that the structures of government serve the purposes and priorities of Government. It actually means that each person who is a cog in the wheel of service delivery is accountable and must therefore take responsibility.
During our recent study tour of municipalities, we found that relations between municipalities and provinces were fair to good actually. However, we want to see a situation where provinces are much more involved in what is transpiring in the municipalities, especially since they have an oversight role to play.
Many municipalities echo the sentiment that they are in need of more support from provinces. Provinces should not just stand on the sidelines and watch local government do its thing. On the contrary, they need to assist municipalities with capacity-building as part of their involvement in the affairs of local government.
Minister, during our study tour to municipalities early in the year, our group visited the Northern Cape. We were taken on a tour of the Galeshewe node. Galeshewe has undergone a complete transformation from what it used to be in the past. I was absolutely thrilled to see all the changes that have taken place. To crown it all, the new legislature of the Northern Cape is situated right in the heart of Galeshewe. All these spheres of government are involved in the department of the node and, to me, this is a shining example of intergovernmental relations being successful.
However, when we visited a node in Mitchells Plain and Guguletu a few days later, we found to our horror that the DA did not even bother to lift a finger in order to develop those areas. It is only now that the coalition is in place that things are happening in that node.
We have heard how negative the hon Grobler was. I am sure that his colleague, the hon Willem Doman, formerly from the New NP is going the same route. The Word says `you go over land and see to make one proselyte, and once you have him, it becomes twice as bad as what you are’. The ANC supports the Vote.
The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Chairperson, hon members, hon Minister, the President, in his state of the nation address in February this year said:
Over the past few years we have worked hard to lay the basis of the advances we must make to meet the goal of a better life for all. At the centre of this, are the related objectives of the eradication of poverty and the fundamental transformation of our country into one that is nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous.
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg last year, we recognised poverty eradication as one of the essential requirements for sustainable development. We also recognised the reality that as a global society, we are endowed with the resources to address the challenges of poverty eradication and sustainable development.
We expressed our resolve to increase access to basic requirements such as clean water, sanitation, adequate shelter, energy, healthcare, food security and protection of biodiversity. We also agreed to provide assistance to increase income-generating employment opportunities and to strengthen governance at all levels for the effective implementation of local agenda 21, the Millennium Development Goals and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. The first goal of the Millennium Development Goal is that of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. It aims to halve the proportion of people who live on less than R1 100 a month by the year 2015.
One of the important commitments made by the WSSD in respect of Africa was to support the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, Nepad. In Nepad, we believe that the development of Africa is ultimately the responsibility of Africans themselves. One of the underlying objectives for the establishment of Nepad is to eradicate poverty and place our countries, individually and collectively, on the path of sustainable growth and development. We realise that these twin objectives of eradicating poverty and fostering socioeconomic development are possible through the application of democracy and good governance.
It is these same challenges that we addressed at the recent Growth and Development Summit, the GDS, held in Johannesburg. Part of the vision of the GDS is the creation of a society in which there are economic opportunities for all, poverty is eradicated, income inequalities are reduced and basic services are available to all. These objectives at the level of the WSSD, Nepad and the GDS reaffirm the strategic goals and objectives of our Government to eradicate poverty and create a better life for all.
As we review the past nine years of our democratic state, and the challenges that we still face, we pause to reflect on some of the historical truths. Colonialism and apartheid left behind a legacy of inequality, poverty, underdevelopment and poor services. This legacy was so deeply entrenched and continues to manifest itself in the form of infrastructural backlogs, skewed spatial developments and a huge skills deficit that we confront. Our ANC-led Government came into power with a clear mandate - to find innovative solutions to redress these injustices.
It is important to bear this history in mind when assessing the progress made in reaching our targets and in understanding the challenges that this Government still faces. In the past nine years, we have put in place concerted programmes to undo the damage caused by decades of apartheid policies.
I recently had the opportunity of addressing the Department of Politics and Governance at one of our universities and, in our discussion about Government’s transformation programme, it became clear to me that there is a grave lack of understanding among some of our young people of the true history of our country and of our people. They just could not understand why it is taking so long to achieve this better life for all. It is important that as we celebrate Youth Day, we encourage them to learn about and appreciate our history as they are our leaders of tomorrow.
Our vision was clearly expressed at the Congress of the People in Kliptown on 26 June 1955, when the Freedom Charter was adopted. Prof Wilson and Dr Ramphele, in their book entitled Uprooting Poverty: The South African Challenge said, and I quote:
The Congress of the People crystallised thinking at the time of formulating the Freedom Charter, which focused not only on political power and the rule of law, but also on the need for redistribution of wealth, including land, and the banishment of famine.
Using the Freedom Charter as a basis, the ANC developed the Reconstruction and Development Programme which identified the basic principles, which the Minister referred to earlier, to address the problems of poverty and gross inequality. This programme was adopted by the new democratic Government. The central objective is to improve the quality of the lives of all South Africans and, in particular, the most poor and marginalised sections of our community.
The system of government that we have created has been designed with the express intention of addressing these imbalances. During the period 1994- 2002, the focus of Government has been on establishing the policy, legislation and institutional machinery of Government to implement the three-sphere system of government established by our Constitution. During the next three years, 2003 to 2006, the emphasis will be on making the three spheres of government work more efficiently and effectively to improve service delivery.
The mandate of our Ministry and department is to facilitate and promote co- ordination among national departments, provincial governments and local governments to provide support to provincial and local governments in fulfilling their constitutional mandates. As the sphere closest to the people, our intergovernmental system places local government at the frontline of Government’s delivery machinery, providing basic household infrastructure and services to all our people. Our mandate places us at the coalface of Government’s interaction with municipalities.
The budget for this financial year has been increased by 43% to R9,4 billion. The bulk of this amount will be utilised for capacity-building in order to bring services closer to the people at the local level. Building the capacity of municipalities remains a major area of intervention for our Ministry and department. We are placing special emphasis on building the capacity of women in local government. The challenge for the next few years will be on consolidating the various capacity-building grants and targeting these towards building systems for development planning, financial management and performance management. One of the initiatives we will be embarking on is the local government leadership academy.
At the heart of poverty eradication and development is access to infrastructure. Through the Municipal Infrastructure Investment Framework, the MIIF, the department monitors and quantifies the extent of infrastructure backlogs for water, sanitation, roads, stormwater and waste removal in each province. The MIIF estimates the total municipal infrastructure investment necessary to eliminate these backlogs as anything between R38 billion to R53 billion, or an annual amount of over R10 billion. These backlogs have to be contrasted against the investment that Government makes towards municipal infrastructure provision. This year we will be revising and updating our statistics on infrastructure backlogs for the country.
The capital investment grants that have been introduced to deal with these backlogs include the CMIP, the Community-Based Public Works Programme, the community water supply and sanitation and the national electrification programme. The CMIP is one of the largest capital programmes providing funds for bulk and connector municipal infrastructure. For example, a total of 315 projects covering key sectors such as water, sanitation, roads and lighting were completed in 2002-03 through the CMIP programme. The allocation for this programme alone totals R2,3 billion for the year 2003- 04, an increase of about 25% on last year’s allocation of R1,7 billion.
The substantial increases over the past years in the CMIP allocation point to our commitment to addressing underdevelopment and changing the lives of those marginalised by the previous apartheid dispensation. One of our most outstanding flagship CMIP projects to date is the Umtata Peri-Urban Water Project which, since its inception, has been driven by the local community. Members of the community who served on the project committee and workers have received training in a range of skills including project management, pipe laying and operation and maintenance. The project is expected to yield long-term positive results in the general health of the people, especially women who will now be able to use time spent collecting water for income- generating activities.
The fact that we have all these municipal infrastructure grant programmes administered by different departments, all with different programmatic and reporting requirements for local government, points to some of the inefficiencies we still have in the system. Different infrastructure grants result in poor planning and budgeting and therefore undermine our efforts at integrated service delivery in an effort to promote efficiency in infrastructure delivery.
Cabinet has approved the consolidation of the different grants into what is termed the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Grant. The department will be piloting the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Grant in a select number of municipalities. In this way, the infrastructure transfers will go directly to local government in support of the IDPs.
In addressing the dehumanising effects of deprivation and poverty, we need to address the restoration of dignity of the lives of the people. In our effort to provide our people with access to basic services previously denied, we remain committed to Cabinet’s decision in 2001 to provide free basic water and electricity. Although substantial investments in infrastructure at local level have been made since 1994, the policy is being implemented on a progressive basis as infrastructure and capacity is being put in place at the local level. An amount of R1 billion will be invested towards infrastructure provision for free basic services.
Free basic water was introduced in July 2001 and free basic electricity roll-out will commence on 1 July 2003. The good news is that in the metropolitan and larger municipalities, this has already been implemented. Our focus in providing a better life extends beyond putting infrastructure in place to giving people the opportunity to become economically active and, in this way, contribute to the economic growth of our country. An amount of R120 million has been allocated for this financial year to our Local Economic Development Programme.
One of the exciting and innovative projects we visited this year funded through LED is the Silobela Agri-Business in Carolina, Mpumalanga, which uses hydroponics to grow strawberries and other products for the local market and their dealers. We will be visiting other projects during this year. We are also planning to visit Kwazulu-Natal and the O R Tambo rural district.
Our system of local government is also designed to ensure community participation and to give effect to our objective of people-centred and people-driven development. People in our wards must be able to mobilise sufficient development resources from Government where necessary.
Once again, I would like to thank members of Parliament and the portfolio committee for their unwavering support and the tremendous work that the portfolio committee has done by visiting the municipalities. I would like to thank the DG, Ms Lindi Msengana-Ndlela and her team for the sterling work they have done in turning around the department to become more dedicated, professional and goal-oriented. I also want to thank the Ministry’s staff for their co-operation and support. We also want to express our thanks to Salga, the premiers, MECs, mayor, councillors, Inkosi and all our strategic partners who have engaged us and supported us throughout this period. Most importantly, I would like to thank the Minister, Comrade Sydney Mufamadi, for his leadership, guidance and support. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.].
Mrs R M SOUTHGATE: Mr Chairman, the new developmental mandate on local government has placed greater emphasis and urgency on the fiscal review, integration and co-ordination of the three spheres of government.
Amalgamation, unfunded mandates, powers and functions of local and district councils, poor billing and data systems and nonpayments are but a few of the challenges that local government faces in order to deliver effective and efficient service delivery. What further exacerbates the viability, capacity and management is the limited revenue-raising abilities of municipalities. Property rates, if I may add, are not going to be the answer to strengthen revenue-raising capacities of municipalities. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Southgate, can you please take your seat.
Ms N M TSHEOLE: Chairperson, the hon member is reflected on the screen as the Minister for Intelligence, hon Sisulu. Can this be corrected please? Thank you.
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: This is presently being corrected.
Mrs R M SOUTHGATE: Probably a prophesy.
The ACDP is concerned about the nonmaterialising of the many promises that were made by the Minister and his department to table legislation with regard to the rightful role of traditional authorities in local government. Failure of the department to ensure proper co-operation between municipalities and traditional authorities in rural areas has resulted in poor service delivery in those areas.
The increases in the equitable share over the MTEF period are totally insufficient. If local government is to be the main agent of delivery, then the cut of the pie for the equitable share to local government should be larger than that of its counterparts in order for it to align to its developmental mandate.
The R24 billion debt of which a large portion is nonrecoverable and will be written-off further impacts on annual budgets of municipalities. Revenue budgets are prepared with the assumption of collection and when unable to collect, it forces municipalities to erode the surplus, or access bank overdrafts to finance the shortfall. This compromises investor and consumer confidence. Therefore all three must improve their image in the public eye. They must lead by example, by paying their debts in the agreed timeframes. If not, stiffer penalties must be invoked against defaulters.
The increase in the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme which is aimed at rehabilitation and upgrading of basic infrastructure is welcomed. These initiatives include plans of management and sustainability with finances targeting specific projects in the various nodal points. However, very little or no development has been planned for poverty pockets in urban and rural areas, thus causing inner city decay and rural impoverishment. [Time expired.]
Mr S A MSHUDULU: Chairperson, I stand here in support of today’s budget on behalf of the African National Congress.
Let me take you through the following as I dedicate this speech to the youth of this country, the people of Evaton in the Vaal in particular and the poor people of this country. I pledge my Government’s commitment to the extension and improvement of free basic services to all residents of this country.
The youth of today should know that colonial rule and apartheid rule denied their parents and grandparents the following: the democratic right to choose what is good for them, economic and social justice, and human dignity, and they were displaced, let alone being humiliated and degraded. The past has today left us with no development and extreme underdevelopment both in rural and predominantly black areas. These areas are characterised by social and economic infrastructure that is unintegrated. They have infrastructure that is environmentally unsustainable, of poor quality, of unequal distribution and underutilised. It must be noted that without good infrastructure in place, there is no way that we can have qualitative and quantitative service delivery.
The challenge facing the ANC-led Government today does not exclude the following: poor co-ordination in the development of new infrastructure poor quality of infrastructure provision, lack of sustainability resulting from lack of adequate operating planning and maintenance; industralisation that led to urbanisation which resulted in urban sprawl and growth in informal settlements and overutilisation of consultants without political content. Hence we now have an estimated R170 billion of infrastructure investment backlog.
It takes only a movement of the ANC’s calibre and status to manage the situation that I have just outlined. It is the ANC-led Government that has policies that impact on the lives of people of this country, especially the poor. It is the ANC-led Government that has constitutional guarantees based on the Bill of Rights. It is also the ANC that laid the foundation for people-centred and participatory democracy where all citizens are included in the planning of the development of their areas. Of course, it is only the ANC-led Government that has a developmental government, for example, through IDPs.
It is true that we are on course. When our President, Thabo Mbeki, made a call in the ANC Manifesto in 1999 for us to fight for change together he said, and I quote:
Our challenge for the next five years is to use the experience we have gained, the policies we have put in place and institutions of democracy we have created to bring about even greater change than we have achieved in the first five years.
The nation listened, and the department listened as it is led by Minister Mufumadi who acted accordingly. The above commitment is justified by the department’s going through the following transformation stages as mentioned earlier: the stabilisation phase, the consolidation phase and the sustainability phase which, of course, entails a clear delivery mandate, targeted reliable data and outcomes-based performance in the delivery of free basic services.
Never was so much done by so progressive a government for so many within such a short time. The key priorities for municipalities include expansion of their capacity to provide services particularly free basic services which include the implementation of policy that came into effect on 1 July 2001.
In order for the local and provincial governments to fulfil their mandate, national Government has allocated funds for the distribution of free basic services and many others that have been mentioned by the Deputy Minister. Free basic services translate into the following: the provision of 6 kilolitres of free water to all households. It must be noted that clean water is the most significant resource for reducing poverty and diseases and improving quality of life.
To meet the challenge, coherent policy and a regulatory framework that is appropriate to the physical realities of the South African situation should be established. Hence it is important that institutional support be provided. We must know that unplanned settlements and overrunnings, resulting in a run-off into nearby streams and rivers, has led to a high level of cholera and aggravated the sanitation problem. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and the Department of Local and Provincial Government are in agreement that the issue of water transfer shall be dealt with without compromising the delivery thereof.
About one third of municipalities outside Gauteng currently provide their whole jurisdiction with services. My district, Sedibeng, which is in Gauteng South, provides free basic water to all municipalities except for areas where there is no infrastructure. The free basic service policy does not extend to sanitation beyond provision of basic levels on inside sanitation such as the Ventilated Improved Pit system (VIP) which has minimal operational costs.
Delivery in rural areas remains a challenge as identified by the presidential and ministerial imbizos throughout the country. The issue of water losses also is a challenge due to the old inappropriate worn-out infrastructure that needs to be replaced.
To have electricity as Government’s priority towards the provision of free basic services is an advantage both economically and socially. Fifty kilowatts per month for grid connection will also be provided whilst we note that 3,5 million homes have been electrified since 1994 when the ANC took over. Government has allocated R300 million for the provision of free basic electricity to poor households nationally.
The provision of free basic electricity in terms of grid-connected customers will be made on a self-targeting basis where poor households choose to benefit from subsidies subject to being connected to the reduced level of supply. Eskom must also note that it plays a crucial role. The challenge facing municipalities is to ensure the smooth roll-out of free basic services including electricity. However, some municipalities provide certain levels of kilowatts free. We have to commend Stellenbosch for providing 70% free. Polokwane does it according to the household.
I wish to thank the President for visiting my constituency, which is Evaton, last year. We should be celebrating the centenary next year which is characterised by resistance to forced removals. I must also thank Minister Thoko Didiza for having considered celebrating 90 years of resistance to forced removals in Evaton next week on 17 June.
In closing, I must note that the Portfolio Committee on Provincial and Local Government has made a recommendation, which I believe has been covered earlier on. Amongst others is the recommendation that in some municipalities, for example, the issue of bucket systems and pit systems of sanitation needs to be dealt with. It is only through strong and effective ward committees that IDPs, which are the best component of our budget, can reflect the very basic needs I have mentioned. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr P H K DITSHETELO: Chair, the 1998 local government White Paper sought to draw attention to the fact that local government should be developmental, meaning that it is a process. Out of that has come the wall-to-wall municipalities that blanket the country at present.
Developmental local government should be committed to working with citizens and groups within the community to find sustainable ways to meet the social, economic and material needs of these people in order to improve the quality of their lives. In attempting to establish the extent to which municipalities are committed to working with people, we noticed that the ward committees have been established. Though such committees are primarily the preserve and responsibility of ward councillors, we maintain that list councillors should also call meetings, just like members of Parliament, although elected through the party list.
The code of conduct, as set out in the legislation, is meant to govern the behaviour of councillors, but unfortunately, a good number of councillors continue to be found on the wrong side of the law. The high number of mayors who have been removed from office because of unbecoming conduct comes to mind.
Amalgamating councils and reducing them from 843 to 284 is in itself a challenge. Not much thought was given to the scale of the administrative integration process that would come as a result of demarcation. The integration of the administrative, financial and information technology systems of municipalities that were autonomous has been complex, time- consuming and difficult, but we hope that it will be pushed into place. In many municipalities the financial reserves of all councils with positive bank balances have been used to settle the debts of bankrupt councils. The selection of municipal managers has not given rise to optimism about the general skill level of municipal managers rising to justify the salaries they receive. It is not without reason that the hon Minister of Finance, on the occasion of his Budget Speech, spoke strongly against the inflated remuneration packages some of these officials receive or allocate to themselves.
We are aware that such appointments are justified in terms of affirmative action, but deplore the fact that others are based on political patronage from the majority party. [Time expired.]
Mr B M SOLO: Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers that are here, hon members, allow me to acknowledge the presence of Sister Bernard Ncube, the executive mayor of the West Rand District Council, who was a member of this committee, and also the presence of Mrs Martie Wenger, the mayor of Midvaal Local Council, a constituency I serve. As part of fighting poverty and speeding up development, the President announced a specific, focused programme. This programme is known as the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Programme and the Urban Renewal Programme. Doubting Thomases were then cynical, negative and full of contempt. Today we are proud to say these programmes have made significant strides in realising their objectives and are firmly on the right path to sustainable development. We can safely say that, indeed, the tide has turned.
The debate on the Vote today actually gives effect to the fact that this ANC-led Government is indeed moving in a systematic and sustainable manner to ensure a better life, particularly for the poor, powerless, previously neglected and destitute masses of our people who have been subjected to conditions of squalor, poverty and misery.
Resources have been set aside to ensure that this programme benefits a wide range of the poor communities. As we see in CMIP funding, considerable amounts have been allocated to rural projects. About R307 million will be allocated to the 13 development nodes in 55 local municipalities. The implementation of anchor projects, the allocation of specific funds in terms of this budget, and the combined resources from the three spheres of government that have been brought together demonstrate the importance of intergovernmental relations.
The department has moved further to set up a unit that would be solely in charge of these programmes. This demonstrates the seriousness and the commitment of the ANC-led Government to pushing back the frontiers of poverty.
As indicated already, most of these anchored programmes have been implemented. Of course, there are others that are struggling to get off the ground for various reasons. In the report on the municipalities we visited, which we recently tabled in this House, we made mention of four urban nodes that we had been able to visit.
The success of these programmes lies solely in integrated development planning. These programmes should not be seen as isolated, technocratic, academic exercises as they deal with the lives of the people. Accordingly, community participation through your IDP processes, ward committees and other engagements becomes critical. We call upon all key stakeholders such as the Umsobomvu Fund, the National Coalition for Municipal Service Delivery and departments with poverty alleviation programmes to materially support these programmes.
As a committee we agree with the department that the key challenges are to get the three spheres of government to co-operate around the budgeting and planning of these key government initiatives, and to strengthen the management of the programmes in the various nodes. From what we observed during our tour, we are impressed with the enormous progress made in some of these nodes.
Ngoba sithetha esikwaziyo, singqine esikubonile. E-Kimberly sibonile kakuhle abantu benyakazela bemaxhaphetshu, bebhinqele phezulu besebenza, kwaye besebenza ngokuzithemba nokukhuthala okukhulu. [As we talk about what we know and attest to what we saw, in Kimberley we clearly saw people moving about, having their hands full, busy at work, and working with confidence and great diligence.]
Kubalulekile kanti futhi kusemqoka ukuthi abantu bakithi lapha eNingizimu Afrika, babonakale bebamba iqhaza elibalulekile emathubeni amahle kaHulumeni ohlelo oluhlelekile lomgomo wokuthuthukisa umnotho wezwe. Kubalulekile kakhulu ukuba abantu batholakale beziqhenya ngokuzibiza ngawo lo mnotho abazenzele wona njengokusho komqulu weFreedom Charter othi, “Abantu bazobusa”, bawakhe ngokwabo lo mnotho wakithi. Alikho iqiniso eledlula lelo, siyabusa vele.
Okubalulekile kakhulu ukuthi uhulumeni, izakhamuzi kanye nomphakathi kudingekile ukuthi balwe nobubha kanye nobuphofu behlangene beyimbumba. Kulobo bumnyama bempi yethu yokuxosha ikati eziko, sizoyinqoba indlala ekhungethe leli zwe. Kuyoba sengathi iphupho.
Njengoba sonke sazi ukuthi uHulumeni oholwa nguKhongolose unenqubomgomo yokuxosha indlala, kudingeka ukuthi wonke umuntu aphonse itshe esivivaneni. Makube umsebenzi wethu sonke ukuzinikela ekuqapheleni ubudlova obenziwa ohlohlesabo.
Isabiwozimali esiqhuba ngaso kulezi zinsuku siyathembisa ukuthi sizozifeza izinhloso zethu ngokwecebo likahulumeni. Uhlelo oluhlelekile oluzimele lokuphucula impilo yasemakhaya nasemadolobheni luyingxenye efakazela uHulumeni oholwa nguKhongolose. Abampofu bazozuza kakhulu uma nje kunokuzimisela okuqotho. Bese sikhulumile ngeKimberly. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[It is very important that our people here in South Africa are seen to be playing a very important role, in respect of good opportunities that the Government creates for a programme of developing the country’s economy. It is also very important that people take pride in the very same economy they created for themselves, as the Freedom Charter states that “the people shall govern” and create this economy on their own. There is no truth above that one. Of course, we are governing. What is important is that the Government, citizens and the community must fight against poverty jointly. In the end we will come out victorious against this hunger, which is confronting this country. It will be like a dream.
As we all know, the ANC-led Government has a policy on the alleviation of hunger. Therefore, it is imperative that everybody makes a contribution. Let us make it our responsibility and commitment to watch out for bad behaviour from the people who have bad intentions.
Our budget that we are using these days promises that we will achieve our goals according to the Government’s plan. A well-planned programme of developing the lives of the people of rural and urban areas serves as a testimony to the ANC-led Government. The poor will benefit only if there is a genuine commitment. We have already spoken about Kimberley.]
In Alexander, Johannesburg, more than 3 000 jobs have been created through the Urban Renewal Project. The road leading to Rooseveldt Bridge has been rehabilitated. The removal of the informal settlement on the Jukskei River banks has led to the greening of the river banks. A Pan-African Square has been constructed to provide formal and informal trading space.
We all know about the new police station, which was officially opened at the beginning of this year. Thirteen primary schools and five secondary schools have been repaired and/or renovated. Four new schools have been built with one of the schools being for people with disabilities.
Recently, at a big community meeting, an evaluation of the development was done. Interestingly, it was attended by none other than Prof Sangweni, the hon MPs Johnny Mohlala and Baloyi, and MPLs Bob Mabaso and Stewart Ngwenya, the chairs of the housing and local government standing committees respectively.
So this budget, as it is, guarantees that we continue with the good work as more nodal areas will still be identified. The committee is still to visit nodes in the year 2004, so that when we stand here, we are able to say, “Sithetha esikwaziyo, singqine esikubonile” [We talk about what we know, we testify to what we have seen.]
We must distinguish lies from truth, and separate liars from those who are honest. We must expose those who want to stall development and progress; those who, by using various means, make it difficult to have these programmes successfully implemented; those who distort the facts, and those who come with excuses when they fail to carry out their functions.
Through this budget we are able to say that, indeed, the tide has turned. Enkosi. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
Mr C AUCAMP: Mr Chairperson, every resident of Acacia Park must have realised the importance of this department when we experienced a lengthy power failure last night, and I believe it’s still in progress as I speak. I still think the hon Minister organised the whole thing to coincide with and stress the importance of his Vote today. [Laughter.]
However, on behalf of the NA I want to focus, not on local government, but on the section 185 Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities. As it is on the verge of being established, it is of paramount importance to revisit the real purpose of the commission and to see to it that this purpose is served and reflected in the compilation of the commission. In this regard I must recall and mention the excellent way in which committee chairperson Yunus Carrim did it in his introduction to the public hearings on the Bill. He was right on the spot.
In 1993 we in South Africa reached a politically negotiated settlement. There were basically three large groups involved in the new deal: black people who were brought into the democratic system based on one nationality, liberal whites who sought the protection of individual human rights only, and Afrikaners and a few other communities who felt very strongly about the right to cultural, linguistic and religious self- determination.
Those who negotiated for the right to self-determination to be enshrined in the Constitution were then led to believe that certain sections were included to accommodate them. These included sections 30 and 31 on the right to cultural and religious self-determination, section 235 on territorial self-determination and, of course, section 185.
The Volkstaat Council, directly linked to the right to self-determination, was established, and eventually abolished. Section 235 was never implemented. What remains to be seen now, is what Government is going to do with section 185, it being probably the only section in the Constitution that gives hope that the desires and expectations of those who are in need of some form of self-determination will be met.
Treating the section 185 commission in a manner inconsistent with the political negotiation process which forms the context of the commission would and could only further alienate those who are proponents of self- determination, and it would be detrimental to the process of nation- building in South Africa.
Yes, we know there will and must be a solid contingent from the Afrikaner community on the commission, but, hon Minister, to appoint Afrikaners who have never placed a high premium on the right to self-determination would be utterly counterproductive. To appoint “Oubaas-se-honne” [subservient] persons, who in fact yield to the wishes of Government more than serve the rights of communities will, from an Afrikaner point of view, make a mockery of the commission.
Ek wil my dan ook vanaf hierdie podium wend tot leidende rolspelers in Afrikanergeledere. Hierdie kommissie bied aan Afrikaners die uitdaging om ‘n Afrikanerraad of -rade daar te stel wat by die kommissie kan registreer, maar ‘n oorhaastige poging om ‘n Afrikanerraad saam te flans en te registreer wat selektief net ‘n deel van die gemeenskap verteenwoordig, gaan die hele proses verongeluk.
Enige poging om die proses vanuit ‘n bepaalde hoek te kaap sal vernietigend wees. Onthou, “structure follows strategy”. Laat die Afrikanergemeenskap eers wyd beraadslaag, ‘n deeglike oudit maak van alle relevante liggame, hulle voluit betrek, ‘n proses van interne onderhandeling voer - ‘n soort van grootste gemene deler bepaal - om dan uiteindelik die struktuur, ‘n Afrikanerraad, daar te stel en te registreer wat helend, en nie verdelend nie, sal wees.
Ek wil ook ‘n beroep doen op die Minister en op die te stigte kommissie om nie sommer die eerste die beste aansoek te aanvaar wat voorgee om ‘n verteenwoordigende Afrikanerraad te wees nie. Vra liewer eers vir my - ek ken die hele boksemdais! [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek dank u. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[I also want to address leading role-players in the Afrikaner community from this podium. This commission offers Afrikaners the challenge of establishing an Afrikaner council or councils which can register with the commission, but a too hasty effort to throw together and register an Afrikaner council which selectively only represents part of the community will derail the whole process.
Any effort to hijack the process from a particular camp will be destructive. Remember, “structure follows strategy”. Let the Afrikaner community first consult widely, make a thorough audit of all relevant bodies, involve them fully, conduct a process of internal negotiation - determine a sort of greatest common denominator - before eventually establishing and registering the structure, an Afrikaner council, which will be healing and not divisive.
I also want to appeal to the Minister and the commission to be established not to simply accept the first application which purports to be a representative Afrikaner council. Rather ask me first - I know the whole caboodle! [Interjections.] I thank you.] I just want to apologise, hon Minister, for not being able to stay for your reply, because I have to catch a plane to Pretoria. Thanks. [Interjections.]
An HON MEMBER: Why?
Mr C AUCAMP: Constituency work! [Laughter.]
Chief M NONKONYANA: Chairperson, hon members and distinguished guests, amongst whom are traditional leaders, MECs, mayors, mayoresses and other councillors - indeed, our foot soldiers are here - the department, mindful of its constitutional mandate, has established departmental units or divisions, and each unit or division has its key performance area and measurable objectives. These must be, of course, within the budget approved by this Parliament.
Our portfolio committee is entrusted, of course, with the task of overseeing the overall performance of this department in accordance with the principles of transparency and accountability. In support of this Vote, I will deal with the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme and the Local Economic Development and Social Plan Grant, which are two major subprogrammes of the Governance and Development Programme. The expenditure on the Governance and Development Programme is projected to increase by 31,3% during this financial year, and it is expected that this will increase in the next financial year.
I’m impressed by the rural bias of this budget. [Interjections.] For instance, in this booklet, I am told that R1,2 billion of the CMIP will be allocated to rural projects. Of the above amount from the CMIP, R307,7 million will go towards 13 nodes in 55 municipalities next year. Above all, R26,7 million of the Local Economic Development Fund will go towards the rural nodes, unlocking agricultural and tourism potential. [Interjections.] [Applause.]
I am also impressed because, in addition to this, the department has actually produced a strategy plan for 2003 to 2006, setting out its strategies to address poverty, especially in our rural areas. This of course reflects the increases in the allocations of the CMIP and Local Economic Development Grant, which are key poverty alleviation initiatives. These are in line with the ANC’s determination to push back the frontiers of poverty.
The Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme allocation includes R1 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period for the provision of labour-based infrastructure investment and services to help stimulate and support local economic development. These subprogrammes are to be amalgamated and, along with other local government infrastructure grants, will form part of the new Municipal Infrastructure Grant in the next financial year.
I now wish to deal specifically with the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme. The purpose of this programme is to fund municipalities to enable them to provide bulk, connector infrastructure and community facilities to poor households, as the Deputy Minister has correctly pointed out. These funds may only be used for the specific municipal infrastructure investment intended.
The programme will also provide for new infrastructure, and for the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This programme has assisted more than 2,5 million households since its introduction, assisting all municipalities to provide bulk, connector and internal infrastructure and community facilities that benefit poor households. Projects include water, sanitation services, roads, storm water infrastructure, solid waste disposal and community services. Projects typically involve local contractors and are labour-intensive, targeting women, the youth and the disabled for employment and training.
The ANC believes that infrastructure is key to social security and economic development. Approximately 5 million have access to both water and electricity, and an estimated 3,4 million have access to electricity. However, be that as it may, the ANC believes that the levels of underservicing remain high and require an integrated strategy to address them. Therefore infrastructure delivery must remain Government’s key priority.
Early this year it was a pleasure for me and all the people of the Nciphizeni locality in the Kwazithathele Administrative area in the Nyandeni local municipality within the O R Tambo district municipality - I am happy that the mayoress of O R Tambo is here - when the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, Comrade Ronnie Kasrils, officially opened a tap with clean water for the first time in the history of that area. Similarly, the Bhala community within Qaukeni local municipality - I am also happy that the mayoress is here - has received infrastructure, and clean water will be available in the course of this year.
Many municipalities have rolled out the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme. The ANC is indeed more determined than ever before to accelerate delivery of a better life for all. [Applause.] We accordingly hope that in the envisaged elections in 2004, South Africans will give us the necessary mandate to pursue these programmes by, of course, doing the right thing and voting ANC. [Interjections.]
The budget for this financial year has been increased and we will increase it again in the next financial year. Twenty per cent of the funds are set aside for labour-intensive projects, and we will aim to service 650 000 households per annum. Furthermore, about 400 SMMEs per annum are targeted.
I would now like to turn briefly to local economic development. The purpose of this grant is to support planning, promotion and implementation of job creation and poverty alleviation projects within municipalities. The ANC believes that now is the time for all our communities to rise and seize developmental opportunities. The Vukuzenzele campaign initiated by our President … [Interjections.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Miss S RAJBALLY: Chairperson and Ministers, this department assists and manages the relationship and interaction between our three spheres of government, namely national, provincial and local. Since 1994 the department has successfully established and ensured the implementation of the three spheres, and has now embarked on stabilising the system of intergovernmental relations.
With policies, Acts and our national Constitution in place, the MF supports the department’s endeavours in respect of its management of duties. The ability to maintain independence and yet work together with the spheres of government is certainly a difficult task but the department has harmonised this.
Working with the various spheres and maintaining a balance must certainly be a difficult task but the MF is certain that our national Constitution assists greatly in this. The plans of the department for the forthcoming year are very promising and their implementation will depend greatly on strategy and the utilisation of the budget.
The MF feels that the department’s programme of governance and development is aimed at utilising intergovernmental relations policies and I quote:
Promotion of integrated planning and delivery to build co-operative and integrated governance.
This is crucial in order to strengthen the relationship between the various spheres of government. This task, however, should be incumbent on all spheres and departments of Government. By us all initiating and practising such relations effectively, stability may be reached.
The division of the three spheres are clear-cut in our Constitution, which may not be disregarded. Respect for this division of power has to be upheld to ensure our democracy. The MF is pleased at the department’s committed attention to local government statutes.
The budget allocated to this department appears appropriate. The plans of the department for the utilisation of this budget appear appropriate too. The MF hopes that the budget will be utilised effectively in delivering stability within the system of intergovernmental relations.
Minister, asibanike labo abangenazo [let us provide services to those who do not have]. The MF supports the Vote. [Applause.]
Mr M F CASSIM: Chairperson, as a proponent of proposition politics, here are the statements that I want to make to the hon Minister.
Hon Minister, looking at finance and its regulation within the municipality, you have done two very good things indeed. I want to welcome, first of all, the anticorruption unit that is going to come into existence in July. Very well done, indeed.
Secondly, I want to compliment you for the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act which will enormously tighten up all of the financial aspects of the different municipalities. That is excellent. Now, you have two very powerful pieces of legislation and a slew of other legislation, as other hon members were saying.
Now, here is what I think we will need to do in order to make sure that these beautiful Acts of Parliament are going to work powerfully. The first question is: What intervention will be permissible by this House in respect of the work that is going to be done by the anticorruption unit, seeing that we are charged in the Constitution with looking after the subject of oversight.
Secondly, we would like to know something in respect of the rights that have been built up for ordinary citizens. Now, we have in South Africa some of the most potent laws empowering ordinary people in these different municipalities to play a visible role both in directing policy as well as exercising oversight.
Now, because people do not know about these rights and they are not sufficiently preached, the problem then arises that municipalities get away with what they are doing, and I think it is common cause right now that very many municipalities, when it comes to the procurement of services and goods, are making certain that they benefit themselves rather than benefiting the intended beneficiaries.
Now, we need to put a stop to that very quickly in order that the optimal amount of funds are applied for the purposes for which they should, in the first place, have gone. So, I would like the hon Minister and his Deputy to see how we can make these laws work to their total and full potential in order that municipal government, like the national Government, can practise total fiscal and financial propriety.
I think the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act and the coming into being of the anticorruption unit are going to enormously strengthen municipal and local governments. For that reason I wish to stand here and support the Vote for this year. [Applause.]
Mr J M NGUBENI: Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members and local government practitioners present here, in 1943, the ANC annual conference adopted a document entitled Africans’ Claims in South Africa. This document contains demands for equality and a free democratic South Africa. But, unfortunately, the then regime led by General Smuts refused to afford the ANC an audience to present the document.
Twelve years later, in an open field, men and women, young and old, black, white, coloured and Indian from the length and breadth of South Africa gathered. They had demands, some written on cardboard, exercise books and so forth. That was the formal birth of the Freedom Charter, baptised by popular support and participation.
This characterised the ANC as a product of a given historical period, firstly formed to unite the African majority in the struggle for equality and developed to embrace nonracialism. The perspectives from the two documents and their relevance are better put into perspective by the President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki. Allow me to quote from the letters from the President in the first edition of ANC Today:
Reading the document Africans’ Claims in South Africa today, one is struck by the clear relationship between this document, the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of the democratic South Africa. Once again, this emphasises the relevance of the Freedom Charter to what we are working to achieve today.
The Freedom Charter says that the people shall govern. That demand has been achieved. We are governing and the masses are actively participating in governance issues. Structures are up and running to enable meaningful participation at all levels of government. Participatory democracy underpins the fundamental values of the new system of developmental local government. In the very few years of its existence, it is exciting and responding fairly well to the needs of the communities and the huge challenges of the massive social and infrastructural disparities that we inherited.
This is not a miracle or manna from heaven. These are the perspectives and demands that characterise the relevance of the Freedom Charter. Do not forget that the character and the strength of the people’s movement, the ANC, resides in its mass base. It is not coincidental that the ANC Government in all spheres of government is committed to open and transparent government that ensures that people are active, critical and informed, but not passive recipients.
This fundamental democratic principle is evident in that, today, community participation as a legislative requirement is law but not a choice to any official, councillor or municipality. Ward committees are legal structures of local government throughout the country where men, women and all stakeholders actively participate on issues affecting their daily lives. These processes further deepen democracy, accelerate transformation and crush the poverty to which the African majority has been relegated.
It is with pride and admiration, when one drives through the streets of Cape Town, that one sees posters hanging on the poles that read as follows:
You have spoken, we listened, now come back for a report back meeting
This tells us that the ANC governs, and it is transparent and accountable in character and approach.
Community participation is not limited to the areas I have just mentioned. All the 284 new municipalities have prepared and adopted the Integrated Development Plans based on formal public participation. As we further develop a meaningful public input to the IDPS, a unique, innovative ward- based planning programme has been piloted in Mangaung with very exciting results. In the same breath, the Imbizo programme is an innovative programme that has provided communities with the opportunity to be more involved with governance issues.
All these programmes bear testimony that people are active participants in governance issues. However, despite all these programmes, participatory democracy is foreign to or deliberately ignored by the members of the opposition, since they are true prophets of doom who are unfortunately occupied with very narrow anti-transformation neoliberal agendas. [Interjections.]
In fact, when these stereotypes talk about corruption in government, their notion that blacks are inherently and endemically corrupt reeks of racism, as does their suggestion that there is some sort of genetic basis for corruption. Because of these stereotypes, they pretend that they do not know that it is the ANC that introduced the Scorpions and anticorruption units. With greater determination to fight corruption, the local government anticorruption unit will be introduced in the near future.
In conclusion, despite all the negative perceptions about our councils and also taking into account the huge challenges and the backlogs we inherited, to millions out there, municipalities have not collapsed. To the poor disadvantaged communities, the houses provided mean heaven, and proper sanitation has brought back dignity, the free basic services have improved the quality of life, and the maintenance and provision of infrastructure brings hope and the realisation of a better life for all. I support this Vote. [Applause.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Chairperson, the new municipalities came into being with the local government elections that took place on 5 December 2000. This dispensation is indeed a new phenomenon in our country. Like all new structures that are put in place in order to afford greater access by our people to government services, they are bound to experience some problems. Bearing this in mind, Azapo is not surprised to find the following issues that are still prevalent in these spheres of government.
Firstly, Azapo has noticed that community participation is not well understood by officials and role-players. Some municipalities have implemented this programme, whilst others have not even begun to take steps towards implementation. In some rural areas the concept itself has not been introduced to communities. Ward committees, for example, have not been established in some areas. Azapo accepts that it takes some time to complete the process of instituting ward committees. We are, however, of the opinion that two years is enough for a municipality to have completed the process of ward committees. This matter must receive your urgent attention.
In areas where ward committees have been established, some have not been capacitated. Where capacity-building has taken place, there is a dispute as to the relevance of specific courses that are meant to empower members of ward committees. Of importance is the relevance of generic courses to specific local conditions in different municipalities. Azapo believes that localised courses are more relevant than courses developed for general use.
Azapo has also observed that there are very few women in management and senior positions at these municipalities that Azapo visited. To Azapo this is a serious matter, since it goes against the country’s commitment to advance women in all spheres of life. To Azapo gender equality should be practised in all spheres of government. We suggest that a gender audit be conducted in all municipalities so that we can arrest this phenomenon before it grows out of proportion. [Applause.]
The other aspect that needs urgent attention is the relationship between traditional rule and traditional practices and elected councillors, as well as civic associations. During our visits to the Mhinga Traditional Authority and the Mphephu Traditional Authority, we were pleased to learn from the solutions that have been implemented by these traditional authorities. These solutions, in our view, go a long way to harmonise the concept of elected representation and inherited traditional rule. Those who believe that traditional rule is always in conflict with democracy are advised to visit these two traditional authorities.
I support the Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mnr W P DOMAN: Voorsitter, die Wes-Kaapse Minister van Plaaslike Regering, mnr Dowry, het Dinsdag die uitvoerende burgemeesterstelsel by al 30 munisipaliteite in die Wes-Kaap ingestel. Self die kleinste munisipale raad in die land, Laingsburg, wat net ses raadslede het, het nou ‘n uitvoerende burgemeester, sy komitee, ‘n uitvoerende onderburgemeester en ‘n speaker. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Die Wes-Kaap is die enigste provinsie in die land wat hierdie stommiteit aanvang. Trouens, al … [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr W P DOMAN: Chairperson, on Tuesday the Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Mr Dowry, introduced the executive mayor system in all 30 municipalities in the Western Cape. Even the smallest municipal council in the country, Laingsburg, which has only six councillors, now has an executive mayor, its committee, an executive deputy mayor and a speaker. [Interjections.]
The Western Cape is the only province in the country committing this folly. Indeed, all … [Interjections.]]
Mr J DURAND: Chair, on a point of order: Will this man, this hon member, take a question on this issue?
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Is that no, hon member?
Mr J DURAND: It might be because he is scared. He proposed the system. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Order! Continue, hon Doman.
Mnr W P DOMAN: Voorsitter, trouens, al die ANC-beheerde provinsies het baie verantwoordelik met die saak gehandel en die bedoeling van die wet uitgevoer deur die uitvoerende burgemeesterstelsel slegs by enkele groot rade in te stel. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die ANC moenie toelaat dat die Nuwe NP hulle so korrupteer hier in die Wes-Kaap nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Die doel van Minister Dowry se onverantwoordelike optrede is natuurlik om vir meer as 90% van die Nuwe NP-raadslede hoër vergoeding te gee, en só te verseker dat hulle binne die Nuwe NP bly. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die ondemokratiese wyse waarop hy opgetree het deur vir alle rade net een van twee keuses te gee … [Tussenwerpsels.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr W P DOMAN: Chairperson, indeed, all the ANC-controlled provinces dealt with the matter very responsibly and gave effect to the intention of the Act by introducing the executive mayor system only in a few large councils. [Interjections.] The ANC should not allow the New NP to corrupt them like this here in the Western Cape. [Interjections.]
The objective of Minister Dowry’s irresponsible action is, of course, to give over 90% of the New NP councillors higher remuneration, and in this way to ensure that they remain within the New NP. [Interjections.] The undemocratic way in which he acted by giving all councils only two choices … [Interjections.]]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order, hon member! Order! Hon members, you are drowning out the speaker at the podium. Please give him an opportunity to be heard.
Mnr W P DOMAN: Voorsitter, ek het nie probleme nie. Hulle moet hulle pak vat. [Tussenwerpsels.]
… in plaas van drie, behoort in die hof getoets te word, want dit het ook die agt DA-beheerde rade in die uitvoerende burgemeesterstelsel ingedwing. [Tussenwerpsels.] Hulle gaan ‘n voorbeeld stel deur hulle burgemeesterskomitees met oop deure te laat vergader, dokumentasie aan alle raadslede beskikbaar te stel, en om nie te veel mag aan een persoon te delegeer nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Besef Minister Dowry en die Nuwe NP dat hierdie stap die belastingbetalers van die Wes-Kaap R44 miljoen per jaar ekstra gaan kos. [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek het verlede jaar ook oor dieselfde saak met die rade geraadpleeg, maar intussen het die agb Minister Mufamadi die reëls verander. Daardie reëls kon gebruik geword het deur Minister Dowry om die uitvoerende burgemeesterstelsel in te stel buite Kaapstad om twee of drie van die grootste rade, soos Drakenstein en George, uitvoerende burgemeesters te gee en ‘n aantal voltydse raadslede aan te stel, maar hy het dit nie gedoen nie. Wat ‘n verkragting! [Tussenwerpsels.]
Agb Minister, u departement se toeligting vanjaar was van hoogstaande gehalte, en die nuwe direkteur-generaal kan gelukgewens word met hoe sy persoonlik verantwoordelikheid neem. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die nuwe strategiese plan het ‘n goeie inhoud, en dankie tog, dit is nie luuks gebind om te mislei nie. Met die uitvoering daarvan gaan ons vir u help, maar ons gaan u ook deeglik moniteer. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr W P DOMAN: Chairperson, I do not have problems. They must take their hiding. [Interjections.]
… instead of three, should be tested in court, because it also forced the eight DA-controlled councils into the executive mayor system. [Interjections.] They are going to set an example by allowing their mayoral committees to meet with open doors, making documentation available to all councillors and not delegating too much power to one person. [Interjections.]
Do Minister Dowry and the New NP realise that this step is going to cost the taxpayers of the Western Cape an additional R44 million per annum. [Interjections.] Last year I also consulted the councils about the same issue, but in the meanwhile hon Minister Mufamadi has changed the rules. Those rules could have been used by Minister Dowry to introduce the executive mayor system outside Cape Town to give two or three of the largest councils, such as Drakenstein and George, executive mayors and appoint a number of full-time councillors, but he did not do that. What a violation! [Interjections.]
Hon Minister, your department’s information this year was of exceptional quality, and the new director-general can be congratulated on the way that she personally accepts responsibility. [Interjections.] The new strategic plan has sound content and, thank heavens, it has not been luxuriously bound to mislead. We are going to help you implement it, but we are also going to monitor you thoroughly.]
PIMS centres are a waste of millions of rands. How can the department expect a municipal manager and a staff to take much notice of two or three people with little or no knowledge of local government to assist them with their complicated administration? Rather spend the money on subsidising two or three staff in the finance and personnel management at those municipalities. Let the staff appoint them, but with your department’s specifications, to ensure real value is added.
Not only has the Seta delivered almost nothing, but municipalities are totally confused about what they should expect from stakeholders. We applaud the efforts of the portfolio committee to rectify the situation. Your department should really now take the process forward. [Interjections.]
Apart from its role as a central bargaining organisation, it seems that councils will lose very little if Salga disappears. Minister, you should now facilitate a process to redefine the purpose of Salga. [Interjections.] One seriously questions whether the country’s tax- and ratepayers get value for the more than R120 million they spend on Salga, and whether there is enough accountability within Salga to councils, to the public and to this Parliament. [Interjections.] I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Mr T D LEE: Chairperson, on a point of order: While Mr Doman was speaking, the hon Johan Durand referred to him as “this man” when he wanted to ask him a question. I think that is unparliamentary. Mr Doman is an hon member. [Interjections.]
The CHAIRPERSON OF COMMITTEES: Order! Hon Lee, if you had listened carefully, he corrected himself. [Interjections.]
Mr B M KOMPHELA: Thank you, Chairperson. Hon members and dignitaries who have come here this afternoon keenly want to hear what the Minister is offering to local government which comes face-to-face with poverty and the people that need delivery.
Chairperson, service delivery is the main responsibility and the main mandate of the local municipalities. Ultimately the test of the new system of local government will be proved when these municipalities have matured and have been given a chance. It is not correct that, in regard to the municipalities that are in existence for three years, we are judgemental to them and say that they don’t work. Quite a number of the hon members were with us when we had a tour to these municipalities. All of them said that the situation was not what they thought it would be; the situation is better than what we thought it would be. It was encouraging to come face to face with realities.
The ANC-led Government is very aware that the institution that the hon members are talking about, that of traditional leadership, occupies an important place in South African society. Therefore we must address the question of the institution of traditional leadership in a manner that warrants dignity. I want to raise the issue today that some of the hon members - the white traditional leadership of KwaZulu Natal - are giving me the impression that the colonial rule which made use of the traditional leadership is imminent because of how these people are speaking, glaringly uninformed about how the ANC is dealing with the question of the traditional leadership.
One thing that faced the ANC, when we were transforming this Government from 1994, is the agenda of the movement and the agenda of this Government, and how and what the role of traditional leadership is going to be in the face of what has been happening throughout the world. These hon members today said that it was 10 years, but we must bear in mind that we need to handle the question of traditional leadership in a manner that we are not going to regret tomorrow.
Now I would like to say that some of the hon members must get the opportunity to go outside. We in the ANC cannot be proud of ourselves when we have not taken responsibility to learn from other countries how they are dealing with issues. One of the things that we have done is to take an international trip to go and check how traditional leadership is handled. I was with the chairperson of the house of traditional leaders while I was in the province. We went to find out how traditional leadership is handled in other countries.
The very same thing that happened in South Africa as a result of colonial rule was the order of the day throughout the world. The traditional leadership assumed a political power and became so powerful that they oppressed the very same people under the cloak of being the traditional leadership. We cannot take that road. We must take a road that says traditional leadership occupies a unifying role for the people of this country. They must not be the people that are deposing others and putting traditional leadership forward.
When looking at the history of South Africa, we see that we had what we call the independent self-governing territories. The people were appointed by the apartheid government through the South African Act of 1909. This man was so powerful that he could depose any other person - if one did not smile, he could remove you and put in the traditional leadership who shared his view, who he thought were the traditional leadership because he was dancing to the tune of his master’s voice. We are not going to do that. We are going to deal with the question of traditional leadership in a manner that will ensure that all of us have dignity in the role of the traditional leadership.
The question of the White Paper on traditional leaders and the manner in which the President opens the House of Traditional Leaders has clearly indicated that the Government and the President are committed to making traditional leadership work. One day, in spite of the challenges that are there, those in the traditional leadership will not regret and say that it was just a quick thing but that they had been given an opportunity to ensure that it was real traditional leadership.
The spokesman for Nkosi Mzimela, the hon Mr Grobler, said that he wants to ask him, but I think that he will not be proud of himself that today the DA distorts some of the things that are aspired to by the … [Interjections.] Let me say to hon Grobler that when he came to this podium, he said that Comrade Sydney Mufamadi had hired the crowd. I think it is an insult to the people of this country because of the tradition of this House. During the white rule that hon Grobler was a part of, blacks were not allowed to enter this House. [Applause.]
Today black people are here. He says that they are hired. It is an insult because these men, women and comrades that are here bestow dignity and want to find out how they are going to be part of the army that shapes local government in a manner that all of us would be proud of. I do not think that was a correct statement made by the hon member. [Applause.]
Regarding Mrs Seaton, for the first time in the KwaZulu Natal we have a white woman in the traditional leadership, who speaks in a wrong way, in any event. Kodwa ukube namhlanje bewuphathwe njengeNkosi yakwaZulu-Natali [But if you have been treated as the King of KwaZulu Natal today], then you are busy aiming the people this negative idea because those are the lessons that have cast aspersions on the leadership and say that they are downplaying its importance, and yet you want to make the traditional leadership what you want it to be. [Interjections.] It is very wrong.
The DA speaks about the money that is wasted by the Minister on the municipalities but I can tell the House that the DA aspired to federalism and wanted to decentralise everything. Hon member Doman, when he was a Minister in the Western Cape, was knocking on the Minister’s office door every day, asking whether the Minister could give him money because the municipalities were ailing. Today, the Minister is giving money, and the hon member says that it is a waste of resources because he is not there any longer.
Mrs Southgate talked about … [Time expired.]
The MINISTER FOR PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Chairperson, allow me to thank all the hon members who took part in this debate. As always, quite a number of hon members made suggestions which should be taken into account going forward.
The hon Mr Grobler is very fortunate because, unlike the hon Mr Komphela, I am not in a fighting mood. He took the podium and, amongst other things, decried the fact that the proportion of the budget of municipalities which goes on salaries is too high and he said that he doubted whether the approach of municipalities to their budgets was scientific. I must also say that I doubt the scientific nature of his own approach. [Laughter.] He ought to have known that the municipal services which are being rendered today, given the scope of coverage, are themselves labour-intensive. But quite apart from that, perhaps he must do a little bit of comparative analysis because, indeed, 32% of municipal budgets, on national average, go on salaries. However, he will find that in the case of London and New York, 54% and 60% respectively go on salaries. So, I don’t know what international benchmarking he relied on.
I have listened to the hon Mrs Seaton who has chosen to become the honorary spokesperson of the Coalition of Traditional Leaders. She subjected the House to a chronicle of quotations and a litany of complaints about what Government has done as well as what Government has not done. Purporting to be speaking on behalf of the Coalition of Traditional Leaders, she actually defiled the atmosphere within which the process of consultation towards the White Paper is taking place. The only warning I want to issue to her is that she must never do that.
The other hon member who deemed it necessary to say something about what she called the complex issue of traditional leadership was Mrs Southgate. Unfortunately, she tried to debate what she called the complex issue within the constraints of the two minutes which the smallness of her party entitles her to. Therefore she was not able to come to some of the reasonable conclusions that she would possibly have come to. She boldly asserted that the Ministry has done nothing to improve relations between traditional leaders and elected councillors at local level. Perhaps when the hon Nefolovhodwe next goes to Kaminga and Dzanani, she must try to go along with him because she will then understand that the situation is different from what she imagines it to be. Of course, we read different Bibles - she and I. My Bible tells me that I must always tell the truth. [Laughter.] My advice to her is that when she is not sure of the facts she must not take chances. The hon Mr Aucamp, a very good member of Parliament, indeed, said his say and left in a hurry to go and do constituency work in Pretoria. But before taking leave of the House, he advised me to ask the President to appoint to the section 185 commission only those Afrikaners that he chooses. He has a good story to tell his constituency, namely that that is a request that he made. However, I cannot guarantee that his request will be considered favourably. [Laughter.]
What I do want to say, however, is that an appreciable level of interest has been shown by people who want to serve on this section 185 commission. The President has to appoint a minimum of 12 people to serve on the commission and a maximum of 17. So far we have received 180 applications from people who want to serve on the commission. We are in the process of appointing a selection panel to assist us to arrive at a conclusion as to who the appropriate people are that should serve on the commission.
The hon Mr Doman, the former MEC for local government in the Western Cape, made a number of proposals. He made an offer which I gladly accept which is that he will help us implement the good decisions that were taken by both this House and the Ministry. As I say, I accept the offer but before he came to the offer he spent a disproportionately high amount of time complaining about the fact that Mr Dowry took over from him. That did not give him enough time to make enough offers. [Laughter.]
Having said that, hon members, you are all invited to a cocktail party which we are going to have at the end of this debate. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
CONSIDERATION OF SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT ON REPORT TO STUDY TOUR OF MUNICIPALITIES
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, I move:
That the report be adopted.
Agreed to.
The House adjourned at 19:18. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
- Introduction of Bills:
(1) The Minister of Transport:
(i) National Road Traffic Amendment Bill [B 31 - 2003]
(National Assembly - sec 76) [Explanatory summary of Bill and
prior notice of its introduction published in Government
Gazette No 24701 of 4 April 2003.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Transport
of the National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging
Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160, on
13 June 2003.
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.
TABLINGS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:
Papers:
- The Speaker and the Chairperson:
Petition from the National Youth Assembly presented to the Speaker of
the National Assembly and the Chairperson of the National Council of
Provinces.
Copies available at the Office of the Clerk of Papers.