National Assembly - 16 November 2005
WEDNESDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2005 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:04.
The Deputy 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.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr L K JOUBERT: Madam Deputy Speaker, I hereby give notice that I shall move: That this House debates the report on the Public Service and Administration Portfolio Committee on its oversight visit to the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the North West provinces at the first available opportunity. I thank you.
Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, on behalf of the ACDP I give notice that I shall move: That the House debates the education needs for disabled children and the integrated education model.
NEW ORDER INSERTED ON ORDER PAPER
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That after Order No 3 on the Order Paper, the Debate on International Day of Tolerance, the following new Order be inserted which relates to consideration of the National Council of Provinces amendments:
Agreed to.
PRECEDENCE BE GIVEN TO ORDER NO 1
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE LARGEST MINORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That, notwithstanding Rule 29(8) and Rule 113 (1), Order No 1 on the Order Paper be given precedence.
Agreed to.
FAREWELL SPEECHES TO STAND OVER
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the farewell speeches stand over. [Laughter.]
Agreed to.
DEBATE ON SIXTEEN DAYS OF ACTIVISM: ACT AGAINST ABUSE
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, our democratic South Africa has to leave no stone unturned in dealing with the challenge of violence against women and children. I am glad that we are having this debate today to highlight the issues and the challenges that lie ahead. I am privileged that I can open this debate, though saddened that we still have to debate such issues in our society. This debate, which opens the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign, is something that we hope we can repeat; that is, the issues and the discussions are things that we can repeat within our communities.
In a poem called, Liberation, Abena Buia says:
We are all mothers and we have that fire within us The fire of powerful women Whose spirits are so angry when they are disturbed And you shall not escape What we will make of the broken pieces of our lives.
As South Africans we know the reality of the impact of brutality of the police state that we were subjected to as women, as men and children and whole communities. Our embrace of reconciliation is borne out of our desire never to return to that state of affairs, too many bear the scars and that is why we are resolute in our commitment to build a culture of peace in our country, and indeed on our continent where all must be safe.
It is in this spirit that South Africans, both the government and our people, have embraced the UN campaign of No Violence Against Women, and within SADC we have also expanded the campaign to be the campaign of No Violence Against Women and Children. Our people all over South Africa, both men and women and business, have embraced this noble campaign.
Each year, from 25 November to 10 December, government joins civil society in the international campaign of 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children. This is our commitment to friendship, peace and security, not for some but for all, particularly the most vulnerable in our society. We need to continue building this partnership with civil society - government alone cannot succeed in the fight against women and child abuse. We need whistle-blowers from within society and we need caregivers to support survivors and isolate perpetrators. All these efforts must ensure that our campaign for the prevention of these abuses is also strengthened.
Because most abuse cases take place in the home, families and communities should assist in exposing offenders. In particular, we need families as the first line of defence. Women whose children are abused by stepparents and relatives, and makotis who are beaten by husbands and boyfriends need their families to stand by them.
Men and boys should learn that women and children should be protected and not abused. We need our education system and social institutions to play a greater role.
In the context of HIV/Aids in our society where women, because of power relations, bear the biggest burden and babies of HIV positive women become casualties, gender relations matter. The tragedy of HIV/Aids is one illness where infection can happen even without the two parties knowing. It has a stigma, the illness can be draining to affected and infected and above all it creates orphans who live to become vulnerable as children and adults, and it is going to be our challenge as society who must show care and take some responsibility. Government is doing all it can through the law and in other ways to fight violence against women and children and we thank the partners who are making a sterling contribution to make sure that we make a difference.
The Sexual Offences Bill broadens the definition of “sexual violence” and helps ensure heavy sentences for convicted offenders. The public must feel the impact of this legislation. Our responsibility as communities and this House is to ensure that it does happen.
Specialised training for police officers makes them more sensitive in dealing with cases of violence against women and children, and it is important and appreciated that policemen and women have been trained and deployed.
There are now 40 sexual offences courts across South Africa and more are being set up. The campaign has increased the awareness among the populace and this is evidenced by increased reported incidents of abuse. The government has set up Thuthuzela Centres that are aimed at reducing secondary victimisation. The conviction rate in the Thuthuzela Centres has improved to between 85% and 90% in those centres linked to sexual offences courts. This is a marked improvement as in normal sexual offences courts it comes to merely 63%.
The finalisation of case cycles from reporting to conclusion has been reduced to within six months. But let us be sure, in the first instance, that every home is a site of struggle against violence and a place of safety for women and children so that a home is truly a home. I urge the whole of South Africa to take up the spear within their homes and fight against all forms of abuse. We urge them to speak out and make that crucial decision of standing up and being counted now. The abusers should also seek help and own up. They should take that step so that they ensure that they don’t hurt another child or woman. No child or woman should suffer at their hands.
Everyone at home, at school, at work and in the community, is urged to wear the white ribbon every day for 16 days from 25 November to 10 December to show they do not accept women and child abuse. Wearing a white ribbon will let victims and survivors know that we are united in support; it might encourage perpetrators to change their ways; it will help bring more people into the fight against abuse.
We should use the 16 Days of Activism to commit ourselves and persuade others to give practical support throughout the year and to call on all to desist from committing acts of abuse. Increased violence over the festive period requires an extra effort to reduce violence and ensure that services and support are accessible. Parents must look after their children. Don’t let alcohol deter you from taking your parental responsibility and cause you to neglect your children. Don’t leave your children alone with strangers or friends and relatives that you cannot trust absolutely.
Together, let us build a South Africa that truly protects women and children. I therefore applaud Parliament for putting forward this important matter on their agenda today. As a member of this House, I look forward to our ongoing work throughout the year, in making sure that South Africa is truly a safer place for all our children and women. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mufumakadzi T J TSHIVHASE: Ndi a livhuwa Tshanda tsha Mulangadzulo, vhathomphiwa vhothe vha re fhano buthanano lino, na vhathu vhashu ngeyo nnda mahayani na vha re afha ntha kha galari.
Ndi tshi khou livhuwa u newa tshifhinga tsha u amba nga heyi thoho ine ya khou sumbedza vhathu vhashu vhe nga itsho tshifhinga vha vha vho pfiswa vhutungu nga muvhuso wa tshitalula, hune ra tou vha na vhutanzi zwavhudi- vhudi zwauri u bva tsikoni Mudzimu o ita munna na musadzi vha tshi lingana kha Genesi 1:26. O ri ndi ita muthu tshifanyiso tshashu, a ita munna na musadzi vha tshi lingana. A ri ndi do ni nekedza vhana ya vha mpho ya vho inwi ine ya vha mbebo. Ni vha fune nahone ni vha tonde. Hezwo zwithu zwa siya ro newa ndila ya kutshilele. Zwa siya muvhuso wa tshitalula nga tshenetsho tshifhinga tsha musi rine ri sa athu vhusa u tshi talula vhathu.
Ri na vhutanzi ho fhelelaho uri the tripple oppression [u tsikeledziwa kararu ha vhathu] zwi amba mini vhukati hashu ro dzula fhano. Musi milayo i tshi khou itwa i tshi khou kwanyeledza vhafumakadzi tsho vha tshi tshipida tsha u vha tambudza na u vha vhaisa, nahone vha tshi itelwa miholo ine ya tou tea vhafumakadzi. Hezwo zwithu zwothe zwo vha zwo vhifha.
Ra da ra vhona hafhu mvelele ye ya vha tshipida kha u tambudzwa ha vhafumakadzi vhashu vha tshi tsikeledzwa nga ndila dzothe dzo fhambananaho. Milayo ye ya vha i tshi itwa nga ngomu hayani yo vha i tshi vhaisa vhafumakadzi fhedzi, nahone vha tshi itwa zwithu zwi pfisaho vhutungu.
Hunwe u tsikeledziwa hafhu ra dovha ra hu vhona musi vhanna vhavho vha tshi vha pfisa vhutungu nga ngomu hafha hayani, vha tshi vha ita dziphuli, vha tshi vha rwa nga hune vha funa ngaho nahone Vha tshi ita zwine vha funa nga zwifhinga zwine vha funa. Hezwo zwa ri sumbedza zwauri ndi tshinwe tshipida tsha u tsikeledzwa nahone i dovha hafhu ya vha thambudzo.
Ra da ra vhona hafhu na vhurereli hone hune hu tshi khou dzhia vhukando ha uri vhafumakadzi vha pfiswe vhutungu ha ndila heneyo. Rine sa vhafumakadzi a ri khou ima nazwo hezwo zwithu ngauri zwo vhaisa vhana vhashu na vhafumakadzi. (Translation of Tshivenda paragraphs follows.)
[Mrs T J Tshivhase: Thank you, Deputy Speaker. Hon members and everyone in the gallery, I am very grateful to be taking part in this debate, which is about our people who suffered during the era of the apartheid regime. We are very much aware that from the very beginning, God created both man and woman. He made them equal. This can be traced in the book of Genesis 1:26 where God said, ``Let us make a human being in our image.’’ He then created man and woman as equals. He also promised to bless them with the gift of giving birth. Following that, he also issued a command that they had to love and take care of their children. In this manner, God has been prescriptive as to how we should live. However, the previous regime continued to oppress our people.
I believe we all understand what triple oppression means to us. Women have been victims of this. Laws were passed to oppress women, complicating their lives, and they were also denied salaries similar to those of their male counterparts. They were abused and denied every opportunity that prevailed.
Womens roles in marriage were like those of slaves. They were severely beaten and abused by their husbands. Their husbands would do anything they liked to them. This was another form of excruciating oppression.
Religion has also played a key role in the marginalisation of women in our country, for it had some negative repercussions on our children and women.]
November is the month of activism against violence against women and children, and we must celebrate our achievements as the ANC. The government has done a lot to improve the lives of our people, more especially for women in our country. As I have indicated, our women have experienced triple oppression. The poor women and children in South Africa have borne the brunt of poverty and the pandemic disease of HIV.
Vhulwadze hovho vho vhangwa nga vhanna vhe vha si fune vhana vhavho. Zwa zwino ndi tshi khou amba vhana vhashu vha khou tambula. A vha tshe na vhumatshelo nga nthani ha heli dwadze tshifu. [This pandemic was caused by men, who neglected their own children. As I am speaking, our children continue to suffer. Their future is uncertain due to this deadly disease.]
Young women and children make up the group most at risk. Most of the department’s efforts in this regard are concentrated on children infected with and affected by HIV and Aids, and they may want to consider this position.
Tshanda tsha Maelausumbwa - Tshanda tsha Muphuresidennde vho zwi vhea zwavhudi hafha zwauri rothe kha ri vhe vhathu vhane vha funa vhana vhashu. Kha ri vha thogomele. Ri songo tenda zwithu zwi tshi itea henefho nga vhahura vhashu. Huna vhana vhashu vhane henefho tsini wa vha u tshi khou tou zwi divha zwavhudi-vhudi zwauri havha mukalaha vha khou dzhia hoyo nwana vha mu ita muhadzinga wa musadzi wavho. Kha ri ambe, kha ri vhige milandu ya lushaka lo raloho zwauri avha mukalaha vha nga afha vho tou dzhena fhasi kha u tshinyadza nwana wavho. (Translation of Tshivenda paragraph follows.)
[Her Excellency the Deputy President has put it clear that, as parents, we must love our kids. Let us therefore take care of them. Let us protect them from any evil that our neighbours might want to do to them. There are several instances of child abuse taking place in our vicinity and as such they must be reported. Let us break the silence and not allow situations where young girls are sexually molested by their grandfathers.]
This includes the children of our country, and we cannot say that South Africa belongs to the children if we do not provide a safe and caring environment for our children to grow and prosper in. All the social challenges facing our children and women should be the topic of ongoing discussions in families and communities from all walks of life.
Regarding the 2010 Soccer World Cup that is coming to our shores, as individuals and families we cannot go to bed being conscious of the fact that a child next door goes to sleep without a meal, goes to school in rags as she has no school uniform, or of the fact that the child next door is an orphan with no one in the community to take care of her and her siblings. Similarly, we cannot stand idly by as children next door are abused by their fathers and their brothers.
Musi ro lavhelesa kha Muhasho washu wa Mveledziso ya Matshilisano ri nga zwi vhona zwauri u khou shumisana na Muhasho wa zwa Vhulamukanyi na Mveledziso ya zwa Mulayotewa ine i khou toda u vhona uri vhana na vhafumakadzi vha songo tambudziwa. Mulayo kha u dzhie vhukando hawo, u sumbedza zwauri u na tsireledzo kha vhana na vhomme. (Translation of Tshivenda paragraph follows.)
[As we look at the Department of Social Development, we find that it is working in collaboration with the Department of Justice to ensure that the abuse of women and children does not continue to haunt our society. Justice must prevail, and the law must take its course in ensuring that women and children are safe.]
Still driven by our commitment to achieving social justice and inspired by the ideals set out in the Freedom Charter, we took on the challenge of creating a better life for all South Africans. We believe that we have made a difference in the lives of our women and our children. In another way, we have to improve the delivery of poverty alleviation.
Zwa zwino ri tshi khou amba, kha muhasho washu hu na mbekanyamushumo dzo vhewaho u maandafhadza vhafumakadzi kha sia la zwikili na uri hone-vho ri songo ri musi ro vha thola vha vha vha tshi khou tambudzwa nga u newa miholo mituku. Zwenezwo na zwone ndi tshipida tsha u vha tambudza. Kha vha fhiwe miholo ine vha kona u tshila. (Translation of Venda paragraph follows.)
[As we speak, we have in our department a special programme set to capacitate and empower women with skills in order for them to be competent enough in the job market. This will protect them against exploitation as well as getting salaries that are below the breadline.]
Therefore this government has continued with the implementation of a range of programmes aimed at securing a better life for women. These have included improving access to potable water, sanitation, improving women’s health, as well as a range of employment programmes aimed at benefiting women.
Consistently our budget as Social Development has demonstrated its commitment to improving the lives of our poorest women in South Africa. However, the Minister of Social Development did not end there. On a particularly August day when he was briefing Parliament, he launched the “Ke Moja” drug awareness campaign, and further calling on civil society and other structures of society to be involved in programmes and strategies as we need to raise these issues even more vigorously in both rural and urban areas, in the rich and the poor communities, in schools, in faith-based organisations and in NGOs, together with CBOs.
With regard to the girl-child, the Freedom Charter contains a promise of a democratic South Africa that belongs to all who live in it. We gave expression to this promise in the Reconstruction and Development Programme. It is because of our firm understanding and recognition that young people are, in fact, tomorrow’s leaders that we have collaborated with the National Youth Commission on various strategies.
The strategy, which will be finalised by the national consultative youth conference later this year, recognises that girls are actors in their own development. This strategy, with inputs from the National Youth Commission, will form the basis of our contribution to the view of the global programme of action on youth in 2006.
We have, in the meantime, begun to implement some of the key aspects of this strategy through the national youth service programme, which in our sector, will initially focus on training the girl-child. This training will take place in all provinces.
Zwa zwino ndi tshi khou amba ri na thaidzo hangei mahayani ya vhana vhane vha khou tambudziwa. Vhana vhane nga tshino tshifhinga mafhelo a vhege manwe na manwe vha vha vha tshi khou bva vha tshi ri vha ya u nzhangama, zwithu zwenezwi ri wana zwi tshi khou itwa nga vhanna, vho ramabindu na vha dzithekhisi vhane vha vha hwala vha vha bvisa zwikoloni nga tshifhinga tsha tshikolo. Ri khou ri hezwo zwithu kha zwi ime. Vhana vhashu kha ri vha fune. Ndi dzimpho dze ra fhiwa nga Mudzimu.
Ndi vhone vhurangaphanda ha matshelo. Ri tutuwedze vhafumakadzi vhashu vha vhe na nungo dza u ita zwinwe na zwinwe zwine vha zwi kona. Ri songo vha thivhela musi vha tshi da na manwe maano. Kha ri vha fune havha vhana. Kha ri tutuwedza vhafumakadzi vhashu zwauri vha dzhenelele kha zwithu zwothe zwine zwa khou itea shangoni lashu. Ndi khou tenda zwauri ndi khou amba mafhungo ane a khou dzhena dzindevheni dza vha tambudzi vhane vha vha vhanna.
Kha ri ri tshithu nga matshilo a vhafumakadzi vhashu. Kha ri ri tshithu nga vhumatshelo ha vhana vhashu, ri vhatsireledze ngauri ndi hone vhurangaphanda hashu ha matshelo vhune ra do funa u di tongisa ngaho. Havha vhana vhashu kha ri pfe li lone ifa lashu, li lone line ra divha zwauri ndi lone pfumo lashu line ra do lwa ngalo swina le ra ri tambudza vhutshilo hashu hothe, ndi tshi khou amba tshitalula nga tshenetsho tshifhinga. Vho ri tambudzela vhafumakadzi na vhana. (Translation of Venda paragraphs follows.)
[The problem of child abuse is very rife in rural areas. We also experience a situation where young girls go out on the streets during weekends, thinking that they are enjoying themselves. They do so in the company of men who in the process continue to abuse them. Some of these are businessmen and others taxi drivers who also ferry these girls to and from their respective schools. This must stop. We must love our children as they are gifts from God.
They are the leaders of tomorrow. Let us encourage our women to be innovative. We must not discourage them when they come up with some helpful inventions. Let us love our children and encourage our women to participate in the shaping of our country. I believe I am not talking to deaf ears.
Let us do something about the lives of our women. Let us mind about the future of our children. Let us protect them, for they are the leaders of tomorrow of whom we have to be proud. These children are our heritage and a spear to fight with in all our life battles. Apartheid has done grievous harm to women and children.]
Enough is enough. Let’s love our children because they are our treasure. Ndi a livhuwa. [I thank you.][Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, just before the next hon member addresses us, I wish to take this opportunity to acknowledge a delegation on the gallery of Rwandan parliamentarians who are visiting our Parliament. The delegation has had numerous meetings with members, and has attended a number of portfolio and select committee meetings. Hon members, we welcome you to our Parliament and wish you a fruitful visit. [Applause.]
Mr M STEPHENS: Madam Deputy Speaker, violence is a disease of the mind. When violence is directed at women, children, the aged and the disabled it indicates the diseased mind corrupted to the ultimate limits of depravity.
The extremely high incidence of such violence in South Africa is a disgrace to our society and does dishonour to all South Africans, especially men. Of what inferior mettle are we then? Of what substandard value system are we the products that so many among us resort to violence and rape that even weak and vulnerable children are preyed on? It is a matter that shames many of us very deeply.
Nevertheless, we were not overtaken by these events overnight. It is the result of a history of a growing culture of violence that was allowed to go unchecked.
Violence begets violence. Abuse begets abuse. The abused become abusers and an escalating vortex of violence is created that sucks in people on the periphery.
At its core lies a lack of positive social values. At its epicentre stands men who completely lack any sense of self-esteem - men who lack skills of self-expression; who vent their frustration with their impotence and their anger at society on those who are vulnerable and unable to match their physical power. If I am nothing, then those whom I can physically subject, hurt and even snuff the life out of, must be even more worthless. Pity the poor creature whose esteem lies in the hurt he can cause others.
This must be countered by the cultivation of a culture of respect. As government, as educators, parents and neighbours, we have to demonstrate self-respect, respect for the law, and respect for our environment, for property and especially for the dignity of our fellow humans. Let us build a society founded upon mutual respect and compassion. Let us be a compassionate society.
Without underestimating the value of better policing, more prosecutions and harsher sentences for perpetrators, the role of society is central in the eradication of this disease. The cycle of violence can only be broken when people are vigilant, when neighbours, friends and family see the telltale signs of violence and abuse and then report it. In most cases, abusers are protected by silence, by people’s unwillingness to become involved.
It is incumbent upon us as a society to recognise and eradicate the disease. I’m not pleading for vigilantism, but I am saying to the question whether I am my brother’s keeper, we must all answer an unequivocal yes. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Ms C N Z ZIKALALA: Madam Deputy Speaker, the importance of the 16 Days of Activism campaign cannot be overstated. This campaign that, amongst other things, attempts to generate greater awareness of the negative impact of violence on the development of women and children, is particularly relevant to us in South Africa as we are currently struggling to find ways of putting a stop to violence against women and children. One rape is a rape too many. One abuse is an abuse too many.
Children look to adults for guidance and as role models. Through their interactions with their role models, many children in South Africa are learning that violence and abuse against women and children is acceptable and part of everyday life and that it is just one of those things that occurs many times. Many of these women will never fully recover from their abuse and are forced to live their lives in constant fear. Women need to have freedom from fear.
By teaching our children that abuse and violence are acceptable, we are creating a society that not only condones violence, but also encourages it. We will never fully progress and grow as a society if we continue with this mentality. This vicious cycle has to be broken. For this to happen, real men in South Africa need to stand up and take action. It needs to start in this House. Of course, it must start in this very same House! Every male needs to pledge his support. Not one, not four or five, but every man needs to stand up and say no to violence. The active involvement of men in stopping domestic violence and abuse against women is needed if we are to beat this problem and free future generations of women from being subjected to the same violent behaviour that has become common practice in South Africa today. This will also go a long way to changing the attitude of our children towards violence, because children learn what they live.
It is well-known that children are the most vulnerable members of our society and need our protection. But if we look at the current situation in South Africa we are failing them miserably. We must, as a matter of urgency, get together with all the relevant stakeholders - community leaders and various organisations - to combat this problem. It is a time of urgency and action. I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Nksz S N (Sylvia Nomatamsanga) SIGCAU: Sekela-Somlomo, siyamkhahlela uSekela-Mphathiswa, ohloniphekileyo uGillwald, ngokuqala kwakhe eli phulo. Maxa wambi kuthabatha umntu omnye ukwenza utshintsho. Masithembe ukuba sisendleleni esisa empumelelweni ngeli phulo. Masiliqhube unyaka wonke, hayi nje ngezi ntsuku zili-16 kuphela.
Njengoko besitshilo ngaphambili, le asiyo nto yabantu abangoomama kuphela, koko yinto yoluntu luphela. Kufuneka sifikelele kwithuba lokwahlula ezopolitiko kwezobuni. Kufuneka sikulwe siyimbumba ukuxhatshazwa kwabantu namabhinqa. Singaqala ngokuxhasa ngokupheleleyo eli phulo seliqalwe ngohloniphekileyo uSekela-Mphathiswa.
Malungu abekekileyo, masibe ngumfuziselo omhle kwisizwe ngokuzinikela ngokupheleleyo edabini lokulwa ukuxhatshazwa nelophuhliso ngokubanzi. Ndiyabulela, Sekela-Somlomo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)
[Nksz S N (Sylvia Nomatamsanqa) SIGCAU: Deputy Speaker, we commend the Deputy Minister, hon Gillwald, for initiating this campaign. Sometimes it takes one person to bring about change. Let us hope that we are on the way that leads us to success through this campaign. Let us continue with it for the whole year, not only for sixteen days.
As I have previously said, this is not only for women, but it’s for all the people. We need to reach a stage of differentiating between politics and gender issues. We must be united in fighting violence against women. We can start by fully supporting the campaign initiated by the Deputy Minister.
Hon members, let us be a good example to the nation by fully committing ourselves to the fight against violence and for broader development. Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]]
Mr L W GREYLING: Hon Speaker, every year we have the 16 Days of Activism campaign, yet the abuse of our women and children continues at intolerable levels. It is an extremely sad indictment of our society that 39% of young women between the ages of 12 and 17 claim that they have been forced to have sex. This sexual abuse often involves extreme violence and leads to women contracting HIV. It is the intersection of these three problems that forces us to deal with this issue in a multisectoral way.
The ID believes that we certainly have adopted groundbreaking and progressive legislation and policies that promote women’s rights and gender equality. Their implementation has often, however, left much to be desired. It is also heartbreaking for me to visit womens’ shelters that have been set up by communities but do not receive any financial assistance from the state. It is also shocking that, given the high levels of child sex abuse the Sexual Offences Bill has not been given the priority it deserves in Parliament.
Combating women and child abuse is a responsibility for all spheres of our society. Government must provide effective and adequate post-trauma facilities for young rape victims; educate the nation about HIV/Aids and provide adequate health care services and medication. Communities must speak out on abuse of any kind and, finally men must respect women and their bodies and comply with the simple principle of only having sex with mutual consent. All of this will serve as a basis for us to deal with the triangular predicament that vulnerable young women in South Africa are faced with today. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, many have questioned whether the 16 Days of Activism is, in fact, the best way to address violence against women and children. The experience of those who work with victims daily has led to the perception that the hype has, in fact, escalated the problems and brought little relief.
Money previously spent by government on expensive cocktail parties, alcohol, food, VIPs, T-shirts, etc, which ultimately achieved nothing, could have been better utilised. Before during and since last year’s 16 Days of Activism very little additional money has found its way into this campaign to shoulder the severest load.
NGOs delivering services needed to protect vulnerable women and children are drastically underfunded. Government relies on these service providers to deliver on its statutory obligations but does not budget appropriately for such services. In fact, government is not even aware what is actually needed as it has ignored constant calls for an audit to be done.
Government grants have hijacked social workers in a sense as they have been sucked into what has been referred to a “grant grinding machine”, while social workers are buried under case loads dealing with foster care and other grants, protection of vulnerable women and children and help for women and children in crisis simply does not exist.
The attention attracted by the 16 Days of Activism campaign did, in fact, encourage increased numbers of abused women and children to reach out for help, and this should have been a good thing but they found no help from departments at a time of the year, which is traditionally frantically busy with so many on leave. Often departments are simply shut leaving victims who speak out more at risk.
Unanswered questions such as, “What has been done with money collected during previous years of this campaign?” raise concerns and leave people sceptical. The ACDP calls on government to account for this money. If this campaign does not result in increased resources in the hands of those who are best placed to provide the services, all efforts will be in vain. Money and time spent will be a shameful waste and vulnerable women and children will remain unprotected and face even greater danger and hardship. Thank you.
Dr C P MULDER: Agb Mevrou die Speaker, agb Adjunkpresident, geen politieke bestel, hetsy goed of sleg, hetsy van die verlede of die hede, kan ooit aangebied word as verskoning vir dade wat gepleeg word teenoor vrouens en kinders nie. Niemand kan dít ooit gebruik as verskoning waarom daardie tipe van dinge plaasvind en gebeur nie.
Feit is, dié tipe van goed wat gebeur, gebeur in die oorgrote meerderheid van gevalle tussen ‘n man en sy vrou in die gesin tussen ‘n pa en sy kinders, of ‘n man en iemand met wie hy saam is; en dit is die tipe goed wat basies gebeur. Wat mans behoort te verstaan, is dit: enige man wat ‘n vrou afknou of slaan, of te na kom, is nie ‘n man nie, hy’s ‘n lafaard. Enige man wat ‘n kind afknou of seermaak, is nie ‘n pa of ‘n man nie, hy’s ‘n boelie en ‘n lafaard. Geen gemeenskap behoort dit te aanvaar nie.
In die finale instansie is dit nie die taak van die staat of van departemente om hierdie saak reg te stel nie. Dis die taak van ieder en elke gesin. ‘n Sterk gemeenskap, ‘n sterk volk, se basis kom uit sy gesin. Gesonde gesinne is die antwoord.
Ons moet by onsself begin; die mans moet hul verantwoordelikheid aanvaar. Die VF Plus ondersteun hierdie stelsel en die hele proses ten volle. Dankie, Mevrou die Speaker. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: Hon Madam Speaker, hon Deputy President, no political dispensation, whether good or bad, whether past or present, can ever be offered as an excuse for committing acts against women and children; no one can ever use this as an excuse why those types of things occur and happen.
The fact is that these types of things mostly occur within the family between a husband and his wife, between a father and his children, or a man and his partner; and that is basically the type of thing that occurs. What men should understand is this: any man who bullies, beats or offends a woman is not a man, he is a coward. Any man who bullies or hurts a child, is not a father or a man, he is a bully and a coward. No community ought to accept this.
In the final analysis it is not the responsibility of the state or departments to rectify this issue. It is the responsibility of each and every family. Families form the cornerstone of a strong community and a strong nation. Sound families are the answer.
We must start with ourselves; the men should accept their responsibility. The FF Plus fully supports this system and the whole process. Thank you, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]]
Mnu Z J KATI: Mgcinisihlalo, abaphathiswa neenkosi kunye nePalamente iphela, indima yokuqala kukuba sithi silubulele kakhulu olu suku ngokuba lungazange lufane lubekho nje, kodwa lwalwelwa. Unobangela wokuba sibe sithetha ngamalungelo abantu namhlanje, kukuba la malungelo akezanga ngetreyi, siwalwele. Ngolo hlobo ndifuna ukubonisa ukuba ukwakhiwa kwemibutho enjengeUnited Nations kwenze ukuba wonke umntu abe nokukhuseleka ezintshabeni. Siyazi ukuba, ngokokwethu esiNtwini, inkosikazi nomntwana asibantu bebebulawa naxa kukho imfazwe. Nditsho sisilwa sisodwa, singalwi nabanye abantu, asizange sayenza into enjengaleyo kangangokuba amadoda amaninzi anjengooMakana. . . Ndikhumbula ukubanjwa kukaMakana eRhini. Ukubanjwa kwakhe ubuza kwabangaphambili, oomantyi kunye namajoni ukuba unobangela wokuba nina Bantu bamhlophe nibulale abantwana bethu yintoni na sibe thina singayenzi loo nto, ukubonisa indlela umntu ontsundu amhloniphe ngayo umntu obhinqileyo kwakunye nmntwana. Yiyo loo nto uphawula into yokuba umntu obhinqileyo uhlonitshwe kakhulu ngokwesiNtu kuba kuthiwa yigolide yesizwe. Ilizwe lilihle nje lihle ngomntu obhinqileyo ngoba uze nayo yonke inzala. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Isizwe singapheli nje kungenxa yokuba umntu obhinqileyo uze nomntwana. Ukuba kunokwenzeka ukuba kusondele inyoka emntwaneni, umntu obhinqileyo angaxolela ukufela kuyo kunokuba abaleke. [Uwelewele.]
Ke ngoko kubalulekile ukuba kubekho iintsuku ezizodwa zokuba kuqwalaselwe umba nokuphathwa kakubi kwamakhosikazi. Kule mihla siva izinto zokuba ooyise babantwana balala nabantwana babo. Ezo zinto zange zibekho ngaphambili apha kule Afrika. Amadoda anjengooTambo nawayesiya kusibeka ngaphaya kula mazwe aphesheya, ayesenza iindlela zokuba sikhuseleke kwizinto ezazinokusivelela. Alifaka ilizwe eli lethu kwiUnited Nations, nto leyo eyenza ukuba sibe ngabantu ababalulekileyo ukuze neemfuno zethu zihlale zigadiwe.
Xa sithetha ngokuthi makuhanjwe kuyiwe eKliptown nasebantwini jikelele ukye kusatyelwa iimfuno zabo, kwakufunwa ukukhangelwa ukuba bafuna ukuphathwa njani na kweli lizwe. Yenzeka loo nto. Akukho ndawo singazange saya kuyo, ezifama nakuzo zonke iindawo ngmolo nesicelo sikaMadlanduna owathi ufuna amavolontiya angama-15 000 ukwenza loo msebenzi. Kwaphumelela ngolo hlobo ukumiselwa koMqulu weNkulukeko eKliptown. Ngolo hlobo ndizama ukuthi loo malungelo sawalwelayo apho, makagadwe akhuselwe ngabantu.
Kukho aba Bantu bangenambeko ke bazithethelela ngokuthi benziwe butywala xa bethe bathetha into engekhoyo. Ayikho loo nto. Ndingumseli nam lo. Ndingowotywala kodwa andizange ndithi into endiyenzielyo ndiyenziswe butywala. Ngenxa yantoni? Utywala buyalunyukelwa ngumtu obuselayo. Akasele nje ngokungathi ungena ediphini. [Kwahlekwa.] Ngaloo mazwi silumkisa abantu sisithi mabazilumkele.
Ukutshay kufuneka bakulumkele nako kuba kunenkathazo. Izinto eziqhumayo zenza ukuba umntu aye kwenza izinto ezingafanelekanga, uve umntu esithi: Andazi ukuba ndimbulele njani ubani. Zezi ziqhumiso singazaziyo zivela kwamanye amazwe. Abantu mabazame indlela yokuziphatha. Kubalulekile ukuziphatha nokuzigada. Akukho nto imbi njengexelegu lomntu. [Uwelewele.] Umntu olixelegu ade abe lixelegu nangentetho le yakhe akalunganga. [Uwelewele.] Kufuneka sichule ukunyathela. Yiyo loo nto wathi u-ANC xa egaya amavolontiya wathi makacoceke ngokuthetha, ngokunxiba, ngokusela - angabonakali enxilile phakathi kwabantu. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Akazange athi mabangasele abanti ntokuyo wathi mabalinganisele, umntu angaseli ngokungathi ungena ediphini. Ngala mazwi, Mgcinisihlalo, ndizama ukuthi masibagade oomama. Ndisitsho nje ndinomzukulwana oneminyaka emibini odlwengulwe yindoda enamashumi amathathu eminyaka. Samsa kwiinkundla zamatyala loo mfana saza isigwebo sakhe saba bubomi ejele. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Asikho tu isizathu sokuba umntu enze izinto ezingafanelekanga. Umntu uyambona umntu anokuya kuye. Akanakuya nje naselusaneni. Ivela phi loo nto? Zange ibe kho apha eMzantsi Afrika into enjalo, singazange siyive nale yokuba umntu alale nomntwana wakhe. Noko iintlono mazibe kho, maqabane. Umntu ukho ngeentloni. Mhla waphelelwa ziintloni buphelile kuwe ubuntu. Tu!
Siyahamba ngoku sibheka ebantwini. Masiye kubo sinyulu, sihlanjwe ngokutsha ukuze sikwazi ukuthetha nabo. Abantu bayasifuna. Kufuneka sibangele iminyango ngeminyango ezilalini. Masiye kubo sibonakale singamanene, sinxibe kakuhle, singabantu ababonakalisa . . .
Mgcinisihlalo, akukho nto inte njengomntu okwazi ukuziphatha. Akukho nto imbi njengomntu ongakwazi kuziphatha. Amakhosikazi ethu sibahloniphile. Masibahloniphe nabantwana bethu, size sincokole nabo ngembali yeli lizwe nokuba lize njani. Amakhosikazi alwile emfazweni. Akukho apho angangenanga khona. Besinawo emhlathini izolo oku esilwa imfazwe. Musani ukubathatha ngokungathi ngabantu nje. Ngala mazwi, ntlanganiso ebekekileyo ndithi, phambili. Makungabuywa mva. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of Xhosa speech follows.)
[Mr Z J KATI: Chairperson, hon Ministers, traditional leaders and hon members, I think that we should show appreciation for days like these, which remind us that we fought many battles in order to commemorate them. We can proudly talk about human rights today because we fought for them. They were not brought and presented to us on a tray. By saying that, I am trying to show you that organisations such as the United Nations were established in order that all the people could be protected from their enemies.
We know that, in our black culture, women and children were never killed in a battle. Even in instances where there would be battles between ethnic groups, they were spared. Heroes like Makana emphasised that . . I remember when he got arrested in Grahamstown. During the trial proceedings, he asked the magistrate and the soldiers who held him why they killed children when, as black people, we never did that. That showed the respect with which a black person in general, and a man in particular, treats a woman and a child. You would have noticed that a woman is respected in the African culture. The world is so beautiful because of women. The world can never perish if a woman can still bear a child. If a snake should approach a child, a woman would rather die fighting it off than to see her child being bitten by it. [Interjections.]
It is important to have certain days set aside to look deeply into the matters concerning the abuse of women. Nowadays we hear many stories about fathers who sleep with their children. We never heard of such things in Africa before now. Great leaders such as Oliver Tambo undertook safe trips and secured a living in foreign countries to ensure our acceptance into the United Nations, thereby ensuring our status in the world so that our needs were also guaranteed to be met.
The instruction that we should go to Kliptown for public hearings was a way to get us to listen to our people’s ideas and views about how they wanted to be governed. That happened and it was successful. We went to people on farms, as per Madlanduna’s instruction, because we wanted to reach the target he had set us of finding 15 000 volunteers to assist us. That is what made the launch of the Freedom Charter in Kliptown such a success. I am therefore appealing to all of us to guard our rights, as we have fought so hard for them.
Some people are disrespectful and will justify their silly actions by saying that they were drunk when they committed them. I also drink alcohol, but I have always restrained myself from misbehaving. Why is that? One should exercise caution when indulging in alcohol. You should not behave as if you were a cow being driven into a dip tank. [Laughter.] Those are words of caution.
People need to be careful about their smoking habits too, as smoking is harmful to their lives. Others use drugs and blame their influence for their wrongful actions afterwards. You may often hear them say: “I do not know how I got to kill that person.” People should learn to conduct themselves well. A person who does not conduct himself or herself well is not very likeable. It is very important to note that. [Interjections.] A person who cannot check what he or she utters, does not appeal to others. [Interjections.] We should all watch our step.
During the ANC campaign for volunteers, a command was given that they should be presentable and that whatever came out of their mouths and what they wore should be appropriate, and that no one should be seen drunk in public.[Applause.] It was never said that people should not enjoy themselves by indulging, but that they should be cautious. With these words, hon Chairperson, I am trying to say that we should take care of the womenfolk. I have a grandchild who is two years old and who was recently raped by a 30-year-old man. That rapist received a life sentence. [Applause.]
Nothing can ever justify committing a heinous crime such as the rape of an innocent child. Anyone can identify a person who can be approached, and it certainly can never be a baby. Where has that ever happened? That is new in South Africa. It is just like it is new to some of us in this country to hear stories about people sleeping with their children. A person was created to shy away from shameful acts. If you don’t have shame, you cease to be human.
We are now preparing to go to the people. Let us go to them as “cleansed” people so that we can be able to talk to them. They need us. We should conduct door-to-door campaigns in rural areas. We should look presentable indicating that . . .
Chairperson, it is important for a person to be able to restrain himself from misbehaving. Nothing is as bad a person who is not morally good. Let us respect our mothers and women in general. Let us respect our children and teach about the history of this country and how our democracy came about. Women fought in the war to free this country. You can find them everywhere. We fought battles with them in the bush. Do not undermine and underestimate their capabilities. With those words, hon members, let me encourage you and say, ”Forward!” We shall never go back. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Debate interrupted.
Business suspended at 14:53 and resumed at 15:37.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The SPEAKER: Hon members, we apologise for that rude disruption owing to the power failure. The Secretary to Parliament is preparing a full report, including a detailed report from the Department of Public Works in relation to the state of the generators that are supposed to service Parliament under such circumstances. We can understand a power failure that affects the whole city. However, we are supposed to be serviced by generators, and for some reason seemed not to have managed to do so. Initially it came on but the second time around it simply didn’t happen with regard to the NA.
We have asked for a detailed report on those matters and indeed we will table those reports to the House. We will also inform the nation because they must be worried when they hear that the whole of Parliament has been immobilised by a power failure. Hon members, the situation we are in is that we are not even sure how long this will last. The debate we were in the process of finalising has been disrupted and we would now like to put in place a way of prioritising the business before us. In that regard, I would like to recognise the hon the Chief Whip of the Majority Party to put a motion.
PRECEDENCE TO ORDERS AND MOTIONS FOLLOWING POWER FAILURE
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MARJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that precedence be given to Order No 2, to Motions No 2 and 3 and Orders . . . [Interjections.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Speaker, we have got no problem with that, except that we have no indication in front of us because the computers are off. You wouldn’t mind explaining to us exactly what the issues are.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We move that precedence be given to Order No 2, that is the Report of the PC on Justice dealing with the remuneration of magistrates; to Motion No 2, which is the motion to adopt the notice on the magistrates’ remuneration; Motion No 3 that deals with the Sixteen Days of Activism; then Order No 29, which deals with an Environmental Affairs and Tourism report on the proposed exclusion of portion 63 of the farm Groenkloof from the Groenkloof National Park; and then Orders No 31 and No 32 that deal with the confirmation of suspension of two magistrates; and also that we give precedence to the Repeal of the Black Administration Act and Amendment of Certain Laws Bill. Those are the amendments coming from the NCOP.
Agreed to.
The SPEAKER: I had a discussion with the Deputy President who has proposed that should we not have adequate time this afternoon to finish the business of the House, that she would be prepared to come back and deal with questions tomorrow morning. Everything depends on the situation with regards to the power failure.
INTERIM REPORT OF PC ON JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON HEARINGS INTO THE IMPLICATIONS AND APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED NEW SALARY SCALES FOR THE MAGISTRACY
(Consideration of Report of PC)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
INTERIM REPORT OF PC ON JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON HEARINGS INTO THE IMPLICATIONS AND APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED NEW SALARY SCALES FOR THE MAGISTRACY
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, before I move for adoption, I just want to put to the House two very minor technical amendments. I apologise sincerely to the other parties that there wasn’t time to circulate as they are really typographical areas, and I will read and go through them very slowly.
I move on behalf of the Chief Whip of the Majority Party the following motion with amendments, namely:
That the House –
(1) noting that the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development and the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs held joint hearings on 18 October 2005 to inter alia enquire into the details of the implications and the approval of the proposed new salary scales for the magistracy; and
(2) pending the finalisation of the recommendations emanating from the hearings and arising from the interim report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, resolves as follows:
(a) To rescind its previous decision of 7 September 2005,
which approved the draft notice and schedule received in terms
of Section 12(1)(a) of the Magistrates Act 90 of 1993, as
amended by Section 3 of the Judicial Officers (Amendment of
Conditions of Service) Act 28 of 2003;
(b) In terms of Section 12(3)(b)(i) of the Magistrates Act 90
of 1993, approves the draft notice and schedule of the
President tabled in Parliament on 7 September 2005;
(c) That the costs for the implementation of the motor vehicle
allowances for senior magistrates and magistrates be allocated
to the Justice Vote in terms of Section 213(2)(b) of the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, read with
Section 12(4) of the Magistrates Act 90 of 1993, and
(d) That the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional
Development table its final report in the National Assembly
before the end of the year detailing the outcomes and
recommendations in relation to legislative and procedural
matters relating to the determination of salary levels for
magistrates; the absence of a budgetary allocation to defray
the proposed new motor vehicle allowances for senior
magistrates and magistrates; the development of policy
measures to deal with the implications arising from the
extension of motor vehicles allowances to senior magistrates
and magistrates and any other matter relevant to or emanating
from the said hearings.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
SIXTEEN DAYS OF ACTIVISM
(Draft Resolution) The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move:
That the House –
(1) notes that the Sixteen Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children campaign led by the Department of Correctional Services and including other government departments and many civil society partners, will be launched on 25 November lasting till 10 December and is inclusive of three other internationally recognised commemorative days namely, World AIDS Day, International Day for the Disabled and International Human Rights Day and that the campaign strapline, ``Act Against Abuse’’, is a call to action and therefore -
(2) calls on all South Africans to actively participate in bringing an end to this scourge affecting all levels of society and to remain vigilant to any acts that violate the rights of women and children to live in dignity.
Agreed to.
PROPOSED EXCLUSION OF PORTION 89 (a portion of portion 63 of the farm Groenkloof 358 JR, in extent 4 484m2 from the Groenkloof National Park situated in the Administrative District of Pretoria, Gauteng Province)
(Consideration of Report of PC)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move:
That the report be adopted.
There was no debate.
Report accordingly adopted.
PROVISIONAL SUSPENSION FROM OFFICE OF MR I W O M MORAKE, A MAGISTRATE AT LICHTENBURG MAGISTRATE COURT; PROVISIONAL SUSPENSION FROM OFFICE OF MR K SULLIMAN, AN ADDITIONAL MAGISTRATE AT DURBAN MAGISTRATE COURT
(Consideration of Reports of PC)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move:
That the reports be adopted.
There was no debate.
Reports adopted and provisional suspensions of Magistrate I W O M Morake and Additional Magistrate K Sulliman accordingly confirmed by the House.
REPEAL OF BLACK ADMINISTRATION ACT AND AMENDMENT OF CERTAIN LAWS BILL
(Consideration of Bill and Report thereon)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, I move:
That the Bill, as amended, be passed.
Motion agreed to.
Bill, as amended, passed.
DEBATE ON SIXTEEN DAYS OF ACTIVISM: ACT AGAINST ABUSE
The SPEAKER: Hon members, we are trying to find the Ministers; remember that this situation has affected other Houses as well. There are Ministers we were expecting here to come and answer questions, but who are in the other house, which has also just resumed like us. We are just trying to locate everybody; that so that so we can quickly dispense with the questions as well.
Hon members, in the order that they are on the Order Paper we would need the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry who is here and we would then need the Minister of Provincial and Local Government. We need to locate the Minister. We come back to the Minister of Water Affairs, who is here.
The Minister of Education is in the NCOP; the Minister of Housing, we still need to find him; the Minister of Home Affairs is here. I believe, hon members, we can start with the Ministers who are here.
Hon members we now come to questions to the social services and governance clusters of Ministers.
The SPEAKER: Yes, hon Dudley, are you rising on a point of order?
Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Speaker, we are just concerned about the debate. Can we not complete the debate, which was an important thing for today?
Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: You indicated earlier, Madam, that the Deputy President said that if we couldn’t complete this afternoon she would be available tomorrow morning. It looks as though we could complete this afternoon. Could we then invite the Deputy President to rejoin us and let’s deal with her question?
The SPEAKER: We are doing exactly that, hon Gibson.
We had said that the debate has been disrupted because of the power failure. And just in case we are unable to complete the debate, we adopted a motion that is actually related to the debate. However, hon members are expressing a strong view that we should complete the debate.
We were right in the middle of the debate. I don’t believe we are left with a lot of time of the debate. So, we could complete the debate.
Ms M M MDLALOSE: Usuku lucishe lwaba nzima nokho. Siyabonga-ke nakhu sesibuye safika lapho sizokwazi ukuqhubeka khona. [This day was hard. However, we are grateful to be back and we are going to continue.]
No violence, in whatever form, is acceptable in society. No violence should be tolerated. No violence can yield or result in productive and progressive life.
We need peace in our homes, communities, institutions and our nation. Life is about safe, stable, peaceful and productive families resulting in progressive communities as a foundation for a nation that can stand with pride among the nations of the global community.
Khona kusengumqansa, kodwa siyisizwe esidinga ukwenza izinqumo zokwakha nokuvikela imiphakathi yethu, abantwana kanye nabesifazane. Asibathande, sibahloniphe, sibazise. Asifundise ikakhulukazi abantwana babafana ukuthanda nokukwazi ukukhuluma uma kunezinkinga. Masazi ukuthi lezi zinsuku akuzona ezesikhashana nje, ezempilo yonke. Asingakuhlonizi ukuthi kulihlazo ukungahloniphi nokungakwazi ukuphatha kahle izimbali zesintu. Lezi zinsuku mazibe yimpilo yethu ngaso sonke isikhathi.
Ngiyabonga. (Translation of Zulu paragraphs follows.)
[It is still a long way to go, but we are the nation that needs to take decisions to build and protect our communities, children and women.
Let us love, protect and help them. Let us teach them, especially boys, to love and encourage them to talk if there are problems. Let us know that these days are not just for the time being, but that they are the rest of our lives. Let us not shy away from saying it’s a disgrace to disrespect and not to treat our roses with respect. These days must be part of our lives forever.
Thank you.]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Madam Speaker and hon members, the annual UN-endorsed 16 Days of Activism for no Violence Against Women and Children campaign is meant to raise awareness against this bad practice.
There is almost no day that goes by without violence against women being brought to the fore. It happens at the hands of most males regardless of race.
A month ago in the Moses Kotane Municipality, in the sleepy Letlhakeng village, a senseless man shot dead three women - his mother, his mother-in- law and his wife - and his child and, in a cowardly act, fatally shot himself. A week later in Madikwe a jealous lover stabbed a girlfriend and another man, then drove a car to and fro over the sprawled body of the man and thereafter committed suicide.
Such acts are callous and should be stopped. This type of cowardly unruliness cannot be tolerated any longer.
Someone even had the temerity to approach the Constitutional Court in an effort to fight a court order restraining him against his wife. He argued that his individual human rights were being trampled upon. He wanted the right to have access to the wife and molest her. This is insanity in the superlative degree. The Constitutional Court wisely ruled against him, thereby stating categorically that women should be loved, protected and respected - no beast should be allowed to come near them.
We in the UCDP do not condone violence regardless of how it manifests itself. There have been instances when women have killed their husbands, and in most cases it was the case of even the proverbial worm turning.
It is for this reason that those men who sit down to take counsel and moral advice from elders on their wedding day are told that: “If a dispute arises, return our daughter as you found her - do not disfigure her - love her.” The wedding song, “O mo tshware hantle, ke galase e ya thubega”, has always and will always be true to and for the people who have respect for their fellow human beings.
We pray for the strength of all South African males to rid themselves of violence against the weaker, defenceless and vulnerable, fairer sex. I thank you, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr M T LIKOTSI: Madam Speaker, South Africa is a cosmopolitan country with people of diverse culture, religion and background.
From 25 November to 10 December 2005, our country will observe days of activism as observed annually, internationally. The public will be conscientised on acts of violence, rape, sexual assault and many other forms of domestic violence meted out to women and children.
The public must be taught about human behaviour and values that are distinct to all other creatures on earth. The adults must be reminded that women make a nation and that today’s children are leaders and adults of tomorrow, they must be nurtured correctly. The SABC in these days must stop showing violent films on our television screens and playing violent dramas on the radio. Children learn what they see.
The PAC is advocating for harmony in these days of activism. I thank you, Madam Speaker.
Ms S RAJBALLY: Madam Speaker, the MF strongly supports the 16 Days of Activism against gender violence. The MF denounces all forms of abuse and violence and applauds the efforts and initiatives of this campaign.
We find the initiatives of the white ribbon, website and sms campaign a great means to encourage support for our fight against abuse and violence against women and children, as well as for awareness.
Further, with the great need of funding these NGOs, among other organisations, we find the sms campaign to be a great means to raising funds for these institutions.
The public needs to be educated to fight against violence and abuse. They need to be informed and encouraged of the protection and rights that the law makes available to all.
We need to unite in the campaign against abuse and violence. We need to return to our constituencies with our white ribbons and encourage not only awareness but also interaction within our communities so that those victims in our areas may reach out for help.
But these campaigns also need to be extended to our prisons where the rehabilitation of offenders may be intensified through awareness.
Each human being, from his or her first breath of life enters this world with a collection of rights that no one may impose on. This is secured by our Bill of Rights harnessed as a chapter to our supreme law - the Constitution. Violence and abuse is an imposition. It is a contravention of our Constitution and shall not be tolerated.
The MF supports the 16 Days of Activism campaign and shall contribute to its initiatives among our people. Our spiritual leader’s teaching is: Love Ever, Hurt Never, Love All, Serve All! Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]
Ms N M MDAKA: Madam Speaker, hon members, as we observe the 16 Days of Activism against gender violence, it is painful to note that somewhere in our country, the continent and the world women continue to be at the receiving end of the acts of violence and abuse. We cannot sit and be idle and pretend that all is well. We need to strengthen and co-ordinate our efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women by working in partnership with all local, national and international network groups.
The UIF is concerned about the deafening silence surrounding media reports implicating one of the senior figures in our political arena. We nonetheless are looking forward to the day when the ruling party will take South Africans into its confidence and furnish us with real facts about such a serious allegation, which is damaging not only to the ruling party, but also to our country’s image and its international standing and this makes a mockery of our commitment to the 16 Days of Activism.
The UIF will work tirelessly with groups that seek to strengthen women’s solidarity against any form of violence against women because together we can and will make the difference. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr M WATERS: Thank you, Madam Speaker, and hon Deputy President, South Africa is facing an onslaught against its children with roughly 17 000 reported rapes against girls each year. I say girls because under the definition of rape boys cannot be raped and we have been waiting for over six years for this definition to be expanded and still no progress has been made.
Also an astonishing 293 children were murdered during the first three months of last year, and that is three children per day on average in our country.
A spate of child murders and abductions over the past few weeks has made it clear that no South African child is safe. There is desperate need for some constructive measures to put the power back in the hands of caring South Africans to stop this scourge. The first few hours after a child has gone missing are the most critical. The DA has developed a seven-point strategic plan to find abducted children before they are harmed. And we sincerely hope that the government will receive these constructive policies in the light they are intended.
Firstly, the DA proposes linking into the massive network of over 20 million cellphone users to instantly transmit information about a missing child. Those who agree to participate will, after the abduction, immediately be sent an SMS containing details of the missing child.
Secondly, we propose a voluntary partnership between the police and broadcasters so that as soon as the radio station receives an alert from the police it would immediately broadcast all available information about the abduction. Thirdly, we propose that in large shopping centers and retail stores procedures should be put in place to immediately alert customers and staff when a child is reported missing, and that all exits are closed off. This has worked extremely well in the USA where it is called Code Adam.
Fourthly, the DA proposes compulsory inclusion of fingerprints on birth certificates after the age of one year and that the national fingerprint database be established for children. If any child on record is abducted no time will be wasted in getting the necessary information sent out. Fifthly, the DA proposes using messages on chips and sweet bags, as well as cool drink cans to raise awareness of both children and parents about safety and what children should do if they find themselves in a particular and uncomfortable situation.
Sixthly, the DA proposes making it obligatory for the police to publish a poster four times per year giving information and pictures about missing children, which will be displayed in all public buildings. Seventhly, we would also display information on electronic billboards at airports.
This has been a great success in America where one in six children, who have been found, has been found through the posters. And finally national Missing Children’s Day is recognised on the 25th of May in the USA and Canada. South Africa should use this day as an annual reminder to all South Africans to renew their efforts to reunite missing children with their families. I thank you very much. [Applause.] Mrs Z A KOTA: Madam Speaker, Deputy President, Ministers, comrades, colleagues and honoured guests, we cannot discuss this debate without looking at the Millennium Development Goals, the MDGs. South Africa is one of the 23 countries that has given their progress report on the MDGs. South Africa is also part of the 10 countries, which have presented a comprehensive plan in the implementation of these MDGs.
Urhulumente we-ANC ubakhele abantu izindlu, ingakumbi abantu abahluphekileyo. Ukusukela kunyaka we 1994 ukuza kuthi ga ngoku kwakhiwa izindlu ezingaphezulu kwesigidi seerandi. Abona bantu baxhamleyo kwezo zindlu ngoomama. Zikwakhona nezindlu ezakhiwa ngoomama, bezakha nge-PHP. Siyayazi ke ukuba lo rhulumente unceda abantu, kwaye oomama ubakhathalele. ISebe leZezindlu linike isabelo esingange 10% kumaphondo ukuba anike oomama ukuze bakwazi ukwakha iinkampani zokwakha izindlu ngokwabo. UMphathiswa uLindiwe uye wasinyusa wasisa kuma 30%, ukwenzela ukuba oomama babe neenkampani, bazakhele izindlu ngokwabo. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
Lo ngumsebenzi karhulumente obonakalayo, nesibonayo ngawo siyi-ANC ukuba lo ngurhulumente okhathalayo. Xa ndijonge lo mba wanamhlanje ndifuna ukuthi chapha kwinto eyenziwe yi-ANC Women’s League namhlanje. Lo mbutho wembokotho apha kwiphondo leNtshona Koloni ubuno mthandazo obe ubizelwe phaya e-Methodist Church e-Green Market Square namhlanje. Siza kukhumbula ke ukuba iMethodist Church le zezo cawe esasikuzo ngexesha lomzabalazo. Yiyo lo nto nanamhlanje ke besiye kwaphaya. Lo mhla, ibiyimini apho sihambisana nento ethethwa nguMongameli yokokuba . . . 365 days of the year should be days of violence against women and children. [Zonke, zingama 365 iintsuku zonyaka kufuneka zibe zintsuku zokulwa nobundlobongela obuthi bujoliswe kwabasethyini nabantwana.]
Kwaye namhlanje imbangi yokuba siye phaya okokuqala, kukukhumbula ukuba ngomso umbulali ka-Rasuge uvela enkundleni yamatyala. Yiyo loo nto besinalo msebenzi besinawo namhlanje. Sifuna ukubuza kuThixo ukuba amathambo kaRasuge aphi na. Singamakholwa kaloku. Siyayazi ukuba nguye owaziyo ukuba aphi na lo mathambo. Yiyo lo nto namhlanje besiyo kwenza esisikhumbuzo siyi- ANC Women’s League. [Kwaqhwatywa.] Okwesibini, sithe masenze lo msebenzi singulo mbutho ngoba apha, kweli leNtshona Koloni kukwelinye lamaphondo ahamba phambili ekulahlekeni kwabantwana, kuba bavele bathi shwaka singabazi apho bakhoyo.
Yiyo loo nto senze esi sikhumbuzo senze esi sikhumbuzo sokuba siyazi into yokuba olu suku lwanamhlanje lusuku lokuqhakamishela nabazali babo bantwana esingazi ukuba beyekutshona kwezi phi na iindawo. Sifuna ukukhumbuza ke amalungu ale Palamente ukuba lo mbandela ka Rasuge wawusele ukhutshiwe nase zinkundleni zamatyala. Imbangi yokuba umbulali abe uvela enkundleni ngomso kungenxa yomkhankaso we ANC Womens League’. Yiyo eyaphakamayo yathi makafunwe uRasuge ukuba uphi na. Yiyo loo nto xa besikula nkonzo besikuyo besifuna ukuba sibulele nakuSekela Mongameli siyalazi igalelo lakhe kulo mkhankaso wokwenza ukuba umbulali kaRasuge abe usetolongweni namhlanje.
Sifuna ke ukuthi sibulele kuMongameli we-ANC Women’s League ngoba siyayazi ukuba besingenekwenza lo msebenzi singakhokelwanga nguwe wena Mphathiswa weZekhaya, Qabane uNosiviwe. [Kuyaqhwatywa.] Into eyenzeke kulo mthandazo yile yokuba abantu baye basikhumbuza ukuba njengokuba la maqobokazana alo mbutho esebenza kangaka eye nakwi-picketing phaya kwinkundla ephakamileyo namhlanje. Sifuna ukuba loo makhaya anomvandedwa ayazi into yokuba akawodwanga, ukhona umbutho okhathalayo ngabantu, umbutho we-ANC.
Kwaye lo manxeba bawavayo ngawamzuzwana. Ukuba bayasebenzisana nalo mbutho basebenzisana nabantu. loo manxeba ayakuphululwa ngophezulu. Into ibithethwa phaya kula mthandazo ngumfundisi wase Wesile obevula laa nkozo, yinto yokuba, unekhandlela phaya elinocingo, elinameva. Uthi xa ethetha ngala meva zingxingongo abantu abakuzo emhlabeni, kodwa elikhandlela likhanyisayo lithemba. Uthi eli khandlela likhona ngalo lonke ixesha kula nkonzo ngoba bafuna ukuba abantu bayazi ukuba kwiingxaki abakuzo ithemba likhona kophezulu.
Sifuna ukuthi ke nanje ngokuba siyazi ukuba abantwana bee-Cape flats abasafumaneki asibazi apho bakhoyo. Singumbutho we ANC women’s league kwakunye nombutho okhathalelwe ngabantu we-ANC sithi sizakuthi gqolo, sikhumbuza abantu into yokuba masibakhuphe aba bantu baphakathi kwethu, esingazi nokuba bafuna ukwenza ntoni na ngoba aba bantwana beduka nje likhona unyawo lwemfene. Bakhona abantu abasebenzisana neqela lemigulukudu ukuba bathathe abantwana phakathi kwethu. Enye into eyenzekileyo umfundi waseGugulethu kwaGontsana waduka naye eye kumsitho wabebanga leshumi, okanye iMatric ball, akazange wabuya. Sifuna ukuqonda ukuba amathambo alo mntana wakwa Gontsana aphi na? Uyawazi uThixo kodwa ukuba siyasebenzisana abenzi bobubi bazakusuka phakathi kwethu. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of Xhosa paragraphs follows.)
[The ANC-led government has built houses for the poor people of this country. Since 1994 the government has built houses estimated at millions of rands. People who benefited mostly are women. There are houses built by women themselves under the PHP. We know that this government cares for women. The Department of Housing allocated 10% to provincial governments for women to establish their building contractors. Hon Lindiwe Sisulu raised the amount to 30%. These actions are testimony to the fact that the ANC-led government is the government that cares about its people.
When I look at today’s debate, I want to draw your attention to what the ANC Women’s League has done today. This league held a prayer service at the Methodist Church in Green Market Square. We will remember the Methodist Church as one of the churches that supported the fight for the liberation of the people. The theme of the prayer service was in line with what the President has said, . . . that 365 days of the year should be days of non- violence against women and children.
Firstly, the reason for the prayer was that we wanted to ask God about the whereabouts of the body of Frances Rasuge, as the case resumes tomorrow. We believe in God. We know that He is the one who knows the whereabouts of her body. The ANC Women’s League joined the prayer in memory of Frances Rasuge. [Applause.]
Secondly, the ANC Women’s League joined because Western Cape province is one of the provinces where a number of children go missing. We wanted to forge ties with the parents of the missing children. Although the Rasuge murder case was closed in the justice court, the ANC Women’s League appealed for it to be re-opened. It is the ANC Women’s League that said the case must be reconsidered.
On the day of the prayer service we wanted to convey our gratitude to the Deputy President for her contribution and efforts to put Rasuge’s murderer in prison.
We want to express our gratitude to the President of the ANC Women’s League, the Minister of Home Affairs, Comrade Nosiviwe Nqakula for the success of the campaign. We would not have succeeded without your support. [Applause.]
Women from the league who were part of the prayer service went for picketing at the High Court as well. The ANC offers a shoulder to cry on for those families that are in misery, to show that it cares about them. We want to say that the pain they experience is temporary, because God is our hope.
A minister from the Methodist Church made mention of the fact that he has a candle with a wire and thorns. He said these thorns symbolised the difficulties that we meet on earth and the candle is a symbol of hope. He said that the candle in his church signifies peoples’ difficulties and reminds them that God is our hope.
We know that there are still children missing on the Cape Flats. The ANC- led government and ANC Women’s league are committed to eradicating criminals from our communities. We are not sure of the plans of the criminals, but their acts make us suspicious.
There is the recent incident of a learner named Gontsana, from Gugulethu, who attended a matriculation ball and never came back. We want to know where the child’s body is. God knows where his body is. If we work together, we will eradicated the criminal acts in our communities. Thank you. [Applause.]]
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Madam Speaker, Madam Deputy President and colleagues, it is incredibly gratifying to hear that the parties across the floor or rather on both parts of the floor, barring one or two really unconstructive inputs, have agreed that we all have a huge job to do. The hon Mulder made a very good point that, if families and individuals do not accept responsibility for caring for one another then the way forward looks very difficult.
We have, as government, put in place legislative frameworks, not to mention issues like the Domestic Violence Act, equality courts, sexual offences courts, Thuthuzela Centres that we referred to. We have also put together integrated models of service delivery. And we are acutely aware of the need to expand service delivery in this area, but this has to be done on a sustainable basis.
I was very encouraged by the uniform sentiments of the House that we need to make families stronger and more resilient to crime and that governments’ holistic effort is an attempt to do this. We also would like to understand that this campaign is not an end in itself, but just one element of government’s integrated campaign to raise awareness and to work towards the change in behaviour and attitudes.
The practical measures proposed by the hon Waters, I think, are very constructive, and could make for a very good way forward. I think we need to consider those. I do think that Ms Dudley was extremely reckless and ill informed. To resort to cynicism the way she did is an abandonment of this country’s women. Not to have the grace to acknowledge progress that has been made, is purely cowardly. We are acutely aware of the service deficiencies that still exist and we will drive to make them improve. Every single year this government spends increasing amounts of resources on this problem.
We have an excellent track record in this regard. To accuse one of our campaign partners of not accounting for the money that was raised is both inaccurate and completely fallacious. Would you please refer to the Foundation for Human Hights’ website, the auditor’s reports for the last three years appear on that website. We have also informed all the people that have contributed to this process. I think you owe the Foundation an apology.
We also need to understand what we do with this campaign. In order to acknowledge our social partners and the NGOs that work with us, we use this campaign to raise funds for NGOs. Those funds are put into the Foundation for Human Rights and what the Foundation also does is meet those funds and sometimes doubles the funds, which they did last year and ring-fences those for NGOs working with victims of violence. So I really think that this is an acknowledgement of the incredibly important role that our campaign contributes and recognises the role that NGOs deliver.
I believe also that it is acknowledgement that we cannot do this alone. We need to do things that span across the spectrum, and that we need work through partnerships with faith-based organisations. You will be delighted to hear that this year the faith-based organisations in the National Religious Leaders Forum have agreed upon one unified message of positive values that will underpin this organisation. [Applause.]
The big challenge that faces us is the many constituencies we have to speak to in this discussion and engagement. We have to speak in all the official languages and that in itself is an issue. But we have undertaken to work with traditional leaders who have been incredibly responsive and developed a four-phased plan on violence as it pertains to the various aspects of life; children and women being two very important areas. They will announce the plan, which has been workshopped with the NPA. They will take ownership of it. The Department of Arts and Culture has agreed to translate the plan into all the languages. And the traditional leaders have taken responsibility for popularising this plan in the coming year.
The challenge for us all is how to turn this into a 365-day event. The point is this: We need to unify across race, class and gender; across political, urban and rural divides, the good people of this country. While 97% of perpetrators are men not 97% of men are perpetrators. On the contrary, most of the men in this country are good men. But we know what happens when good men stand idly by doing nothing. We need to make alliances. We need men to use their peer pressure on one another for change that makes an effective difference in the lives of their children. Somebody also in this debate pointed out the incredible role that is played by how children learn from their parents. They learn these behaviours from their parents. We are responsible and as individual parents we have to take responsibility of inculcating these new values. The hon Kota made an excellent input acknowledging that if we look at the Millennium Development Goals we must understand something about this country and why this campaign is everybody’s business. For development to take place and for it to be appropriate and effective we need it to do that in an environment that is free of violence. The elimination of violence in our homes and in workplaces and our schools is critical to this programme. You can support this programme in various ways.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Women’s League on their efforts that they have made in showing and demonstrating their care of this issue by the measures indicated by the hon Kota. [Applause.] This is just indicative of the many other NGOs really put their lives on the line doing core work for government; day in and day out. They appear as volunteers and are unpaid. We cannot do this alone. There are many elements. Please support the campaign. Remember on the 25th to SMS “16 days” to the short code number 31616. This will again raise funds for NGOs, if the hon Dudley will allow, to the Foundation, which has a very transparent pledging process. It then goes back to the very people that support this in civil society.
You can also sign a pledge to act against violence in the home, in the workplace, at schools, and in the community. Please pledge your signature to those; they are freely available. They have been circulated, I think, today to Parliament. You will see them in your boxes. Free mail them back to us, they will go onto a wall of solidarity at the SABC. You will be able to find out every morning how these are collected. Last year we printed a million and we got 480 000; a nearly 50% response is almost unheard of in these kinds of things. Let us try for more. Let us try and beat the 50% mark and get closer to 70%. I think that would be a real measure of South Africans’ commitment. Please wear your white ribbons. You all received white ribbons from us today. Only wear them if you aspire to the campaign’s pledge to act against the violence. Don’t bother if you don’t.
This is an important message. It shows people that you are committed to the victims and survivors of violence and to their recovery. I would also just like to mention that there are many ways you can support us. And if you want to see how many partners we have, just do a Google search on “16 days in South Africa”, under the South African category. You will find over a 150 companies that have come to the table; not to mention foundations and other valuable partners. There are so many aspects to this campaign. Please feel free to contact my office, and get onto the website. The Women’s Net website is also very inclusive of all the information; over 400 events have been fed into the system with a highly rural bias and www.southafrica.info has also lots of very good information. Thank you very much everyone for your support. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
QUESTIONS FOR ORAL REPLY:
THE DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
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Mr L Zitha (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
(a) What are the key elements of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa and (b) to what extent will it assist in meeting the 2014 objectives? N2331E
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, hon members, the answer to this question is that the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative is made necessary by the need to ensure that growth in our economy is both accelerated and shared. The approach is being taken in an accelerated and shared manner. The growth initiative for South Africa is, firstly, to identify those binding constraints, which, if removed, would improve the performance of the South African economy.
following: the relative volatility of the currency; the cost and efficiency of the national logistics system; capacity of our infrastructure, and the bottlenecks experienced; the shortage of suitably skilled labour at suitable cost; the disjointed special settlement patterns, which contribute also to labour costs; the lack of sector development strategies; barriers to entry and competition in some sectors of the economy; the deficiency in the state organisation capacity and strategic thrusts with great impact at local government level, in relation to service delivery; the regulatory obstacles to growth, and employment that has a particular impact on SMMEs.
The accelerated and shared growth research and discussion that is now under way seeks to address practical and substantial strategies to respond to these issues. It is not anticipated that there will be significant changes in policy, but what we have found that we will need to do is that there should be significant improvement in monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation by all members of the executive and the Presidency; tighter co-ordination and integration of agreed programmes and interventions bringing in government, state-owned enterprises, private sector and civil society in a partnership; and focus on outcomes and timely interventions; emphasis and choice of interventions must respond to shared growth because we have discovered that in the past 11 years, notwithstanding the growth that we’ve seen in the economy, it has not been shared enough.
Therefore this must ensure that the overall government programme of action, as we know it, continues. But, in addition to this, we lift up those initiatives that are able to respond to labour absorption, to poverty alleviation and to growth in a sustainable manner. In order for us to ensure that the initiatives we are picking on will do this, a modelling exercise is under way to check on the initiatives that we’ve already identified.
If the binding constraints can be effectively addressed it is expected that the growth rate and the unemployment rate will rise to the point that the objectives of halving poverty and unemployment would be achieved by 2014. Our process of consultation with stakeholders is under way, and we are seriously looking at the contributions that are being made by stakeholders.
Thus far, on the part of government, we have identified the following critical interventions: infrastructure development in an amount of R320 billion in the current MTEF has already been allocated for that purpose; human resource development, which has emerged as the biggest threat to any growth prospect and initiative; interventions directed at the second economy, especially targeting SMMEs, and this will include social infrastructure, expanded public works and jobs for unemployed graduates; provincial initiatives that have been identified by the provinces, which are identifying specific projects in those areas where we have either difficulty in generating economic activity, and/or we have opportunities that we have up to now not taken full advantage of; the macro economy, which includes striving for a competitive and a stable currency; service delivery and governance, especially at local government level but throughout the government system, and ensuring that delivery and the closing of the skills gap go hand in hand with ensuring sustainable service delivery; and, lastly, sector development, and the sectors have been identified and we’ve singled out those sectors that will give us sustainable jobs in the shortest possible time and these are, in particular, tourism and business process outsourcing.
These are immediate priorities because we have also been working closely with the business sector, and a comprehensive business plan has been developed in that regard.
We are also looking at other sectors, which will be given attention in the middle of next year, as those sectors that we are accelerating. These include agriculture and agroprocessing; biofuel specifically is a new sector that government will be paying particular attention to; mineral beneficiation; cultural industries, and more work is also being done on the chemicals and forestry sectors. I thank you.
Mr L ZITA: Madam Speaker, I’d like to thank the Deputy President for such an enlightening reply. As ANC cadres, and I dare say the country at large, the news that the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative is going to be overseen by her was met with jubilant anticipation.
Hon Minister, your record as Minister of Minerals and Energy was a historical marker that opened a new chapter in the battle for economic transformation in our country. Over the past seven years a number of fora, including summits, have been held with business and labour to elicit their participation in partnership in the development of the country. What in your opinion, Madam Deputy President, are the lessons that have been drawn, and in what way will those lessons inform the present initiative? Are you convinced, Madam, that South African business in particular is willing to move an extra mile to achieve the objective of six per cent GDP growth?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: To begin with, hon member, some of the initiatives, when you see the details – that’s what we’re looking at – we have already agreed on with the private sector in order for us to implement more effectively, to co-ordinate much better, and to monitor much better.
So, monitoring and co-ordination have emerged as very important interventions in this regard. These include, though, some of the unimplemented agreements, for instance, from the Jobs Summit and the follow- up summits.
I am convinced that the private sector has concerns and would like to contribute to growth, but we cannot be complacent. The fact that there is concern and leadership within the private sector has expressed interest in co-ordinating with us, does not automatically mean that we’ll get the co- operation. It also means that we must make sure that the initiatives undertaken by the private sector dovetail to the extent that they include those undertaken by government, and where those initiatives are frustrated by any of the actions that government may be responsible for, we remove those obstacles.
So, the answer is, yes, hon member, I think there is commitment from business but, you know, we need to monitor, we need to follow up, we need to nudge and sometimes even pinch.
Dr P J RABIE: Madam Speaker, Madam Deputy President, corruption is a serious threat to the sustained economic growth of this country. There are some very serious allegations made against some officials and councillors, which is governed by the ANC – Buffalo City, Mangaung and further Ventersdorp. [Interjections.]
My question to the hon Deputy President is: What is the ANC going to do to root out fraudsters and crooks?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: In the study, which was not done by us as government, on binding constraints, that did not emerge as one of the binding constraints. However, that does not mean that we are not concerned and we’re not going to do anything about it. That is why, right now, some councillors have been suspended, and that there’s a whole lot of action, for instance, that was taken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. To the extent that, if you should know of cases that have gone uninvestigated, you should come forward with that information.
Mr S N SWART: Madam Speaker, hon Deputy President, the ACDP believes that state capacity is the single most important factor constraining greater economic growth, and resulting in capital underspending by the state. An insufficient investment in human resources and a lack of skills will, as you pointed out, negatively impact upon achieving a six per cent economic growth rate.
One of the key aspects not targeted sufficiently with Gear was the educational sphere. This resulted in a shortage of matriculants with higher grade maths and science, with a knock-on effect on tertiary institutions. This, together with the brain drain, resulted in a shortage of professionals such as engineers, project managers and technicians.
Hon Deputy President, will your initiative deal with this problem and; if so, what are your details regarding maths and science leading to the shortage of professionals, as I pointed out?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, yes, I agree with you, hon member, the issue of capacity to spend and the skills that we need in order for us to be able to spend efficiently and properly have also been identified as a big threat, not just to this initiative, but also to the many other things that we may want to do in this economy. That is why we have singled out human resources as a major component of this and, in fact, it is the one that we are going to implement first, because it has to come first.
We have collaborated, again, with the private sector, as well as with labour. Particular in this case, the national business initiative from the private sector is the one representing the private sector in this initiative.
We have identified the need to fast-track those skills that we need immediately in relation to these interventions, such as infrastructure – the specific sectors you are talking about – as well as delivery of services.
In relation to this, we have roughly 18 months of intense initiatives, which would include recruiting, training and deployment of the people in those areas, but also a process of seconding people that we can get out of retirement and from other areas to play that role. In terms of what we need for the private sector, and some of the capital projects, the DBSA is kindly co-ordinating that, so that it can evaluate the credentials of the people who are offering help. When we are ready with the details we will take you into our confidence about what we have.
Secondly, we are looking at artisanal skills; the second tier skills; and the work that is being done through further education and training institutions. Again, we will be seeking in the short term to respond to the initial major projects, but also to make sure that they’re sustainable and that in the long term we are able to use those to assist those students with lower marks in maths and science; to upgrade them so that they are able to perform better when they are in these institutions.
Of course, there is an intensive programme that the Minister of Education is busy with, which is looking at the quality of education at high school and primary school, as well as looking at early childhood development. So there is a comprehensive plan, and I think at the appropriate time the Minister should also be able to give you details.
Prince N E ZULU: Madam Speaker, thank you, Deputy President, for your lucid answers, but we all have experienced some difficulties. Service delivery issues have been very difficult over the past 10 years. The question may be posed, just to give us more clarity. How we are going to turn around these difficult scenarios we have experienced in the past to success stories in order to meet the 2014 challenges, given the present status of our municipalities?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I would start by saying, hon member, that we see these interventions as short, medium and long term, and long term in this context is 2014, and this is in addition to overall government work that we need to do in an ongoing manner.
Short term, as I say, within the next two years we want to see tangible improvements; in four years we want to see very significant improvement, especially in the area of delivery, and what is different now is the amount of detail we have about where the challenge lies. We actually have information and detail, literally about every municipality, the level of skills in those municipalities, the details regarding the books of those municipalities, as well as the service delivery challenges that municipalities are facing.
What the DBSA is therefore going to do, assisted by Treasury, the Department of Water Affairs, DME, and the others that are aligned to service delivery, is to ensure that we do not have a broad brush response, but a particular response in relation to every municipality. Because, we also know that the challenges that are there . . . Can somebody manage the Chihuahua for me, please? [Laughter.]
We need to make sure with regard to every municipality that we actually have a response that fits the demands of that municipality. I think this is what is different. We have enough information we are much more thorough. Some of the challenges that we also face are that when we delegate people to work and to mentor, we will need to make sure that there are people to be mentored . . . [Interjections.]
Mr D H M GIBSON: Madam Speaker, on a point of order. I think it has been ruled on a number of occasions that calling members dogs and referring to them as animals is unparliamentary, and the hon Deputy President referred to the Leader of the Opposition as a Chihuahua, and that is a dog and it is unparliamentary, and I ask you to request her to withdraw the reference. [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Order! Order, hon members. I will come to the issue of the unparliamentary part of any statement made by an hon member However, I don’t understand how you get to the conclusion that she was referring to a specific member of the House. [Interjections.] Why would the hon member decide that it was a reference to the hon the Leader of the Opposition? That is the question on my mind.
However, I would like to ask the hon Deputy President to just withdraw any reference to a Chihuahua because, indeed, any reference to animals in relation to members of Parliament is unparliamentary. Madam Deputy President, could you please withdraw the word “Chihuahua”?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Government’s response to Report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme
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The Leader of the Opposition (DA) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether the Government has formulated a response to the Report of the Independent Inquiry Committee into the United Nations Oil- for-Food Programme, particularly in respect of the sections relating to the involvement of the Presidency, the Department of Foreign Affairs and specific South African companies (names furnished); if not, why not; if so, what action will the Government take against firms falling under their jurisdiction in this regard, as urged to by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan;
(2) whether relations between the Government and the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party influenced South Africa’s diplomacy towards the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein; if so, how;
(3) whether certain persons (names furnished) or any other person consulted with the Presidency regarding their visit to Baghdad, Iraq, in December 2000 either before or after their visit; if not, when did the Presidency first become aware of such visit;
(4) whether the President or anyone in the Presidency was informed that the President’s name was used in his capacity as President of the Republic to give the impression that a certain person (name furnished) was acting on his behalf; if not, what action did the Presidency take when it became aware of this; if so, what are the relevant details? N2329E
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, the answer to this question is, as follows: The government has not yet formulated a response to the report of the independent inquiry committee into the Iraq-UN Oil-for-Food Programme. We have instructed the Minister of Justice to examine the whole report and give advice on the steps that our government should take.
Whilst we await that response from the Minister of Justice, we wish to state that South Africa’s foreign policy is based on South Africa’s national interest and international law, and we reject any insinuation that such policy can be auctioned for private-commercial purposes. The Presidency was also, as far as we know, never informed about anybody who has claimed to be the President’s adviser.
Hon members, with regard to the other parts of the question, as you are aware, the South African government conducts its international relations with other governments and not with political parties. Such interactions are guided by our foreign policy objectives, which are well-known and well considered. As such, the government has no relations with the Arab Ba’ath Socialist Party.
The answer to the next question is that the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad, officially visited Iraq a number of times between November 1999 and 2003, and I must just add that we were requested by the UN to help there, which was one of the reasons that Mr Aziz Pahad had to go there frequently.
During the visit in November 1999, the Deputy Minister was accompanied by a business delegation, which met separately with the Iraqi business community on trade-related issues. A member of the Department of Trade and Industry was also present on that occasion.
Let me also state that business people, or any other individuals, do not necessarily require government’s permission when conducting their business with any other party of their choice, as long as this is done within the confines of the law. I thank you. The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Speaker to the Deputy President, I put it to you, Deputy President, that the foot dragging and the filibustering of this government on the Oil-for-Food report, which is now more than three weeks old, and South Africa is in the very strange position of being one of the very few countries that has companies implicated in that report and which has had no response, official or otherwise, except to say it is still being read – three weeks later.
But I put it to you, Deputy President, that the reason that nothing is being done by the government is that the major South African company in the dock, in respect of Oil-for-Food, is none other than Imvume, the same company implicated in Oilgate, and the same company, which when you pierce the corporate veil, is nothing other than a fundraising front for the ANC for election purposes. [Interjections.] That is the reality, Madam Deputy President.
Madam Deputy President does not understand why it makes so threadbare government’s claim to be fighting corruption, but what you do to the Jacob Zuma brigade in the streets is to give lie to the suggestion that there is a selective targeting of certain people in respect of corruption, and an amnesty offered de facto otherwise to others because of their connectivity to you, the President and the ANC hierarchy. [Interjections.]
I suggest, Madam Deputy President, that that is the reason why nothing is being done about Oil-for-Food. [Applause.]
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, I decline to answer.
Mr T M MASUTHA: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for the hon Leader of the Opposition to make such disparaging allegations against a company, which will not have the opportunity to respond to such allegations? [Interjections.]
HON MEMBERS: Read the report!
The SPEAKER: What is unparliamentary is to attack another hon member of the House, except within the Rules of the House.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Speaker, could the hon Leader of the Opposition have the courage of his convictions to make such an allegation outside this House? [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Hon Chief Whip, you can pursue that with the hon Leader of the Opposition. [Interjections.]
Dr P W A MULDER: Madam Speaker, I don’t want to talk about Chihuahuas, but please help me so that I can ask my question. [Laughter.]
Madam Deputy President, I think we all realise the seriousness of the situation in the sense that South Africa’s international credibility is at stake. It is a report of the UN, and surely we must react responsibly.
Countries like Jordan and Australia, as far as I know, were also mentioned in the report, and they have already appointed independent committees of inquiry to investigate the companies mentioned, and whether there was any government involvement. I think that is the right route to take, because in the end such an inquiry will have findings that will be credible abroad.
We welcome the steps that have been taken up to now, namely that the Department of Justice will investigate allegations. We think it is an important first step, but the question is: Is it still viable, because surely in the end we need a credible, independent committee of inquiry? If some government department makes a finding that everybody is innocent, or whatever, surely that finding will not have the same credibility as the same finding made by an independent committee from the outside.
Is it still possible that we can go in that direction for our international credibility? Thank you.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, I think that the investigation that is taking place now has not determined what course of action will be followed. I must also indicate, hon member, that the report that everybody has read, and is talking about, is a condensed version of, I think, seven lever arch file reports and connected reports that the team in the Department of Justice has to go through.
They have also brought in international experts to help them and to guide them if they have to take the kind of action that you have talked about. If the law has been broken, we, or any member of the public, are at liberty to take the necessary action. So, that does not in any way stop members of the public from taking further action. It might emerge that there are lots of contradictions in this report, but we will not get into that, because as long as the law has been broken, we will not be interested in whether there is a contradiction or not. We will follow it up.
I must also add that the UN itself, following this, has not even taken a UN resolution. They have just issued a press release. I am not saying that that makes the matter less pressing, but I am just saying that there is not just one way of looking at this issue. I would like to assure the hon member that we do intend to act on it. [Applause.][Interjections.]
Mr M J BHENGU: Madam Speaker, Madam Deputy President . . . [Interjections.]
The SPEAKER: Order, hon members! An hon member has the floor.
Mr M J BHENGU: Madam Speaker, Madam Deputy President, we believe it is important that Parliament has to ascertain whether the report of the independent inquiry committee into the UN Oil-for-Food Programme is factual. We have also gathered from the media that legal action may be taken by Imvume. Therefore we, as the IFP, would like to know whether action would be taken against South African companies, which have used the relationship of South African leaders with Iraq, to obtain oil allocations under the Oil-for-Food Programme, if allegations are proven to be correct? Thank you.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, I restate: If the law has been broken, let the law take its course. I also want to add that one of the issues that the Department of Justice is actually trying to look at is exactly which law was broken in terms of South African law, so that when they make their move, if and when they do, they do not end up making accusations that they cannot pursue effectively in law. So, that is one of the reasons that they have brought in international experts. So that they cannot look at both local and only international criminal laws, but also at the international situation.
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy President, through the Chair, you indicated in your response that the Presidency was unaware of the linking of the President’s name to any of the actions or companies concerned. Could I read just one excerpt of the report? It reads:
Mr Sandi Majali was allocated two million barrels of oil. The contract of approval explicitly states: Mr Sandi Majali, adviser to the President of South Africa. The perception that Mr Majali was a representative of the ANC and President Mbeki was further reflected in a letter from Mr Motlanthe that Mr Majali had the ANC’s full approval and blessing.
Surely, Madam Deputy President, you see that there is a huge conflict of interests between ANC politicians investigating ANC funders who apparently, possibly, broke the UN’s Security Council resolutions on the Oil-for-Food Programme? Isn’t that a conflict of interests? Surely, as Deputy President, what you have to do is to remove any suggestion or appearance that there is a conflict of interests involved in this matter. [Time expired.]
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, I think somewhere in that statement that you have read you spoke about perceptions. There are many people who claim to be people’s advisers, including you. There are even people who claim to be your advisers, and I laugh at some them, because I say: No, you can’t advise Tony, you are too dumb to advise a smart gentleman like Tony. So, people talk about these things when they want business. [Interjections.]
Business people take chances, and they don’t always go and ask the permission of the person whose name they are going to drop when it suits them. The Presidency was never asked about Mr Majali posing as an adviser. That is the way it is.
Secondly, about the conflict of interests, you know that the ANC, and most of the people in South Africa supports the ANC, so in every pool of people that you bring together, the ANC will always be in the majority. [Applause.] You are asking us to find an artificial situation if you want us to find non-ANC people, that is an igcuntswana [minority] of people in the overall scheme of things. So, you will always find that.
We do not want the ANC to dominate this investigation as the ANC. We want the government officials who are the ones who are working on this to deal with it, and I am sure there will be an opportunity for Parliament to also debate and look into this report. Thank you. [Applause.]
Government plans for industrial development and job creation
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Prince N E Zulu (IFP) asked the Deputy President:
(1) Whether the Government has any plans to utilise taxes for industrial development in order to stimulate job creation; if not, why not; if so, what plans;
(2) whether the projected 6% growth will have the capacity to halve unemployment by 2014; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether a review of some governmental regulations will improve
the business environment and increase industrial competition; if
not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
(4) whether she will make a statement on the matter? N2049E
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: The answer to this question is that the general approach of government is . . . [Interjections.]
Thula nawe, Johnny. Quiet, Johnny.][Laughter.]]
The general approach of government is to ensure that company and personal income tax and other taxes are low enough to encourage investments.
As a general rule, tax incentives should be used with great care, as such incentives might have unintended consequences, resulting in an unfair playing field, with a loss in tax revenue and no or very limited long-term benefits for the country and the economy.
However, there is a sector-specific taxation regime, for instance, for the gold mining sector, and its intention is to find the right balance between the incentive to invest and a fair return to the government.
Another measure that government introduced to encourage job creation in the country was to provide indemnity to those individuals and businesses that had invested their money outside the country, outside the law.
Amongst government’s aims in this stance was to ensure that the money comes back to the country, and is used to invest in job creation. There is one taxation provision specifically designed to encourage the employment of the unemployed. This tax incentive is provided to employers under the Income Tax Act, section 12(h), in the form of an annualised deduction of between R17 500 and R25 000 when a learnership agreement is signed, and a further annualised deduction of R25 000 when the learner successfully completes the learnership.
There are several investment incentive programmes, such as the Small, Medium Enterprise Development Programme, which do not use the tax mechanism directly.
It is government’s wish to have halved unemployment before 2014. That is the reason we are working tirelessly to ensure that government departments have in place and in their programmes some measures to attain these goals.
Recently, the Industrial Development Corporation announced a R1 billion financial package aimed at supporting SMMEs. Of this fund R600 million will be targeted at SMMEs, preferably those in poor provinces, townships and rural areas. The interest rate charges will be prime minus five per cent, and average cost per jobs will be R150 000 per annum. The maximum amount to be given per entrepreneur is R25 million. Also, R200 million is set aside for pro-franchise scheme. It will target poor provinces, and will exclude Gauteng and the Western Cape . . . oops. [Laughter.] The target is to create ten jobs per franchise.
For horticulture R100 million is set aside, and the other R100 million is set aside for forestry, targeting communities with land next to established forests.
A recent study undertaken by the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town indicated that the rate of employment growth has, for the period between 1995 and 2004, been approximately 76% of the rate of GDP growth.
This means that the environment that the government has created is conducive to the creation of employment, and therefore the achievement of our 2014 targets. Thank you.
Prince N E ZULU: Chairperson . . .
. . . ngiyathokoza kakhulu mhlonishwa Phini likaMongameli, ikakhulukazi kuleya ncazelo yentela . . . [ . . . I am very much pleased hon Deputy President, mostly because of that explanation on tax . . . ]
. . . thank you very much.
My question now is about expectations, raised hopes by government’s pronouncement on six per cent growth and halving unemployment by 2014. You have explained this already, but do we really have a quick-fix mechanism that will make these hopes and expectations become reality?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Hon member, there is no quick fix. Between now and 2014, it gives us a period of almost 10 years. That would not be a quick fix, but the needs are urgent. So, to the extent that we can shorten implementation and get results on some of the initiatives, we will do that, but I agree with you. There isn’t a quick fix. It will be incremental.
Mr C M LOWE: Hon Deputy President, everybody in South Africa agrees with you and wants to reach a six per cent growth rate. The problem is that two years on from the Growth and Development Summit, we still are behind that figure. I think we have reached something like 4,5% or possibly 4%. We are lagging behind. We have a lot of ground to make up.
Other major obstacles include the failure of sector education and training authorities and the Skills Development Act to really make an impact on the skills crisis. As you know already, only yesterday, in the NCOP, you were quite correctly expressing concern over the fact that unless we tackle that skills crisis, we are going to undo all the good work of the last 11 years.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank is on record as agreeing with the DA. He has expressed concern at our rigid labour laws.
My question to the Deputy President is this: We agree there is no quick fix, but in simple terms, can you tell us and South Africa what you are doing, what you will be doing and what steps you will be taking to ensure that we reach that magical 6% projected growth rate, and find that the skills levy is made up, and our jobs crisis goes away? [Time expired.]
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: To begin with, hon member, there is a view in South Africa that our percentage is growing at a rate that is above the 4-4,5% that has been officially pronounced. So, perhaps the vision is not that ambitious after all. Our own international advisers, as you know, felt that 6% was modest, because they thought that this economy has potential to grow even beyond that.
Obviously, we will not chop and change every day. We will try and stay within this. We would like to interrogate the information in order to ensure whether we are at 4,5% or whether we are achieving more already.
You wanted to know exactly what is happening. We are going to build the infrastructure, because it is a binding constraint affecting growth. We are going to do something about harbours and ports, rail, information communications technology and the cost of telephony. That is in our business plan, and we have put aside money for us in order to achieve that.
We are going to target, as far as SMMEs are concerned, those segments of the small and medium enterprises that can give us large numbers of new enterprises. Our estimation is that we need to facilitate growth for those who must move between being micro and small businesses. This is where the majority of the people are who are enterprising but historically disadvantaged in large numbers. Most of them are looking for money between R10 000 and R1 million. There is quite a big group looking for money between R10 000 and R250 000. In the market, there isn’t an appropriate mechanism to intervene with those people because even with our own Khula, the credit guarantee doesn’t go far enough.
So, we want to develop a dedicated strategy, working together with the financial services charter implementing parties to develop products just for that category of people, but also work smarter and better with business partners – again, in order to address that segment of entrepreneurs.
We are not saying that we are neglecting the medium-sized businesses, because they are also important, but once you reach the medium-sized mark, you have a bit of leverage to represent yourself when you deal with financiers.
Mr S N SWART: Hon Deputy President, the revenue authorities are to be commended for collecting R21 billion more than last year’s projected target. Indications are, however, that corporate tax rates will not be decreased.
The ACDP is aware of the debate in this regard, and the Minister of Finance’s view that business would not respond to tax cuts by investing and employing more people. Do you share his scepticism?
You also indicated the use of incentives through tax reductions for business to invest in productive capacities in certain areas - I think you referred to the mining areas - do you not agree that tax relief would have been a good start in view of the tax over-run? Economists hold that the best way to keep up the good mood in the economy is to lower corporate taxes. Thank you.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I think that there is no one answer to the problem that you are raising. I think that the tax approach is the easy and the quick one, but it doesn’t necessarily give us the best returns. I think that the Minister of Finance has actually studied the situation, and it’s based on a track record in the economy of the last few years.
We have not seen, with the many opportunities, including the tax cuts we have had at different intervals in the last few years, our private sector rushing to invest in the productive sector.
I think that what you are saying is not a fact, but it is just one of the measures that one can look at. It is not as if we are not doing other things, in any case.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (C-S Botha): There is one more slot. The hon Vezi.
Prof B TUROK: Chair, I had my hand up, right from the beginning. It seems you didn’t see me. Could I please have this particular slot? [Interjections.]
I had my hand up right from the beginning. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Turok, I regret that we go according to the monitor, and your name does not appear on my monitor.
I have gone strictly according to that, so I have to acknowledge the hon Vezi.
Mr T E VEZI: Thank you, Madam Chair. Madam Deputy President, in view of the existence of the skills mismatch in our country, don’t you think it is high time we had a national skills audit in the country, if we haven’t done that already? Thank you.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: A skills audit is an ongoing task that is done within government by one of the science councils that reports to the Minister of Science and Technology. It is not as accurate as one would like it to be, but it is a point of departure.
In the initiative that I was taking about, we are going to be looking at fast-tracking the skills that we need in the short term, we are also going to be updating that skills audit. However, in the medium to long term, we would like to establish a sustainable, dependent, reliable mechanism to always track the demand and supply of skills in the economy.
Something that we are now calling a joint human resource council together with the other stakeholders – the private sector and so on – would be established in order to look at the skills so that we are able, at every given moment, to be in a position to say that we need so many dentists in South Africa, and the ones that are in training are so many in this province, and therefore we will be able to fix so many teeth a month. That is the medium to long-term strategy that we are going to be adopting.
What we hope to achieve is a situation where the issue of always saying that we do not have skills in South Africa will be a conversation of the past. What we will be talking about is: This is what we are doing; this is where we are struggling; this is where we are fast-tracking; this is where we think that, in the short term, we need to import, and this is how we are mentoring.
We are working quite hard on a comprehensive response to the issue of skills. That is why I said that the issue of skills is the one that is superior to everything that we are doing in relation to growth and, frankly, failure is not an option, as far as that one is concerned. Thank you.
Government measures for graduate employment
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Ms N P Khunou (ANC) asked the Deputy President:
What measures are the Government putting in place to address the challenge of graduates who are struggling to find employment? N2330E
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Chairperson, the answer is that there are several factors that cause current rates of graduate unemployment. These have been well documented by studies from the University of Cape Town and the HSRC, amongst others. Research suggests that non-responsive academic programmes and poor preparation for the world of work reduce graduates’ chances of securing early employment.
It should also not be forgotten that the process of transforming the institutions of higher learning started relatively late, leading to continued shortages of important skills, particular amongst black people.
Response from the government currently is, as follows: Through, amongst others, the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative and initiatives that have been undertaken by Umsobomvu, the Department of Education, the Department of Labour have identified sectors that would absorb unemployed graduates quicker in partnership with the relevant role-players. As I have said earlier, those sectors that are growth sectors such as tourism, business process outsourcing, community development, which is also part of the Expanded Public Works Programme; the financial services, project management, agriculture and agroprocessing; child and youth care, probation services, minerals beneficiation, are amongst the sectors where we are targeting specific opportunities for unemployed graduates; as well as in the water and sanitation sectors.
Umsobomvu has collated data on the profile of unemployed graduates, including their qualifications and we intend to work with that data and improve it so that we can make it available to all those who would want to help. We are grateful that we have engaged with one company, which has offered to assist us to improve this data, as well as to make it easily accessible, both to the employers and to other institutions that seek to help. Again, in due course we will be able to announce a detailed plan about how we are responding to the issue of unemployed graduates.
The Minister of Education has also engaged the private sector to work with the Department of Education on ensuring that FETs produce relevant graduates from within the FET system that will also enable the private sector to make a contribution the kind of curriculum that is desirable to make sure that we produce the graduates that we want. Topmost in my mind is making sure that we first deal with the backlog of those graduates that are already out in the street and of course, we also ensure that not only do we look for jobs for them, but also those that need re-engineering and those that are about to come out. We can work with institutions to make sure that they are more ready for the world of work.
Ms N P KHUNOU: Thank you, Deputy President, for your informative answer. With regards to an initial analysis on the nature of skills that are obtained within the register of graduates, what was the outcome of such analysis, with reference to matching the existing qualifications of the unemployed graduates compared to skills required by our growing economy? I have heard about the role that Umsobomvu has played but I just want to find out, what role has Umsobomvu, together with the FET colleges and the private sector, played in addressing these challenges? Specific reference should be made to remedial actions on the reported skills mismatch and the possible training of graduates.
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: The overwhelming number of graduates that are unemployed have got degrees in the Arts. You still find graduates with science degrees, even engineers, who are unemployed. Part of the challenge is that they are discriminated against because they do not have experience. Learnerships are in part supposed to respond to that, but our own efforts in co-ordination with the Departments of Education and Labour are meant to assist these young graduates to get a starting chance.
For some of the infrastructure projects we would be placing these graduates with a mentor. Eskom has already started doing this where one actually works with a mentor, so that one could get this experience. We have found that in the work currently under way of refurbishing and mothballing power stations, when you bring back retired engineers who used to build the old power stations that we are busy refurbishing now, they come with a lot of passion, because they are sentimental about having been responsible for building these stations and would like to see them succeed. When you put young people around them, who are also just as keen to learn and get a fair chance, it is very exciting to see what is actually happening there.
We intend to ensure that with this large expenditure that we had on infrastructure, we will do that matchmaking. It is the same thing that we intend to do as far as municipalities are concerned. As far as some of those scarce skills, the intense and quite meticulous process of placing them with mentors is taking place. But in the business process outsource area, for instance, the training is much shorter, the turnaround time that would enable us to place the students in a work environment is reasonable. We are discussing with an ICT company that has come forward to assist and absorb, and have agreed that not only will they be training young people for their call centres, because they also have to train them in languages. They have established that South Africans are very adaptable when it comes to languages. I am told that it is easy to teach Afrikaans-speaking people a Germanic language such as the Norwegian language.
The intention there is that as you train people for whatever service, for the banking sector, you are also training a pool of people with different languages for the tourism sector. They are quite happy to do so, though many of them would be training people for the banking sector in particular. We would want South Africa to position herself to compete with India when it comes to the BPO type of jobs; not because we have the numbers and the levels of education that India has, but because our niche is our capacity to speak different languages and to adapt our accents.
Mr W D SPIES: Chairperson, hon Deputy President, during question time two months ago in September, the question was asked about South African skilled people who are jobless at the moment owing to different aspects of government policy. At that stage you gave the assurance that you would look at the names of people, if we were able to give you those names. The FF Plus actually accepted that challenge and we launched a website a month ago on which we gave the opportunity to people to record their skills and to record their CVs. Up to date we have received more than 500 CVs of highly effective, highly skilled people who are desperate at the moment and who are looking for jobs. They desperately ask for help. I’ve got the CD here and I am willing to give it to you. Are you prepared and can you give us the assurance that these people will be looked at and given preference over Cubans and Indians?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: You can cross the floor, hon member, and come and give me the CD now. Thank you very much for having undertaken that initiative. Yes, we will look at those people. The reason why we have asked the DBSA to manage this is because we want it to be done very efficiently. They will take those CVs, they will interview the people and look at them and at the type of people that they want. They will check the qualifications, the CVs and the experience so that there are checks and balances. The people that we attract and the qualifications and experience that they say that they have is actually what we need. I will gladly accept the CD. Please cross the floor. [Laughter.]
Mr G G BOINAMO: Deputy President, what is the government doing to ensure that the inability of unemployed graduates to repay their study loans to the national study financial aid scheme does not eventually undermine that scheme and thus make it more difficult for poor students to study at university?
The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Am I allowed to seek help from the Minister because she has been working on that and she didn’t have time to brief me?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S BOTHA): Certainly, I am going to help you and she is going to help you, as well.
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Thank you, Chairperson. The hon member would probably be aware from briefings where I know he has been present that, in the first few years of this scheme, there had been difficulties with respect to repayment of loans and that the actuarial studies that had been done to assist the scheme management had indicated that we might not reach the kinds of targets that we had intended to reach with respect to repayment.
However, the hon member would also be aware once the legislation was passed that, in fact, through the link between Nasfas and the revenue office and their database, we have been able to track employed graduates very well and therefore he would know as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Education that there has been a vast improvement in the collection rates to the degree that over R200 million of repaid funds was added this year to the amount provided by government for the scheme. That is a fairly significant proportion of repayment. [Applause.]
The challenge does stand, as you indicate, of ensuring that more opportunities, as the Deputy President has said, for employment are available to young people, and the very areas she has so very eloquently set out clearly indicate the steps government is taking. [Applause.]
Mr G G BOINAMO: Madam, I am not completely satisfied with the answer. I asked a question about poor students who cannot pay but the Minister has not touched on it. [Interjections.]
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: I am very surprised because as I said, I have seen this member present at briefing meetings. He knows that if you are not employed, you cannot pay back. You only begin paying once you are earning an annual salary of R26 300. Before you reach that level of paid employment, you don’t have to pay back your loan.
The HOUSE CHAIPERSON (Ms C-S BOTHA): That is the final question. Thank you, hon Deputy President. Hon members, we are informed by the Office of the Leader of Government Business that both the Minister and the Deputy Minister for Provincial and Local Government have had to leave to attend to an urgent matter. The Minister of Housing was also not able to remain for her questions and I have accepted her apology. We are arranging with the Ministers concerned that the replies be submitted in writing. We now proceed with Question 137.
MINISTERS:
Progress made with delivery of water and sanitation
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Ms C C September (ANC) asked the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry:
(1) Whether any progress has been made in meeting the targets set by the President in his state of the nation address; if not, why not; if so, what progress;
(2) whether her department anticipate any challenges to meet its obligations in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what plans are in place to deliver water and sanitation within the time- frame set? N2392E
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, the answer to the question is: Yes, substantial progress has been made. Since 1994, the backlog on basic water supply has been halved and there has been a 40% improvement in access to basic sanitation.
With regard to basic water supply; four million households, which represented 41% of the population, did not have access to the reconstruction and development programme defined basic supply. The March 2005 figure is two million households.
In 1994, a total of 5,8 million households did not have access to basic sanitation. In March 2005 this was reduced to a total of about 3,91 million households.
With regard to the second part of the question yes, there are challenges, which we must address and those are being addressed, as we speak, to achieve the set targets. These will include the following: securing additional funding to achieve the targets on time and based on minimum scenarios, the present level of funding available must increase dramatically.
The Minister of Finance indicated in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement that there will be an increase in the spending on basic services over the MTF period. He said, I quote him:
Over the next years additional spending of R46 billion in provinces is intended to reinforce key social and economic functions. Further spending of R2 billion will allow municipalities to substantially improve community infrastructure to expand the provision of free basic services like water, sanitation and electricity.
Secondly, there is a serious challenge to improve implementation capacity. I am sure that members will realise that under Project Consolidate we have been raising this problem of limited capacity within municipalities.
In line with the statements made by Minister Fraser-Moleketi, as we debate here today, the Minister in the Presidency is in India and I had the honour of being approached to act for him. He is engaged in finding means of co- operating even beyond the borders of our country to find the necessary skills and capacity for implementation. Of course, we commend the hon member who has taken it upon himself to be involved in the mobilisation of those people who have skills. [Time Expired.]
Ms C C SEPTEMBER: Chairperson, I want to thank the Minister. My follow-up deals with the following. The roll-out of infrastructure has been acknowledged to be quite an impediment to implementing the water services and of course the water resources too.
As you stated, over the MTEF period, monies have been set aside for infrastructure. How would the establishment of a national water resource infrastructure agency address the needs so that the targets that have been set aside could be met?
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, I want to thank the hon member. Much as the infrastructure agency and the meeting of the targets are not necessarily directly related; they are, however, not mutually exclusive. The main thinking behind the establishment of an agency is that the agency will be able to raise funds from the bond markets. In other words, the funding will not come from the fiscus so that government will have funds that could be used for water supply and other basic services.
If the responsibility of raising funds for this required infrastructure is shifted to an agency, government will then be able to do other things that it would not be able to do if it were to fund the infrastructure development from the fiscus only.
Some of these projects will have a direct impact on the targets. If you look at the construction of dams, for example, in an area where water is much further from the communities, and the water source is the river, you have to find a way of ensuring that you store that water and reticulate it so that it can reach the communities and that would be the direct impact that such infrastructure development would have on the targets. But some of these projects would not necessarily have a direct impact.
Ms J A SEMPLE: Chairperson, in her reply the hon Minister acknowledged the problem in attaining the targets set for your department due to lack of implementation by local government and we thank you for that.
Has the Minister considered the transfer of officials from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to help in local government structures, which are battling to implement the targets? If the Minister is considering doing that, does it mean she is taking personal responsibility for implementing these targets within these said timeframes?
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, I think taking responsibility is a collective responsibility given that the function of the delivery of basic services is the function of the provincial development at local government.
So, it is not necessarily the Department of Water Affairs, despite the fact that we are the sector leader and we have the responsibility. We are part of that collective working together with the provincial and local governments.
The issue that you are raising about the transfer of personnel, yes, we are in the process of doing that and yes, it is a very slow process because you are dealing with human beings whom you have to resettle from where they are located in other areas.
More often than not, those areas are the far-flung areas of our country and people become very reluctant to move from the areas of comfort to those areas that are far-flung. So, that is the problem that we have here. We are dealing with human beings and we have to respect their rights and go softly in terms of handling this very complicated matter.
Provision of potable water and sanitation by district municipalities
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Mr M W Sibuyana (IFP) asked the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry:
(1) Whether any funds have been made available to district municipalities and agencies for the provision of potable water and sanitation; if not, why not; if so, what amount(s) have been made available;
(2) whether her department has any mechanisms in place to ensure that the funds are utilised for their intended purpose; if not, why not; if so, what mechanisms;
(3) whether there are any performance incentives for the agencies and municipalities in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? N1881E
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, I think I am earning my small salary today. The answer to the first part of the question: Except for R139 million, which is to be phased out this financial year, no funds are made available by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry for the physical provisioning of potable water and sanitation to district municipalities and agencies.
Funds for water supply and sanitation infrastructure are made available through the municipal infrastructure grant programme, administered by the Department of Provincial and Local Government.
The funds allocated to district and other municipalities are annually published in the Division of Revenue Act. The figures in respect of the municipal infrastructure grant allocations are, as follows: In terms of the financial year 2005-06, R2 958 million has been allocated to municipalities for water supply and sanitation services of which R200 million is for bucket eradication; and for 2006-07, R3 204 million has been earmarked to municipalities for water supply and sanitation services, of which R400 million is for bucket eradication. For the financial year 2007-08, R3 661 million has been earmarked to municipalities for water supply and sanitation services, of which R600 million is for bucket eradication, and for the 2008-09 financial year, R3 524 has been earmarked for water supply and sanitation services.
But these figures exclude the equitable share allocation, which is a non- conditional fund. As funds are directly transferred to municipalities via the National Treasury and the Department of Provincial and Local Government, our department has no direct control to ensure that funds are utilised for the intended purpose.
However, we have a monitoring role that we have to play as a sector leader, or as a sector department, to ensure that there is delivery of the services in line with the allocation that goes to those municipalities. My department is a key role-player as far as that is concerned, although we don’t have total control on ensuring adherence to conditions, but it is an area that we are working on, as we have just approved for consultation a strategy to regulate and monitor the municipalities and their performance.
Furthermore, the department has initiated a pro-active planning and engagement process, via water services development planning, as well as viability studies. [Time expired.]
Mr M W SIBUYANA: Madam Chair, hon Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, in view of what we saw on our oversight visit, the failures of the municipalities and where some of the officials are suspended, is the department still willing to distribute funds to such municipalities? If so, what yardstick is the department going to use in order to see to it that funds are not used in a manner that is not intended by the department?
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, Project Consolidate has exposed us to experiences of the kind that you have referred to, but I am sure the hon member will appreciate that it is mainly the Department for Provincial and Local Government that is responsible, and legally so, to deal with offences by either politicians or officials within municipalities as they occur. It is the Department for Provincial and Local Government that is legally able to deal with such matters.
However, we are not necessarily looking at punitive measures. We are looking at giving support, but also at helping in terms of strengthening the capacity of those municipalities, because there is no way that we can withdraw the funding just because something is not going right in municipalities.
What we need to do, as government, is that we need to ensure that these services are taken to the people and that we deliver them at a faster pace. We will deal with whatever problem exists and whatever obstacle there is will be removed so that we move faster in terms of delivering services to our people.
We have a constitutional obligation to ensure that all South Africans have access to basic services. So, we have a responsibility to carry that out. I thank you.
Ms N E GCWABAZA: Madam Chairperson, I want to thank the Minister. Minister, what assistance has the department been able to render to municipalities through Project Consolidate to enable them to deliver the much-needed service of water and sanitation at local level?
Secondly, how will the Intergovernmental Act assist Dwaf to have a co- operative relationship with municipalities? Thank you.
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chair, the assistance that we would be able to give is that of helping with the planning, especially the planning for the delivery of water services. We actually look at what we are able to do immediately, as the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, within the context of our own responsibilities. So we looked at whether those municipalities have planned for water services, because in some municipalities you will find that there is even a problem with regard to the planning. So we have been helping as far as that is concerned.
Otherwise, we work within the arrangement of the interministerial committee, which brings together the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, the Minister of Minerals and Energy and all of those Ministries that deal with basic services. But, as we speak, we are very much involved in writing a strategy that will help us deliver the basic services at a faster pace. So, that is how we have helped the situation in the municipalities.
Mev D VAN DER WALT: Agb Voorsitter, Minister, ek gaan my vraag in Afrikaans vra. Ons weet almal dat dosyne plaaslike besture swak geadministreer word. Die meeste beskik nie oor die nodige, bekwame, opgeleide en hardwerkende personeel nie. Wetende dat dit die geval is, wentel u tog baie van die funksies van u departement af na plaaslike besture.
Die sukses van u departement en uself hang dus af van die mate van dienslewering deur die munisipaliteite. Watter stappe gaan u doen om te sorg dat ons mense die nodige, skoon, lopende water en sanitasie ontvang in elke munisipaliteit in die land, en gaan u verantwoordelikheid aanvaar waar dinge moontlik skeef sou loop? (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, Minister, I shall put the question in Afrikaans. We all know that dozens of local authorities are poorly administered. Many do not have the necessary competent, trained and diligent personnel at their disposal. Knowing that that is the case, you still devolve many of the functions of your department to these local authorities.
Your success and that of your department therefore depends upon the degree of service delivery by these municipalities. What steps will you take to ensure that the people receive the necessary clean running water and sanitation in each municipality throughout the country, and would you accept responsibility should things go wrong?]
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chair, let me correct that. I did not choose to devolve this responsibility to municipalities. Municipalities are water services authorities. They are given the power to take up those functions by the Constitution. But as a sector leader I have a responsibility to monitor their performance in the delivery of those functions.
As I said earlier on, we have just launched three strategies to give support to municipalities, to monitor them and to regulate them. As we speak, they are out for public consultation. So, that is where we come in as the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. But again, this must be understood in the context of the arrangement of Cabinet where we work as clusters. So, the overlap between my department and the Department for Provincial and Local Government is well taken care of in the context of the cluster system that exists within Cabinet.
Rev K R J MESHOE: Chairperson, I want to thank the hon Minister. Minister, when you were addressing residents at the special sitting of the NCOP in Nkowankowa outside Tzaneen, about two weeks ago, you were reported to have told residents that only R40 million of the R1,2 billion that have been made available for the provision of water and sanitation for the communities was spent. This translates to only three per cent of the allocated amount. The reason for this underspending was said to be a lack of capacity in local authorities to deliver to the people of the province.
What, specifically, is government doing to strengthen capacity in local authorities, and also, what is government doing to ensure that municipal managers are competent enough to spend the money that is made available?
Secondly, what strategy is government going to use to ensure that municipalities have technical people to ensure that water that is given to people is of good quality and is monitored periodically?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): You are entitled to one question.
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chair, let me firstly correct the hon member by saying that the amount spent is five per cent of what was allocated. They were allocated R508 million, of which they were only able to spend R40 million. But we have an undertaking from the MEC for local government that most of the funding has already been committed, especially to those areas that are more stressed, because, as we speak, Limpopo is being hit hard by drought. So, the MEC is handling the matter, and we are hopeful that by the end of the financial year the expenditure would have increased.
But it is a matter that is of concern to me as it is an indication that we need to be closely monitoring the expenditure and the delivery of services in all municipalities. It is not a problem only in Limpopo, there are also other areas where there is the problem of capacity as far as expending the funds allocated to those municipalities. So, it is one of the areas of concern of government. It is an indication of a problem of capacity in relation to the managing of finances. Again, government is looking at that, in spite of the strategy of looking at capacity in local government.
With regard to the monitoring of the quality of water, that function is, unfortunately, supposed to be the function of local government. But we have begun to put together a strategy - a drinking water quality management strategy. We have put that together so that we can be able to monitor municipalities as they take responsibility to ensure that our water is quality water.
However, in the interim, given that we cannot delay this matter until we have completed writing the strategy, more clusters are reporting to us that they monitor their regions, and then they report to us on a monthly basis. [Time expired.]
Investigation into allegations in media regarding school in Gauteng
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Mr R S Ntuli (ANC) asked the Minister of Education:
(1) Whether, in light of the allegations made in the media concerning a certain school in Gauteng (details furnished), she or her department will conduct an investigation into the allegations; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) whether she or her department will take any steps against the school in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what steps? N2397E
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: The reply to the question is, as follows: With respect to the first one: No, my department will not investigate the school, but it is unlikely, if the allegations are correct, that those learners will pass the senior certificate examination.
Despite the fact that the school concerned is an independent institution, our examination regulations prescribe rules of good practice to be followed by all institutions writing the senior certificate examinations.
The Gauteng Provincial Examination Irregularity Committee handles all allegations of irregularities that occur in that province and is doing so with respect to the school. I will receive a comprehensive report of any examination irregularities prior to the final declaration and approval of matric results.
With respect to the second part, any alleged irregularities will be dealt with in terms of chapter 12 of the regulations for the conduct, administration and management of assessment in the senior certificate examinations. I thank you.
Mr R S NTULI: Madam Chairperson, the allegations of learners and teachers who falsify the continuous assessment portfolios of their learners - which has been proven to have occurred - has devalued the critical importance of the continuous assessment system as an enabling instrument for continuous evaluation.
What lessons can be learned from this painful experience or allegations as, certainly, these will have - as we have indicated - unpleasant consequences for the school in particular if proven to be so? How can we use this experience to strengthen our strategic monitoring of these independent schools in order to protect the integrity of our assessment and examination system? Thank you.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Minister, since the allegations aren’t spelled out in the question, I have no idea whether this is a follow- up or not. Do you wish to respond?
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Yes.
Chairperson, I think one of the things I hope we will learn as public representatives is that an allegation is merely that- an allegation. Only when it is proven to be correct and true is it then dealt with as a substantive matter. And I think we seem to almost act on a basis that an allegation is true.
So, I don’t believe that allegations devalue our system of education. I believe that actions that are detrimental to the honesty and integrity that should accompany the management of the school, which is reported in the newspaper and article that you provided to me, is something that certainly I would want to see upheld. I don’t think the continuous assessment system process is devalued by these allegations. I think schools must use continuous assessment; it is something that is used throughout the world in all education systems.
How should we use the experience? Certainly, we must strengthen our monitoring, not just over independent schools but of public schools as well. I think the whole evaluation and monitoring of the education system is an area in which we still need much more effort.
Mr G G BOINAMO: Neither the DA, the ANC nor parents condone a situation such as the one at Little Rock Christian Academy where teaching and learning were not occurring throughout the year, and the problem was detected when learners were writing end of year exams, and the revelation was done by the media.
Why didn’t the area manager and the subject advisers notice this problem earlier in the year? How do we know that the same is not occurring in other schools and what is the Minister doing in order to ensure that this does not recur? I thank you.
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Well, again, I stand a little puzzled. How do I ensure that something that has not been proven to have occurred does not reoccur? It would be ridiculous if something hasn’t happened. How do I ensure it doesn’t happen? No, hon Semple, you may move your lips as much as you want, but if something has not occurred, you can’t undo it.
However, in order to be kind to the hon member, let me say exactly what I have said: The evaluation and monitoring of schools and the practices must continue to be something that we strengthen. I don’t know why the area manager didn’t report the matter. I don’t know whether the matter occurred, but as I have said, the Gauteng department of education is already investigating, and once irregularities have been proven, the report will be provided to me. But, I will only get the report if there is substance to what is reported. [Interjections.]
Employment of teachers
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Dr S E M Pheko (PAC) asked the Minister of Education: (1) With reference to a media report (details furnished) that there are 32 886 vacancies for teachers, why are so many teachers (48 000) employed temporarily;
(2) whether she is taking any steps in this regard; if not, why not; if so, what steps? N2307E
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Thank you, Chairperson, allow me to begin by saying that I have been asked this question in the form of a written reply a number of times. I have answered on all occasions.
The answer I have given is that, with the exception of relief teachers, teachers on probation, and teachers filling a gap during an appointment process, the repeated employment of temporary teachers on a long-term basis is, in my view, an unfair labour practice. I have stated this in my reply, which is published in the 2 November’s written replies to the NCOP, and in my response to written questions by members of the NA.
With regard to the second part, we have taken steps to speed up the permanent appointment of teachers. Firstly, I have urged provinces to advertise all vacant posts, and that they should do this more frequently in a year; at least once a quarter. I have taken that step.
Secondly, the appointment of excess educators into matching vacancies will now be possible without going through the lengthy process of advertising, selection and appointment. This process had been a barrier to the appointment of teachers occupying temporary posts.
Thirdly, in future, a head of department will be able to convert the temporary appointment of an educator in a substantive vacant post into a permanent appointment, which had not been possible in terms of our law.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasise that the advertising, selection and appointment of educators is, in our current system, is a complex and lengthy process involving not only the employer, but also the school governing body and other institutions. However, let me repeat, there is no justification for the continued use of the term “temporary” in a situation where a teacher serves in a province for over 10 years or longer.
I believe this is unjustified and this practice must be resolved, as speedily as we can, by the various departments of education.
Mr N T GODI: Thank you, Comrade Minister. I want to concur with you in terms of the unfairness of the practice where a person serves as a permanent temporary teacher. On the number of occasions that I have come across it, it has had a negative effect in terms of the way in which these teachers are treated at schools. They have a constant fear of losing their jobs at the end of the year, and the constant renewal of their temporary status at the beginning of each year.
Unfortunately or fortunately, Minister, you have taken care of the three possible follow-ups that I have had. I think your answer was adequate. Thanks.
The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON: Hon Godi, that wasn’t the opportunity for a speech, it was an opportunity for a question. [Laughter.]
Ms M J J MATSOMELA: Thank you, Chair; thank you, Minister. The Minister’s response regarding the recruitment and appointment of teachers is enlightening us all to a host of complexities involved in keeping our schools adequately staffed, to ensure quality education to all our children.
Related to this, and at the core of the question, lies the issue of preparing teachers appropriately to educate our children. Could the Minister enlighten the House about any initiatives that the Department of Education has taken, to deal with the issue of teacher education, to ensure that there is a properly trained body of teachers from which to populate school staff rooms in the future? Thank you.
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Thank you, Deputy Chairperson. Before I directly respond to the member’s question, I would just like to clarify something for the edification of members. I think that we should all accept that Dr Pheko’s question really applies to the issue of frequency and duration of appointment of a person in what is constantly termed a temporary capacity. It is not the term “temporary” that we are complaining about, because we will always have temporary teachers.
If someone goes on accouchement leave or study leave, a person would replace him or her temporarily. But the practice in many provinces where we have had frequent, repeated appointments of individuals as temporary educators for, as I said, 10 or more years; that is what we are complaining about.
Let’s not assume that the use of a temporary teacher should be stopped in its entirety, because it is always a useful thing to have in an education system. I just thought it is important that we are not rejecting that term, rather the way it has manifested itself but in our system.
With respect to what we are doing with the preparation of teachers, clearly, one of the things we must do and have begun to do is to improve the training of educators. Members would have seen in the past few months that we have made better use, for example, of some of our university education faculties for the preparation of the National Curriculum Statement, with respect to Grade 10, in 2006. We have also used non- governmental organisations; teachers with experience and so on. There has been a better process of training in many provinces.
But the first prize would be to have a framework for continuous in-service development of educators, while they are already in the profession. We don’t yet have a scheme and framework for this, and we are working on it as part of the outcome of the ministerial committee on teacher education. Thank you.
Mr D H M GIBSON: Thank you, Chairperson. I applaud the hon Minister’s response concerning temporary teachers. I am very glad that after 11 years the penny has dropped with the government; that many of these people have been treated very unfairly.
Given the fact that there are some 48 000 temporary teachers, many of whom might have been appointed into posts - quite apart from a moral claim that they have had to those benefits - would the hon Minister agree with me that many of them might well have a civil claim for damages suffered by them because of a loss of medical and pension benefits, which they would otherwise have had if they had been appointed?
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: No, I would not believe that they have a claim of the kind suggested. I was wondering why an hon member of the legal profession would want to ask poor old me, a question on education, and now I see the legal bent.
Hon member, I think one of the things we must recognise is that when a person is appointed as a temporary teacher, they are appointed on a contract. This is a legal instrument that they attach themselves to. So, while we recognise the unfair practice, let us not create the impression that had not been due administrative procedures followed. It was followed.
My keen interest is, as I said, to ensure that we have an efficient, fair and just provision of educators within our system of education, and that the use of temporary teachers happens in every system of education throughout the world, for the purposes that I outlined earlier and not the kind of situation we have had for some time.
Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Thank you, Chairperson. This time I can attempt a question, because it is education. Hon Minister, now that you have just answered a question with a legal bent, there are cases involving, what we call “displaced” teachers. Their cases take some time to be resolved, something which exacerbates the problem of temporary teachers.
Wouldn’t you perhaps think of investigating all provinces, looking into such cases where schools will have displaced teachers, in fact, they are not even known where they are, but they are still earning a salary? What would you think could be done in solving such a problem?
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: I am afraid, Chairperson, “displaced” is a new term to me. I am not aware of such a category of teachers. However, with respect to persons who might be earning a salary or receiving funds from the education purse and who shouldn’t be, a number of processes have been put in place.
You would be aware, for example, in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape we have direct payment through cheque, to employees of the department, in an attempt to arrest the fraudulent practises of ghost educators. I think one of the things we also need to acknowledge, which I haven’t referred to, is the fact that we are also dealing with the messy residue of the past.
It is not easy to deal with all of these things quickly. So, it is not just a case of failure on the . . . I don’t know; hon members are going to do constituency work and many people will be asking them about temporary educators, and I hope that the hon member will be able to respond when he is asked this question in his constituency.
Hon Mpontshane and Chairperson, to conclude, certainly, we are improving our efficiency. You would have seen the publication of vacant posts by Limpopo, the advertising of thousands of posts by the Eastern Cape. So, we are moving to address all these things, which are complex matters, related to a whole range of issues that I couldn’t go into here. Thank you.
Errors in documents issued by Department of Home Affairs
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Ms S Rajbally (MF) asked the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) What are the statistics of errors made by her department between 2000 and 2005 in respect of identity documents, passports and visas;
(2) whether any measures are being introduced to reduce mistakes on these documents; if not, why not; if so, what measures? N2286E
The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: Chairperson, mistakes or errors in documents issued by the Department of Home Affairs are only brought to the attention of the Department of Home Affairs when applicants present their documents for rectification or correction. In other words, the department will only be aware of such errors upon inquiries by clients. Upon receipt of such enquiries the department immediately conducts an investigation on the validity of the claim and depending on the findings of the investigation, decides on the appropriate action to be taken. The department does not therefore classify or categorise such information according to the year of occurrence, because such classification is immaterial or irrelevant when considering rectifications or corrections of such mistakes.
The answer to question 2 is, yes. As members are aware, during April 2005 we have launched Lokisa Ditokomane Campaign in the Limpopo province, calling on members of the public to come forward for rectification of mistakes committed during application or processing of their documents, such as date of birth, spelling mistakes, fraud in respect of death or any other status. After considering a variety of factors in circumstances under which such errors were committed, we then decided that such rectifications would be effected at no cost for the applicants. This campaign was a follow- up, complementing the earlier campaign launched in August 2004 on “Check your marital status”. According to our records, we are satisfied that this campaign has been a resounding success.
To date we can report that at least 138 500 clients have responded positively to our call since the launch of the campaign. We have thus far managed to finalise 71 777 enquiries and the remainder is work in progress. I have therefore decided in the light of the significance of the campaign and the public response to extend it to the end of December 2005. We have also requested the department to increase our staff capacity to ensure the speedy finalisation of the outstanding cases.
Ms S RAJBALLY: Thank you, hon Minister, I want to place on record the close co-operation and assistance that my constituency office got from your respective offices with regard to clarifying these documents. There was a very serious case that came to us where a wrong document was given to someone and this person, for two years and nine months, withdrew pension although not qualified to do so. That has been rectified and that person is going to pay it back. Can you please tell us whether your campaign will go to all nine provinces in order to ascertain these kinds of problems that are experienced?
The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: Yes, it is a nationwide campaign. It is a national campaign. However, initially it took off very slowly. I guess it was a problem of communication from our side. I think right now it is taking off very well, because of the response we are getting from the public. The other problem which we have had in some of the provinces is, as I said, the problem of capacity from our staff to respond to some of the queries, which came from the public.
Mnu S S VUNDISA: Masihlalo, umbuzo oya phaya kuMphathiswa, okokuqala siyawuxhasa siyi-ANC umsebenzi wakhe omhle awenzileyo wokulungisa ezi ncwadi, umbozo wona uthi . . . (Translation of Xhosa paragraph follows.)
[Mr S S VUNDISA: Madam Chairperson, I have a direct question to the hon Minister. However, I would first like to express our support, as the ANC, for his sterling work with regards to the co-ordination of this documentation. The question is . . . ]
Can the Minister share with the House some of the key challenges and problems, experienced during the Lokisa Ditokomane Campaign?
The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: The biggest challenge we faced and which is a problem that belongs to the Department of Social Development is the challenge of people who are coming forward to query their own age, mainly because people would like to increase their age as a result of the age restriction, which prevents them from getting their pension grant.
You find some of the people really literally trying to persuade you to increase their age, rather than reduce it. These days you don’t reduce people’s age but rather advocate for it to be increased. However, a number of people wouldn’t want to be made to feel older than they are. People came forward to say that they were old and that is our major challenge. I am sure public representatives are familiar with this problem. We do have a way of verifying this and that has been the biggest challenge for the Department of Home Affairs. A number of people have left the offices of the department disappointed.
In some cases it has been very easy to deal with their problems and we were able to give them assistance and support. In some cases, such as the 25 000, we were not able to help people. It is in situations where people really expect us to literally change their dates of birth. In fact, what people forget is that we have records. We are the custodians of the Population Register of the country, so we are able to go back to the records and actually discover that people’s age is being changed for purposes of benefiting from the pension grants.
Ms S V KALYAN: Thank you, Chairperson. Minister, the Auditor-General yesterday referred to the Department of Home Affairs as South Africa’s ``sickest’’ department. Home Affairs employees have over the past three years taken a 162 648 days of sick leave and the cost to the department is R36,1 million, while the cost in respect of service delivery to the public at large is incalculable. Clearly, the high percentage of sick leave is a major contributory factor to the shockingly poor service at many home affairs offices. How much longer must the public wait for an improved service from your department? What are you going to do to cure your department of the label of being an ailing and sick department?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Minister, you may wish to respond but it is not a supplementary question.
The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: That is a new question. I am sure being the psychiatrist you are, you could actually render advice on how I should remedy that situation. [Interjections.]
Mr S N SWART: Thank you, Chair. Hon Minister, you referred to certain errors made during the “Check your marriage campaign” and as members of the portfolio committee we are aware that many women were not even aware that there had been those marriages committed fraudulently, in order for people to obtain permits to come to South Africa. That was a great success. Is it the intention of the department to continue to see whether there are any other errors in such marriages during further campaigns in this regard?
The MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: My view is that we should continuously engage in encouraging our people to come forward and check their status, without really engaging in campaigns all the time. We do still find young people who discover every day, particularly young men now, that they are married to young women whom they have never met. I think it is the responsibility of all of us as South Africans to continuously and, in the same way that we check our HIV-status, and consciously check and verify our own marital status – not only for the purposes of checking whether we are not married to people we have never met, but also to check whether your status is correctly recorded. You may actually discover at a time when one of the partners is deceased, that in fact the status is not correctly reflected.
This is what has happened in other cases, particularly elderly people in the former TBVC states. They found themselves in situations where an elderly person died and family came forward to get a death certificate and they suddenly discovered that their parents were not recorded as married partners. And at that point, we then have to start by registering the parents as married partners and then provide you with a death certificate.
It is important for South Africans to consistently come and verify their status and also the status of our own parents, because of the systems that we have had in the past. It may be that in the process of transferring the Population Register to the computerised system, HANIS, it could have been that some information was left out.
Job creation in Working for Water Programme
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Ms M M Gumede (ANC) asked the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry:
What steps does her department intend taking to create work in the Working for Water Programme, together with exit plans, in the Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal? N2395E
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Deputy Chair, the answer to the question is: The threat of invasive species to life and livelihoods in KwaZulu-Natal has been shown to be far greater than was originally feared. Through the commitment of the Premier and his Cabinet in that province, the Working for Water Programme has entered into a very significant partnership with the KwaZulu-Natal provincial department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs. This has seen a collective increase in the budget for work in the province from a current level of R44 million per annum, to R128 million and increasing to R160 million in the 2007-08 financial year.
This partnership, called KZN Working for Water, will see a massive increase in the fight against invasive alien plants, with all the associated benefits for employment and empowerment in the region.
The programme will focus on the full spectrum of invasive alien species, but a very strong focus will be on disproportionate threats posed by invasive alien plants. This is a triumph of co-operative governance, which also has important links with the Working on Fire and the Working for Wetland programmes in the region.
The situation in the Northern Cape is a matter for deep concern. The invasions by the Prosopis species, in particular, are a massive threat to water security, biological diversity, agriculture and job security in the region, especially given that the Northern Cape happens to be the driest province in our country. This we know will be significantly compounded by the climate change, where increases in carbon dioxide levels will exacerbate the problems caused by these invasions. The planning is being done to ascertain the response that is necessary for the region.
As with all invasives, the creation of jobs in combating invasives is only part of the equation. In the end, the far bigger impact on employment will be the jobs lost if the invasive plants are not kept under control. The current budget for invasive work in the Northern Cape is R19 million.
An exit strategy is being modified in the Working for Water Programme. A key to this will be the provisions in the regulations that are being developed for both the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act and the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act. Thank you, Madam Chair. [Time expired.]
Mnu D V MABUYAKHULU: Mangibonge mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe ngempendulo yakho ehluba udlubu ekhasini. Ezinye zalezi zithombo zokufika zanda ngokukhulu ukushesha lokhu, zivale noma yisiphi isikhala lapho abantu basemaphandleni abahluphekayo bedlisa khona imfuyo yabo ngakho bafuna ukuthi bazibulale-ke lezi zihlahla zokufika. Ngabe mhlonishwa uma beza kuwe noma eMnyangweni wakho sebezihlanganisile ngaphansi komgomo kahulumeni kaVukuzenzele bezofuna amathuluzi okusebenza nomuthi wokuzibulala, bangasizakala yini? (Translation of Zulu paragraph follows.)
[Mr D V MABUYAKHULU: Thank you, hon Minister, for your informative response. Some of these foreign seeds self-pollinate rapidly and spread, thereby minimising the grazing land where the rural poor people keep their animals, which is why they want to destroy these foreign trees. Hon Minister, will the people get assistance if they come together and approach your Department, in terms of the government programme called “Vukuzenzele”, to apply for tools and chemicals to destroy these trees?]
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Madam Chair. . . Njengoko siyazi ukuba le nkqubo ye ‘working for water’ yinkqubo yokususa indlala. Singabajonga abantu abaneenzame ezilolo hlobo, kodwa kufuneka basebenze phantsi kwemigaqo yenkqubo le iyonke nje kuzwelonke. Siyazama kwakhona ukuyilungisa le nkqubo ukuze abantu bethu bakwazi ukuxhamla nabo bayenze ngokwabo isebenze.
Siyayazi njengokuba sithetha nje abantu abaninzi bayasebenza nje phantsi kwayo. Ngoko ke amalinge anje ngalawo ke uwaxelayo Mabuyakhulu obekekileyo, singawajonga ukwenzela into yokokuba abantu bethu baphume endlaleni. Nathi sileli sebe lamanzi nezamahlathi sifuna libonakale igalelo lokuncedisa abantu baphume endlaleni. Ndiyabulela. (Translation of Xhosa paragraphs follows.)
[As we know, the Working for Water campaign is aimed at poverty reduction. We could find out about people who are already involved in such efforts, but they would have to be incorporated into the national programme. The programme is currently under review in order that our people should benefit from it, and that would prove its effectiveness.
It is a known fact that there are people from the communities who are already involved with the programme. We welcome your suggestions, hon Mabuyakhulu, and we will look into them as we hope that they would be able to lift our people out of poverty. The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry wants to ensure that its contribution towards alleviating poverty becomes effective. Thank you.]
Ms J A SEMPLE: Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, hon Minister for your reply. I wish you knew the answer for the original question for the other seven provinces, but the Minister probably doesn’t have that information with her right now. What I would like to ask is: What role does the Working for Water Programme play in the Expanded Public Works Programme and in achieving its key objectives, namely the creation of one million temporary jobs between 2004 and 2009, and in providing training for participants that would enable them to gain meaningful employment after the programme?
The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: The programme is for poverty alleviation. Therefore, we are trying to create jobs in that context –it being a poverty alleviation programme. It is a two-pronged programme. While creating jobs, we are also looking at empowering the people that are working in the projects for managerial skills, administrative skills and all of such skills so that when they leave the project they are able to embark on other economic activities that would help them.
However, in terms of the programme contributing to job creation, we are looking at a strategy that will help us improve the capacity of the programme to create jobs. Presently, there is a strategy that we are putting together. The initial indication from the research is that the programme has great potential, especially on the by-products to create jobs. For instance, the study that we have conducted has indicated that if we were to be able to establish a factory for the beneficiation of these by- products in the Eastern Cape, we could be able to create about 20 000 jobs. We are looking at that. We are taking it very seriously. We think that it has great potential. We are pursuing that as the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.
We could come back and report on the strategy. I do have a draft copy of that strategy, but we are still working on it. Thank you, Madam Deputy Chair.
Improvement of primary school literacy and numeracy levels
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Adv A H Gaum (ANC) asked the Minister of Education:
What steps does she or her department intend taking to improve South Africa’s primary school literacy and numeracy levels as highlighted in a certain report (details furnished)? N2398E
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Deputy Chairperson, again, I have had quite an avalanche of questions about this particular report and as I have said in my responses to those questions, I haven’t as yet received the final grade 6 systemic evaluation report. There are a number of things that I think we need to pay attention to, with respect to systemic evaluation.
Firstly, systemic evaluation data assesses the performance of the system as a whole rather than the performance of individual pupils, teachers or schools. Secondly, improving the performance of learners in reading and maths is one of the key priorities of my Ministry.
The Department of Education has already designed programmes to improve performance in these areas. One such programme entails providing each primary school in our country with at least 100 fiction books for the foundation phase of schooling. This will be attached to a reading strategy to ensure that these books are indeed read by our children and that they learn to read. We are also implementing a writing project in a number of selected schools and strengthening teacher training programmes with regard to literacy and numeracy teaching.
Thirdly, this particular study is the first study ever conducted in our country about the state of learner performance at grade 6. It is thus a baseline study. The reason for this kind of study, as baseline, will be known to many members in this House.
Quality assurance in our schools has been contaminated by the authoritarian and heavy-handed nature of apartheid education, and in particular the legacy of suspicion attached to the inspectorate that kept tabs on what was taught in our schools. In fact, hatred of the inspectorate system led to its collapse in the 1990s and thus no other quality assurance system was put in its place. Despite our admirable drive and achievements in terms of equity in education, our schools generally remain unaccountable for the learning performance of their pupils – apart from the matric exam.
Systemic evaluation is therefore the beginning of a way to find a new method of accountability and quality assurance. I am glad that we are now beginning to have some data on quality and outcomes, and it is my intention to systematically identify practical remedies that will address the gaps that are suggested in anecdotal reports on this study.
Adv A H GAUM: Chair, I’d like to thank the hon Minister for the comprehensive answer and for the fact that the government had the courage to undertake a national evaluation of learner performance. I am particularly impressed also that one of the key areas of focus was apparently the language of learning and teaching.
In an article in City Press, 9 October 2005, Caiphus Kgosana refers to research by Cathleen Heugh of the HSRC. She found that children for whom English is a second or even a third language are being forced to learn in this language, long before they become proficient to do so, and that children need between six and eight years to learn a second language before they can use it as a medium of instruction.
It is also well known that the best way to master a second language is through and by means of the mother tongue. Given the reality that mother tongue education is, although not the sole component as the Minister also referred to yesterday, an important component towards improved literacy and numeracy, will the comprehensive response referred to in the Minister’s answer perhaps also include recommendations on the national extension of mother tongue education beyond grade 3 and, if so, what are the details?
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Chairperson, again, I should thank the hon member. It is a very important question and of course Cathleen Heugh and her colleagues, among whom is Neville Alexander, are respected language educationists in our country and do, I think, through their work, raise a number of important points that we must pay attention to.
I have stressed the need for us to improve the use of mother tongue in teaching children, particularly, I believe, at the early stages of learning. This has been policy in our country but the fact that policy exists doesn’t mean that policy is implemented properly. One of the things that we have not really assessed is the language ability of educators in the language that they have to teach in that. Therefore, I do think that part of the teacher development strategy should be to develop a closer affinity and understanding of the relationship between language and learning in South Africa. We have tended to neglect this aspect and it is something that we have to attend to.
I believe we must promote better use of mother tongue education. I do believe you would have a great difficulty saying that all our schools should suddenly become single-medium mother tongue schools. I think many parents wouldn’t want that approach but better use of the mother tongue and greater access to all the languages of South Africa is something that I hope we will achieve in our education system.
HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S BOTHA): Hon Dudley, I regret that our time allocated for questions has actually expired. Outstanding replies received will be printed in Hansard and proceedings will now be suspended for the supper break.
Business suspended at 18:26 and resumed at19:00.
DEBATE ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF TOLERANCE: TOLERANCE A KEY TO BUILDING A CARING SOCIETY
Mr G SOLOMON: Chairperson, alarmed by the current rise in acts of intolerance, violence, terrorism, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, racism, anti-Semitism, exclusion, marginalisation and discrimination directed at national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, refugees, migrant workers, immigrants and vulnerable groups within society, as well as acts of violence and intimidation committed against individuals exercising their freedom of opinion and expression always threaten the consolidation of peace and democracy, both nationally and internationally, and are obstacles to development.
Unesco resolves to remind member states to develop and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction to race, gender, language, national origin or disability, and to combat intolerance not only as a cherished principle, but also a necessity for peace and economic and social advancement of all peoples.
All this happened in 1996, the year of the adoption of our democratic Constitution. Therefore it is with a sense of national pride, today, on the International Day of Tolerance, that we celebrate the wisdom and foresight of the founding fathers of the ANC, who, four decades before the Unesco resolution, created a document at the Congress of the People at Kliptown, near Johannesburg, containing in principle everything envisaged by the Unesco resolution; that is the Freedom Charter. A document destined to change the course of history; changing South Africa from an intolerant society, caused by apartheid, to a peaceful, democratic society.
Our country, at the time, was in the grip of the worst intolerance towards people other than white. A situation frequently likened to a powder keg, ready to explode at any time. It was only the culture of tolerance in our African society that saved the day.
A major theme of South African history is the intolerant and violent action amongst people of diverse origins, languages, technologies, knowledge systems, ideologies and social systems meeting on South African soil. The society was characterised by forced removals, dispossession and wars, and a very high level of intolerance. The worst part of this history is the creation of a system of government with institutions serving as instruments of domination, with an extremely high element of coercion resulting in the richly stratified society based on race and class.
The documented history of our country became concerned with achievements of one race – the dominant white race – and their relations with one another. The experiences of others were dealt with as peoples who constituted problems for the white race and the capitalist class. Hence we had a native problem, a coloured problem and an Indian problem in South Africa.
Communication between these other communities, whether communities of religion, class, language or race, or a combination of these was conditioned by the assumptions and prejudices of these individual communities, escalating in tolerance, even amongst these communities.
The founding fathers of the ANC, with the conscious intention of changing the course of history, created a vision to be kept alive for future generations. A vision borne out of a culture that Xhosa people call izithethe, namely the collective memory of those who have laid the foundations of ages past, present and yet to come. It is the message of faith, of hope and of glory. It is an expectation of this kind that resounds in the words of the Freedom Charter:
We, the people of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people.
This is on a pamphlet; it is a revolutionary document, the Freedom Charter. That our people have been robbed of their birthright to land, liberty and peace by a form of government founded on injustice and inequality;
that our country will never be prosperous or free until our people live in brotherhood [or sisterhood], enjoying equal rights and opportunities;
that only a democratic state, based on the will of all the people, can secure to all the birthright without distinction of colour, race, sex or belief;
and therefore, we the people of South Africa, black and white together equals, countrymen and brothers [and sisters] adopt this Freedom Charter;
and we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.
In February 1990, when former President Nelson Mandela and the ANC leadership walked their first steps to freedom, from a very tough past to an even tougher future, the first message was a message of reaffirmation of the most important principle of the Freedom Charter, namely a call for unity of all South Africans, tolerance, reconciliation and nation-building. After all, this freedom was won by all freedom-loving South Africans, pulling together, drawing on a complexity of different traditions, cultures and religions to sustain a revolution that has endured for centuries.
The challenge that faced the ANC, and is still facing us today, is the building of a caring, democratic and equitable society through partnerships between the state and civil society. Through the course of our history, our society consisted of a mosaic of different races, cultures and languages. This is the reality we have to accept and have to tolerate.
In this respect we shall continue to differ. These differences will not disappear if we are ever to unite in a single nation with a national pride. The differences must be accommodated within our growing unity and our growing unity must be shaped in a manner that allows for these differences.
I wish to be very clear in my understanding of the concept of tolerance. It is not a concession to the Other, who is different. It is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our country’s cultures and forms of expressions, and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge - particularly of the Other - openness, communication and freedom of thought, conscience and belief.
Tolerance is harmony in difference. It is not only a moral duty; it is the political and legal requirement. Understood and accepted in this way, tolerance will be a virtue that makes peace possible in this country, contributing to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of peace. Tolerance is the responsibility that upholds human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The critical question to ask ourselves is:, After 10 years of freedom and democracy, are we making sufficient progress allowing society to not become intolerant with their government? My answer is yes, we have made phenomenal progress, politically, creating the necessary political structures to build a progressive, developmental, caring state. However, some of the economic realities, including the stark poverty, lack of basic needs and the income and wealth disparities between the first and second economy remain a major challenge to us. [Interjections.]
It is in this respect of our reality, the economic one, that we have the potential to breed intolerance. If we can address this properly we will certainly succeed in creating the progressive, caring society that we want. The way forward, I believe, would be in building the tolerant and caring society by, firstly, speeding up service delivery of basic needs; secondly, to gain the confidence and trust of our people while showing signs of intolerance with the slow pace of delivery of basic needs.
According to the HSRC almost 80% of people in South Africa trust the religious communities and their institutions. This is not because of the God-option, it is that in the case of the highest total of all institutions surveyed, they have the largest developed networks spreading into all corners of South Africa. Firstly, they have the following principles and values, which are commonly shared by most religious traditions and accepted by all - genuine democrats in our country - who believe in a just and an equitable society that protects the rights of the weak, the poor and the marginalised. [Interjections.]
Secondly, they are caring and are reaching out to uplift support and improve the quality of life for all South Africans, as well as visitors living amongst us, and are tolerant of differences. Thirdly, they support our Constitution, the Parliament and our political structures, guarding against the misuse of power. Fourthly, they are a moral and honest society that opposes fraud, corruption and a culture of enrichment.
This perception is highlighted by Dr Zola Skweyiya, a champion of the caring society concept, Minister of Social Development and community development, and I quote: “The government values the contribution and role the religious sector has played in the past in bringing education, medical services and support to neglected areas, as well as the struggle against apartheid. Now we face a new struggle,” he says.
We must build effective partnerships between state, the religious sector and other institutions of civil society to launch a national campaign to create a caring society in South Africa. The religious communities are known for their networks, reaching rural parts of South Africa.
Thank you very much. [Time expired.][Applause.]
Mr R COETZEE: Thank you, Chairperson, in response to the previous speaker, the question isn’t whether South Africa is more tolerant than it was under apartheid, the question is whether South Africa today is more tolerant than it was 10 years ago under President Mandela. [Interjections.] The answer is no. The second question is: Are we more tolerant today than we will be in 10 years time? And I fear that the answer to that question is yes.
Tolerance is one of those values originally associated with liberalism and consequently also with liberal democracy to which lip service is routinely and almost universally paid. [Interjections.] But like many liberal values, which have gained a general acceptance, there is very often a stark divergence between theory and practice. That is because tolerance is easy most of the time, because most of the time the views and practises of others do not offend or threaten, but the value of tolerance cannot simply be measured when others are easy to tolerate, but rather when they are hard to stomach. And when are they hard to stomach? When they offend, when they insult and above all when they threaten to deprive us of our position and our power.
In the same way a commitment to democracy is not proven when you win elections, but rather when you lose them. Which is one reason why the ANC’s commitment to democracy is not yet a given. One of the most persistent themes in Martin Meredith’s latest book, The State of Africa, is the quite complete lack of any real acceptance or attachment of tolerance in Africa since independence. The intolerance of descent and difference in postcolonial Africa is perhaps best exemplified by the Liberian Charles Taylor’s astonishing and quite unforgettable election slogan: “I killed your Ma, I killed your Pa, but you will vote for me.” He won.
What about our country? Some of the most intolerant behaviour in South Africa takes place right here in the NA. No lesser somebody than the Chairperson of the ANC’s caucus has stood at this very podium and accused the Leader of the Opposition of treason, because his analysis differs from hers. [Interjection.] Sorry, on a point of order, Chairperson, somebody said they still accuse the Leader of the Opposition . . .
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE LARGEST MINORITY PARTY: On a point of order, Chairperson, the hon Mrs Mentor has just said she still accuses the Leader of the Opposition of treason.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Order! Order please. We are just listening to the order.
CHIEF WHIP OF THE LARGEST MINORITY PARTY: I ask you to rule that this is unparliamentary and that she should withdraw that comment or withdraw from the House.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, I am not sure, I did not hear you saying it, but it is alleged that you said so. So, if indeed you did, could you withdraw that? If you did.
Mr R JANKIELSOHN: Go back to Zimbabwe!
Ms M P MENTOR: Chairperson, I still hold my view that, if you call people to . . . [Interjections.]
CHIEF WHIP OF THE LARGEST MINORITY PARTY: Chairperson, on a point of order, this hon member must withdraw her comment and she mustn’t now make a speech confirming that she still holds those views about the Leader of the Opposition.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Yes, thank you very much. Hon Ms Mentor, can you just either withdraw . . .
Ms M P MENTOR: . . . or walk out. {Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): No, just withdraw the statement.
Mr R JANKIELSOHN: Go back to Zimbabwe! Walk out . . .
Ms M P MENTOR: I still share the same view that I expressed months ago. Now, you tell me what to do. [Interjections.]
Mr R COETZEE: She withdrew it months ago.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, are you prepared to withdraw the statement as heard by other people, or not? [Interjections.] Can you just withdraw the statement please?
Ms M P MENTOR: I won’t withdraw, Chairperson. [Interjections.] I am sorry, I would rather walk out. [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Well, hon member, you have decided to walk out and so, do as you said you would do. [Interjections.] Order, hon members! We are continuing with the debate. Can you come to order then? There are members who are not coming to order, so I am just calling them to order and they are not listening, so can you please proceed.
Mr R COETZEE: Chairperson, I will. I am not sure I need to proceed. I think the debate is over. I think the Chairperson of the ANC caucus has concluded the debate. I think we agree that the ANC has a fundamental lack of tolerance. [Applause.]
But it’s not just her. Because one of the stupidest outbursts heard in this House since 1994 was actually made by the ANC’s Chief Whip who suggested that the entire DA should be tried for crimes against humanity. Black members of the DA’s caucus are routinely denigrated by ANC members, because they dare to differ from the ANC’s truth and it is a disgrace! It is time somebody told you that. [Interjections.]
The transition from an intolerant attitude to intolerant behaviour is not a difficult one. The ANC leadership in this House should consider carefully the implications of its intolerance. It’s not a joke; it’s not a game. It’s a democracy and it’s a country that deserves a tolerant leadership. [Interjections.]
Which brings me to the state of the ANC at the present time, because this is also relevant. The civil war that is raging inside the ruling party right now is a direct consequence of intolerance. [Interjections.] Codified in its 1997 congress under the name of democratic centralism. I have no doubt that the South African people can understand why so many in the ruling party have had enough of Mr Mbeki’s authoritarian dissent-crushing style, but what people cannot understand is how this has led to support for Jacob Zuma. The ANC is always banging on about the depth of its leadership. Well, can’t you do better than him?
I think it’s fair to say that tolerance is not a given in our society or our politics and yet a caring society, such as the one that the President once spoke about in this House, depends above all on the respect for the intrinsic value of people, a belief that every individual should be given the right and the space to be themselves. The law can provide us with the right, but only tolerance can provide us with the space. And tolerance requires courage and humility and practice. Let the practice begin! [Applause.]
Mr M B SKOSANA: Thank you, Chairperson. The US maintain that the decision to jettison the Monroe Doctrine of isolationism was motivated by a national desire to advance international peace, democracy and the free market.
The European colonial powers maintained that their industrial and social revolutions, which resulted in the wide scramble to colonise and subjugate the people of less developed countries was intended to promote international development through socialisation of wealth.
The former Soviet Union’s exportation of social and economic revolutions are said to have been undertaken for the freedom of the poor and oppressed people of the world. Resistance to these forms of expansionism caused severe diplomatic and economic sanctions and at times military intolerance. Rightly or wrongly, this is not my argument.
Those countries who acquiesced opened their nations to the mercy of brutal international economic and ideological market forces, spawning a series a resource, ethnic and religious wars or conflicts, if you like, around the world. The failure of some of the postcolonial African nation states to deal effectively with the negative legacies of the colonial boundaries and administrations continues the violent expressions of intolerance, despite interventions by the OAU and now the AU to bring about regional and continental peace and stability.
Three years ago during his visit to South Africa, the former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Gerhard Schröder, remarked about the legacy of our own political and economic intolerance as South Africans. He said he sees two different sides of the same street. And perhaps for South Africans to maybe want to build a caring society these occasions should also give South Africans the opportunity to make a hard and remedial reflection on the source of our brand of growing political, racial and social intolerance. Not only between black and white, but also between black and black.
As it is, it is starting to render our African humanitarian interventions suspect and it is indeed putting unbearable strain on the centre of our own society. I thank you.
Ms N C NKABINDE: Chairperson and hon members, if tolerance is indeed the key to building a caring society we must be deeply concerned about the state of not only our own society, but also of the entire global village.
South Africa still suffers from instances of intolerance on racial, religious or sexual grounds, but luckily this seems to be less and less frequent. However, the intolerance towards immigrants and incidents of xenophobia seems to be increasing. This is something we need to guard against.
Equality and tolerance under democracy is unequivocal and there should never be any exception to that. On the international scene the picture is far more disturbing. The continuing campaign that equates Islam and people with Middle-Eastern traits with terrorism continues unabated. It has lead, for instance, to the fatal police shooting of an innocent young Brazilian man in London.
Intolerance driven by fear is dangerous and the current climate provides all too easy justifications for unwarranted intolerance. The spectre of narrow-minded right-wing nationalism and its extremist backlash among hectic minorities in Europe poses fresh questions about how nations determine their identities without resorting to intolerance and ethnic fear mongering. It is truly disturbing to watch the dream of tolerance burning in the streets of Paris . . . [Time expired.][Applause.]
Rev K R J MESHOE: Chair, the ACDP believes that the components and ingredients that make this key to building a caring society called tolerance must be durable so that what we are trying to build will also be durable. As it is not every available material that can be used to build a strong enough structure, likewise it is not every kind of behaviour and attitude that will be conducive to building a caring society.
There are principles that stood the test of time that must always be before us as we attempt to rebuild our societies into caring ones. I say rebuild, because we used to have caring societies in this nation when the word tolerance was not politicised. When we had caring societies, love and respect for God, self and one’s neighbour were pillars of our society. That was the time when Africans believed that every child is my child, I can therefore help nurture them and correct them if necessary. It was a time when the public could separate right from wrong and good from evil.
We believe, in order to build a truly caring society we must help restore respect for God and for one another and promote tested values and principles that will make our building a success story. I thank you.
Mrs W S NEWHOUDT-DRUCHEN: Hon Chairperson, in 1993 the UN General Assembly proclaimed the year 1995 the Year of Tolerance. On the 16th November 1995, 185 Unesco member states adopted a declaration of principles and a follow- up plan of action, thereby committing themselves to promoting tolerance and nonviolence through programmes and institutions in the field of education, science, culture and communication.
In the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance, article 1 mentions the meaning of tolerance. Under this article tolerance refers to is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s culture, our forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in differences. It is not only a moral duty, but it is also a political and legal requirement. Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by the culture of peace.
We can take pride in ourselves as South Africans. We have come through a terrible history of apartheid; a history of intolerance. We have made the transition from apartheid to a democratic state and we will go down in history as making the transition via peaceful means instead of means of war. This transition speaks loudly in our history books. Wherever I travel I meet people from all over the country and overseas, and they ask me: “How was it possible in South Africa that the transition was made without war, without total bloodshed?”
How was this possible? It is only possible through the ANC taking the lead. It is only possible because the ANC had a commitment to a peaceful transition. [Applause.] The ANC understands tolerance. We can see that in our Constitution, in the Bill of Rights, in the Chapter 9 institutions, such as the SA Human Rights Commission. Our aim for tolerance shows in the celebration of 50 years of the Freedom Charter and also in the campaign to act against abuse - 16 Days of Activism.
The fact that we had had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission shows the ANC and government’s commitment to tolerance. This created a safe place for victims of apartheid to talk things out, a place for people to come for amnesty, a place for people to come for forgiveness.
There must always be an awareness amongst South Africans, amongst all South Africans who can be honest with themselves and say about the apartheid system: Never again! That is why we must continue to celebrate and remember this International Day of Tolerance. We must continue to remember our long and difficult history as we celebrate this day.
Part of the significance of this article about the meaning of tolerance is that it is consistent with respect for human rights. The practice of tolerance does not mean toleration of social injustice or abandonment or weakening of one’s convictions. It means that one is free to adhere to one’s own convictions and accept that others adhere to theirs. It means accepting the fact that human beings, naturally diverse in their appearance, situations, speech, behaviour and values, have the right to live in peace and be as they are. It means that one’s views are not to be imposed on others.
I can call on members of this House to go out into their constituencies and make people aware of the call of tolerance. Tolerance starts at home. Parents must teach their children tolerance. Parents must teach their children to be tolerant of people who are different. Parents should teach their children that they should respect others. We cannot make this the responsibility of the educators or the government.
Lastly, and because this is the last day of session for this year, and because we are never here on the 3rd of December - the International Day of Disabled Persons fall on the 3rd of December - I’d like to say that we should prepare ourselves for tolerance. It’s mentioned in the Unesco document that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all should be without distinction as to race, gender, language, national origin, religion or disability. We in the ANC government recognise the rights of people with disabilities, and when we talk about tolerance we must remember that there should be no discrimination against people with disabilities.
Because I still have some time I’d like to just read from an e-mail that I’ve received from the Millennium Project of Parliament:
Imagine South Africa without blacks. Imagine South Africa without whites. Imagine South Africa without Coloureds, Indians or Chinese. Imagine, if every single South African was just like you . . . Imagine South Africa without children or the elderly, without men or women, without gay or straight people, without married or single people. Imagine, if every single South African was just like you . . . Imagine South Africa without Christians or Muslims, without Hindus or Jews, without traditionalists or atheists. Imagine, if every single South African was just like you . . . Imagine South Africa without Afrikaans or IsiXhosa, without IsiZulu or Xam, without Tsonga – or all the languages of the world.
Here I would just like to add, imagine if there were no people with disabilities.
Now, imagine, if every single South African was just like you . . . It wouldn’t be South Africa.
[Applause.] We must appreciate our diversity. I thank you.
Mr N T GODI: Chairperson, comrades and hon members, the PAC concurs that there can be no superior call than the call for tolerance. Tolerance is a correct strategic perspective, for it engenders understanding, co-operation and coexistence of competing perspectives.
The fruits of intolerance are there for all to see, both in history and in the present. The genesis of intolerance is paternalism and holier-than-thou attitudes, which in state relations is a product of imperialist inclinations and practises. These have led to wars of aggression and strangulation, and manipulation of weaker states.
In our times and age the fountain of intolerance is the western capitalist powers led by the United States of America. These forces cannot tolerate any thought or action different from their perspective. They want regimentation and enforced uniformity on pain of retribution for supposed deviants. They want to create the world in their own image.
This perspective of lack of tolerance must be rejected. As we call for tolerance we are challenged as Parliament and as a country to pledge our solidarity with the victims of intolerance.
In this particular instance the PAC would like to raise the painful case of Cuba: A small island with big-hearted, tenacious people and an internationalist outlook. Cuba is a victim of economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the USA. It is the longest and cruellest of its kind, implemented and added to by 10 US administrations since the implementation of revolutionary Cuba. Its intentions, as gleaned from the classified documents, were “ . . . causing starvation, desperation and the overthrow of the government. . . .”[Interjections.]
The PAC is also worried about the US attitude and threats against Venezuela for no other reason than that President Hugo Chavez has dared to implement policies inconsistent with the Washington consensus.
We also hope that as Bolivia go to the polls on the 18th of December this year, which polls by all indications are most likely to be won by the popular Evo Morales and his Movement to Socialism, its popular choice will not only be tolerated, but accepted as reflecting the democratic will of the people of Bolivia.
South Africa has a role to play in international solidarity, promoting peace, coexistence, mutual understanding and tolerance. We have learned from dialectics that you are neither eternally right nor eternally wrong. May the intolerant study dialectics. There is a lesson for humanity.
Ms S RAJBALLY: Chairperson, Article 1 defines tolerance as respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world’s culture, our form of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication and freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference. It is not only a moral duty; it is also a political and legal requirement. The virtue that makes peace possible contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by a culture of peace.
The MF strongly supports this. South Africa is proudly home to a diverse people. We have gladly managed to survive in this diversity. The MF calls the world to celebrate diversity. We denounce all forms of violence and war. We really would like to see world peace. We would love to achieve peace in the Middle East, and we find tolerance to be a great means to attaining it. Tolerance needs to be extended beyond war situations and needs to be incorporated in our daily lives.
The MF calls for tolerance to be a value inculcated in all to ensure harmony, peace and a better life for all. Next year, 2006, will be the 30th year after losing our children in 1976. That was tolerance. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mr M DIKO: Chairperson, hon members, the UIF believes that building tolerance and trust in our diverse community cannot be done overnight, given our country’s history of centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid that created a fertile ground for a number of intolerances that are still a daily feature of our country.
The UIF has noted with sadness the continued encouragement of this intolerance for political gains by some political parties. The International Day of Tolerance gives us the time and the platform to reflect critically on this question in an effort to find ways and means with which we can contribute to the fight against the elimination of any form of intolerance.
The UIF commends the South African government and the AU for taking the lead in helping conflict-ridden African states to resolve their problems peacefully. How we wish this could be taken to this House! We hope that the USA will also learn how to do things peacefully. [Time expired.][Applause.]
Mev D VAN DER WALT: Agb Voorsitter en kollegas, die konsep van verdraagsaamheid, die vermoë om te aanvaar dat andere se gebruike en gelowe kan verskil van my eie, is die hoeksteen van enige demokrasie, maar veral in so ‘n diverse demokrasie soos in ons land. Terwyl die ANC-regering nie altyd verdraagsaam optree ten opsigte van die regte van minderheidsgroepe en die opinies van opposisiepartye nie, kan Suid-Afrikaners tog trots wees op ‘n handves van menseregte wat ondersteun word deur die begrip van verdraagsaamheid.
Ek wil dit vandag aan u stel dat ‘n sorgsame en demokratiese samelewing baie meer nodig het as net die inprenting van ‘n idee van ‘n kultuur van verdraagsaamheid teenoor jou naaste. ‘n Samelewing wat werklik omgee, kan slegs bereik word as ons onverdraagsaam optree teenoor die euwels wat die maatskaplike samestelling van ons samelewing ondermyn.
Indien die ANC-regering werklik ernstig is om die doelwit van verdraagsaamheid onder alle Suid-Afrikaners te bereik, sal hy nou moet bewys dat hy die regte balans kan handhaaf deur, onder andere, daadwerklik op te tree teen groepe wat steeds haatspraak, soos “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer”, en ander rassistiese slagspreuke gebruik. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die ewigdurende aanval op die Afrikaanse taal moet gestaak word. Die taal moet eerder gebruik word as voorbeeld vir die opheffing en bevordering van al ons ander inheemse tale, en daar moet nie net altyd van Afrikaans weggeneem word nie.
Die diskriminerende optrede van die verandering van slegs Afrikaanse plekname moet ook gestaak word. [Tussenwerpsels.] Die subtiele dog doelbewuste ontwapening van sekere groepe is ongrondwetlik. [Tussenwerpsels.]
Die Zimbabwe-styl om boere op ‘n Vrydagmidag oor onbenullighede in hegtenis te neem en vanweë die onbeskikbaarheid van ‘n aanklaer tot Maandagoggend aan te hou net om geen formele klag te formuleer nie, mag nie langer toegelaat word nie. Ek wil graag afsluit met die Afrikaanse verwerking van Nkosi sikilel’ iAfrika deur H A Fagan in 1946:
Ek kyk en sien die skare voor my staan Zoeloe en Kosa, Soeto en Sjangaan en ek, ‘n Blanke - vele volkre, ja - almal verenigd om Gods seën te vra op net een tuiste, net een vaderland, want die Alwyse het ons saam geplant en saam laat wortel in Suid-Afrika. Nkosi Sikilel’ iAfrika - Seën, Heer, dié land wat vele volkre dra.
Dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mrs D VAN DER WALT: Hon Chairperson and colleagues, the concept of tolerance, the ability to accept that the customs and beliefs of other people might differ from our own, is the cornerstone of any democracy, but even more so in a democracy as diverse as that of our country. While the ANC government does not always act tolerantly with regard to the rights of minority groups and the opinions of opposition parties, South Africa can nevertheless be proud of a bill of rights which is underpinned by the concept of tolerance.
I want to put it to you today that a caring and democratic society requires much more than merely instilling the idea of a culture of tolerance towards one’s fellow man. A society which really cares can only be realised if we act intolerantly with regard to the evils undermining the social composition of our society.
If the ANC government is really serious about attaining the objective of tolerance amongst all South Africans, it will now have to prove that it can maintain the correct balance by, inter alia, acting decisively against groups who are still using hate speech, such as “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer” and other racist slogans. [Interjections.] The perpetual attack on the Afrikaans language must be stopped. The language should rather be used as an example for the upliftment and promotion of all our other indigenous languages, and Afrikaans should not always be diminished.
An end should also be made to the discriminatory action of changing only Afrikaans place names. [Interjections.] The subtle yet purposeful disarming of certain groups is unconstitutional.
The Zimbabwean style of arresting farmers on a Friday afternoon because of trivialities and detaining them until Monday morning simply as a result of the unavailability of a prosecutor, and then not to formulate a formal charge, should no longer be allowed.
I would like to conclude with the Afrikaans adaptation of Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika by H A Fagan in 1946:
Ek kyk en sien die skare voor my staan Zoeloe en Kosa, Soeto en Sjangaan en ek, ‘n Blanke - vele volkre, ja - almal verenigd om Gods seën te vra op net een tuiste, net een vaderland, want die Alwyse het ons saam geplant en saam laat wortel in Suid-Afrika. Nkosi sikilel’ iAfrika - Seën, Heer, dié land wat vele volkre dra.
Thank you. [Applause.]]
Ms O R KASIENYANE: Modulasetulo, maloko a Palamente . . . [Chairperson, hon members . . . ]
. . . it was disturbing to hear what hon Coetzee was saying, him being one of the architects of the DA campaign of fighting back. It is disturbing to say that we are not tolerant. [Interjections.] I want to say to him that we are tolerant.
We are not going to listen to your accusations against us. We are going to teach you what being tolerant means. Our parents tolerated your parents for decades. [Applause.] Our parents, as domestic workers, tolerated your parents as far as your upbringing was concerned. [Applause.]
The transition to the new South Africa has seen our people earning dignity and respect, and faith for our country’s supreme law, the Constitution - that has taught you a lot. This means that a basic core of unity, nonracialism and tolerance forms the foundation of this beloved nation, South Africa. [Interjections.]
The most significant cornerstone of continuing to build the winning nation is the recognition that our people come first in all government services to ensure that our freedom is not just an ideal based on paper. We adopted the principle of tolerating our citizens.
In this regard our government introduced Batho Pele, putting people first. The most critical element of this fundamental guiding document is highlighted in the issue of how we tolerate members of the public when we provide them with services. [Interjections.] We cannot sit here today as public figures and ask the community to tolerate unemployment, nondelivery of service and homelessness when we do not have enough policy intervention to fight these social ills. [Interjections.] The hon member is not going to disturb me. He must just learn to understand what tolerance means. How do we teach tolerance to the unemployed youth, to those who lose their shacks every day through fires? If you would just listen. We are talking about people who are homeless, who lost their homes.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O BAPELA): Will the hon Kasienyane just pause a minute? Can we take our seats?
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, on a point of order: Is it in order, during a debate on the International Day of Tolerance, for the DA benches to behave in such an intolerant manner? [Interjections.] I am being serious. Virtually every ANC speaker . . . [Interjections.] . . . who has spoken here today has been has been howled at to such an extent that we found it difficult to listen to them. We have listened to them with respect. We ask them to show the same.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon members, order! It is true that while speakers were speaking here, there were quite a lot of interruptions and interjections. Then they started increasing, and I just want to request members to respect the speakers on the podium. Yes, it can be done in the lively way of Parliament, but can we just refrain from interjections that turn into running commentaries.
Ms O R KASIENYANE: Chairperson, they cannot listen, because they do not want to hear how intolerant they are; how our people are suffering because of that. [Interjections.]
Do we stand here today and justify all these ills or do we pledge today to implement more effective policies to assist our communities in fighting poverty? We have not yet succeeded in removing stigmas. We stigmatise people living with HIV, and we stigmatise people with disabilities. How can we build a caring society when we still call people names? You still call our people names. We call people like that, bomalalaphaepe [people who sleep on the street]; those who do not have an alternative place to stay. How can we call ourselves a caring society?
The Batho Pele policy remains government’s single most important campaign to achieve the necessary transformation of the hearts and minds of public servants and to put the citizens at the centre of planning operations. That is what we mean by tolerance. It means that every person who works in the Public Service should be proud to be a servant of the people and relish the challenge of providing improved services to all. Batho Pele is the soul of the Public Service and the heartbeat of the nation that will help us rise above the legacies of the past and drive us forward with courage and pride.
Modulasetulo, re bua ka itshokelano. Fa re kgona go itshokelana, re dirisana mmogo le go uthuta poelano, re ka dira tse kgolo kgotsa ra fitlha kwa re neng re sa gopole gore re ka fitlha. Re bone mo malobeng, ka nako ya moporesidente wa pele, rre Mandela, ka nako ya dipuisano tsa Codesa, mekgatlho ya dipolotiki e ne e sa kgone go itshokelana jaaka ba ba ka fa molemeng ba. Baeteledipele ba bangwe mme e bile ba sa kgone, ba sa batle go ithuta botlhale gotswa go ba bangwe, ba ba tshwanang le rona, bona fa motlotlegi rre Mandela a re ruta go itshokelana, nnete ke gore fa re belela kwa morago re bona gore ke nnete, mmetla-kgola ya borwa o e betla a e lebisitse wa gaabo, jaaka rre Mandela.
Rre Mandela o ne a dira jalo gore gompieno re bo re kopane re le boeteledipele, re le mekgatlho ya dipolotiki, re dira mmogo e bile re laolwa ke mokgatlho wa ANC. Re boelana, e seng jaaka ba ba ka fa moleng. Re lekile go itshokelana go tswa masuleng le dingalo tsa dingangele tsa go tshwana le bona ba, maburu.
Re dutse jaana, gongwe re utlwa re utlwana, re itshokelana, mme fa re tswela kwa ntle, go tshwana le bona, re dirisa ditšhono tse di sa siamang go sotla le go senya ba bangwe. Itshokelano ya sepolotiki kgotsa yona - political tolerance - ga eyo mo go bona ba.
Re na le Molaotheo o o re rutang go le gontsi ka poelano le itshokelano. Molaotheo o, o tlotlomadiwa ke dinaga disele, e bile di eletsa go ka nna le ona. Le fa gontse jalo, re santse re le maphata jaaka tsona. Makgoa le batho bantsho, re sa palelwa ke go itshokelana, go kopana re aga naga ya rona, re tlogela kgethololo e e santseng e rena mo merafeng e mengwe jaaka bona ba. (Translation of Setswana paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, our debate is about tolerance. If we can tolerate each other, work together and learn to reconcile, we can achieve great things or reach milestones we never thought we could accomplish. In the era of the first president, Mr Mandela, we learned that political parties did not tolerate one another as the opposition party is doing now. Some political leaders could not learn from other parties and become tolerant, like we did as the hon Mandela taught us. It was against this background that it was clear that he wanted to be exemplary.
Mr Mandela wanted to unite us as political parties and leaders today; to work together under the leadership of the ANC. He wanted us to reconcile not what the opposition party is doing. We should reconcile regardless of our historical suffering under the white regime.
We are now gathered here, with one common purpose - to tolerate one another not be like them by using wrong channels of communication and ridiculing others. They do not have political tolerance.
Our constitution teaches us about tolerance and reconciliation. Our constitution is appreciated by other countries who even wants to learn from it. However, there are still differences between us. Blacks and whites still cannot tolerate one another; or unite in building our country and forget about racism, which is still practiced by other races such as this one.]
Therefore, tolerance goes beyond the topic. It lays down the rules of social behaviour. Building tolerance and trust in diverse communities is not done overnight. It takes time and commitment. Building tolerance requires access and education. Intolerance is often rooted in ignorance and fear of the unknown, of the Other, of other cultures, religions and nations. Intolerance is also closely linked to an exaggerated sense of self- worth and pride, notions taught and learned at an early stage. Therefore we need to place greater emphasis on educating our children about tolerance in the coming years, as my colleague has mentioned, and about human rights and fundamental freedom. That is why we say in Setswana . . . . . . lore lo ojwa lo sa le metsi. [ . . . the tree must be bent while is still young.] My colleague has already said that we need to teach our children.
As a new century begins, we believe that each society needs to ask itself certain questions. Is it sufficiently inclusive? Is it nondiscriminatory? Are its norms and behaviour based on the principles enshrined in the universal declaration of human rights? Racism, racial discriminatation, xenophobia and all kinds of related intolerance have not disappeared because you exist. [Interjections.] We recognise that they persist in the new century and that their persistence is rooted in fear; fear of what is different, fear of others, fear of loss of personal security. While we recognise that human fear in itself is part of the human race, we maintain, however, that its consequences are eradicable. Yes, they are eradicable.
This year, South Africans from all walks of life celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Charter, the blueprint that ensures that our country belongs to all who live in it, black and white. [Interjections.][Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O BAPELA): The hon member had a minute added to her time because of the interjections. She may conclude.
Ms O R KASIENYANE: The basic core of this important guiding document is the promotion of tolerance and the building of a peaceful, non-racial and non- sexist society. For too long the human race had treated diversity as a weakness to be eliminated rather than the befitting gift of multiplicity, ideas and creativity that is brought forth by diversity. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
REPORTS OF THE JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE
Mr S L DITHEBE: Thank you, Chairperson. By resolution of Parliament in 2003, the Joint Budget Committee was constituted to give effect to several aspects of Parliament’s oversight responsibilities regarding the public finances. To undertake this task, the Joint Budget Committee adopted a vision, a mission and core goals for the strategic plan period, 2005–07.
In terms of the terms of reference governing the Joint Budget Committee, it is obliged, among other things, to report on its function from time to time, as is necessary, and submit a final report not later than the end of the next budget cycle in Parliament.
This provision is fulfilled through the consideration of the report of the Joint Budget Committee on national and provincial expenditure from April 2004 to March 2005. Similarly, quarterly reports were dealt with by the committee in keeping with its mandate. It is my submission that a careful reading and analysis of the committee’s reports reveal a constructive role that it has played, and continues to play in holding the executive accountable.
In the same breath, I want to express my appreciation for the sensitivity with which various departments have responded to the concerns of the Joint Budget Committee in practice with underspending and other deviations. Most importantly, this interaction ensures delivery and value for money.
In conclusion, I would like to welcome the Department of Communications’ commitment to remedy its negative spending patterns, with specific reference to an overspending of over R700 million. The following recommendations are therefore submitted for adoption by the House:
The Joint Budget Committee needs to work with the Portfolio Committee on Communications to monitor the Department of Communications, in terms of its strategic plans. The committee further needs to follow up on the nonallocation of funds to the ICT function, which is crucial for the functioning of the department itself. Last, but not least, the Joint Budget Committee also needs to further keep track on the monthly and quarterly expenditure patterns of the department. Once again, it is this representative body of the people that continues to enrich the process of consultation and democracy itself.
I commend these reports for adoption by Parliament, inclusive of course, of the strategic plan of the Joint Budget Committee. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY: Chairperson, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
REPORTS OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE OF FINANCE
Ms J L FUBBS: Hon Chairperson, members of the House, colleagues and comrades, yes, this is Orders 10, 11 and 12; that is National Treasury, also the SA Revenue Service, and the Statistics South Africa.
I know it has been a long day, but this won’t take much longer. What we are looking at here, and commending to you to adopt, is the report on Budget Vote No 8 of National Treasury, the committee’s report, and not the Vote itself. As you will recall, you already voted for the budget.
What this is, and I do suggest that you read this, is in the ATC of Monday, 23 May 2005. It highlights, once again, from a committee, which is a multiparty committee, and commends National Treasury for its continued sound performance and the management of the government’s finances and the economy.
Of course it raises one or two reservations, namely the filling of senior posts. As we all know, the issue of state-owned enterprises came up, as did its assets and liabilities. National Treasury has now adopted a phase and implementation approach to the accrual system.
The issue on Sars, what is there to say? We commend them again for increasing revenue flows, which incidentally is not through luck, but is the direct impacting consequence of efficient, effective and creative management systems in place.
With respect to Statistics SA, I want to preface the comments of the committee on the Budget Vote of this committee report by indicating very clearly that we were concerned with quality controlling credibility. We were concerned then with management issues, but we were also cognisant of the fact that Statistics SA has a monumental challenge on its hands, to transform the configuration of how statistics are done in the country.
Nevertheless, the committee did call on the statistician-general, to urgently address management concerns. At this point, and perhaps just before I conclude recommending for the adoption of these three reports, certainly, the committee would like to wish the hon Minister a speedy recovery.
The Portfolio Committee of Finance would like to commend to this House for adoption from the committee reports, the National Treasury Vote No 8, which was done on 20 May, the Strategic Plan of the SA Revenue Service, also on 20 May, and the committee’s report on the Budget Vote for Statistics SA, also on 20 May.
We commend this to you, for a speedy adoption. Thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
REPORTS OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE ON AUDITOR-GENERAL
There was no debate.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chair, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF JOINT STANDING COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE
Dr S C CWELE: Chairperson, the annual reports of the committee are tabled every year, but I am not sure how many members ever come across copies of these reports. I wonder how many members ever read these reports. We urge members to read these members because the committee, as you know, is given a mandate by this Parliament to sit behind closed doors, and play an active oversight of our intelligent services.
Today we won’t bore you with the details, but we will move that we are aware that there’s another annual report coming in few weeks, and that would be debated in this House in full when we come back next year. I would like to raise a few issues, which tend to be a common thread in all our annual reports.
The first one is the extent to which government departments and institutions implement minimum information security standard policy, which was adopted by this government in 1997. In this respect, even the members of Parliament who hold very crucial information, leave their computers on at night, and they don’t lock their offices.
The officials of government and institutions do the same. Yet the government adopted a policy that we should observe these minimum security standards in order to protect our national interests. I would urge, in particular, the chairpersons of portfolio committees to check to what extent the government departments and institutions they oversee, actually implement this policy.
The other problem that existed at the time of this report, was the problem that was raised by the taxation of the sources of intelligence. At a particular time, I know, the National Treasury has tried to resolve the issue with the relevant departments. The problem was, who is actually supposed to pay the tax? Is it the sources of Intelligence Service or the actual Intelligence Service who is supposed to pay the tax? What about the exposure of that cover? Those were the critical issues that were being negotiated with National Treasury by the Intelligence Service at that time.
Lastly, the intelligence oversight is relevantly new in the whole world. Even in the developed worlds they only started oversight of the intelligence services around 1994. So, there is a lot of learning and sharing of information. Some of the reports talk about the international conference on intelligence oversight, where we share experiences with the countries that have exercised this oversight.
The report also mentioned that next year South Africa will be the first country to host such a conference in Africa. We have taken steps to invite more African countries to participate, so that this doesn’t become just a club for the western countries or the rich countries that do have oversight.
With those few comments, we will come in full force next year, and we will make sure that each and every member of this House gets the report; so that it doesn’t become just a report for journalists, but also a report for the people of South Africa. I move that we adopt this report, Chairperson. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SPORT AND RECREATION – STUDY TOUR TO FRANCE; NORTHERN CAPE OVERSIGHT VISIT
Mr B M KOMPHELA: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Hon members, comrades, ladies and gentlemen, with greatest humility, I present the portfolio committee report on the study tour visit to the Northern Cape and to France.
In the Northern Cape, conditions still remain the same. The biggest challenge is poverty, the distance, and also the vast nonviability of agricultural conditions in places could be where these facilities could be established.
One thing that is generally accepted in the Northern Cape is the amount of work that has been done by government around building a sports facility programme. This programme has built sporting facilities, when no one could ever think that those kinds of places really deserve facilities. But they still continue experiencing the same challenges that we are facing.
The municipal infrastructure grant imposes a challenge to small municipalities, because they do not have enough capacity to deal with the documentations around how to access the municipal infrastructure grant. The issue of the life-long maintenance of these facilities by those small municipalities in that rural area remains a problem.
The committee has also realised that the question of the two nations remains in the Northern Cape, where there is an abundance of resources which other people cannot access, and where there is virtually no resources, nobody could that access; those conditions persist. Therefore, the recommendation that we have made is that we must open up these facilities so that all people must be able to access them. We must be able to assist the municipal infrastructure grant so that it can put basic facilities for the people in the Northern Cape.
With regard to the visit to France, it is part of the oversight and also the experience of this portfolio committee to go to countries that have been given an honour to host this important event of the World Cup.
South Africa has been honoured to host the 2010 World Cup. We therefore went to France to see how they managed this big task that was given to their country. In 1998 France hosted the World Cup, and they were saying to us that the biggest problem facing them was how people would be able to understand that there would be no access to stadiums because ticket sales had already been concluded in France by the family of FIFA, those that would be able to access those tickets, and the amount of money that was paid for those tickets.
Therefore members of Parliament played a very critical role in making sure that in their constituencies which they serve, they must be able to sensitise the Minister and the Cabinet committee that were in charge of sports in putting up the facilities for the people. So they must not worry too much to go the stadium. But they must be able to have those screens, because the competition for those tickets will be fierce.
For France to be able to win the World Cup, they had built a team for eight years, and that was their objective: They wanted to win the World Cup. They managed to win it.
The question of security was one thing that we felt was very good and we were pleased to see it happened in France. The France de Tour stadium, which has capacity for 150 000 people, can be evacuated in five minutes if any incidences of violence or injuries should occur. In five minutes, 150 000 people are evacuated in the manner in which it was designed, and it is safety conscious. We marvelled at this, because there are so many things assisting these people to evacuate that stadium swiftly.
After 1998 FIFA started to put in place very strong measures, as we were told, around the World Cup. The message that they sent to us was, that if the World Cup brings a lot of money, that money would be shared among the people of France, but if there is a deficit, the government pays the bill and the people do not do anything to that extent.
Therefore, we must be careful, again, of erecting stadiums that will finally be white elephants, which at the end of the World Cup will be demolished. One thing that was very important to them, when they were telling us, is that this Cabinet committee, from time to time, was informing Parliament on the events that were taking place around the challenges and the games that they had to host the World Cup.
We therefore recommended that the Cabinet committees in Parliament should be able to report to this Parliament around this very big task that they have so, that all of us can share the experience on how this World Cup is going to be managed in this country. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO KWAZULU-NATAL, MPUMALANGA, NORTHERN CAPE AND
EASTERN CAPE
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
There was no debate.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF THE REPORTS OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS – AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEES (ACPAC) 8th BIENNIAL CONFERENCE, 2005; STUDY TOUR TO CANADIAN OFFICE OF AUDITOR-GENERAL AND STANDING COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.
There was no debate. The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE AND
CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT – ANNUAL REPORT AND STRATEGIC PLAN OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON LABOUR – INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE; BRIEFING BY SECTOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITIES
Mr L D MADUMA: Hon Speaker, the Portfolio Committee on Labour appreciates the decision of Parliament to send three members, including one from the opposition party, to the ILO conference. This delegation was led by the chairperson of the committee and accompanied by the committee’s secretary.
Its attendance to this important labour forum gave it an extraordinary experience on challenges that continue to affect workers at workplaces. Their deployment to occupational safety and health, applied standards and fishing centre committees, had enriched them as legislators.
The issue of social security in the fishing sector and the challenge of the unemployed youth remain a global phenomenon. It was, however, difficult to deploy them to other committees, as activities were taking place simultaneously.
Those members who were attending the government caucus every day, which was mapping out the African position, one of the lessons of the caucus was that if Africa is united and speaks with one voice, it earns respect from other regions. The delegation was able to draw this conclusion, when developing a united position in support of Zimbabwe and Swaziland’s positions. It was perceived that to put the said countries on the agenda of the ILO, it was politically motivated; therefore it was not right platform to deal with these challenges.
This exposure gave the members a clear understanding on this critical role South Africa is playing in such a forum led by the Minister of Labour, Minister Membathisi Mdladlana. Also his re-election as the chairperson of the AU Labour and Social Affairs Commission for a consecutive year, bears this testimony.
Our country was also supported by Africa to get a titular membership in the governing body, which means a permanent seat in the governing body of the ILO. The delegation was also able to observe the strategy used by rich countries like America and Britain to manipulate the ILO. Those countries were pushing for the reduction of ILO budget so that it could not be able to meet the challenge of improving workers’ conditions. This situation would further impact negatively on the poor countries. The fact that America has ratified only one convention remains a challenge about how it conducts its business in terms of understanding the challenge of the ILO in improving workers’ conditions. We, however, need to applaud South Africa for its continued financial support to the ILO.
The issue of skill development strategy was also seen as a challenge, especially to the youth worldwide. It was observed that the mismatch of skills continued to be an impediment in addressing the unemployment of youth and deal with poverty. Countries have to focus on education and training, which would address the skills needed by the economy.
Our skills development plan, as a country, would contribute to this global vision.
In conclusion, the portfolio committee would like to recommend that next year it convenes the workshop with all the stakeholders that are relevant to the sector before the delegation goes to ILO. It also urges the members of this Parliament to read this report so as to acquaint themselves with the challenges that confront the ILO in terms of meeting the demand of the workers.
We therefore request that this Parliament considers a bigger delegation to the ILO next year; so that members are able to participate in all other committees. We recommend that Parliament adopts this report. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS - VISIT TO GAUTENG PROVINCE There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SAFETY AND SECURITY – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO WESTERN CAPE REGARDING SERVICE DELIVERY AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTION STEPS OF THE FIREARMS CONTROL ACT
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted. [Applause.][Laughter.]
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT – BUDGET
HEARINGS
There was no debate. The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS – VOTE NO 6 – PUBLIC WORKS
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND INDUSTRY
– VOTE NO 32 – TRADE AND INDUSTRY
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We move that the report be adopted. Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS AND TOURISM – OVERSIGHT VISITS CONDUCTED IN KWAZULU-NATAL, PONDOLAND AND COEGA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, we move that the report be adopted, and also that it be the last.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
ALLEGED IMPROPER CONDUCT OF DEPUTY SPEAKER
(Ruling)
The SPEAKER: Hon members, I would now like to deal with one or two very brief matters. I wish to make an announcement on a matter that had been tabled before the House. On Tuesday, 13 September 2005, the hon Chief Whip of the Opposition gave notice of a substantive motion in the House against Deputy Speaker Mahlangu-Nkabinde, making serious allegations of improper conduct on her part in her capacity as Acting Speaker during the floor- crossing period.
It is standard practice that members are not permitted to make unsubstantiated allegations against other members in this House. This practice is strictly observed. The only exception is when adequate grounds exist, which warrant that the House specifically attend to particular allegations. In that event, the allegations must be presented to the House by way of a substantive motion and the Speaker must be satisfied that there is indeed prima-facie evidence warranting that the motion be placed before the House.
A substantive motion against the Deputy Speaker alleging improper conduct on her part as Acting Speaker is particularly serious, as it affects an elected presiding officer of this House. I therefore decided that I should inform the House that, having considered the substantive motion, I have, in writing, ruled it out of order as no substantiation for the detailed allegations was offered.
There has been further correspondence between the hon Mr Gibson and myself because we do not share the same understanding regarding the use and application of substantive motions. I emphasises that the House has the right and authority to attend to allegations against any member, including office bearers, by way of a substantive motion when that is clearly warranted. It is evident, however, that this mechanism should be used only with due caution and responsibility and should not, for instance, be resorted to for political expediency.
Good practice has yet to develop around substantive motions. I am concerned that notice of such a substantive motion can be given in the House before there is an opportunity to assess whether it is in order. I shall therefore be asking the Rules Committee to consider appropriate processes for dealing with a substantive motion. I understand that the Chief Whips forum has also been engaging on this issue. They could report in due course to the Rules committee as well. That concludes that particular matter.
FIRST REPORT OF JOINT CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEE ON THE AFRICAN PEER REVIEW MECHANISM
(Announcement)
The SPEAKER: Hon members, I would now like to make a brief announcement on the first report of African Peer Review Mechanism. I should like to draw your attention to the First Report of the Joint Co-ordinating Committee on the African Peer Review Mechanism, which appeared in yesterday’s ATC.
Unfortunately, the report appeared too late for it to be brought before the House today for debate. Members and parties should engage with the issues raised in the report and also bring them to the attention of the communities and municipalities in their constituencies. Members’ active support for this process is critical if Parliament is to play an effective role in the peer review process. The report will be brought before the House and debated at an early opportunity in the New Year.
Hon members, I am sure you will be very happy to hear that, in fact, that concludes the business for the day. However, I do wish you a good break and hope that you will take a bit of rest, maybe for a day. But you must get on the road because I know all of you are very eager to start the campaign trails. But we will be back in December. That is why we are not having farewell speeches because it’s not yet time to say our farewells. That concludes the business for the day. The House is adjourned until 13 December 2005.
Farewell speeches stood over.
The House adjourned at 20:31 until 13 December 2005. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Bills passed by Houses – to be submitted to President for assent
(1) Bill passed by National Assembly on 16 November 2005:
(i) Repeal of Black Administration Act and Amendment of
Certain Laws Bill [B 25D – 2005] (National Assembly – sec 76)
(2) Bills passed by National Council of Provinces on 16 November
2005:
(i) Forestry Laws Amendment Bill [B 24B – 2005] (National
Assembly – sec 76)
(ii) Adjustments Appropriation Bill [B 37 – 2005] (National
Assembly – sec 77)
(iii) Revenue Laws Amendment Bill [B 40 – 2005] (National
Assembly – sec 77)
(iv) Revenue Laws Second Amendment Bill [B 41 – 2005] (National
Assembly – sec 75)
(v) Special Pensions Amendment Bill [B 28B – 2005] (National
Assembly – sec 75)
(vi) Auditing Profession Bill [B 31B – 2005] (National Assembly
– sec 75)
National Assembly
The Speaker
-
Messages from National Council of Provinces to in respect of Bills passed by Council and transmitted to Assembly 1) Message from National Council of Provinces to National Assembly
Bills, as amended, passed by National Council of Provinces on 16 November 2005 and transmitted for consideration of Council’s amendments:
(i) Education Laws Amendment Bill [B 23D – 2005] (National Assembly – sec 76) (ii) National Credit Bill [B 18D – 2005] (National Assembly – sec 76)
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
-
The Minister of Labour
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Forest Industries Education and Training Authority for 2004-2005, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2004- 2005 [RP 90-2005].
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- Report of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on Deployment of SANDF, dated 16 November 2005:
The Joint Standing Committee on Defence, having considered the letters
from the President on the deployment of the SANDF to areas outside the
borders of the country, referred to the Committee, reports that it has
concluded its deliberations thereon.
National Assembly
- Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the Repeal of Black Administration Act and Amendment of Certain Laws Bill [B 25D - 2005] (National Assembly – section 76), dated 16 November 2005:
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development
having considered the subject of the Repeal of Black Administration Act
and Amendment of Certain Laws Bill [B 25D-2005] (National Assembly –
section 76), as amended by the National Council of Provinces and
referred back to the Committee, reports that it agreed to the
amendments, and accordingly the Bill.
Report to be considered.
- Interim Report of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development on the implications and approval of the proposed new salary scales for 2005 for the Magistracy, dated 16 November 2005
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development (Portfolio Committee) and the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Affairs (Select Committee), held joint hearings on the 18 October 2005, inter alia, to enquire into the details and implications of the implementation of the proposed new salary scales for 2005 for the Magistracy and its consequences for Government, in particular the proposed new motor vehicle allowances for magistrates and senior magistrates, as recommended by the Independent Commission on the Remuneration for Public Office Bearers to the President and submitted subsequently to Parliament by the President in terms of Section 12 (3) (a) of the Magistrates Act (Act 90 of 1993) (the Magistrates Act), and the Portfolio Committee wishes to report as follows:
Due to time constraints, the Committees have not been able to fully
deliberate on all the substantive issues raised during the said
hearings and consequently, due to the urgency of the matter, the
Portfolio Committee, in the interim, wishes to recommend that the House
resolves as follows:
i. To rescind its previous decision of 7 September 2005,
which approved the draft notice and schedule received in
terms of Section 12(1) (a) of the Magistrates Act, as
amended by Section 3 of the Judicial Officers Amendment
of Conditions of Service Act (Act 28 of 2003);
ii. In terms of Section 12(3)(b)(i) of the Magistrates Act,
approves the draft notice and schedule tabled by the
President in Parliament on 7 September 2005;
iii. That the costs for the implementation of the motor
vehicle allowances for senior magistrates and magistrates
be allocated to the Justice Vote in terms of Section
213(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South
Africa, read with Section 12(4) of the Magistrates Act;
and
That the Portfolio Committee table its final report in the House,
before the end of the year, detailing the outcomes and recommendations
in relation to legislative and procedural matters relating to the
determination of salary levels for magistrates; the absence of a
budgetary allocation to defray the proposed new motor vehicle
allowances for senior magistrates and magistrates; the development of
policy measures to deal with the implications arising from the
extension of motor vehicles allowances to senior magistrates and
magistrates; and any other matter relevant to or emanating from the
said hearings.
Report to be considered.
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on the Annual Reports of the Department of Public Enterprises and Transnet, Eskom, and Alexkor, and an Interim Report from Denel, dated 16 November 2005:
The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, having considered the 2004- 2005 Annual Reports of the Department of Public Enterprises, Transnet, Eskom and Alexkor and an Interim Report from Denel, reports as follows:
A. Introduction
-
The Committee considered the 2004-2005 annual reports of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on 11 October 2005, Transnet on 12 October, Eskom on 19 October and Alexkor on 26 October, and an interim report from Denel on 18 October.
-
The Committee also received a separate briefing from South African Airways (SAA) on 12 October on its annual report, but since SAA is still part of Transnet, the Committee reports on SAA as part of Transnet.
-
The annual reports of Denel and Alexkor had not been tabled in parliament. Alexkor explained that their Annual General Meeting (AGM) was still to take place. Alexkor presented a draft of their annual report and financial results. Alexkor will be having its AGM on 4 November 2005. Mr Shaun Liebenberg, CEO of Denel, explained that as he had just taken over, he was unable to meet the 30 September Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) deadline. A new Board Chairperson and Chairperson of the Audit Committee had also been appointed and they had identified certain shortcomings in the financial statements. In the interest of reflecting clear, accurate and transparent financial results, it was necessary to delay the presentation of the annual report. Final adjustments are being made to the financial statements, and the annual report will be released at the AGM in mid-November and tabled in Parliament shortly thereafter.
-
Safcol’s (South African Forestry Company Ltd) financial year coincides with the calendar year. In view of this, Safcol’s annual report was not tabled in parliament by the 30 September deadline. As from next year, Safcol will adjust to the normal financial year as required by the PFMA. Safcol will be having its AGM on 15 November, and will brief the Committee on its report early in the new year.
-
The Committee finalized its report on the 2004 annual reports of DPE and the SOEs in November last year. The report was published in the ATC on 22 February 2005. The current report has to be understood in the context of last year’s report and will not cover ground covered in last year’s report. In respect of DPE, issues covered in our budget report to parliament, which was published in the ATC of 13 April 2005, will not be covered in this report, unless necessary. In the case of Alexkor, some of the issues that were raised are not covered in this report as they were dealt with in our report on our study tour there, published in the ATC of 16 March 2005.
-
The approach in this report is to first present a brief overview of the presentation made to our Committee on each annual report, and then offers our responses to the report. Where there are responses that are more general to the SOEs, they are carried in section H of the report. Of course, this report provides no more than a summary of the presentations made to our Committee. To get a fuller and better understanding of the presentations, copies of the documents put before the Committee can be obtained from the Committee Secretary, Mr Chris Thisani.
-
The report is much longer than we would have like it to be. Unlike last year, we have paid greater attention to SAA because it is soon to become a separate SOE and we have also covered Alexkor. Ideally, we should focus much less on a summary of the presentations made to us and more on what our Committee’s responses are. But we are still trying to come to grips with where our SOEs are, and this report is meant to collectively assist us in that regard. It is also meant to contribute towards defining our oversight role and shaping our strategy and programmes. As we get to better understand the SOEs, so will it become less necessary to be detailed about their presentations. Of course, there is another value to the detail – the report is published in the ATC, and MPs who do not serve in our Committee and other interested parties can get an overview of the annual reports of DPE and the SOEs. Still, we might want to consider whether we should do a shorter, separate report on DPE and each of the SOEs rather than one longer report in future?
B. Towards More Effective Oversight
-
As proposed in our report last year, the Committee organised several workshops over the year to better equip us technically to carry out our oversight role. Of course, there is still much more to do in this regard, and our technical empowerment has to be seen as an ongoing process.
-
The Committee does not currently have a full-time researcher, although we have received research support through an assistant that has been drawn in.
-
Following the decisions taken in last year’s report, the Committee Chairperson has been in touch with the other committees whose portfolios overlap with ours to discuss the senses in which our respective roles are distinct and also overlap, and the need for the committees to co-operate more effectively. This has also been raised in the economic cluster of committees, the Committee of Chairpersons and other forums. While there has been some progress in this regard, more certainly needs to be done. The Eskom annual report was considered jointly by the Minerals and Energy Committee and our committee – and this is most welcome. Denel’s interim report was considered jointly with the NCOP Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises.
-
The Committee’s concerns in evaluating annual reports largely derive from the PFMA, and were set out in section A5 of last year’s report in quite some detail. Essentially, we are concerned with the relationship between the measurable objectives in the strategic or business or corporate plans, how the budget allocated for the achievement of these objectives was used, progress achieved in fulfilling these objectives, and the financial performance of the organizations. This is within the overall concern to evaluate the contribution being made to reducing the cost of business, making South Africa more competitive, encouraging economic growth and social development, and bridging the gap with the “second economy”.
-
The Committee is guided in our approach to considering annual reports by the report commissioned by the Speaker’s Office, “An Operational Plan for the National Assembly on Legislative Oversight through Annual Reports,” and National Treasury’s “Guidelines for Legislative Oversight through Annual Reports.” The DPE and the SOEs are requested to acquaint themselves with these documents should they want to better understand the approach of the Committee. These documents can be obtained from the Committee Secretary.
-
Following discussions within the Committee of Chairpersons and our Committee, we feel that for us to more effectively carry out our oversight role, annual reports would have to be tabled by 30 August, not 30 September, each year. We are usually away from parliament for a two or three week constituency period during mid-September to early October – and immediately upon our return we are expected to plough through weighty, technically challenging reports, business plans and financial statements. We usually have a brief five-weeks or so before parliament rises for the year in mid-November in which we are expected to process these reports and table our own report on these reports to parliament. If the Committee received annual reports by the end of August, it would give us more time to prepare for the briefings on the reports, engage independent experts to evaluate the reports, and organize public hearings in which we could engage civil society stakeholders and the public on the issues raised in the report and the performance of DPE and the SOEs. We could also have a debate in the House on our report on the annual reports. Certainly, the comprehensive and valuable proposals set out in the two documents referred to in section 5 above will be very difficult to implement in any reasonable measure if reports are tabled at the end of August. The PFMA is likely to be amended next year, and the Committee mandates the Chairperson to pursue the need for and feasibility of an amendment that will require annual reports to be tabled by the end of August with all the relevant authorities and stakeholders.
-
Of course, the Committee acknowledges that DPE and the SOEs prepare their annual reports not for parliament alone, but a wide range of stakeholders. There are legislative, regulatory, public relations, normative and other considerations that influence the form and content of the reports. Overall, the Committee feels that the reports could be more user-friendly, and in some cases, briefer. At least, they should include an accessible and easy-to-read overview or executive summary. To some extent, the approach taken by DPE and the SOEs in the power point and slide presentations to the portfolio committee might serve as a guide.
-
For the Committee to evaluate annual reports properly, we need to be fully acquainted with the strategic or business or corporate plans for the previous financial year, the budgets allocated for the plans (and in the case of DPE, the relevant sections of the Estimates of National Expenditure) and the annual reports, and, in particular, the relationship between these documents. Given the Committee’s lack of research and other technical support, we are not, at this stage, able to effectively use these documents. This reinforces the imbalances of technical skills between the Committee, on the one hand, and DPE and the SOEs, on the other. We will, of course, over time, develop our technical capacity. We are determined to do so. But we have to be rigorous in exercising our oversight role now. We know it may be difficult, but we want representatives of DPE and the SOEs to make their presentations to us more accessible, simple and jargon-free, and hence more transparent, so that we can exchange with them more effectively. Overall, the presentations, in this regard, were much better this year than last year – but, more, we believe, can still be done in this respect. We also would like the presentations to the Committee to be much more pointed in setting out the measurable objectives decided on, the deadlines set, the budgets allocated, and the progress achieved in the form of tables or other accessible and easy-to-follow means, as some organizations appearing before us did indeed seek to do. We request all the organizations to kindly do this for next year’s briefings on the annual reports; and if this is not done, we expect the process of our exchange with the organizations to be considerably slowed down and laborious; in other words, it is in all our interests that this be done!
-
Of course, we appreciate that there are many challenges in finalizing shareholder compacts with SOEs. But once the compacts are finalized, we would like the Minister, as we pointed out in our last year’s report and our report on DPE’s budget this year, to table the shareholder compacts in parliament so that we are able to monitor the SOEs and carry out our oversight responsibilities more effectively. If the compacts are too long and complex, perhaps a summary of its key aspects can also be tabled?
-
The Committee strongly feels that organisations that present their annual reports to us must respond to the relevant issues we raise about them in our last annual report on their annual reports. If there are views and any requirements we have set out in our reports that are unfair or outside of our mandate or in some other way questionable, then the organizations must engage with us about this. But respond they must, to the issues we raise – and we will be more demanding about this at next year’s consideration of the annual reports.
C. Department of Public Enterprises
-
The Department was represented by Director General (DG), Ms Portia Molefe; Deputy Directors General, Ms Sandra Coetzee, Mr Tebogo Mphuti and Mr James Theledi; Chief Operations Officer, Rashida Issel; Parliamentary Liaison Officer, Ms Dudu Mhlongo; and Ministerial spokesperson, Ms Gaynor Kast.
-
The financial year under review saw the consolidation of a new leadership in the Ministry and Department. Much of the year was spent on refining the mandate, vision and mission of DPE, and providing greater clarity to the SOEs on their mandate and greater certainty on policy. The Department’s mandate, as covered in our budget report in April, is to work with the relevant policy departments and regulators to provide oversight and strategic direction for the SOEs reporting to it. “DPE is really a backroom office”, said Ms Molefe. “Our front office is the SOEs. A large part of our work entails interacting with the other departments and the regulators.”
-
The Department and its programmes were restructured to reflect its new mandate. This was covered in our Budget Report. The Department’s reorganized programmes are:
▪ Administration ▪ Analysis and Risk Management ▪ Governance and policy ▪ Corporate Strategy and Structure ▪ Corporate Finance and Transactions -
The Department’s new three-year strategy will be subject to a mid-term review this November, and the Department would be interested to engage with the Committee on some of the issues that emerge from the review. Much of the financial year under review was also spent on defining a new shareholder management model. Departments do not have a set of common standards on shareholder management. Consideration is being given as to whether there is a need for generic legislation on shareholder management or whether amendments to the PFMA might be able to cater for this. In any case, the new shareholder management model is to be finalized by February 2006, and will begin to be implemented in phases from 1 April 2006.
-
Among the achievements in respect of the administration programme were the following:
▪ Implementation of Employment Equity Plan ▪ Implementation of fraud prevention plan ▪ Implementation of automated procurement systems ▪ Implementation of manual ‘accrual basis” monthly management reports to improve expenditure management and cash flow ▪ Launched the Telkom Initial Public Office Reference Manual -
Ms Molefe explained that the employment equity plan needs to be reviewed in terms of the Department’s performance management system. She said that “there seems to be a correlation between the bonus cycle for senior managers and reporting on employment equity figures. Managers are more likely to employ people from designated groups in the period immediately prior to the bonus cycle. However, DPE has no way of tracking how long these people remain in those positions. The solution would be to create an environment that is conducive to employing people from the designated groups.”
-
Achievements in the Analysis and Risk Management programme included:
▪ Implementation of the Holt Evaluation Model for financial benchmarking of SOEs ▪ Quarterly Reports on SOEs performance ▪ Closure of SAA hedge book ▪ Approval of SOEs infrastructure plans ▪ Publication of a report on the financial performance of SOEs and a report on risk management in SOEs -
In respect of the Governance and Policy programme, the following were among the achievements:
▪ Remuneration and benefits guidelines for SOE CEOs and Board members ▪ Guidelines for the development of shareholder compacts ▪ Appointment of new Board members for SOEs -
Ms Molefe explained that there is an absence of specific legislation governing shareholder compacts with the SOEs. The compacts drafted have sought to take account of different laws and regulations applying to a particular SOE and have become too detailed and bulky. Attempts are now being made to simplify and shorten them, and not cover all the relevant legislation and regulations applying to an SOE; the SOE has to abide by these anyway.
-
Achievements in the Corporate Strategy and Structure programme included:
▪ Energy Review of generation policy in conjunction with Department of Minerals and Energy; approval of Eskom’s PFMA application for an open cycle gas turbine; and Cabinet approval for the developmental electricity price. ▪ Transport Approval of Transnet’s 4-point turnaround strategy; and revision of National Ports Authority Act to retain the National Ports Authority within Transnet and removal of the regulatory function ▪ Defence Reviving South Africa’s aerospace industry through the allocation of work packages for selected components for the A400M aircraft; and change strategy for Denel ▪ Forestry Concluded business sale and shareholder agreements on the divesture of SAFCOL from Mountain to Ocean Forestry and Amatola -
Achievements in the Corporate Finance and Transactions programme included:
▪ Telkom Paid out R2,4 million to Khulisa Trust and R3,1
million to Diabo Trust as part of the Telkom Initial
Public Offering
▪ Alexkor Ongoing negotiations with Richterveld
community; and Community Public Private Partnership
package approved.
▪ Eskom: Finalised Request For Proposal for
disposal of Eskom Finance Company
▪ Transnet Work plan for separation of SAA from Transnet
▪ Denel Approval of equity sale by Denel in
Arivia.com; and acquisition negotiations for Airbus
aircraft for the South African National Defence Force
▪ Aventura Land transfer to Forever Resorts
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DPE’s budget for the financial year under review was R77,3 million. Spending was within the 2% margin. The Department received an unqualified audit report. For the second year in a row, the Auditor General’s Office noted “no matters of emphasis”.
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The Department explained that it had made it clear to the SOEs that job losses should be avoided when they sell their non-core assets. The department has drawn up transaction guidelines governing the disposal of non-core entities and will not approve of transactions that do not comply with the guidelines. DPE has suggested that SOEs might want to sell their assets at a somewhat reduced price if it means that jobs can be retained. However, DPE cannot guarantee that employees will not lose their jobs in any future restructuring of the divested businesses.
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Ms Molefe explained that DPE uses Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Charters to ensure that appropriate people benefit from its procurement activities. The SOEs use sector specific charters. SOEs are now also required to visit service providers to check their BEE credentials.
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Ms Molefe explained that there is a constant need for public awareness of the role of SOEs. “SOEs need to be distinguished from development agencies and even parastatals. SOEs are owned by the government, but don’t get money from the fiscus. They have to borrow from the capital markets. They have to compete in the private sector, and they have to be commercially viable. They have to have strong balance sheets and protect their credit. They play a major role in economic development. Parastatals don’t have the same pressures and get money from the fiscus at times. Parastatals have a more direct socio-economic role.”
16 Ms Molefe explained that the two key challenges that DPE confronted in the 2005 financial year were “lack of access to suitably qualified and experienced staff and lack of synchronization between DPE and the SOEs”. The SOEs have highly skilled technical experts compared to DPE. This makes DPE’s oversight of the SOEs particularly challenging. The salary scales in the civil service also limit the possibilities of DPE employing people with the requisite skills. The lack of synchronization between DPE and the SOEs, including differing planning cycles, was being addressed, said Ms Molefe.
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A key concern of DPE over the next 3 years is to effectively monitor the implementation of the infrastructure programme of the SOEs. Major emphasis will also be placed on a risk management system for SOEs. A new benchmarking programme to track the operational efficiency of SOEs is to be introduced. DPE is to “tighten target- setting and its oversight role on SOEs”. Its concerns also include:
▪ Energy New electricity generation by independent power producers Restructuring of the electricity distribution industry Multi-year price determinations Benchmarking Eskom’s performance Accelerate development of the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor▪ Transport Private sector participation (PSP) in the ports sector PSP in Spoornet’s branch lines, Blue Train and core network operations Separation of SAA from Transnet Establishment and monitoring of operational benchmarks
▪ Defence Denel’s change strategy Denel’s Recapitalisation Partnership programme for Denel Further research and development support for Denel Stimulate advanced manufacturing in the non-defence economy, such as composites and the aerospace cluster initiative Further market access for Denel through co-operation with the Department of Defence and Armscor
▪ Forestry Supply and demand analysis of the forestry sector Review of forestry and downstream industry analysis by Departments of Trade and Industry, and Water and Forestry Develop strategy for future role of Safcol Define Safcol’s new reporting relationship to government
▪ ICT Assess state investments in ICT: Arivia, Telkom and the second network operator Seek to consolidate state ICT assets Define government’s role in this sector Define Arivia’s role in ICT sector
18 DPE will also be taking forward its work on the “Joint Project Facility” covered in the Committee’s Budget Report. This includes investment in Africa, human resource development and capacity building, ICT, pipelines and energy, property, and industrial cluster development.
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Clearly, the last financial year was a year of transition for DPE, but much indeed got done, especially if it is considered that a new and young management team is at the helm. DPE’s current clarity of purpose is an outcome of the work done in the year under review. The Department is commended for spending 98% of its budget and achieving the audited report it did.
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While emphasising the distinct and specific roles of the Committee and the Department, and recognizing the oversight role of the Committee, Ms Molefe said she is keen to see a more co-operative relationship between the Committee and the Department. She also said that DPE would be able to submit its annual reports by the 30 August deadline suggested by the Committee, especially as it does quarterly reports anyway. The Committee welcomes the attitude of the DG. We also appreciate the candour and openness with which the DG relates to the Committee.
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The Committee is interested to see progress in finalizing a risk management framework to apply to SOEs in general, and hopes that it will begin to come into effect from 1 April next year as proposed. The Committee supports DPE’s proposal that risk management be included as part of the new shareholder management model. The Committee welcomes the establishment of the Risk Management Forum including all the SOEs. The Committee also notes the progress in finalizing the guidelines on the remuneration and benefits of SOEs Board members and CEOs.
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The Committee notes the progress in finalizing the new shareholder management model. The Committee was briefed on the proposed model earlier this year. We fully support the view that key aspects of the model should apply to SOEs generally, except where there are specific circumstances that would make this unreasonable, and we certainly think aspects of the model should be in legislation. We also agree that there should be legislation on shareholder compacts – and this should apply to SOEs generally, unless there are specific reasons that make this untenable.
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Of course, the Committee, as we have repeatedly said in our reports, does not believe that SOEs are some sort of “employment agency”. We appreciate the SOEs are under certain pressures. But we feel more should be done to retain jobs, and if there is absolutely no other option, job losses should be dealt with through appropriate social plans and other ways, including effective negotiations with the trade unions. We do not fully understand the practical meaning of DPE’s position on job-retention relating to the SOEs sale of non-core assets referred to in section 13 above, but we are encouraged, and want to pursue this matter further with DPE.
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While the majority in the Committee appreciates aspects of the DG’s distinction between SOEs and parastatals, there are aspects that are very debatable. The Committee would like to engage further with the Ministry and Department on the issues related to this, and also develop our own views on this. An appropriate opportunity will have to be found for this. Perhaps at one of our annual beginning of the year workshops of the Ministry, Department and Portfolio Committee?
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The Committee particularly welcomes DPE’s commitment to “tighten target-setting and its oversight role.” As DPE will appreciate, we, as the Committee, also need to tighten our oversight role of DPE particularly and also the SOEs. To play our role more effectively, we require DPE’s presentation on its annual report to be more pointed, and more clearly draw out the relationship between the measurable objectives in its strategic plan for the financial year under review, the use of its budget during that year, and progress in respect of the main measurable objectives. In the way DPE presented its report, it was not always clear what had been achieved within the 2005 financial year and what in the six months since then. We refer again to section A5 of our last year’s report and section B above in respect of what we need to play our role effectively in processing annual reports. Of course, we appreciate that the 2005 financial year was unique in some senses for DPE, but next year we will be more demanding in this regard. We are encouraged by the DG’s agreement that the committee’s requirements are fair and reasonable, and will be met in greater measure next year.
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Given the nature of the parliamentary programme, there will inevitably be time and other constraints, but the Committee is to try, as far as possible, to arrange briefings on DPE’s quarterly reports and monitor progress more constantly. The Committee is keen to pursue with DPE the more technical aspects of its strengthened oversight role. Among the issues we need to understand better are the following:
▪ The challenges in finalizing shareholder compacts ▪ The new benchmarking programme to track the operational efficiency of SOEs, including financial benchmarking with such methods as the Holt Evaluation Model ▪ Guidelines for the disposal of the SOEs non-core assets ▪ SOEs investment map and the “investment dashboard”
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Overall, while there are obvious capacity challenges, and the Department is aware of this, the Committee is encouraged by DPE’s achievements in the year under review, its progress in the six months since, and its strategy and programmes for the period ahead.
D. Transnet
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Transnet was represented by Board Chairperson, Mr Fred Phaswana; Group Chief Executive, Ms Maria Ramos; Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr Chris Wells; Group Executive: Strategy and Transformation, Mr Pradeep Maharaj; Group Treasurer, Ms Swazi Tshabalala; Chief Executive Officer of SAA, Dr Khaya Ngqula; and Chief Financial Officer of SAA, Ms Tryphosa Ramano.
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Mr Phaswana explained that, since last year’s briefing, the respective roles of the Board and the executive had been finalized and Transnet was much clearer both about the challenges confronting it and what is required to meet the challenges. Transnet was finalizing its shareholder compact with the government and it would be available by next year’s briefing on the annual report.
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‘Never before”, he said, “has Transnet been required to spend so much money in so short a time. The question is not money, but capacity, and not just capacity, but getting the outcomes, and not just outcomes, but meeting the deadlines.” He was clear that “given the will, Transnet’s tasks are eminently do-able”
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Ms Ramos also stressed that, less than finances, Transnet is facing capacity challenges “across the length and breadth of the group”. Among the skills required are project management, financial and engineering, and others in several technical areas which Transnet had long ago stopped developing. Even train drivers need new skills to manage the new technologies being installed on locomotives. Transnet had therefore adjusted its turnaround strategy. It retained the 4- point plan but had merged corporate governance and risk management, and introduced human capital as its 4th pillar – so its current 4- point turn-around plan is to:
▪ Redirect the business ▪ Restructure the balance sheet ▪ Ensure corporate governance and risk management ▪ Develop human capital
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Transnet had made further advances towards becoming a focused freight transport company, with rail, port and pipeline operations. It functions through Spoornet, NPA (National Ports Authority), SAPO (South African Ports Operation) and Petronet. Transnet has also decided to retain Transwerk, which is the rail engineering and maintenance division, and Protekon, which provide project management and engineering skills. The technical work to unbundle SAA from Transnet will be completed by March 2006. The passenger rail services will be transferred to the Department of Transport and negotiations in this regard are in the final stages. Transnet had received approval from the Minister, in terms of the PFMA, to dispose of a number of its non-core assets.
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At 13% of GDP, transport and logistics costs are far too high compared to our competitors, and have to be reduced. Tariff increases averaged 2,6% , below the 4% inflation for 2005 financial year. But the answer does not lie just in tariff reductions. Transnet has to fully implement its turnaround strategy to ensure that it reduces transport costs on a sustainable basis.
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From a loss of R6,3 billion in the 2004 financial year, Transnet made a profit of R6,8 billion in the 2005 financial year. Key aspects of an understanding of Transnet’s finances include the following:
▪ In 2004 there was a R4,2 billion impairment, mainly relating to aircraft. In 2005 impairment of assets amounted to R153 million.
▪ In 2005 R6 billion was paid to unwind SAA’s hedge book.
▪ The iron ore contract was re-negotiated and pricing is no longer based on the rand-dollar exchange rate and world iron ore prices but is now Rand-based. Accordingly, the embedded derivative liability of R3,9 billion was reversed.
▪ In 2005 there was a fair value profit of R4,7billion relating primarily to the reversal of the embedded derivative liability of R3,9 billion and the mark to market (?) shares.
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Transnet’s turnover increased by 6% to R46,2 billion and operating expenses increased by just 2,7%, while inflation averaged 4%, so Transnet experienced real growth. All the core businesses experienced real growth. Profit from operations before net finances and impairments increased by 35,5% to R5,9 billion. The operating profit margin increased from 0,4% in 2004 to 12,6% in 2005 – the highest in 6 years Capital and reserves are up from R9,8 billion to R16,9 billion. Derivative liabilities have been reduced from R14,1 billion to R1,2 billion. The gearing ratio has been reduced from 83% to 67%. Transnet wants to reduce it to between 50 and 55 % over the next five years. Transnet believes that its volatility is over and it expects relatively stable operating profits with margins above 12% in the next few years. Capital expenditure of R5,6 billion was spent during the year, of which R3,7 billion was spent on expansion projects. Cash flow from operations increased by R2,6 billion to R7,5 billion, an increase of 51%.
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Transnet has an actuarial liability of R4,7 billion on its Second Defined Benefit Fund, and will have to fund this amount in the next 5 years or so. Transnet hopes to find a solution to this by the end of this financial year.
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Transnet’s progress since last year in respect of the first pillar of its 4-point turnaround strategy, re-directing its business, includes:
▪ Re-engineering core business processes: efficiency, cost reduction, service delivery, market share increase ▪ Top management in place ▪ Restructuring of corporate office towards being more focused and slim near completion ▪ Investment Plan of R40 billion approved
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Progress in respect of the second pillar, restructuring the balance sheet, includes:
▪ Approval of exit of most non-core assets ▪ Closure of SAA hedge book and removal of embedded derivatives ▪ Unwinding of MTN share transaction structure in progress ▪ SAA recapitalization agreed at R2,4 billion
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In respect of the third pillar, corporate governance and risk management, progress includes:
▪ Board’s Governance, Remuneration and Risk Management
committees now functioning
▪ The executive committee and sub-committees now fully
functional
▪ Risk committees established at business units
▪ Enterprise Risk Management Framework in progress
▪ Fraud Prevention Plan and Ethics Programme established
▪ Financial management and control strengthened
▪ Internal audit outsourced
- In respect of the fourth new pillar, human capital, progress includes:
▪ Decision taken to appoint executive
▪ Organisational design and development process approved
▪ Talent management policy established
▪ Employment equity policy updated
▪ Training and development
▪ Performance management and reward
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Spoornet experienced a loss of R21 million in 2005. The loss in 2004 was R668 million, including embedded derivatives. Spoornet is the only core business that is underperforming. But it is the largest of Transnet’s divisions and its success is crucial to Transnet’s success. “Spoornet remains both our biggest challenge and our greatest opportunity. The bulk of our work focuses on Spoornet”, says Ms Ramos. R16 billion is to be spent upgrading infrastructure over the next 5 years. Transnet aims to improve Spoornet’s profitability by about R2 billion over the next 5 years through operational efficiencies and asset upgrades. The aim is for Spoornet to reduce costs and increase volumes. The current 28 million tons of iron ore transported is to be increased to 41 million tons in the next 5 years. The current 67 million tons on the coal line is to be increased to 86 million tons by 2009. General freight is to be increased from 86 million to 88 million tons over the short term, and a strategy is underway to increase this significantly within five years.
- NPA secured a profit before tax of R2,7 billion, a 26,1% increase on 2004. NPA spent R1,1 billion on capital expenditure The major capex spend on projects related to the construction of the Ngqura port and expansion of the container and car terminals at Durban port. NPA is to spend more than R1,billion on capital expansion in the 2006 financial year mainly at the Durban, Richards Bay and Ngqura ports.
- SAPO’s profit before tax was R1,9 billion, compared to R348 million
in
- However, about R1 billion of this was a once-off gain from the ending of the embedded derivative and fair value adjustments. There was an impressive 27% increase in volumes of vehicles handled and a 12% increase of containers. SAPO invested R591 million in infrastructure. SAPO aims to spend over R1 billion in Capex in 2006, mainly on equipment at its main ports operations.
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Petronet’s profit before tax increased by 39,3% to R333 million. Its return on assets of 15% is in line with international benchmarks. The coming regulation may have an impact on Petronet but it is too early to specify details. Petronet is planning a new multi-product pipeline that will cost between R3 and R5 billion depending on the gauge of the pipeline.
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Of Transnet’s R40,8 billion capital expenditure over the next 5 years, R16,1 billion is to be spent by Spoornet, R15,4 billion by the NPA, R5,1 billion by SAPO and R4,2 billion by Petronet. Transnet expects to be able to fund about R28 billion of this from its own sources and will have to borrow about R12 billion from the capital markets. It will also have to fund about R13 billion to pay the bonds and loans that are maturing in the next 5 years. Hence Transnet may have to borrow R25 billion over the next five years. “However, this is the worst-case scenario”, said Ms Swazi Tshabalala, “and does not take into account the gains that are expected to be made through re-engineering our businesses, selling our non-core assets and implementing other aspects of our turnaround strategy. The reality is likely to be different, possibly vastly different, from this projection of R25 billion.”
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Dr Khaya Ngqula, CEO of SAA, explained in detail the challenging nature of the airline industry globally, especially at present Profit margins ranged from 2.4% in the USA, to 2.1% in Europe and 4.5% in Australia. Low-cost carriers are out-performing the established network carriers with an average 19% gap. “We face a very tough and hostile external environment. Creating shareholder value is a continuous challenge for airlines all over the world”, he said.
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SAA’s new Bambanani strategy has three pillars:
▪ People: Develop and nurture world-class talent through enhanced training and performance management ▪ Patronage: Provide seamless travel experience to customers and deliver excellent internal support services ▪ Profit: Provide sustainable return on invested capital to investors - The key initiatives in respect of the focus on people include:
▪ Redesign of organizational structure
▪ Collapsing management structures
▪ Focus on risk management
▪ Customer services training of all employees
▪ Sales organization restructure and sales forces training
- A new SAA leadership group is in place, based on the following principles:
▪ A focus on people
▪ A focus on strengthening risk management
▪ An aggressive focus on customer service throughout the
organization
▪ A culture of excellence with profit and cost control 23. The key initiatives in respect of the patronage pillar of the
strategy includes
product improvement like the highly regarded “lie-flat” seats to
London becoming part of the Star Alliance partnership, and reviews of
service standards. Major achievements include the VIP programme,
customer service training and sales training. There is also going to
be a focus on talent and performance management, a distribution
strategy, and the optimization of working capital.
- Key initiatives in respect of the profit pillar of the strategy include growth in Africa, the Asian market entrance, increasing cargo business, the zero agency Commission rollout, loan and leases of aircraft, and migration to the Amadeus Reservations system. Achievements include daily routes to Mumbai, Zurich, Paris and Sao Paulo; new routes to Washington, Zanzibar and Livingstone; and a new code-share agreement with United and Austrian airlines.
25. SAA experienced a net profit of R966 million in 2005, compared
to the loss of R8,6 billion in 2004. There were specific and unique
reasons for much of the loss which was dealt with in our last year’s
report. There was a 6,8% increase in total revenues this year. The
average load factor grew from 67% to 70%. SAA wants to improve this
to above 75%, as most airlines have a load of 80%. There was a 5%
gross profit margin despite a more than 40% increase in oil price
The gross profit margin of 5% was the highest in the last five
years Operating costs increased by a mere 1,9% as a result of a
cost cutting exercise. Net asset value of a negative R2,6 billion
improved to a positive R2 billion. The return on market-value of
operated aircraft was 6,2%. Provided the oil price does not
increase, SAA aims to improve this to 10% within 5 years. SAA paid
R1,6 billion of its R4 billion loan from Transnet
26. Ms Ramano explained that SAA was concerned about the increasing
price of oil. For the current financial year there was an estimated
increase of R1 billion in the fuel bill, without increases in
fares. Transnet also pointed out that by international benchmarks,
they have about 3000 too many people employed.
27. Most of the financial gains have come from operational
efficiencies, said Chief Financial Officer, Ms Tryphosa Ramano. By
restricting the travel of senior management and other staff
members, it is estimated that SAA saved R100 milllion, including
the cost of accommodation and meals. “For our gains to be
sustainable, it’s simple. Do what we learned in Accounting 101.
Increase revenue, reduce costs, focus on profits, improve
productivity and efficiencies. But this will require a change in
mindset.”
28. Ms Ramano explained that the previous management had sold aircraft
far below their market value in transgression of the PFMA and had
taken bonuses in (??Technical) of R100 million when the company
experienced a loss of R8 billion. These matters had been referred
to the government to act on.
29. Questioned by the Committee, Ms Ramano explained that the recent
SAA strike caused a loss of approximately R150 million. “Had we
conceded to the strikers original demands, the company would have
lost R1,6 billion of value in the long term”, said Ms Ramano. Dr
Ngqula conceded that management did not handle the strike well and
should have communicated better with its customers and the public.
“This was the first strike ever in SAA’s history. We were not
properly prepared for it. And strikes are very complex, very
painful. We learned valuable lessons from it.”
30. SAA’s key priorities over the medium term include reviewing its
business model to compete with the low-cost carriers,
“revolutionizing its fleet”, developing alliances and partnerships,
and simplifying travel arrangements for passengers. At present, 75%
of SAA’s revenue comes from passengers, 9% from cargo and 16% from
other income. SAA wants to increase its transport of cargo to 20 %
by 2010. Most airlines get approximately 40% of their revenue from
cargo. 59% of SAA’s revenue is derived from international
passengers, 25% from domestic passengers, and 16% from regional
passengers. Currently, 25% of SAA passengers are on the Voyager
programme. SAA wants to increase this to 35% in 5 years time. SAA
also wants to increase the utilization of aircraft.
31. Challenged by the Committee, Transnet explained that they are
determined to keep job losses to a minimum with the sale of non-
core assets and other aspects of restructuring. “We did not start
by saying we have financial losses, let’s see how many jobs we can
get rid of to save money”, said Ms Ramos. “We started with the need
to restructure Transnet, and the jobs that are necessary are
decided in this context.” Transnet is in constant negotiations with
the unions about these issues and is committed to implementing its
Social Plan. Some of the non-core businesses are running losses and
will be liquidated unless they are sold. The current Head Office
staff of more than 400 will be reduced by 250. Other possible job
losses are difficult to tell at present. The fulfillment of
Transnet’s capital expenditure plans will contribute to economic
growth and job-creation, it was stressed.
32. Ms Ramos explained that negotiations for the sale of the MTN shares
held by the MCell Trust on behalf of the Second Defined Benefit
Fund to Umthunzi Telecoms Consortium, were terminated following a
failure to reach agreement.
33. Ms Ramos explained that there were 4 cases of non-compliance with
the PFMA. These relate to an Air Tanzania exchange control approval
matter, lack of executive authorization for investment in Spoornet
Zambia, lack of shareholders’ agreement for participation in a port-
related joint venture in Ghana, and the use of deposits by the
Housing Division of Transnet. All of these occurred in prior years
and did not have a material impact on Transnet. All of the matters
are being attended to.
34. Ms Ramos emphasized that “while the results are pleasing, we still
have a long way to go. There are no short-cuts, and the turnaround
strategy will take about 5 years to properly implement”
35. The presentations made to the Committee were clear and accessible
and the Committee expresses its appreciation. It was a more
confident, clear and positive Board and management team from
Transnet that the Committee met this year. The Committee feels that
considerable progress has been made in refining and implementing
the turnaround strategy since the previous financial year, and
welcomes the focus on human capital as a major pillar of the
strategy. In fact, the Committee has been more concerned than we
have suggested in our reports, that Transnet will have major
capacity challenges in implementing its ambitious strategy, and we
are now more at ease with Transnet’s clear acknowledgment of the
challenges and commitment to deal with them. This is not to say, of
course, that the capacity challenges will be easy to meet; but the
first major task in responding to them is surely to acknowledge the
depth, scope and nature of the problem? Transnet has certainly done
that – and we wish them well as they tackle it.
36. The Committee is concerned about pending job losses, but feels
otherwise that, overall, Transnet’s strategy is fairly clear and
basically correct. There are many commendable aspects to it.
Without detracting from the considerable value that the current
leadership brings to Transnet, the Committee cannot understand why
key aspects of this strategy were not decided on and implemented 5
years ago! It would have been enormously beneficial for the country
if this had happened.
37. Lacking the necessary technical expertise and struck by the
magnitude of the financial turnaround, from a R6,3 billion loss in
2004 to a R6,8 billion profit in 2005, the Committee was initially
cautious about being too enthusiastic about the results. What
exactly do the very nice figures mean? To what extent does this
turnaround reflect real, material gains as against a juggling of
figures to take account of new accounting standards and ways of
reporting? To what extent are the results due to the fact that
there were major once-off losses in 2004, such as the SAA hedges
and impairment of aircraft, and so the 2005 results are not as good
as the figures suggest? To what extent are the much better results
a consequence of the implementation of the turnaround strategy and
the re-engineering of the business units? More specifically, how
much is due to greater efficiencies in operations, cost-reductions,
greater productivity, increase in volumes and greater market share?
Crucially, how sustainable are these results and what are the
prospects of even better results? Of course, there was not the
time or means to fully come to terms with these issues, but
following the engagement with the Transnet team and having
familiarized ourselves with some of the public discourse on
Transnet’s results, the Committee feels that the results are very
impressive and promising, and due in good part to the
implementation of the turnaround strategy. The Committee also feels
that the results provide a good foundation for the financial
turnaround to be sustainable, and looks forward to seeing what the
2006 results are like.
38. The Committee welcomes the progress being made in terms of a new
risk management framework for the group and the establishment of
risk management committees at all levels. The Committee would, in
future, like to be briefed more fully on this, and will make
appropriate arrangements with Transnet to do this.
39. A major concern of the Committee over the next few years will be
monitoring progress in the implementation of Transnet’s capital
expenditure plans. We will discuss with Transnet the feasibility of
regular reports in this regard. As a Committee, we have to consider
whether we need to develop skills to be more effective in this
area. The Committee welcomes Ms Ramos’ commitment to ensuring that
South African companies are fully briefed about the role they can
play in the infrastructure roll-out. Welcome too is the commitment
to ensure that, wherever possible, non-South African companies
involved in the infrastructure programme transfer skills to South
Africans.
40. In view of the challenges being confronted by Spoornet, the
Committee will seek to pay particular attention to Spoornet. While
recognizing the difficulties, the Committee feels that greater
attention should be given to increasing the general freight volumes
by more than the 2 million tons proposed over the next few years.
41. The Committee exchanged at some length with Transnet about job
losses. The Committee appreciates the complexities, but also feels
obliged, in the public interest, to constantly raise issues about
this. Our overall concerns in this regard are set out in section H2
below. We also stress the need for Transnet to ensure that,
wherever possible, labour-intensive methods are deployed to roll
out the capital infrastructure.
42. In respect of the sale of non-core assets, the Committee expresses
its concern that the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) targets
should indeed be broad-based, and within our capacity constraints,
and to the extent consistent with our oversight role, we will be
monitoring this carefully.
43. The Committee finds SAA’s financial turnaround impressive,
particularly because the oil price increased by 40% and the rand
appreciated 14% (so reducing the income from international
passengers). While recognizing the major challenges, the Committee
hopes that the financial performance will be sustained and even
improved. The Bambanani strategy holds much promise, and the
Committee hopes it will be properly implemented. The Committee
welcomes SAA’s decision to introduce low-cost flights. The
Committee is keen to monitor progress in regard to increasing the
amount of cargo carried. Is the target of 20% by 2010 ambitious
enough, given that
most airlines draw about 40% of their business from cargo?
44. The Committee welcomes Dr Ngqula comments about SAA’s handling of
the strike. It largely overlaps with the Committee’s views. Welcome
too is Dr Ngqula’s strong commitment to reducing luggage theft on
SAA flights. “The theft of luggage is too high”, he said. “It’s
totally, totally unacceptable. You must know from me that we’re
going to fix this. We can do all these good things, but if people
cannot get their luggage, they’re not going to want to fly.” We
will be holding Dr Ngqula’s to his words, and will monitor the
situation keenly. In 2004, luggage theft cost SAA R10 million.
45. Questioned by the Committee, Dr Ngqula insisted that there were
sound reasons for the exit or pending exit of several senior
managers. “There is no exodus of senior managers. That’s a
perception created by the media”, he said. The Committee is unable
to express a specific view on Dr Ngqula’s response, but raises this
issue because it is in the public domain.
46. The Committee welcomes SAA’s referral of the matters referred to in
section 27 (?) above to the Minister. We will monitor developments
in this regard.
47. Again, while not detracting from the considerable value that the
current leadership brings to SAA, the Committee feels that key
aspects of the current SAA strategy could well have been introduced
several years ago. SAA and the country would have benefited
enormously. The Committee wishes the new SAA leadership well in
implementing their new strategy.
48. A bill will have to be passed in parliament to give effect to the
separation of SAA from Transnet. To give expeditious effect to
this, it would be very useful if the Committee is given a full
briefing on the technical and other issues related to the
unbundling early in the new year.
49. The Committee notes the 4 examples of non-compliance with the PFMA
referee to in section 32 (?) and understands that they are being
attended to appropriately.
50. In six months time, the Committee would also like to be briefed on
progress regarding the following issues:
▪ Transnet’s Human Resources Strategy
▪ Spoornet’s performance
▪ The Second Defined Pension Fund Liability
▪ The tackling of corruption within Transnet
- At the time of adopting this report, the Committee learned that Ms Maria Ramos was awarded “The Business Leader of the Year” by “The Sunday Times Business Times Top 100 Companies” organization. (?). The Committee extends its congratulations to her.
E. Eskom
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Eskom was represented by the Board Chairperson, Mr Valli Moosa; Chief Executive, Mr Thulani Gcabashe; Finance Director, Mr Bongani Nqwababa; Managing Director: Enterprises Division, Mr Brian Dames; Managing Director: Distribution Division, Mr Mongezi Ntsokolo; Managing Director: External Relations, Ms Nthobi Angel; Executive Manager: Office of the Chairman and Chief Executive; and Public Affairs Advisor, Ms Prudence Pitsie.
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The newly appointed Board Chairperson, Mr Moosa, explained that Eskom’s report covered a 15-month period from 1 January 2004 to 31 March 2005. Previously Eskom’s reporting period covered a calendar year. During the year under review, Eskom changed its financial year- end to 31 March to meet the requirements of the PFMA. “So our report is on our adjustment year”, said Mr Moosa, “ making comparisons with the previous year’s report less easy. Still, Eskom has delivered an exceptional performance for a variety of reasons and is in exceptionally good health, from a variety of points of view. This includes its financial management and the performance of management as a whole. This puts Eskom in a good position to pursue the rather ambitious plans government has for it over the next few years. Of course, Eskom will be challenged, but when you see the results and the report, you will see that it’s an enterprise ready and able to meet the challenges.”
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The theme of the report, explained Chief Executive, Mr Gcabashe, is “Building Capacity, Embracing the Future”. “This explains where we are, the capacity we need, and the challenges we’re ready to face to ensure that our future is, indeed, a prosperous one”, he said. Mr Gcabashe explained that the Minister had finalized the shareholder compact with Eskom in June 2005 and there is now an alignment between the compact, the corporate plan, the budget and the activities of Eskom. Eskom seeks to “ deliver significant socio-economic development and a healthy bottom line, side by side with comprehensive upliftment of all South Africans. Eskom’s vision is to be the global lowest-cost producer of electricity for growth and development. This is reinforced by its strategic intent, which proclaims that Eskom will be the pre-eminent African energy and related services business of global stature”. Eskom retained its position as the cheapest producer of electricity in the world for industrial users and the fourth cheapest for residential users. According to the April 2004 “NUS Consulting Group International Electricity Survey and Cost Comparison”, Eskom’s cost of electricity for industrial users is 32% lower than its nearest rival, Canada. “In April this year”, said Mr Gcabashe, “this gap had increased to 36%”
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Based on “triple bottom line” reporting, with the addition of a “technical” component, Eskom measures and reports on its performance in a single integrated sustainability report covering the following key aspects:
▪ Socio-economic: Electrification, BEE, HIV/AIDS, people measures ▪ Financial: Profit before tax, return on assets, debt: equity, credit rating ▪ Occupational health, safety and environment: safety, environmental performance, research and development. ▪ Technical: Plant availability, plant reliability, system minutes, supply loss indices
5 “As Eskom, we delivered on our social commitments for the year under review”, said Mr Gcabashe. He pointed out that Eskom electrified 222 314 homes, including those of farm-workers, during the period, exceeding the budget by 10 785 connections. There is now an increased emphasis on delivering in the rural areas. The budget for electrification capital expenditure has increased to R891 million from the previous year’s R586 million, with the cost per connection also increasing because of the geographical and topographical challenges in providing electricity in the rural areas. A significant part of Eskom’s delivery was to the poorer provinces of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Kwazulu-Natal. Mr Gcabashe highlighted the importance of the electrification programmes being combined with other rural upliftment programmes. For the current year, the budget provides for 85 000 new connections. “This is of concern to us as we have the capacity to deliver more connections, but the management of this programme is not entirely in our hands, and we are discussing the matter further within the integrated national electricity business planning unit and the national electrification advisory committee, which includes the Departments of Minerals and Energy, Provincial and Local Government, and National Treasury.” Mr Gcabashe said that customer satisfaction levels surveyed by independent organizations showed an improvement due to some of the “Customer Relationship Management” solutions implemented. A recent survey put Eskom at close to 78,5%, up from 75% in April 2004.
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During the period under review, Eskom revised its business model, in light of “new drivers for change”. Firstly, the market is to be restructured to bring in independent power producers. Secondly, Eskom’s surplus electricity generation capacity is being eroded and it has to create new capacity. Thirdly, it has at its disposal limited human, financial and technical resources. As a response to these “drivers’, Eskom is to focus on its core business and curtail its non- core activities. Eskom Enterprise has been restructured, and a new enterprise division has been established within the holding company to “design, build and refurbish generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure”
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As part of its triple bottom line reporting, Eskom referred to the following key sustainability initiatives:
▪ Development of the Eskom sustainability strategy and performance index ▪ Global partnerships and alliances ▪ Key research projects in support of sustainable development ▪ Extensive demand-side management programme to promote more efficient use of electricity - Eskom had procured R10,3 billion worth of goods and services from BEE enterprises. 66% of this was with the major BEE companies, 24% with SMMEs and 10% with women-owned companies. With the implementation of Eskom’s major capital expansion programme, significantly more will be procured from BEE companies in the next five years.
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Many of Eskom’s corporate social investment initiatives are carried out through the Eskom Development Foundation, which spent R157 million during the period under review. This included programmes for skills development, job creation, education and health; support for the “Proudly South African” campaign; and sponsorship of several “cause- related programmes with emphasis on women, children and people with disabilities”. Eskom has also been actively involved in the 13 rural nodes identified by the government. Eskom also offers scholarships for mathematics and science students. Mr Gcabashe said that Eskom is recognized as “one of the top 3 good corporate grant-makers over the past 6 years and, for the third successive year, as the SOE making the strongest contribution to development and being the most caring company in South Africa”
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57, 9% of Eskom’s managerial, professional and supervisory staff are Black and 28,9% women. 2% of Eskom’s workforce are people with disabilities. Of the 1568 bursaries offered, 85% went to Blacks and 55% to women. “We pay particular attention to developing mathematics and science skills”, said Mr Gcabashe. Eskom also invested R654 million in the development and training of employees.
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Eskom had also invested R203 million in research and development focused on supporting sustainable development, including researching non-grid options. Most of the projects revolving around renewable energy are still in the research and development phase, especially with solar and wind energy. Mr Gcabashe said that these projects cannot be operationalised at this stage.
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Eskom reported that its relationship with the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) has significantly changed, ending Eskom’s historical role as a catalyst for the project. It’s role has been redefined to being “PBMR demonstration power plant host, customer for commercial units, and a shareholder in PBMR Pty Ltd”. Eskom will no longer invest in the project, and will dilute its present shareholding over time to about 5%. Eskom is more likely to become a customer of PBMR, rather than a developer. Eskom will only buy the technology if it is economically beneficial to do so.
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As reported last year, Eskom has a very advanced and comprehensive HIV/Aids programme, and this was consolidated in the period under review. “We have now included our HIV/Aids performance in our human resources sustainability index”, said Mr Gcabashe. Eskom had contributed R83 million to develop an HIV vaccine, and is to contribute a further R30 million by 2007.
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Eskom’s profit after tax for the 15-month reporting period was R5,2 billion, compared to R3,4 billion in the previous 12 months. Revenue increased from R32,9 billion to R42, 9 billion. Capital and reserves were up from R40,6 billion to R44,8 billion. The debt:equity ratio improved from 0,18 to 3.0. The return on assets improved from 10,4% to 12,7%. Total productivity was positive to the extent of R485 million or 1,8%.
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The key challenges for the period under review were safety, coal logistics and the availability of generator transformers. Eskom experienced an increase in the number of work-related fatalities from 5 the previous year to 18 in the period under review. Public electrical fatalities, caused mainly by illegal connections, increased from 27 to 39. Eskom is intensifying its efforts to ensure greater safety.
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Eskom’s key focus areas for now and the next few years are: ▪ Safety ▪ Capital expansion programme ▪ Meeting the skills requirement ▪ Funding strategy ▪ Restructuring of distribution ▪ Electrical connections for the current financial year ▪ Meeting the 2006 winter demand
- Eskom’s capital expenditure is aimed at addressing the future capacity
needs of the country. Eskom will be investing R84,2 billion in capital
expenditure over the next 5 years. Eskom, together with independent
power producers, intend to provide 5,304 megawatts of new electricity
in this period. The initial projects are aimed at increasing peaking
capacity. In 2007, Eskom will commission two open cycle gas turbine
power stations with a total capacity of 1000 MW to meet peaking
demand. Independent power providers are meant to build and operate
another two such stations with a total of 1000 MW by 2008. Eskom is
also returning to service 3 power stations that were mothballed 15
years ago. These are envisaged to contribute 3600 MW between 2005 and
- The plan is to resurrect these stations one unit at a time, with Unit 6 at the Camden power station already successfully brought back to service and now operational.
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Basically, Eskom’s capital expenditure plans revolve around:
▪ Generation: Simunye (Camden, Grootvlei,Komati); open cycle gas turbine; planning ▪ Transmission: Cape strengthening; Platnium basin; Coega supply; refurbishment ▪ Distribution: Refurbishment; reinforcement of plants -
Once again, the Committee congratulates Eskom on its achievements, and reinforces the positive comments we made about Eskom in our last year’s report. We are interested to note that, unlike last year, Eskom is now more positive about the delivery of electricity in rural areas, and has made good progress in this regard, certainly more than was suggested possible during last year’s briefing. The Committee shares Eskom’s concern about the limited budget for connections during the current financial year.
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The Committee fully supports Eskom’s focus on the more efficient use of electricity by its customers. It would be very useful if parliament as a whole was apprised on the need for this as well as Eskom’s campaign, so that we can encourage people in our constituencies to conserve energy. Our committee will raise this with the other relevant committees to see how this can be taken forward.
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The Committee is aware that Eskom is exploring alternative sources of energy, including more environmentally-friendly and renewable forms, but we have not sufficiently engaged with Eskom on this, and will do so in future. With the massive new generation of electricity planned, there are obviously concerns about the effect of greenhouse gases and other environmental issues, and the Committee will work with the relevant portfolio committees to monitor this. The Committee understands that Eskom is to reduce its stake in the PBMR project to 5%, but will consult with the other relevant portfolio committees to establish the need for us to be more acquainted with the project.
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The Committee expressed its concern at the power outages in Johannesburg and the need for Eskom to assist to avoid these. The Committee is aware that the Minerals and Energy Portfolio Committee had organised a briefing recently on this, and had also expressed its concern. Mr Moosa made it very clear that Eskom would do whatever is necessary. “We can’t take a narrow business approach to this issue. We also need to be proactive and work more closely with City Power and the municipality. I have already met Mayor Masondo on this and will be having a follow-up meeting. Of course, we can’t solve the problems overnight, but I’m reasonably confident we will in time do so.” The Committee will be monitoring developments, and will co-operate with the other relevant committees in this regard.
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As with most stakeholders, the Committee feels that Eskom’s capital expenditure programme will be very challenging. Eskom will need to find the capacity and resources to effectively implement its plans. Given Eskom’s excellent performance so far and its determination to succeed, there is reason to be positive about the prospects of Eskom meeting its challenges, and the Committee wishes them well. The Committee referred to comments by some technical experts that Eskom should have begun with the programme sooner and will not be able to meet its deadlines because of the long time-span to activate mothballed stations, let alone new ones. Eskom’s reply was that they can definitely meet their deadlines. “When you bring back a plant that’s been mothballed, until you’ve opened it, you’re not actually sure what state it is in, and we’ve had a few surprises, but we are now better able to anticipate and manage the process. Also, what we are doing has not been done anywhere else in the world to this degree that we know of”, said Mr Gcabashe. “For the first two new stations to be built, the peaking plants, the 18 to 20 months construction period is realistic. It’s been done elsewhere. The base load stations have a longer lead time, but these too will come into operation in time to meet the country’s needs.”
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The Committee believes that MPs could play a more active role in making our constituencies more aware of the danger to life entailed in illegal connections and theft of conductors. Eskom is requested to make available pamphlets and other forms of information to the Committee for distribution to MPs constituency offices.
- The Committee welcomes Mr Moosa’s commitment that Eskom will make available its annual report to the Minister for tabling in parliament by 30 August as from next year, as well as his positive views about the value of public hearings on Eskom that the Committee is to consider in future
F. Denel
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Denel was represented by Board Chairperson, Dr Sibusiso Sibisi; CEO, Mr Shaun Liebenberg; and Board member, Dr Ian Philips.
- As explained in section A3 above, Denel’s annual report was not tabled in parliament. An overview of some key aspects of the report was presented which dealt with a “situation/business analysis, a financial update and a strategy update”
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The newly appointed Board Chairperson, Dr Sibisi, explained that Denel would be “quite open about our challenges, problems and opportunities, which should be discussed collectively as we need collective wisdom to move forward. We are interested in your suggestions, comments and criticisms”
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“Denel”, explained CEO Mr Liebenberg, “is in a major change process. It’s not a turnaround. We cannot just turn around what we have. We need to change fundamentally. We need to fix Denel – and all the stakeholders need to have a single view of what this is.” He said it was impossible for Denel to make progress because there has not been consensus among all the key stakeholders, including the different government departments, on what exactly Denel should do. “We need a single vision and a single purpose”. Over the past few months this was beginning to emerge. He said that fixing Denel included:
▪ Becoming a profitable, commercially viable and dynamic entity ▪ Delivering consistent, real growth ▪ Attracting, developing, retaining and appropriately rewarding world class skills ▪ Achieving world class productivity ▪ Focusing on areas in which Denel can compete credibly ▪ Partnering with state agencies to meet the county’s defence needs ▪ Developing partnerships/alliance ventures with true value add ▪ Competing in the open market, which means behaving like the best in the open market (systems, processes, governance, marketing, equipment, commercial culture, etc)
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He said Denel “cannot achieve world class results with a subsidy mindset. Anything other than world class will not cut in this competitive environment. We need to decide who we are and stick to the game plan. This calls for a reality check based on the facts. The mind-set required for this process will take courage.” He said that clarity on what “fixing” Denel meant would provide the pillars of the new strategy.
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Essentially, there are 5 key messages that will help to create a vision and define a strategy for Denel. These are:
▪ Much of the global defence spend is inaccessible to independent contractors, making players highly reliant on their domestic markets. Furthermore, changes in the industry are forcing players to consolidate, build alliances and carefully focus their businesses. ▪ Denel is facing a funding crisis, and there is significant risk associated with the current financial projections. ▪ Denel is not viable under the current model. It no longer has the domestic market and scale to succeed as an independent systems integrator and exporter of a broad range of products. ▪ To succeed, Denel should pursue a strategy based on prime contracting in the domestic market and the export of systems and components through selective equity partnerships and alliances with global prime contractors. ▪ A process is underway to evaluate alliance opportunities and drive internal improvements across all business units.
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Mr Liebenberg explained that Denel lacked the basic prerequisites to be viable under its current business model and a new strategy is needed, which would enable Denel to operate in the changing defence environment. This strategy includes:
▪ Establishing long term formal business partnerships, locally and internationally, so that Denel can become more sustainable in sales and revenue, share in research and development, and gain experience from global best practice methodologies ▪ Focusing on businesses that are commercially viable and exiting those that are not ▪ Reviewing processes, systems, efficiencies and skills, and placing the right resources where required. ▪ Improving collaboration with defence-related public and private sector stakeholders, like Armscor, the Department of Defence, as well as local and international suppliers ▪ Reviewing the changing nature of the global and local defence industry and ensuring that Denel remains in touch with current defence requirements.
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Mr Liebenberg explained that “although global defence procurement is a $360 billion market, much of the global defence spend is not directly accessible to independent contractors such as Denel.” It is nearly impossible for them to serve the US and countries of NATO, which have a closed bidder and tender process. The US and Europe are also trying to expand their markets to areas previously served exclusively by Denel, such as the Middle East, the Far East and South America. Independent contractors like Denel are forced to become reliant on domestic markets.
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The global domestic defence industry has undergone significant change over the past decade, and the pace of change will increase. The declining defence spend and changing nature of conflicts and shifting customer needs have resulted in:
▪ Lengthening product life cycles and reduced demand for new platforms ▪ Shift to smaller, more mobile weapons and increasing use of electronics ▪ Increasing consolidation to achieve minimum scale ▪ Smaller players forming global alliances and focusing on supply of systems, sub-systems and components to alliance partners and playing a maintenance and upgrade role for domestic customers -
Mr Liebenberg explained that Denel has a very impressive product and service portfolio. “I’ve been abroad 10 times in the past 4 months, and everywhere Denel’s technology capability is highly respected. There is a desire for our products, our intellect, our capabilities. I can truly say we must be one of the leading countries from a technological point of view. However, commercially we are failing.” Denel, he said, is in serious financial difficulties and “there is significant risk attached to future projections”. The financial statements are still being finalized but it is expected that Denel’s loss for the 2005 financial year, which is currently put at about R850 million, is likely to increase to R1,6 billion, once the audit is completed. Last year, Denel experienced a loss of R377,5 million. The main reason for the jump from R850 million to a possible R1,6 billion loss is that through a more thorough audit process new financial commitments and risks were discovered. This includes:
▪ R679.8 million contract risk provision for loss on the Rooivalk attack helicopter ▪ Provision for retrenchment costs and labour disputes ▪ Contract risk and performance guarantee provision ▪ Pension fund provision ▪ Impairments of investments in associated companies, property, plant and equipment, prepaid expenses, inventories and intangible assets ▪ Failure to achieve sales targets ▪ Increase in provisions for postponement or cancellation of major contracts ▪ Adverse effects of the exchange rate -
Denel would receive a qualified audit for the 2005 financial year. “In real terms, our revenue has not increased. Equity has deteriorated. Denel’s balance sheet is under tremendous pressure. There were times when the auditors notified us that we were very close to bankruptcy. In July we received a cash injection of about R1,5 billion from the government,” said Mr Liebenberg. This is expected to carry Denel through to March 2006. . He also explained that Denel only has 45 % order cover for 2006, whereas the ideal situation would be more than 80%. Its allocation to research and development is 4,5% of turn-over, when it should be between 7 to 10%. Most of Denel’s plants are running at less than 20% capacity. “We do not have the volumes to overcome the fixed overhead structures.” But Denel can certainly improve the situation and will be doing so, he said. It would have to be recapitalized,
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Essentially, Denel is not viable under the current model. It does not have the domestic market and scale to succeed as an independent systems integrator and exporter of a broad range of products, Denel must move from being a global prime contractor, competing with some of the biggest companies in the world, to focusing on supplying sub- systems in components to the global prime contractors. “It must become the integrator for big opportunities in the local market, a specialized contractor in terms of what we produce, and part of the solutions of some of the big deals globally. Denel should not be a major systems developer, as in the case of the Rooivalk, but rather work with the major global players and build some of the components for their systems, such as we’re doing with the Gripen Our role in the Airbus A400M production is also the way to go. We are also working with government to look into the ‘open tender’ system and how we can get more of the domestic market”. Interestingly, while only 42% of Denel’s business came from the domestic market, General Dynamics in the USA got 94% of its domestic market and BAE got 78% of its market.
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Denel has an obligation to deliver 12 Rooivalk helicopters to the Air Force, which would have to be maintained for the next 30 years. The Rooivalk project cannot be closed down, but Denel would examine whether there is life for the Rooivalk beyond the SANDF order. Certain guidelines, time-frames and a roadmap would have to be adhered to. If opportunities cannot be found, the Rooivalk would no longer be marketed.
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Denel is currently reviewing the sustainability of its munitions operations in the country. It is foreseen that the seven existing munitions stations would be consolidated into five or six. The Swartklip munitions operation could be affected by the sustainability study.
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In order to improve efficiency and accountability, Denel has instituted a process of decentralization. Corporate office staff will be reduced and Denel has engaged extensively with organized labour in this regard. Denel currently employs about 10000 people, but its operational requirements warrant only about 3500 employees. There have been 72 suspensions in the last 24 months, as part of Denel’s drive to improve performance at the SOE.
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Mr Liebenberg explained that Denel is under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation in India over a contract. The Indian Ministry of Defence had informed Denel of their intention to cancel contracts and the Indian market is currently closed to Denel. Denel has sought legal advice in both South Africa and India, and can confirm that no laws were transgressed, in either South Africa or India. However, Denel is working closely with stakeholders in India to address the situation. Mr Liebenberg confirmed that Denel, as with all defence companies, used consultants and marketing agents to securing access to overseas markets.
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Although the Committee has been aware for some time now that Denel is seriously challenged, we are only now becoming aware of the extent of this. We are obviously concerned. All the relevant stakeholders are called upon to work together and do their utmost to reconstitute Denel and ensure it serves the national interest and is commercially viable on a sustainable basis. We agree with Mr Liebenberg that part of the problem has been a lack of clarity among the government and other stakeholders on exactly what role Denel should play. To the extent that there is increasing convergence among the major stakeholders on the exact role of Denel, and greater co-operation among them, we welcome it. If there is this agreement, particularly within government, surely there should be more political support for Denel too, especially as we are told defence companies globally are reliant on this? Of course, we understand that Denel faces huge challenges, and it will take some years to overcome them, but we would like to see definable progress in that direction.
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We are not defence specialists. Nor even do we have a defence expert to advise us. But the picture conveyed of the nature of the defence industry globally, the state of Denel and the need to fundamentally transform it, seem reasonable to us. The key elements of the new vision and strategy for Denel also seem reasonable to us. But we are struck by how substantially; even fundamentally, different these are from the “new” vision and strategy proposed at last year’s briefing by the previous Denel leadership. How much of the new approach proposed this year will be implemented and by when? What will be the measurable objectives and the deadlines to achieve them? What exactly will be the implications and effects of the implementation of different elements of the strategy? How will the new skills and capacity necessary be found? How many jobs will be lost and how will this be dealt with? Fundamentally, what are the financial implications of the new vision and strategy? We are understandably cautious about what is being proposed this year. We need to know more. Obviously, the new Denel leadership has to be given more time to finalise its new approach. We will call Denel within six months to further brief us on their new approach and we will seek to engage more rigorously with them then. We will also need to be briefed further on the financial state of Denel.
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In respect of Denel’s difficulties with India, the Committee feels that, at this stage, we cannot pursue the matter further, but should developments make it necessary, and it is within the Committee’s oversight responsibilities, we will obviously pursue the matter.
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In respect of Denel’s failure to finalise its annual report, the Committee finds the reasons given understandable and acceptable. But it will not do not to get the report on time in future, as the Denel leadership will also agree.
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The DA (Democratic Alliance) and the IFP (Inkatha Freedom Party) believe that Denel should not be given any state funding and should be privatized.
- The majority in the Committee appreciates that the new leadership at Denel has a major responsibility to restructure Denel and make it viable, and we wish them well.
G. Alexkor
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Alexkor was represented by Chairperson of the Board Mr Nchakha Moloi, and recently appointed acting CEO, Mr Mzamani Mdaka.
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As noted in section A3, Alexkor’s report was not tabled in parliament. The draft of the report presented to the Committee covers a nine-month period from 1 July 2004 to 31 March 2005. Previously Alexkor’s financial year- end was 30 June. It has had to adjust this to take account of the PFMA requirements.
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Mr Moloi explained that Alexkor’s vision is to transform the SOE into a competitive and sustainable organisation that will contribute positively towards the needs of all stakeholders. Its mission is optimise revenues from mining, ensuring satisfactory returns to the shareholder. Alexkor also seeks to implement the socio-economic upliftment of the region and ensure a healthy and safe environment.
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Alexkor’s core business is land and marine diamond mining through the Alexander Bay Mine (ABM). Its non-core business is agriculture and tourism through Alexander Bay Trading (ABT). The non-core businesses include ostriches, oysters, dairy, citrus and guest houses. Alexkor also has responsibility for the maintenance of Alexander Bay Town and for providing health care and emergency services to Alexander Bay and Richtersveld communities. The mine also provides potable water to Alexander Bay and Port Nolloth and rental subsidies for the Alexander Bay community. It runs the airport and museum.
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Mr Moloi said that Alexkor had a very high turnover of CEOs - more than 10 since 1996. It has had 3 Board Chairpersons during this period. This lack of continuity has posed difficulties for developing a long-term strategy. But what has also mainly held Alexkor back is the uncertainties surrounding the ongoing land claims case of the Richtersveld community. “Nobody wants to invest, and staff morale is low. Until the case is finalized we can’t be sure where we are going”, said Mr Moloi. Alexkor is also awaiting the outcome of other legal cases, including Nabera’s claim of R54 million, Ruslyn Mining’s claim of R5,2 million and Coin Security’s claim of R2,5 million. All these cases are expected to be concluded by the second quarter of next year.
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Mr Mdaka reported that Alexkor experienced a R 4, 7 million loss over the reporting period, as against a R35,7 million profit the previous financial year. The main reason for this is that diamond production was down 38%. Income decreased from R182, 5 million to R143, 9 million, despite a 15% increase in price per carat. Alexkor attributes the loss to a combination of operational problems in land mining and a continuous downward trend in sea days. Overall, Alexkor made a small profit on mining, but its non-core businesses suffered significant losses.
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Alexkor’s non-mining operations showed a loss of R5, 5 m for the period under review. Alexkor had to write off the parsely project, which had been valued at R850 000. In addition, ABT had to revalue maize with a negative value of R2,5 million because there was no business plan to deal with the disposal of crops that are perishable.
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The ostrich flu virus led to a decreased sale of ostriches. ABT cannot export ostrich meat to international markets as their abattoir does not comply with international health and safety standards and Alexkor does not have the funds to upgrade the abattoir. They are however selling live birds to other SA abattoirs that comply with international standards.
- Alexkor is currently undercapitalized and short of funds. “A huge replacement Capex programme is required”, said Mr Mdaka. Funding is also required for post-retirement medical aid. Alexkor also needs to provide for unforeseen expenses related to legal matters. Alexkor reported that a determination of the exact extent of their potential environmental liability is one of the reasons for the delay in finalizing their financial statements.
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Alexkor had continued to contribute to skills development through its “social responsibility and investment” programme. 5 out of 10 bursary holders are females. 7 out of 11 employees in mentorship programmes are females. 3 out of 10 apprentices are females. Alexkor used 3,1% of its wage bill on training. Alexkor also has an HIV/Aids programme.
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Unlike other SOEs, Alexkor is not currently planning to dispose of their non-core functions. The CEO reported that the best strategy would eventually be to transfer the commercial non-core functions to a separate company and to hand over the maintenance of the town and other social functions to the local and provincial government.
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Among Alexkor’s short-term production improvement plans are the following:
▪ Implementation of double-shift work in land mining ▪ Involvement of labour in production planning sessions ▪ Implementation of remote mining techniques ▪ Emphasising cost reduction and control ▪ Market development for ABT products
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Among other aspects of Alexkors plans are:
▪ A short-term focus on improving financial performance: optimize use of resources; implement productivity improvement; continuously reduce operting costs and pay limits. ▪ Develop long-term strategy beyond a single mine company ▪ Collaborate with established companies and leverage their ability to fund expansion plans.
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Possible growth opportunities include:
▪ Acquisition of other mineral rights in other parts of the country ▪ Restart mining operations at Muisvlak ▪ Embarking on an extensive exploration programme ▪ Recapitalising current land mining ▪ Replacing current mining equipment
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Alexkor is planning to move beyond a single mine structure and has received permission from government to look at mining and exploration at other locations within South Africa. This strategy will soon be implemented, and it will focus on the Northern Cape, North West province and Limpopo. Alexkor will brief the Committee on this at a future date.
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Mr Moloi explained that Alexkor is keeping a close watch on the processing of the Precious Metals Bill 30 of 2005 as it sees itself as a base-load supplier for the proposed State Diamond Trader. An area like Namaqualand would be ideal for the establishment of the State Diamond Trader as many diamond companies operate in the region.
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Of course, the Committee appreciates that the land claims case and other uncertainties, as well as certain other unique challenges, make Alexkor’s progress difficult. The Committee also appreciates that it is difficult to attract technically qualified people to work at Alexkor. But we feel more can be done to ensure that Alexkor works. The swing from a profit of R35,7 million to a loss of R4,7 million in 9 months is too extreme, and the reasons given not compelling enough. Nor is the Committee taken by the proposals on how to go forward. They were too general and vague, and presented more as goals, with no strategy or plans or programmes on how to achieve these goals. Even if the outcome of the land claims and other cases cannot be forseen, surely there should be some forward planning that takes account of different possible outcomes? Mr Moloi agreed in general with the Committees views expressed here, and explained that a major strategy workshop is to be held in November to address these and other issues. He agreed that the Committee should be briefed on progress at Alexkor in 6 months time. At this briefing Alexkor would also report back on progress in respect of the women’s empowerment projects, “national question” and other issues raised in the Committee’s previous report on Alexkor.
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As raised in our previous report, Alexkor should phase in its handing over of responsibilities to local and provincial government.
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The Committee does not fully understand the issues related to Alexkor serving as a base-load supplier to the proposed State Diamond Trader, but will raise the matter with the Minister.
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The DA feels that Alexkor should be sold off as soon as possible. The IFP expresses its severe reservations about the future of Alexkor
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The Committee feels that Alexkor should organize its AGMs earlier so that its annual report can be tabled in parliament in time.
- While recognizing the personnel, resource and other constraints of DPE, the majority in the Committee feels the Department should do more to assist Alexkor, and urges the Board and executive to meet the challenges they face.
H. On SOEs in General
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Overall, the Committee feels that Eskom is doing very well, and although it will be severely challenged with its major infrastructure plans, it can find the necessary capacity and meet the challenges; certainly it has the potential to do so. Transnet has undergone a remarkable financial turnaround and in other respects has significantly improved its performance, and has developed an overall turnaround strategy that is very promising. Denel is, of course, seriously challenged in financial and other respects. The evolving new vision and strategy seem reasonable, but the Committee does not have the expertise to effectively evaluate these, and does not, at this stage, have a clear enough sense of what the implications of the proposed new approach are, how the strategy will be implemented and to what extent it will make Denel viable. But the new leadership at Denel has to be given more time to finalise their approach, and the Committee wishes them well. While the Committee recognizes that Alexkor is in a sort of limbo until the Richterveld community’s land claim is settled, and there are various other challenges that make forward-planning difficult, we feel Alexkor is performing well below what it should, and even as it waits for the outcome of the court case, it can certainly improve its performance. We recognize that DPE has many and huge responsibilities and is a small department, but we urge it to pay more attention to Alexkor.
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As covered in section C 23 and elsewhere above, the Committee does not believe that SOEs are “employment agencies” and recognizes that for them to fulfill their developmental roles they might, at times, have to shed jobs. But the Committee feels that all the SOEs need to do more to save jobs and ensure that those employees they have to forego are supported in terms of a Social Plan, drawing in the sector education and training authorities where possible, and through other means. Needless to say, these and other related issues must be effectively negotiated with the trade unions. In respect of the infrastructure roll-out, SOEs will obviously have to focus on labour- intensive methods wherever possible. All of this and more can be done without weakening – indeed it will strengthen – the developmental role of SOEs. The Committee needs to see whether we can develop more technically sound arguments for our positions on this. The majority party was elected on a mandate of “creating jobs and reducing poverty”, and while we are not industrial relations experts, and to the extent consistent with our oversight role, we are going to monitor job losses in the SOEs much more carefully.
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Of course, the committee recognizes that because of the nature of some of the goods and services to be procured by the SOEs, it will not be easy to ensure that the BEE beneficiaries are broad-based enough. But the Committee feels very strongly that more should and can be done to ensure that the BEE is indeed broad-based and includes SMMEs. With the SOEs sale of non-core assets, this issue has also become important. DPE is urged to monitor the SOEs stringently in this regard, and certainly the Committee expects SOEs to explain in detail the categories of their BEE beneficiaries at next year’s presentations on annual reports. Of course, the SOEs will also have to brief the Committee on progress in this regard at the annual briefings we have on BBBEE in the second quarter. The Committee will also be keenly monitoring the extent to which businesses owned by women are beneficiaries. To what extent are youth benefiting as well?
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The Committee also feels that SOEs should report in greater detail on the incidence of corruption they experience, how they deal with this, and their corruption prevention strategies generally.
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To differing degrees the SOEs have very good programmes on HIV/Aids, and the Committee is very encouraged by this. Where possible, more should be done.
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SOEs are clearly playing an increasingly important role in our economy and society. The Committee is acutely aware of the magnitude of the infrastructure programmes that Eskom and Transnet are taking on. The other SOEs also have major responsibilities. Precisely because of the increasing significance of the SOEs, the Committee needs to be more effective in our oversight role, and within our capacity constraints, we need to monitor developments in the SOEs more actively and receive more progress reports through negotiations with DPE and the SOEs.
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The DA repeats its reservations about the role being allocated to the SOEs, and believes, in fact, that the SOEs should be privatized.
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The Committee feels that there may well be a need for us to better understand the broader role of SOEs in the social transformation of South Africa. Some of the SOEs might also feel the need for this. We will raise this with the Minister, and also see whether as a Committee we want to do our own work in this regard.
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Obviously, SOEs have to contend with negative effects of the apartheid system on them. But the Committee believes that a significant number of the problems SOEs are currently dealing with flow from some of our failures over the past ten years. Without subscribing to a crude notion of “great men and women in history”, it certainly seems to us that the success of SOEs depends substantially on the leadership they have. This means that the government has to ensure that the Boards and executives of the SOEs are the right people to be leading the SOEs. The government, SOEs Boards and executives also have to ensure effective succession strategies to ensure that when leaderships change the SOEs do not automatically become weakened.
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Each of the SOEs deals with very complex and technical issues. For the Committee to be more effective in our oversight role, we need help from energy, transport and defence experts. We are to explore the possibilities of this. But if we are technically deficient, we are, we believe, reasonably politically sound, and will continue to draw on our political mandate and strengths to play our oversight role.
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We stress again that organizations appearing before our Committee must respond to the issues we have raised about them in this report when they come before us. Otherwise the report will have very limited value!
I. Aspects of Committee’s 2006 Programme
1. Our 2006 programme will be shaped substantially by the issues
raised in this report. Of course, it will also be shaped by the
more specific 2006 programme of the Ministry and Department that we
will be briefed on at our annual workshop in late February.
2. The local government elections will affect the parliamentary
calendar next year. Exactly how, is not clear at this stage. But
our programme will be partly dictated by the number of
parliamentary sitting days next year.
3. In various sections of this report, we have set out issues we
intend to pursue next year. In this section we will not repeat all
of them. We will refer to some of them. Our programme next year
will include a focus on:
▪ Annual workshop with the Ministry and Department in late
February
▪ Briefings on shareholder compacts finalized with SOEs
▪ Where possible, quarterly progress reports from DPE.
▪ Monitoring more closely the SOEs infrastructure programme
▪ A six-month progress report from the SOEs early in the
second quarter of next year. Our main interest will be on
Denel, Spoornet and Alexkor
▪ Briefings on broad-based BEE in the second quarter and on
womens empowerment in August, even if constantly monitored
▪ SOEs sale of non-core assets
▪ Processing the SAA bill and any possible legislation on
shareholder compacts or a shareholder management model
▪ Risk Management frameworks and structures
▪ Continuation of our education and training programme to
make us a more effective Committee
▪ Continuation of our study tour visits
4. Within our constraints, we will seek to do as much as we can around
the above and other issues.
5. The Committee notes with appreciation that most of the
organizations that appeared before us were amenable to having their
annual reports available for tabling in parliament by 30 August
each other. We hope this is effected. It will be of enormous help
to the Committee.
6. The Committee needs to work closer with other relevant portfolio
committees in fulfilling our oversight role in respect of the SOEs.
7. The Committee need to explore the possibilities of technically
advanced research support.
8. The Committee will look into the need for this report to be debated
in the House early in the new year.
J. Appreciation
1. We extend our appreciation to the leadership of DPE and the SOEs
for their co-operation in our processing of their annual
reports.
2. We also acknowledge the contribution of research assistant, Ms
Desmoreen Carolus, who prepared the initial report on which this
report drew.
So far the key constraints that have been identified include the