WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2006 __

                PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

                                ____

The House met at 14:02.

The House Chairperson Mr K O Bapela took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

                      UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE

                              (Rulings)

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Before we call for the first order, I just want to make some rulings relating to matters that were raised last Thursday, 25 May 2006.

During the debate on the Budget Vote of the Department of Minerals and Energy several points of order were raised during the speech by hon B G Mosala. Those points of order were raised by inter alia hon M J Ellis and hon S K Louw. I indicated at the time that I would take the matter under review and report to the House in due course.

Having now had the opportunity to study the Hansard, I wish to rule as follows. Regarding Mr Ellis’s initial point of order, he, as a senior Whip, knows very well that a point of order should not be used in an attempt to correct statements being made by a member speaking. Furthermore, it is not for the Chair to determine the veracity or otherwise of such statements. His point of order was therefore not a point of order. Consequently, I instructed Mr Mosala to proceed with his speech.

However, in raising his point of order, Mr Ellis contended that Mr Mosala was deliberately misleading the House. To accuse another member of deliberately misleading the House is unparliamentary as it infers bad faith on the part of the other member. I must therefore ask Mr Ellis to withdraw his statement that Mr Mosala was deliberately misleading the House.

Mr M J ELLIS: Can I address you on that point of order, Mr Chair?

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): No. I just want a withdrawal, hon Ellis.

Mr M J ELLIS: I withdraw.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): In the second point of order, Mr Ellis objected to the following statement by Mr Mosala, “You know that you are a compromised leader of the DA.” This remark was clearly directed at an individual member, the hon W J Seremane, and amounts to an attack on that member’s integrity. “Compromised” in this context would mean that the hon member in question had exposed his good name and reputation to injury and disrepute. I therefore request hon Mosala to withdraw the remark that the hon member is compromised.

Mr B G MOSALA: I withdraw, Chairperson.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon Mosala. Finally, hon Mr Louw raised a point of order in which he maintained that a member of the DA had said that Mr Mosala was corrupt. However, he was unable to identify the specific member. No one admitted to making the remark and it was not recorded in Hansard either.

In a case where an unparliamentary remark cannot be ascribed to any member, the Chair is unable to rule on the matter. I, however, would like to take this opportunity, once again, to urge hon members to desist from resorting to unparliamentary language as it is in breach of the Rules and does not contribute to the good order in the House. With those remarks I hope we will then proceed.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 19 - Sport and Recreation South Africa:

The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson, good afternoon Deputy President, today I want, first of all, to acknowledge the presence in the gallery of a whole array of people from the sports fraternity, both from South Africa and indeed from other parts of the world.

Notable amongst them is Mr Fred Nassiri and a delegation of nine people from the USA who are here on a very important mission – a mission which coincides with our vision. [Applause.] They are on a mission to promote his song, Love Sees No Colour. And you will understand that it is a theological position as well as a constitutional imperative.

One of our rallying calls during the struggle for the liberation of our people and our country was that the struggle for a nonracial sports environment was an essential part of the struggle for freedom. We argued that sport in every part of the world reflects the society it is practised in: a racially divided society or a society which gives preference to a particular gender or class. All these things tend to be reflected in the way sport is practised in a particular country, either subtly or very sharply.

Sportspeople can be exposed to antisocial traits like violence, corruption, hooliganism, excessive nationalism and cheating. Sportspeople can be exposed to the dangers of child labour, doping, early specialisation, and exploitative commercialisation and overexertion. These ills of society invariably affect the health of citizens. They create a premature separation of juveniles from their families and a loss of cultural and communal ties. So, yes, sport is a reflection of society - its miseries and woes, the socioeconomic challenges as well as society’s values.

A positive and developmental approach to sport has potentially positive benefits. In a transforming society like ours, sport and recreation must necessarily contribute to the country’s transformation agenda - an agenda that seeks to create a nonracial, nonsexist, prosperous and peaceful South Africa. Sport must contribute to the redressing of the disparities of the past: equal opportunities, access to infrastructure, access to equipment and kit; yes, equal access to skills and skilled coaches,referees and efficient managers.

Our President in South Africa has persistently highlighted the potential that sport has to build social cohesion and national unity. Who can understand that more than us who experienced how South Africa was bound together in joy when we won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and when we won the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup in 2004. Of course, we were also in a national solidarity of misery, woe and anger as we lamented being knocked out of the list of nations to participate in the football World Cup in Germany.

I am reminding most of you about what you already understand. But success for a sport activist does not rely on a periodic remembrance of these facts. It does not rely on merely talking about them or occasionally donning a cricket hat. What is important for us is the passion in implementing these ideas. That is the brief and the mandate given to our Ministry when the President entrusted me with sport and recreation for our country.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. Participation in sport and recreation is recognised by the United Nations and progressive countries as a fundamental human right, which all governments must give their citizens access to. As such, access to sport and recreation is a non-derogable right which is entrenched in our own Constitution.

In line with these constitutional imperatives, our President assigned us powers and functions to develop and implement national policies and guidelines for our people and our country. This way, we contribute to transforming South Africa into a country that belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. This way, we contribute to the healing of pain caused by an unfortunate dispensation in our country.

Our President reminds us all the time that our ideals and objectives for the South Africa of our dreams cannot be achieved through spontaneity or mere aspirations. The transformation agenda cannot be left to the whims of the market either. For, as the President correctly pointed out, and I quote, “market forces are not sympathetic to the poor”. So we have a responsibility to make sport and recreation unlock its potential in transforming and developing the underdeveloped parts and people of our country. We have to intervene in this respect.

Both Mr Kofi Annan, speaking for the nations of the world, and our President, speaking as the president of the African nations at the time, declared that well-designed sports-based initiatives are practical and cost- effective tools that could help the nations to achieve the development goals identified in 2000 by the UN - the well-known Millennium Development Goals.

I think we should investigate the extent to which, in real terms, the continued marginalisation of sport and physical education in a number of countries undermines the success in delivering the Millennium Development Goals. The underperformance of sports persons from such countries tends to attest to the attitude of seeing sport as a mere luxury, as we saw just recently in Melbourne how the Australians had invested so much resources in their athletes to the extent that they had a whitewash of all other nations during March 2006.

Our mass participation programme positions our sector well to make a contribution, not only to mass participation by the populace of our country but also to make a contribution to human resource development and poverty alleviation. We have trained 352 unemployed young people to run this programme. The little stipend we pay them contributes in feeding an average family of five people per trainee. We have trained young volunteers in the administration of sport and recreation; 1 293 entry-level coaches have been trained; 655 referees and more than 450 young people have also been trained. This might sound like a pittance to those who have come to accept this as a given but to those who had been denied these benefits for more than 300 years, this makes a difference.

Some sports federations and other institutions have supported us very admirably in these initiatives because they understand the meaning of these things. Only two weeks ago, together with the SA Football Association, Supersport and the University of Johannesburg, we launched a senior management training course. The Deputy President was there to give full stature and support that the programme deserves. Such acquired skills will benefit a number of federations in lifting up their management capacity. So our mass participation programme does not only dwell on swelling the ranks of our sports programme, it also creates jobs and skills.

We consciously support these initiatives because we have prioritised the good governance of our federations as a priority. It is true that facilities, physical conditioning, sponsorship etc are important tools in the making of world beaters. But if the management of these tools and of this environment is not up to scratch, it is highly unlikely to see success on the sports field. Unhappy athletes do not perform as well as they could.

Good governance could also improve the quality of our sport, in the same way as it improves the political administration of our countries. We are, as such, making a humble but important contribution both to Asgisa and Jipsa, and the programmes of Nepad.

Our vision is to see the participation in our programmes lead to community clubs. These will in turn be the basic sites of sports development and the building blocks of social cohesion. Together with school sport, community clubs are also where the catchment of players for skills development and transformation will come from.

This is the rationale for us placing such a premium on the proper organisation and management of our federation and on the development of skills in areas where they had never been developed before. Better mores, a new positive value system that will contribute to a moral regeneration, will be born in these close-knit clubs and schools and must contribute to the building of a better nation.

We are not merely putting together human beings who must just get fit and entertain us. We hope to transform selfish and money-driven players and managers into people of great integrity, patriots who want to serve our country more than they want to be millionaires. A classic example of this is Roland Schoeman and his mother, who defied the gold of Qatar and preferred to serve and swim for South Africa. [Applause.]

The first Minister of Sport and Recreation in our democratic country, the late Comrade Steve Tshwete, always emphasised this, and I quote him:

Children do not learn to swim in their cots. They need a swimming pool.

We fully agree with that great patriot.

The providing of facilities and amenities to all South Africans is a sacrosanct imperative for us. As such, we regard the accessing of sports infrastructure to rural areas and townships as part and parcel of the transformation agenda and indeed as part of the transformation of our society. This is why the preparations for the Fifa 2010 World Cup are more than just preparing for a megasport event.

Our preparations for 2010 have to be in synchrony with government plans for the betterment of the lives of our people. This is why, for instance, we opted for 10 stadiums instead of just eight. That is why we will also build and refurbish practise stadiums in smaller areas like Kimberley. The road infrastructure, technology and business opportunities must have an impact on the lives of our people and on the economy of our country.

The mindset of our country must also change. This is why we are building football stadiums where they had never been built before, because we want to instil the understanding in South Africans that South Africa is not just a rugby and cricket country.

Swimming pools and tennis courts are also needed in the rural areas. They are not just for the city. All this needs money, hon members. We do our bit with what you allocate to us to assist needy communities, to assist with equipment and kit, to assist parents and their children who get selected to top clubs in their communities and their provinces, but this is not enough.

We hope that our municipalities will also continue to co-operate with us in these plans to make accessible what is available by way of infrastructure to our people. We hope that they will stop the bad habit of selling public facilities or leasing them to monopolies that exclude our people through exorbitant registration or participation fees.

Sport must belong to all. It must be accessible to all. We hope the Municipal Infrastructure Grant will perform much better this year in delivering the much-needed infrastructure than it has done. We also believe that, in co-operation with the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Lottery Fund designated for sport and recreation will be focusing on the needs where they are needed, not just where people know about them.

Hon members of this House could also play a role as catalysts in the dissemination of the information on how to access the MIG as well as in assisting in the filling in of those forms so that the people who elected us can benefit from the fiscus, which has made resources available for these things.

We also firmly believe in collaboration with other departments as we deliver on our mandate. The Departments of Housing, Education, and Provincial and Local Government agree that we should be part of their planning of human settlements and building of schools, and the Departments of Safety and Security, Social Development, Health and Correctional Services also agree that we have a role to play with them in dealing with the health and anti-social behavioural patterns of some of our people.

Both the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as the United Nations agree that sport can contribute in changing the war psychosis of the children of war. When the guns go silent in Africa, peace must take root for development to occur.

Our transformation agenda cannot be complete without attending to gender imperatives. I believe that the performance of our Paralympians speaks for itself. Some of these great athletes draw tears from the hardest of hearts because of their sheer perseverance. The national question as well as gender equity is improving. Both swimming and tennis have responded positively to our calls for integration. Cycling is also coming up very nicely.

We saw in Melbourne the first African woman in the history of our country to do weightlifting and she won a gold medal. [Applause.] This is progress, but more women must participate in sport. They must also take charge of their destinies in the federations. To this end, we are hosting a national conference in August on the role of women in sport. I hope some of the hon members here will participate in that conference. This event will also be the culmination of our programme for this year to commemorate the great women of our country and their role in our struggle.

On the negative side, we have seen an upsurge in doping cases. We have also seen an upsurge in cases of HIV/Aids but we are encouraged and inspired by the nongovernmental organisations and former players’ associations who continue to associate themselves with our efforts to deal with these things.

Success in sport cannot be realised without resources. We appreciate the partnerships that these organisations weave with us. We also appreciate the seriousness with which sponsors and federations treat take us. This is real unity in action and it must win. The support of a number of countries overseas and in our neighbouring areas continues to enhance our successes in making sport a real and accessible benefit for our communities.

Last, but not least, the team, led by the Deputy Minister and the director- general, must be acknowledged; they’re a group of enthusiasts who continue to translate our political ideals into operational successes. Please support this budget proposal so that we can help South Africa remain at the top. Thank you. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF DEFENCE: Is it parliamentary for members of the House who have never played cricket or rugby to pretend to be Springboks, wearing Springbok colours? [Laughter.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): That is not a point of order, hon Minister.

Mr B M KOMPHELA: Chair, hon Deputy President, comrades and visitors who have come here to listen to the budget tabled in this House by the hon Minister of Sport and Recreation, I want, firstly, to say that, as the ANC, we want to express great appreciation for the multiparty committee that has taken us this far. At times, we used to have a very turbulent situation, but I can tell you that we are now on the same wavelength. At times there were issues that, as the ANC, we felt we could not get round, but I think things have been going very well lately. I want to express my appreciation for that first.

Minister, we want to say, as a committee, that it has been a very exciting time but also a difficult one. It has been exciting because we were doing all the things that Parliament requires of us. However, the difficulty was that the man who had been tasked with steering this ship, umqhubi [the driver], would also be requested to ask on behalf of the committee: “Minister, why, when you are such a library of information and an asset did you stop giving figures in your budget speech and instead told the people of South Africa about where they come from and where they are going with sport?”

This has been a challenge because, with regard to some of the things we were doing, we were not sure whether we were doing those things in the right way or not, and only you could tell us because you understood them better. The difficulty was that we were not sure what you were going to say when we did things in a different way.

Our Department of Sport and Recreation is a component of the government of the Republic of South Africa. The department works under the guidance of the Constitution and the existing laws of the country. Consequently, we reaffirm our declaration that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in diversity.

One of the central messages and tasks is to use sport to heal the divisions of the past, to unite our people and to establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental rights. That is what sport can do. All of us are witnesses to that.

When we visited Egypt for the African Cup of Nations, Côte d’Ivoire, which was in the same group as Bafana Bafana, proceeded to the finals. They said that if Côte d’Ivoire could win the African Cup of Nations that would unite the people of that country who have been involved in civil strife for many years. I think sport is central to uniting people. [Applause.]

We are also faced with the task of improving the quality of life of citizens and freeing the potential of each person. Our people hope that, as stated in the Constitution, human dignity and nonracialism will be achieved. These aspirations are in line with the declarations of the UN and the AU, both of which believe that sport and recreation can make a big difference and contribute to sustainable development and peace. These bodies believe that sport and recreation can and do play a significant role in the attainment of the millennium goals facing us. Our programmes are designed to deliver on the above-mentioned goals.

Our people are responding very well to the mass participation drive. This positive response is a challenge to government and the private sector to put resources into sport and recreation. Government alone will not be able to realise the levels of excitement that we are achieving through mass participation. Therefore business is challenged to say, “Let us travel together on this road.”

It’s a difficult road, but together we would be able to make a difference in the lives of our people. The success of other countries, such as Australia, China, Nigeria, Cuba, to name a few, did not happen by chance, but as a result of government allocating proportional resources to sport.

However, the committee, and we in the ANC, have a different view. Time and again people come and tell us about the small budget for sport in Australia, Britain and all the other countries. Deputy President, we acknowledge that our budget is not enough, but which country in Africa has a bigger budget than ours? That is where the biggest problem lies. Compared with Australia, yes, we are likely to come second. But compared with our counterparts in Africa we are, even in the face of the little resources that are allocated to sport, a step ahead.

The other challenge is that our sport has not been doing well when it comes to issues of governance, which is something that is very close to the heart of the committee. Governance in the federations is key. An institution with shaky governance will not be able to produce the desired results. Therefore we are requesting that federations must begin to create stability so that we are able to assist them and walk with them on this long road.

The President of the country said that freedom has been good to business. But the challenge is: Has business been good to this freedom and the people that need help most? That is the challenge.

Minister, we appreciate the partnership of Supersport and Wits University regarding life skills development and the acquisition of skills that the Deputy President is leading in this country. That partnership is very important. It is a demonstration of the private sector coming into the picture and we appreciate it and say to Supersport, “Nangamso ningadinwa” [Keep it up].

We are looking at other people that are doing something on their own, for example Shosholoza Meyl which is close to hon Mlangeni’s heart. It has been doing very well. It is a private entity that is owned by people but represents South Africa and hoists her flag. It is feared in the world, hon Mlangeni; and there is also the Grand Prix. All those brought together in this country contribute to the economy.

Therefore, Deputy President, it cannot be true that sport does not play a role in the GDP of a country. I want to say to people today that about 33% of that GDP comes from sports tourism. When you see us going to Absa Stadium in Durban and filling it up, we go there as tourists to watch a game and lift up the economy of that place. But, sadly, that is not recognised as the role that sport is playing in contributing to the GDP of this country. [Applause.]

Minister, our role in the economy of this country is huge. It will be demonstrated and will leave a legacy in this country after the 2010 World Cup. All of us, as members of that committee, will walk tall, Minister because even if we die we shall have left that legacy in this country. [Applause.]

For the past two years, the Department of Sport and Recreation has been a department that has not really done well around the issues of transformation, gender and disability. This is the second time we are presenting this matter to you. But there is leverage for us that we can use to address that aspect.

The restructuring of the department, specifically regarding the dissolution of the SA Sports Commission, has created an opportunity for women to be recognised, and lead that department at management level. That is a matter that we are closely looking at, because we want to see that department being transformed and representing the people of this country, women and disabled people in particular.

Madam Chair, I would also like to congratulate … [Laughter.][Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): I am still the Chair.

Mr B M KOMPHELA: I apologise for that, Chair. I also want to extend a word of congratulations to people who represent organisations such as the Hall of Fame, Grand Prix, and Athletics SA. The president of Athletics SA invited us, Minister, to a function to honour the athletes who participated in Australia. They said I must give you this message. Regarding those athletes who went to Melbourne and arrived back in this country with no expectation of remuneration, with the little resources that Athletics SA had, they had about R320 000 to give to those athletes.

However, one thing that has stuck in our minds is what we observed when a mother from a certain farm arrived in that place, and the President of Athletics SA gave her son R20 000. She asked: “Siza kuyenza ntoni imali engaka?” [What are we going to do with such a lot of money?] It was such a big thing.

I am saying people such as representatives of Athletics SA and others have set a challenge. Those are people who could not put that money aside for themselves but were able to say: “With the little resources that we have, we will go and inspire the young people.” [Applause.]

I have seen a pattern emerging now because others are also doing what Athletics SA has done. I am proud of them and we are proud of them. I think they must keep that up. [Applause.]

Concerning the disasters at our stadiums, the ANC raised the matter with you a month or two ago, Minister. They said they are concerned that time and again incidents such as the Ellis Park disaster are happening, and that we don’t seem to be worried about such things. On 13 January 1991 40 people died in two minutes at a stadium in Orkney, Klerksdorp, in North West. What can be done for those people who lost their loved ones, Minister?

An 11-year-old boy who played in a curtain-raiser match there and who had woken up very early in the morning on that day to go and watch his heroes, Orlando Pirates, play against Kaizer Chiefs, lost his life. There is no plaque there; there is nothing. We have raised that matter and we realise that Safa is also beginning to do the same. But it was a matter of concern to the ANC that we didn’t do something for those people. And now that something is happening in that regard, we are happy about it, Minister.

The issues that we want to raise around transformation are very pertinent. We understand that the new leadership of cycling is doing very well. They came before the portfolio committee to explain their transformation agenda. They were upbeat, and said that they hadn’t known about those things that you were talking about but that they were going to correct them. It will be difficult, because we are venturing into a terrain where people have a different mindset. But I think they need to change.

The people from those new and untransformed federations are serving on very important structures in this country, such as the SA Sports Confederation and the Olympic Committee. Our question is: How do you put other people’s houses in order when your own house is not in order? And that is a vexing question.

On the basis of democratic practices, these little federations take over the leadership of sporting institutions, and they don’t consider some of the very little things. I do not think that is right. We need to be sensitive in how we build sport in this country. We need to be sensitive to hostile takeovers in the name of democracy. I do not think that the ANC is of the view that we must hold the democratic process to ransom. No! It can’t be.

As the ANC, we appreciate the memorandum of understanding signed between the Department of Education and the Department of Sport and Recreation, where the former will focus on curricula aspects of the schools, including physical education and human movement. Minister, the entity that has been created, that is the National Co-ordinating Committee, Nacoc, operates in a manner similar to what you opposed regarding the United School Sports Association of South Africa, Ussasa, when you said managers of the department cannot serve in the structures of the United School Sports Association. However, high-powered deputy directors-general of the department are serving in Nacoc, which defeats the objective of leaving school sport to teachers.

Teachers are still serving in Nacoc, and this can’t be correct. We might as well continue with Ussasa, without Nacoc. We will be interacting with Nacoc to find out exact details regarding its existence, its shape, its direction and how it intends to address these matters.

Concerning LoveLife, we as the committee and the ANC are of the view that we have one of the best comprehensive HIV and Aids strategies from the Department and Ministry of Health. The role of LoveLife in those areas is not very clear. Therefore we must begin discussions so that people will start asking in unison: “Is it correct for LoveLife to be placed in sport or should it be part of the Minister’s good process concerning a world- renowned comprehensive HIV and Aids strategy?” That is what we want.

Boxing SA came up with a disclaimer on the Auditor-General’s view. But, we are interacting with Boxing SA and we have taken a decision as a committee that we are going to interact with both the department and Boxing SA on a quarterly basis so that we can assist Boxing SA to get out of the quagmire of the disclaimer regarding the Auditor-General.

We have seen that whilst we were beginning to address that issue, Boxing SA suspended its manager. We have come to the conclusion that it’s common practice in the country that if you are a chief executive officer and black, you will be sacrificed. We are very serious and worried about this, because the question of restructuring an entity and starting with the CEO doesn’t make sense to us. The CEO is there to assist you to restructure your entity, therefore you cannot start with him. That is the kind of situation that you find in Boxing SA, and it is not very good.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr B M KOMPHELA: Thank you very much, Chair and hon members. [Applause.]

Mr T D LEE: Chairperson, hon members, it is as appropriate for me to wear this shirt as it is for a person to be the Minister of Defence whilst never having served in the army. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]

I stand before you today in a South African sports shirt …

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, on a point of order: If the reference is to the hon Minister, he was a leading member of uMkhonto weSizwe. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): That’s not a point of order. Continue, hon Lee.

The MINISTER OF DEFENCE: Chairperson, on a point of order: I have never been a member of uMkhonto weSizwe, if I may just … [Laughter.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): There is no point of order. Let’s continue. Let hon Lee continue with his speech.

Mr T D LEE: I stand before you today in a South African national sports shirt. It is a shirt I wear with great pride, as do all sportsmen and women who represent our country. It is a shirt in which ordinary South Africans invest a great deal of emotion.

As a country that has always had a deep and passionate love for sport, we have shown that there is no field in which we cannot excel.

Sedert 1994 het ons in gholf, sokker, rugby, atletiek, swem en nog vele ander sportsoorte groot hoogtes bereik. Alle professionele sportlui sal egter bevestig dat ’n mens net so goed is soos jou jongste deelname. Terugskouend weet ons almal wat hierdie trui verteenwoordig. Ons staan vandag egter voor die vraag wat dit in die toekoms vir ons moet verteenwoordig en beteken. Suid-Afrika se grootste prestasies lê in die verlede; hulle is agter die rug. Ons staan nou voor uitdagings: kan ons daardie prestasies in die toekoms herhaal, of selfs beter vaar? Ek glo ons kan. Maar dan sal dinge moet verander. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.) [Since 1994 we have reached great heights in golf, soccer, rugby, athletics, swimming and many other sporting codes. However, all professional sportspeople will admit that you are only as good as your last match. Looking back, we all know what this jersey represents. Today we are, however, facing the question as to what it must mean and represent to us in the future. South Africa’s greatest achievements lie in the past; they are history. We are now facing challenges: Can we emulate those achievements in future, or do even better? I believe we can, but things will have to change.]

I want to come now to South African football. Today I want to focus on just one of the ways in which we need to deal with football, concerning the 2010 World Cup which is to be hosted by our country. I do so not because football is more important than other sporting codes but because it goes to the heart of the question I posed. It is an administrative task of epic proportions – viz the hosting of the World Cup. Our ability to comply with every logistical requirement will be a reflection on our competence. Judging by the way in which this sport is being administered at the moment, we are a very long way from achieving that goal.

If you stop any sports fan on the street and ask them what they think of South African football, their answer will be that it is in a crisis and that it is in a mess. I know this because I have done so and I would really ask the Minister to do the same.

They may tell you that something as simple as buying a ticket has become an administrative nightmare. They may tell you that our stadiums are unsafe and badly maintained. They may tell you that we have problems with our referees; that the attendance at games is falling; that fixtures are often cancelled because of administrative problems or that, quite simply, we are no longer producing the sort of talent we once did.

They may tell you any of these things; they may tell you all of these things. They are all true. They are the result of a poorly run sport, and an administration that treats both players and fans with contempt. If we are to host the World Cup, these things will have to change.

Die DA het dit nog altyd bepleit dat die regering geen plek in sport het nie, maar die Sokkerwêreldbeker is iets anders, want die toernooi word deur die Suid-Afrikaanse regering aangebied. Wat die administrasie en uitvoering daarvan betref, is dit deur en deur die regering se saak, en dit is hoog tyd dat die regering optree asof hy in beheer is.

Maandag het Mnr Danny Jordaan – en ek is bly hy sit hierbo - die uitvoerende hoof van die plaaslike organiseringskomitee vir die Sokkerwêreldbeker, gesê die 2010-toernooi is reeds ’n finansiële sukses, en dat die befondsingsdoelwit van R2 miljard reeds bereik is. “Dit hang nou van ons af om te sorg dat die organisasie en administrasie slaag,” het hy gesê.

Ongelukkig versuim ons in dié opsig om aan die vereistes te voldoen. Die ontwikkeling van ons stadions is in verskeie gevalle agter; daar is talle onbeantwoorde vrae oor vervoer en verblyf; en derdens wil dit voorkom of niemand in beheer is en daar geen duidelike gesags- of verantwoordelikheidslyne is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[The DA has always argued that government has no place in sport, but the Soccer World Cup is something different, because the tournament is being hosted by the South African government. The administration and the execution thereof is solely the responsibility of the government, and it is high time that government acts as if it is in control. On Monday Mr Danny Jordaan - I am glad he is sitting up there – the executive head of the local organising committee for the Soccer World Cup, said that the 2010 Soccer World Cup tournament was already a financial success, and that the funding goal of R2 billion had already been reached. ”It now depends on us to make sure that the organising and administration succeed,” he said.

Unfortunately in this regard we are failing to meet these requirements. The development of our stadiums is behind in schedule many cases; there are many unanswered questions regarding transport and accommodation; and, thirdly, it would appear that nobody is in control and that there are no clear lines of authority and responsibility.]

By the way, other countries have hosted the World Cup successfully they have appointed a Minister in charge – a single dedicated person to oversee the process and with whom the final responsibility lies. South Africa, however, has not done this. Instead we have appointed a committee comprising of people with many other responsibilities.

In response to a question that I put to you yesterday, Mr Minister, in this House, you intimated that the Deputy President will be in charge. But the Deputy President is in charge of so many things already, not least of all Asgisa and government business in its entirety. With respect, Mr Minister, it is simply not feasible to suggest that the Deputy President can make a sustained and focused contribution to the World Cup as well. It is asking too much of her.

South Africa should learn from the precedent set by other countries in this regard. We should appoint a Minister responsible for the World Cup; a Minister whose sole focus will be the successful running and administration of the 2010 World Cup.

Ten slotte wil ek die volgende sê: die 2010-wêreldbeker lê net vier jaar die toekoms in. Ons het 1 460 dae oor om seker te maak dat alles reg gedoen word. In plaas van om ’n gevoel van vertroue te hê, voel gewone Suid- Afrikaners egter onseker.

Hulle is nie seker of ons alles onder beheer het nie, want wat hulle elke dag sien, is ’n sportsoort wat klaarblyklik buite beheer is. As die regering dié waarneming wil verander, het hy sterk leierskap en ’n helder gefokusde en spertydgedrewe visie vir die 2010-wêreldbeker nodig. Oor vyf jaar wil Suid-Afrikaners met trots terugkyk, nie net op ons prestasie in die toernooi nie, maar ook op ons rol as gasheer en organiseerder. Tans is daar ten opsigte van albei dié sake onsekerheid. Hierdie regering moet dit dringend verander. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[In conclusion, I want to say the following: The 2010 Soccer World Cup will take place four years from now. We have 1 460 days left to make sure that everything is done correctly. Instead of having a feeling of confidence, ordinary South Africans are feeling unsure.

They are not sure if we have everything under control, because what they see every day is a sporting code that appears to be out of control. If the government wants to change this perception, it needs strong leadership and a clearly focused and deadline-driven vision for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. In five years’ time South Africans want to look back with pride, not only with regard to our performance in the tournament, but also with regard to our role as host and organiser.

At the moment there is uncertainty with regard to both these aspects. This government must change it as a matter of urgency.]

Finally, I want to thank the chairperson of the committee, the hon Mr Komphela, for the very inclusive way in which he deals with issues affecting the committee and for his collegiality. His conduct shows that he understands multipartyism. He agrees that we have the right to disagree agreeably. [Applause.]

Mr B W DHLAMINI: Chairperson, Ministers present here and colleagues, the main aim of Sport and Recreation South Africa is to improve the quality of life of all South Africans by promoting participation in sports and recreational activities. On paper, this main objective sounds so simple and no one can argue against it. Of course, we all want our people to be healthy and improve their lives by participating in some or other form of sport.

However, the reality suggests that the task of the department is much more complicated and more difficult to achieve. For instance, the demands and attractions of the modern way of life mean that fewer people have the time or want to make time for exercise and other health-related activities. The result is a whole range of health problems that detract from our national state of wellbeing.

Turning to the budget, Sport and Recreation South Africa receives R352 million for the current financial year. Actually, this is substantially less than last year’s allocation but we note that the budget then was higher because of the once-off allocation for the 2010 World Cup planning.

While the IFP supports the budget, I would like to raise a number of concerns and challenges relating to the sports arena. The first one is transformation. Almost every day we hear about the commitment of federations, administrators and coaches to transforming various sports. We also have a transformation charter in place which is supposed to guide all macro bodies, national and provincial organisations and clubs regarding the need to transform sport.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Dhlamini, just a moment please. Hon members, your noise levels are very high. Please reduce that noise. Thank you. Hon Dhlamini, continue.

Mr B W DHLAMINI: Thank you, Chair. But commitment is one thing, implementation and visible results are quite another. The fact is that this so-called “commitment” does not translate into fully representative sports but just lip service and time-buying tactics. Hon Minister, we must acknowledge this harsh reality - that transformation on the basis of volunteerism does not work. Surely, the time has come to legislate on the matter.

The IFP welcomes the introduction of the sports amendment Bill. The fact is that if more previously disadvantaged players are not given a chance to participate in domestic games or at provincial level, we stand little chance of preparing these players for the national or international stage. If this situation continues, South Africa’s teams will not be fully representative of South Africa.

Previously disadvantaged players must be given opportunities to gain experience and to perform to the best of their abilities, otherwise the chances of them being picked for national teams are, to say the least, remote. Here is a startling question: How many black players do hon members think will be in the starting 15 of the Rugby World Cup next year in France? Is it one and a half or nothing? This stark reality must be confronted head-on.

The second concern is that government funding on sport is inadequate, to say the least. We acknowledge that there are many competing demands on the national fiscus but we have to ask why millions and millions of rands lie undistributed in the National Lottery Fund. This money could easily be used for sports development, new facilities, training programmes, academies, other projects for sports and development, and access regarding the previously disadvantaged areas, more especially townships and rural areas.

We therefore call on the government to allow more of the Lotto proceeds to be channelled to Sport and Recreation. No doubt this will help the department to achieve its objective of promoting participation in sport and recreation. Why not even shift the National Lottery Fund from the Department of Trade and Industry to Sport and Recreation like other countries are doing?

The 2006 Soccer World Cup kicks off in Germany next week. After the Olympic Games, this is the biggest sporting event on the global agenda. In 2010 it will be our chance to host the World Cup. But, hon members, we should be concerned. We should be concerned about the state of our preparedness for 2010.

Thus far we have heard a lot about planning, getting structures into place and so on. The local organising committee has told us they have been prevented from releasing more concrete details because of the imminent start of the German tournament. We certainly hope that by the end of the German World Cup we will hear more about new public transport systems, new stadiums and other infrastructure requirements for hosting the tournament, as the Minister has said.

There are only four years left before 2010. That may sound like a lot of time but it is not, because we should be vigilant that time does not run out before we are fully prepared, thus leaving us embarrassed and ridiculed. This tournament means so much to our country and indeed to Africa that we cannot afford to fail.

In conclusion, hon Minister, the municipal infrastructure grant route, in providing basic facilities, is a dismal failure. The President, early this year when he responded to my questions, made a commitment that they would relook at the issue because, through the building for sport programme, we were able to build 300 facilities in two years but with the MIG route we have only, as reported, built four facilities that we still need to see. I therefore call on the Cabinet to relook at the issue of removing building for sport from MIG. It does not deliver. I thank you, Chair.

The DEPUTY MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson, hon Dhlamini, if you listen to the speech and the contribution we make, you will hopefully get the answers to the questions you posed in your speech.

May I just say, in reaction to a remark by the hon chairperson of the portfolio committee pertaining to the implementation, as constituted in line with the agreement signed between the Minister of Sport and Recreation and the Department of Education, that the reference to Nacoc, the co- ordinating body, just points out that in terms of the agreement, physical education – and we’ll touch on that in our contribution this afternoon – is the responsibility of the Department of Education.

However, we have, as the Department of Sport and Recreation, a direct interest in school sport and school sporting activities, and the organising thereof. This is why we are present in that structure to make sure that that would be funded, and that as Parliament and as government we have insight in that funding. But, hopefully, we will have time to look at that matter later on.

As far as Boxing SA is concerned, we know that they last had a CEO in 2003 but they are in the process of appointing a new CEO.

The 2010 Soccer World Cup raises a lot of issues and remarks. The hon Lee questioned the ability of our hon Deputy President and the interministerial committee to deal sufficiently with the LOC in delivering a very successful 2010 Soccer World Cup. May I advise the hon Lee in his mother tongue?

As jy niks het om te sê nie, boet, moet dit nie hier kom sê nie, asseblief. [Gelag.] [ If you have nothing to say, brother, please do not say it here! [Laughter.]]

We don’t want a new Minister of sport and recreation for 2010; we have a very competent Minister of Sport and Recreation, a very sophisticated Deputy President and highly multi-skilled people. We will deliver the best Soccer World Cup ever. However, may I just say one thing. I find it tragic that people are pushing us, uMfundisi [the Reverend] and myself, to talk about the tournament in 2010 when the kick-off of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Berlin has not even taken place. I think we should respect the protocols and react accordingly.

The White Paper on Sport and Recreation, which is the department’s primary policy document, identifies the shortcomings in our sport and recreation system. It also proposes the strategies to address these shortcomings. The challenges identified in the White Paper range from a lack of appreciation for the role that sport can play in our society to the lack of participation by the majority of our country’s people in physical activity. It also identifies the lack of resources needed for ensuring involvement in physical activity.

The White Paper, may I say, is as relevant today as it was when it was first launched in 1997. Despite some progress, we still have a long road to travel in the sector to achieve the objectives of the White Paper. Sport is still being trivialised in our country. It is sometimes regarded as frivolous and unimportant even though it is a multibillion rand industry and it does contribute more than 2% of the gross domestic product in our country. In fact, daily, sport occupies the time of the majority of our people and it forms part of the psyche of the majority of the country’s people.

How much time do we, as citizens of the country, not spend, on a daily basis, in watching or reading about sport? Many of us start reading the newspaper from the back page and may I say, when I listen to some of the political utterances, it seems to me that this is the only part of the paper that some of our colleagues read. Well, government is committed to sport and recreation. We are certainly not on a par with the developed world with whom we compete. The developed world with whom we compete has identified and committed itself to exploiting the potential of sport and recreation for achieving significant socioeconomic and other outcomes. Even the United Nations gave credence to the role of sport by declaring 2005 the International Year of Physical Education and Sport. The United Nations used the prominence of the sector to promote development and to foster peace, especially in post- conflict situations around the globe. Today, the United Nations speaks of sport for development and peace.

We informed Parliament about the United Nations International Year of Physical Education and Sport during the Budget Vote last year. Several initiatives have emanated from the focus by the United Nations in our sector. I personally attended four workshops on this topic over the past year. I have come away though convinced that, as South Africans, we are disadvantaging ourselves by continuing to peripheralise the sector as an unimportant pastime – a luxury as it were.

We are witnessing first hand the impact that the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup is having on our country. Having provided impetus for heightened levels of activity in virtually every sector, we predict that the level of activity will increase progressively as we approach 2010 when it will reach, I think, fever pitch. This demonstrates the power of sport. Within the context of Accelerated Shared Growth for South Africa, Asgisa, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup and sport in general can contribute towards achieving the target of a 6% growth rate by 2014.

In particular, we must look at the tourism potential of sport and recreation. In 2003, tourism was recognised as a major growth sector internationally. It is, in fact, still the case. In our own country the Standard Bank survey found that tourism had outstripped gold mining as a revenue generator. Tourism had grossed R53 billion in 2003 while in the same year gold mining in this country grossed R35 billion.

It is recognised internationally that sports tourism comprises 30% of world tourism. If that same model were applied to South Africa, sports tourism would have netted R15,9 billion in 2003. Unfortunately, we know that the sports tourism industry in South Africa does not match the international norm of 30% of all tourism.

Sports tourism in South Africa is in fact underdeveloped. There is substantial room for growth in the sector. To address this, the Department of Sport and Recreation has developed a sports tourism promotional product in close co-operation with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. We unveiled this product for the first time at the Tourism Indaba in the Durban area this month.

In fact, the product itself is a CD. It combines the VeZA route finder, which was developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR - and thank you to my colleague and friend, Deputy Minister Hanekom, and the Minister, who are here from the Department of Science and Technology.

They used the sports information on that VeZA route finder. So, if you are a visitor, you can utilise this instrument not only to plan your attendance of sports events but you can map your route to the venue, you can book your accommodation and you can select your restaurants and other tourist attractions at, in or around the stadium in any part of our wonderful country, South Africa.

Tourism is but one aspect of the sport and recreation sector that can contribute to Asgisa and Jipsa. There are several others. We are excited about Asgisa and Jipsa, especially as Jipsa, especially as Jipsa will serve as a catalyst to integrate disparate education and training projects in the sector that will result in mutual benefit for our department and, obviously, for Jipsa.

While Sport and Recreation South Africa is already involved in programmes to support Asgisa and Jipsa, it has always been our contention that government alone cannot cover all the bases in terms of the delivery of sport and recreation to the country. The backlog is just simply too huge.

The origins of the backlog need not be elaborated on here. In fact, it was the Reconstruction and Development Programme that described the sports sector as being one of the worst legacies of apartheid. That is why we need the involvement of the private and the NGO sectors.

In this regard, mention must be made of the chairperson of the portfolio committee. I would also like to single out the contribution of Supersport, in conjunction with the Wits Business School, which has taken the initiative to put resources into the education and training of our top- flight sports administrators and managers.

The performances of our representative teams internationally have indicated that there is a void that needs to be filled. Enrolment in the above- mentioned programme will assist in doing so. Shortcomings in management and administration are bound to be reflected on the field of play as well. We are witnessing this currently.

We are of the opinion that the challenges that we currently see at the top end of our sport, the failure of Bafana Bafana to qualify for the 2006 Fifa Soccer World Cup in Germany, the lack of achievement in the African Cup of Nations as well as the performances of our rugby, cricket and netball teams, amongst other sports, are directly attributable to this vacuum.

Supersport have started to put their money where their mouth is and have invested a small amount of R6 million towards upskilling 75 managers and administrators over the next three years. To start with, they have thrown down the gauntlet and I trust others in the private sector will follow suit. In fact, I appeal to them to do so because this is an investment in our national pride.

The Supersport initiative is aligned to the second priority in our White Paper. Even though their efforts are aimed primarily at the top end of the continuum, where they themselves have specific interests, it will serve an important purpose. Beyond that, our human resource needs are enormous.

At the entry level of community mass-based sport and recreation, we are in need of suitably trained and skilled people. Eliminating the shortage of qualified people at this level is important, because the foundation is vital to ensure quality at the top end.

We also need quality physical education teachers in all our schools, not only in the more privileged ones that can afford to have them. We need good community sport and recreation workers to ensure that the youth from the large majority of our communities can participate and can compete on a more level playing field. In short, we have to promote lifelong participation in physical activity.

To start with, we must restore school sport to the status it enjoyed in the past; a status that saw the sports fields of our country flooded with learners, especially on Wednesday afternoons during interhouse and interschool matches. The school-going youth enjoyed at least two periods of physical education per week. They don’t have that any more.

The rise in antisocial behaviour amongst our youth, unfortunately, parallels the demise in school sport and physical education. We have to look no further than prioritising the reintroduction of these activities in our schools. The memorandum of agreement between the Departments of Sport and Recreation and Education facilitates precisely this. We are now implementing the provisions of the agreement.

Sport and Recreation South Africa has introduced programmes that now see our youth competing on a more footing. Our teams competing internationally are now a lot more representative as a result of this. Their success at the Zone Six schools athletics championships last month, where they made – and let me say this proudly, sir – a virtual clean sweep of the medals on offer, bodes well for the future.

During the course of this year we will see 798 schools participating in 56 clusters comprising schools in close proximity to one another, and that will facilitate regular interaction between them. It will involve more than 200 000 learners, and that’s only to start off with.

The strategy is aimed at obviating crippling transport costs that tend to inhibit interaction between schools. The availability of financial resources currently constitutes the only impediment to a more expensive programme. Our aim is in fact to see all 27 000 schools in our country involved in this project. It has to be fully funded so that no learner is prevented from participating because of personal financial constraints.

This programme will require the involvement of large numbers of teachers, volunteers and even learners. But more important is the need to reintroduce physical education or human movement into our schools. This will truly massify participation in physical activity in our society and will address the low levels of participation. Currently that level of participation is estimated to be restricted to only 25% of our population.

In order to achieve increased levels of participation, we need qualified teachers who will ensure that our young people are introduced to sport and recreation properly. We trust that this will enhance lifelong participation.

If we employ only two qualified physical education teachers in each of our 27 000 schools in South Africa, one for boys and one for girls, we would have provided more than 54 000 job opportunities. We obviously need physical education teachers in every school, but then we need to understand the difference between physical education and school sport.

Of course, these best-laid plans of “mice and men” will come to nought if the infrastructure for launching them is not available. Regarding this, appropriate facilities at schools are absolutely essential if the memorandum of agreement between the two departments is going to mean anything.

We receive hundreds, if not thousands, of requests annually from schools, clubs and communities for sport and recreation facilities and other infrastructure. As we all know, the sports facilities project has been transferred to the Department of Provincial and Local Government’s municipal infrastructure grant. Let me say we are not quite happy with the consequences of that.

Apart from the fact that we are not delivering the same number of facilities that we used to under the Building for Sport and Recreation programme – and members alluded to this - we see that the sport and recreation departments in the provinces no longer feel that they own the project. The fact that local authorities are no longer prioritising sport and recreation facilities compounds the problem.

We are in discussion with the Department of Provincial and Local Government about getting the facility development programme back on track. Without facilities, it is totally impossible to realise our higher-level objectives of representivity in our sports teams at all levels, not to mention social cohesion.

Local authorities must be encouraged to include sport and recreation facilities in their integrated development programmes. I appeal to you hon members of this House: When you go out to work in your constituencies, please persuade your local authorities to include sport and recreation facilities in their integrated development programmes. This may change the current impasse.

In short, the potential of the infrastructure development programme in our sector to contribute to Asgisa and representivity in our teams is significant. Our challenge is to ensure that there is congruency between Sport and Recreation South Africa, our schools and local authorities with regard to sport and the provision of recreational facilities.

We have been in touch with the Department of Housing with regard to ensuring adequate open spaces and sport and recreation facilities in their sustainable human settlement policy. It has always been our contention that human settlements could never be complete without adequate provision for amenities in which people, especially our youth, could adequately exercise their right to play. We are happy to see and to say that the Department of Housing has heeded our call in this regard by rectifying that shortcoming.

I want to single out a further initiative that emanates from the United Nations sport for development and peace programme that we are pursuing. Innumerable references were and are made to the role of sport and recreation in peace initiatives in post-conflict situations around the globe. South Africa is proud to be involved in several post-conflict peace initiatives on the African continent, but nowhere have we engaged sport to assist in any of these projects. Doing so, I’m convinced, will improve our success rate considerably.

Evidence from many other conflict situations, often much worse than the ones that we are dealing with, attests to this potential. We are speaking, and we have spoken, to the Minister of Defence and the department about the role that sport can possibly play in peacekeeping and peace-building. We had a positive response, and we are following up on it. Our next step is to engage Foreign Affairs on the merits of sport as a diplomatic tool in peacekeeping and peace-building.

To realise the benefits that can possibly accrue from our sector we need three things, and all three are related to resources. Firstly, we need infrastructure. Under infrastructure we are not only talking about facilities but also about organisations, programmes, equipment and kit. Secondly, we are talking about sufficient human resources of good quality and with an appropriate disposition. And, lastly, finance, which underpins both infrastructure and human resources.

We’ve addressed elements of the first two, but I would like to conclude by referring to the third. As a department, we have the smallest budget of all national government departments. We are committing some R10 per person per year to the participation of our people in sport and recreation activities.

Now, R10 can never make a substantial contribution to participation rates in sport and recreation, but participation can have, and has, an impact on the budgets of many other sectors in government. Participation can substantially reduce the health budget. In fact, the Department of Health has recognised the contribution that physical activity can make. They’ve introduced the “Vuka South Africa, Move for your Health” programme. This is to highlight the contribution that being physically active can make to one’s health.

The savings that we can make on the justice budget, as with many other budgets, can be as, if not more, significant. We’ve always said that a child in sport is a child out of court. We saw the start of Child Protection Week on Monday. I want to contend that sport, if properly organised, supervised and run, constitutes one of the best ways to ensure that our children are protected. If our children are constructively engaged in activities outside of schools, there is no reason why they will or can become caught up in the influences of antisocial tendencies.

If we say all these things and agree with them, we have to be bold and we have to say that we must increase the budget for sport and recreation to ensure that more young people become more involved in the mass participation programme, our school sport programme and our club development programme.

Further, we believe that the funding that is available from the lottery can be utilised much better, and we have approached our colleagues in the Department of Trade and Industry to facilitate this. There is, unfortunately, a perception out there that sport and recreation is awash with resources. Let me say that this is a totally false perception; a few sports federations and a few players are benefiting from the spoils that are on offer. The majority of our organisations are in fact suffering.

We have a pool of available resources from the lottery distribution agency for sport and recreation that, in our opinion, are not being utilised optimally at this point in time. I’m led to believe that funds are being distributed to sports structures unbeknown to some of our national federations. That, surely, cannot continue.

Sport and recreation must be able to play a role with regard to the distribution of these resources, even if it means that the laws that regulate the disbursement of these funds have to be amended. We are presently speaking with the Department of Trade and Industry about this, and I trust that we will be able to resolve the matter soon. It is imperative that the resources available for sport and recreation are utilised optimally.

In conclusion, Chairperson, the legislative programme of our department will enjoy the attention of both Houses very soon. Prominent amongst these are the 2010 Fifa World Cup South Africa Special Measures Bill that seeks to amend all non-money matters that may impede the implementation of the government guarantees that we provided in the bidding phase to host the 2010 World Cup.

The second piece of legislation is the Safety at Sport and Recreation Events Bill, which will be put to Cabinet for consideration shortly. This significant and substantial piece of legislation is a sequel to the 2001 Ellis Park tragedy. It is intended to minimise the risk of such a disaster occurring again in future. But it also constitutes an important tool in the security arrangements for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

We also have two amending Bills: the Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill and the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport Amendment Bill. Both these Bills have been passed by Cabinet and will serve in this House very shortly. The former, the Sport and Recreation Amendment Bill, is aimed at improving the governance of our sports federations and the latter, the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport Amendment Bill, is aimed at aligning sport with international best practice.

We trust, Chair, that we will be able to rely on the support of this hon House and the NCOP for our legislative programme. Chair, afford me the opportunity to, lastly, say to the Minister of Sport and Recreation, uMfundisi: Thank you so much for your leadership. It’s wonderful to be your Deputy Minister; it’s great to work with you. And thank you so much for the many quotes from the Bible and for other wisdom that you bestow on me. [Applause.] You’re a true uMfundisi [Reverend] and I thank you for that.

To the department, the director-general, all the federations, the volunteers, our portfolio committee and the chairperson, I want to say thank you so much. It’s wonderful to serve in this capacity. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]

Mrs D M MOROBI: Chairperson, hon Minister, Rev Stofile, hon Deputy Minister, Mr Gert Oosthuizen, hon Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, sport has been a great unifying factor in our country’s transition. I’m proud to say that South Africans are enjoying the gains of their revolution. We are commemorating important events that mark the road to freedom. I would like to just mention a few: the 50th anniversary of the women’s march to the Union Buildings, the 30th anniversary of the 1976 student uprising and the 10th anniversary of our Constitution.

The Freedom Charter states, “The doors of learning and culture shall be opened.” This simply means that the colour bar in cultural life, sport and education shall be abolished. We cannot separate education from sport.

For over 120 years, many South African men and women have excelled in international world sport and have won trophies and accolades both at home and abroad. Indeed, our country has entered the age of hope. Our government, which is ANC-led, has created conditions to achieve progress. We are a winning nation.

The people’s contract on service delivery and Sport and Recreation South Africa are delivering to communities at grass-roots level. This is evident in the mass participation programmes. The objective of the programme is to facilitate participation in sport and recreation activities for historically disadvantaged communities, and to focus on rural areas to promote participation of women, youth, disabled persons and the elderly. A total of 255 facilities, which are spread over the nine provinces, have been built in a period of three years while 109 facilities are targeted for completion by 2006.

Mass participation programmes have been successfully launched in all the provinces. There are about 96 hubs in which mass participation-based activities take place. Statistics clearly show that targets were exceeded during the first year of the programme, despite the fact that it was launched in August 2004. This indicates that there’s a need for such programmes in all communities. To date, 677 784 participants have been enrolled in the programmes as against the targeted figure of 500 000.

Historically, the first South African championships in tennis for both men and women were held in 1891, making the royal ancient game of tennis the first sport to include women on a competitive basis in South Africa. And in 1894, cricket was one of the few sports to promote a recreational outlet for women. In 1897, women’s golf was played in South Africa.

Presently, women are gradually moving into the traditional male sports. Women are making waves in what has always been male-dominated sports. We have women who have ventured into male sports, but I just have a few names that I have managed to extract. We have Charmaine Kene, who at the age of 18 years is the captain of the Gugulethu under-19 women’s cricket team. There is also Kenosi Mlaba from Tukkies, who is making strides in boxing. She believes women must start expanding their spheres of influence in boxing. There are six women’s rugby teams in Gauteng. Tabia Nkuna, a black woman, plays in one of these teams - a white team. Phindile Sibiya from Mpumalanga is the first South African black horsewoman. She can command a horse to trot in circles, change direction and even jump fences. That’s what she commands a horse to do. [Applause.] We also have women golfers. I just want to mention Nokuthula Ngulube who has just been a champion, and many other women who are doing the same thing.

Hon Minister, there’s also a negative impact which emanates from the lack of facilities and resources in rural areas. Underdevelopment of women in key positions is contributing to gender stereotyping. Female participants are far less as compared to their male counterparts. Women are relatively underresourced in all aspects – I mean all aspects.

Hon members, I know you’ve got the speakers’ list on your desks. Just go through that list and you will see how many women are in the programme. I think there’s only one woman there and the whole list is male dominated. Women are in dire need of an inclusive functional agent to provide guidance and leadership, and to visibly lobby for gender equality in all aspects under the auspices of the government body that leads by example. There’s a negative impact experienced by historically disadvantaged communities regarding sport. Poor communities have no access to proper services, that is public transport, communications and others. All this makes it highly unlikely that they will be in a position to participate in sport. It may be noted that the department’s budget is not keeping pace with its responsibilities and has in fact declined by 6%.

On a positive note, the construction of new facilities has contributed to short-term employment. Some of the unemployed youth are trained as co- ordinators. Opportunities that have been opened for talented individuals who are recruited into the National Sports Academy system by the Department of Sport and Recreation and the upgrading and provision of facilities in rural areas and historically disadvantaged communities have contributed to the improvement of quality of life, equity and social transformation.

The government made strides in activities that are relevant to the sport and recreation sector, such as job creation, promotion of nonracism, nonsexism, together with planned increases in resources through Asgisa. The NGOs and civil society actively take part in and support development to provide advocacy services. They also provide information on valuable lessons learned, expertise based on field experience and deepen the work of the national sports strategy because they enjoy close ties with local communities.

The NGOs such as Sports Coaches’ Outreach – Score - Sports Without Boundaries and others are committed to improving the quality of participation in sport by hosting field visits and trips to promote their work. The intended results of economic distribution in the sport and recreation sector are the achievement of a better life for all; preparedness in all sectors for a successful tour for the 2010 World Cup; utilising the World Cup as a positive contribution to the struggle to achieve Africa’s Renaissance; acceleration of development of sports facilities; and inclusion of women and people with disabilities at decision- making levels in the Public Service.

Although there are some challenges such as lack of grass-roots development in sport, lack of good coaches, lack of conducive environments and facilities in previously disadvantaged communities and the prevalence of racism, South Africans are truly enjoying the opportunities that prevail within the sport and recreation department. These opportunities enable them to use the existing infrastructure and they have knowledge to progress rapidly. Opportunities also relate to the improvement of publicity and media relations, taking advantage of the government’s initiatives in sport, and the increasing promotion of gender equality and disabled participants.

In closing, the truth of the matter is that today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today.

Motswana wa bogologolo are: “Sejo sennye ga se fete molomo.” Ha Mosotho ena are: “Re tla arolelana hloho ya tsie.” Jwalo ka ha Freedom Charter e itse: [The old Motswana say: “Half a loaf is better than no bread”. And the Mosotho says, “ We will share whatever little we have”. The Freedom Charter stipulates:]

… “People shall share”. This budget will be shared accordingly, even if it is 6% less, and it will be able to reach all aspects of sport and recreation.

The ANC fully supports this budget.

Mr B H HOLOMISA: Chairperson, hon members and honoured guests …

… siyaluxhasa olu hlahlo lwabiwo-mali, nangona besirhalela ukuba unikwe imali eninzana. Kufuneka ndikunike iingcebiso malunga nokuba ungambhukuqa njani na urhulumente ukuze ufumane imali eninzi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] [… we support the Budget Vote, even though we would have liked additional funds. I should advise you on how to organise a coup in order to gain access to lots of money.] [Applause.]]

With the limited time at my disposal, I would like to focus on the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. A word of advice to the Department of Sport and Recreation: Seeing that billions in taxpayers’ money are going to be spent on this event, make sure that large amounts aren’t simply doled out left, right and centre. And it should not be a question of only Cabinet Ministers serving on the World Cup management committees. We are talking about administrators and tender board specialists from government who must participate in the entire planning process of the event. Rather have specialists involved from the beginning and ensure that all the rules are followed instead of in due course investigating tenders that were awarded.

Take, for example, the upgrading of stadiums. If the stadium is privately owned, why should the owners not pay for the benefits and investments government is making? Stadiums like Ellis Park and Newlands cannot simply receive large-scale investments as a gift from the taxpayers. To avoid a repetition of the arms deal fiasco, there must be one department that co- ordinates all the other state departments involved in these preparations.

Your department, sir, has been mandated by this Parliament to run and co- ordinate sports activities in this country, and any attempt to undermine our sport department’s brief must be resisted at all costs.

Another issue I wish to raise concerns the quality of players we are producing. It is not going to help us to target the national coaches only whenever we perform badly in international tournaments. A good example of this is football where we failed to reach the Soccer World Cup in Germany - so, the coach was fired. Then we were elbowed out of the African Cup of Nations once again the coach was fired. We played in the Cosafa Cup and we lost under the stewardship of a caretaker coach.

All of these losses are always blamed, as I’ve said, on the coaches. But when we look at the performances of the professional club teams in this country, we notice that the shining stars in those teams are from the rest of the continent. Amongst those foreign players are feared strikers and midfielders such as Lelo Mbele of Orlando Pirates. But when the same player was recently called to play for his country in the recent African Cup of Nations, he was not even in the starting line-up. Yet, here in South Africa, he’s one of the most feared strikers. It just shows how far behind we are in producing players of both national and international quality.

I think the advice that we in this House should give the football administrators and club owners is possibly for our national football institutions to make it compulsory for each professional side to have reserve sides with development players such as the under-19 and under-15 teams. If need be, the question of incentives must also be addressed …

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member …

Mr B H HOLOMISA: Mnu Komphela, baqalile ke aba bantu bakho ukundiqhawula ndisathetha. Thetha, Sisi. [Hon Komphela, your people have started interrupting me again while I’m talking. Speak, my sister.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Your time has expired. Mr B H HOLOMISA: You should have said so. [Laughter.]

Mr M M DIKGACWI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, members of Parliament and distinguished guests, in today’s Cape Times there was a short letter by Mr Stuart Shepherd of Edgemead, saying that I must keep my nose out of rugby and that I must deal with soccer because Bafana Bafana is a disaster. [Laughter.]

Edgemead is the area, if hon members can remember, where this African girl was beaten up by a white girl, her boyfriend and her mother. They did not only beat her up, bamchamela [they urinated on her.] I am therefore not astonished by this letter of Mr Shepherd.

During the liberation struggle sport played a significant role and we could never be ignorant of that. Now the time has come for us to harness sport again in this new phase of our struggle aimed at building the ideal society we all envisage.

As we transform this country, I would like to present sport bodies with the challenge of ensuring that the demographic profile of their federations reflects the country’s population in the shortest time possible. However, this seems to be a challenge for other federations, especially South African rugby. Black players seem to disappear after they have represented the country in the under-19, under-21 and under-23 teams of South Africa. They disappear into thin air.

The Craven Week sides represent the demographics. However, the world-level representative teams which come out of the Craven Week seem to disappear without Saru caring or concerning themselves about the disappearance and retention of these teams.

In a meeting that we had with Stuart Baxter, the former coach of Bafana Bafana, he indicated to us that they don’t have any data of the under-19 or under-16 players. I don’t know how one can prepare if one doesn’t have that data. Strangely, other countries have the database of their players, even the data about the injured players. We insist that the people within these structures, who don’t care, must seriously be removed. It’s a pity I can’t mention names, but they know themselves. They are fat cats who have lost the plot of why they were there from the onset.

Enye ingxaki yile nto yokungakhululwa kwabadlali ngamaqela abo ukuba badlalele ilizwe labo. Yingxubakaxa ke le. Indenza ndibe namanyumnyezi le nto. Buphi ubuzwe kula maqela kunye nabadlali? Le ngxaki ifuna ingqwalasela yaye mhlawumbi ithetha ukuba kufuneka sibe nomgaqo-nkqubo kuba sifuna ukulungiselela iqela eliza kugqwesa ngo-2010. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)

[Another problem is the one experienced by players who are not released by their clubs in order that they can report for national duty in their respective countries. This is a serious problem. It makes me shiver. Whatever happened to patriotism? This may require us to draft a policy that will address these shortcomings, because we want a team that is going to succeed in 2010.]

We must go beyond the first round during the 2010 World Cup, and the spadework must start now. Safa is pathetic and unprofessional.

Abathembekanga. Bathetha iilwimi ngeelwimi ngathi ngabafundi bakaYesu ngokuya wayenyuka. [Uwelewele.] [You can never trust them. They speak in different tongues, like Jesus’ disciples on the day of the Ascension. [Interjections.]]

We must support the Safa leadership that is trustworthy, its coaching staff and players, as we try to put together a winning team for the World Cup that’s coming to our shores. We, as the ANC, will close ranks and intensify the manner and approach in which we deal with the challenges in responding to the federations, which continue to vilify our government, and the successes of our democratic state are used as a pawn by the minority groups to disqualify what’s just and fair.

Federations need to transform. Thus, every conscious effort of our sportsmen and women to excel in various sporting codes, and in helping others grow, contributes in countless ways to the building of our nation and the nurturing of a caring and people-centred society. It is in this context of transformation and the attainment of our freedom that we must understand the role of sport in the development of our nation.

In devising our tactics we shall have to display flexibility without succumbing to opportunism. But it can be done, because we have the organisation, the leadership and the cadres capable of seeing the web of ramifications and relationships that make our struggle so complex and capable of executing the revolution by drawing on the extensive armoury of methods and forms of struggle.

There is an abundance of talent throughout the length and breadth of this country, in our villages and in our cities, and it needs to be unearthed and developed. I often think about how much more successful we could be as a nation in the international sporting arena if we were able to draw our athletes from 100% of our population, rather than 20% or 30%.

A bigger resource pool must surely mean a more united South African front, keener competition and, therefore, higher levels of performance. I am sure that several national federations have signed a performance agreement with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation regarding representivity in their teams.

Recently, Saru endorsed a transformation charter. I am keen to find out whether they have lived up to those contracts, whether the new charter adopted will indeed be a guideline in addressing the challenge of transformation and, indeed, what new targets they have set for themselves in the year ahead. Clearly the road ahead towards a normal society remains the key challenge and the sports barometer against which we measure our progress.

Strangely, sponsors are withdrawing moneys when codes are being run by black people. For example, if one looks at boxing, netball and athletics, the moment the African is there, they say “we can’t support”. They find all kinds of excuses to withdraw their support.

In France, we learned that in each federation there is a government official within each structure to ensure that policies are implemented to the letter of the word and are monitored continuously. Perhaps, hon Komphela, we must implement the same model, in order to ensure that these federations do comply.

The people we deployed to these structures ended up being imidlwembe [unruly individuals], so we can’t rely on them. Instead, we need government officials that are not paid by the federations but are paid by government, so that they can continuously do the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the policy and legislation that we pass in this Parliament. I think the hon Lee will agree with me, as he was part of that delegation to France. This is not something new. [Laughter.]

The Minister needs to be praised for the bold steps which he has taken in terms of the insurance legislation, which has been introduced as a cover for boxers against injuries and death; and for the assistance that he has given to the women’s national rugby team, which will be playing in the World Cup in Canada this year. Nantsi ke ngoku into eza kundibethisa. [For what I am going to say now, I know that I am going to receive a tongue-lashing.]

The overlooking of players who perform well during the Super 14 is unacceptable. Instead, Jake White chooses to call up players who are supposed to retire. I, however, understand that the selection of players also has to do with money, because if the African kids are selected, they are taking away the money of the white kids.

Yinto ebenza bavale iminyango ke leyo. Siza kuwavula noba iqanyangelwe ngooqomoyi bamaqhaga, siza kuwavula. Avulekile amasango. Bafuna ukutya bodwa oontamolukhuni. [Kwahlekwa.] [That then causes them to shut the doors ever so tight. We are going to ensure that all doors are open, no matter what. The doors are open. These arrogant people want to benefit alone. [Laughter.]]

There is a perception here that rugby is a white sport. This is wrong. That is why this gentleman wrote me a letter saying that I must deal with soccer. I am dealing with all sporting codes, and I was also a rugby player for that matter. [Applause.] He must therefore understand that it is not a white sport. [Time expired.]

Mr E (Cassim) SALOOJEE: Chairperson, those of us who fought the good fight for representative national sports teams have taken pride in the meteoric rise of Bryan Habana, in rugby, and Makhaya Ntini’s sustained performance at the forefront of the Proteas. With performances like these, it is tempting to believe that transformation in sport has come full circle. If we give in to that temptation we will be betraying our dream of building a sporting nation that will provide the opportunity for participation of all, across the wide spectrum of sporting codes.

While we have made good progress in relation to transforming our most popular sporting codes, we must realise that the challenges are a whole lot bigger and more complex than this. Many of the smaller sporting codes are stagnating in a mindset of exclusiveness and social isolation. The development challenges are profound, as they still lack any meaningful base among the historically disadvantaged from whom these codes need to draw elite sportsmen and women.

In some of these sports, the economic barriers to entry, even at the recreational level, are quite high. Where sporting codes are highly commercialised and require substantial investment in equipment, or where they demand very special training facilities, they have tended to remain the preserve of the wealthy.

Socioeconomic exclusion is so profound that it seriously challenges the possibility of selecting truly national teams. I would like to illustrate what I mean through referring to one sport first, that is cycling. In South Africa cycling is fast gaining ground in terms of participants, sponsors and supporters. The big cycle tours have become major events in the South African sporting calendar. We have international competitors participating in increasing numbers. Even people who have never felt a saddle under their rear feel obliged to pretend that they have an interest in the Argus/Pick ‘n Pay tour.

The growth in cycling has only emphasised its status as an exclusive sport. Cycling at almost any level requires the kind of investment that poor people cannot dream of making. At competitive level, the bikes and other essential items such as kits are prohibitively expensive. Added to this fact is that the training facilities are often inaccessible, and that competing requires transport for bike and rider. You can begin to understand why there are so few working class heroes on wheels.

Given that cycling has exceptionally tough barriers to entry, one would have expected the relevant national sporting body to take on transformation in a robust way. However, this has not been the case. The fact that Cycling SA was only formed in 2004 has, no doubt, hampered progress. But the problems don’t stem purely from structural weaknesses.

The portfolio committee’s interaction with Cycling SA suggests that we are dealing with an organisational culture that is out of step with the times and is generally unreceptive to change. There is, however, some sense that the requirement of transformation is beginning to dawn upon Cycling SA. We are told that the transformation programme is under review and, certainly, some immediate steps have been taken to expand the training capacity. For example, four black coaches have recently completed the first level of an Australian accredited coaching course. A Khayelitsha-based rider, Luthando Kaku, will be undertaking a three-month training course in Switzerland.

The portfolio committee will hold Cycling SA to its responsibility to develop a transformation programme that will have an impact at every level. From the individual clubs, through to local and provincial structures, and right up to national and international competition, we will be watching to see that this programme addresses the development of sustainable training and coaching programmes to promote cycling among historically disadvantaged communities, and the mobilisation of additional resources to underpin the expansion of the sport.

However, the responsibility does not end there. Cycling SA’s exclusion in sports will not be ended by narrow interventions. It is necessary to move along a number of fronts simultaneously if you want to make progress.

Major sports sponsors have both the power and the resources to make a positive impact when it comes to tackling the economic barriers to participation. Pick ‘n Pay’s name is synonymous with South African cycling. This is a company associated with humanitarian projects, and with good conditions of employment. It would be a shame if Pick ’n Pay failed to bring a progressive influence to bear in the realm of cycling.

The challenge must be made even more broadly. To produce top-flight sportsmen or sportswomen in any particular code, that sport needs to be embedded in a nation’s culture. It must be practised at school, at recreational level or woven into the everyday lives of people. In these circumstances, talented children from modest homes can be spotted, and their talents developed. In some countries, particularly in Europe, cycling has this tradition.

Unfortunately, among disadvantaged communities in South Africa, this has not been the case. Furthermore, when someone like Sifiso Nhlapo, world junior BMX champion actually beats the odds and makes it to the top, he doesn’t get the kind of hero status he deserves on home turf. This is simply because cycling fans are few where people don’t actually do cycling. We must therefore find ways to expand cycling opportunities within the daily lives of disadvantaged communities as a cost-effective form of transport and as a form of recreation.

Health departments and nongovernmental organisations are exploring ways of providing cycles free of charge or at low cost to our people in rural and urban areas, mainly as an affordable form of transport. These initiatives include projects such as Afribike and the Bicycle Empowerment Network, as well as the Department of Transport’s Shova Lula campaign. We should be doing more than just applauding these efforts. We should be shouting for more and facilitating their expansion.

To make cycling affordable for the majority of South Africans, we must be able to bypass the exorbitant commercial market for cycles and cycling paraphernalia, which is driven ever upwards by the bottomless pockets of the elite.

I would like to pursue the topic of unchecked commercialism in sport, and the adverse effect that this may have on the broader community. A case in point is golf, and more particularly the proliferation of golfing estates. Golf quite obviously suffers from many of the same barriers that plague cycling. It is no accident that South African stars of the sport have surnames like Els, Goosen, Immelman, Clarke, Sabbatini. This country has not produced a major black golfing champion since Papwa lifted the South African title in Durban decades ago, and was awarded his trophy by Gary Player outside the clubhouse in the pouring rain.

The commercialisation of golf is an obvious barrier to its internal transformation. But it also poses a much wider threat: the mania to establish super-luxury golf estates on every spare inch of the Cape coast is a madness that must not go unchecked. The Cape coast is a glorious national treasure that we should preserve intact for generations to come. Instead, we are allowing it to be excavated and re-engineered to the unnatural contours needed for golf. We are privatising access to beaches of incredible beauty, and we are closing off breathtaking views to all eyes except those of super-rich golfers.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with golf estates. On the contrary, they have the potential to create employment and to contribute to local economic development while the fortunate users enjoy their sport. The problem stems from the sheer number of these estates that are in development. It also stems from the siting of these estates in places of natural beauty, where public access should be guaranteed in perpetuity.

The fact is that the natural environment is being irreversibly changed with little appreciation of the consequences, and the reality is that the rights of the public are being infringed for the sporting pleasure of a privileged few. All of this suggests that we have to look long and hard at the regulatory processes to understand why they are failing to offer adequate protection.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr E (Cassim) SALOOJEE: I thank you. [Applause.] Mr M T LIKOTSI: Deputy Chairperson, this Budget Vote is dedicated to Patrick Pule Ace “Mabhekaphansi” Ntsoelengoe, one of the finest footballers this country ever produced. He passed away on 8 May 2006. Our country has not been doing very well in sport of late, let alone recreation. There can be no enjoyable leisure when your national teams are losers, instead stress and high blood pressure will prevail.

The PAC of Azania observes, with dismay, how our sport is being run and developed nationally. There are not enough breeding grounds for sportsmen and women in the form of sports academies to nurture the youth at their early stages of life. This trend must stop somewhere, and a new way of sports development must be put in place now or later.

We underachieve in cricket, rugby and football. We failed to qualify for the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany. We were unceremoniously bundled out of the African Cup of Nations in Egypt; kicked out of the quarter finals of the Cosafa Cup in Botswana by the lowly Zebras of Botswana - ranked 50 places below South Africa. We have to pride ourselves on a handful of our athletes and sportsmen and women who excelled in their sporting codes. To them we say: “Keep up the good work.” What our country needs is sport academies and places of high performance at all levels, that is schools, universities, provinces and at national level. Sport has made what Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya are to the world today. We have the ability to produce athletes and sportsmen and women of quality, the likes of Eto’o of Cameroon; Ronaldinho of Brazil; Tiger Woods of USA; Martina Hingis - the 25-year old of Switzerland; Venus and Serena Williams of USA; Paul Tergat of Kenya; Marion Jones of USA; and Mayoyo Aloryi of Ghana.

The government must intervene and invest billions of rands in sports development. Facilities must be created and highly skilled sportspersons, administrators and technical persons must take the lead.

In netball, we congratulate Western Cape Tornadoes on winning the National Netball League this year. In soccer we congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns “The Sky is the Limit” for winning the league. [Applause.] We further congratulate Kaizer Chiefs “Amakhosi Amahle” for winning the ABSA Cup - the cup of dreams.

The PAC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr R B BHOOLA: Chairperson, Minister, in view of the department’s performance, the MF refers the House to the objection we lodged last year to the department transferring funds to municipalities via the municipal infrastructure grant to provide sports facilities, amongst its six priorities.

As predicted, this was a major disaster. Out of R1,3 billion allocated to MIG in KwaZulu-Natal, only R1,3 million was used for sports infrastructure … [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Order, hon members!

Mr R B BHOOLA: As noted, the department is facing a major backlog in infrastructural development throughout the country. In view of this, we hope the Minister’s undertaking at the sports investment conference held in London recently to make infrastructure more accessible will be fulfilled. We assume the department has realised its error in this regard and will revert to funding the provinces. This should prove far more productive as regards delivery.

The MF, however, expresses its confidence in the department’s objectives. We are pleased with initiatives regarding youth development projects, as introduced at schools. We believe that it’s during these early stages of their lives that our youth are easily influenced and sports are a great means to deter them from a life of crime and violence. It is also at this young age that our sporting heroes may be discovered.

In the light of this, the MF is concerned as to whether schools have the necessary funding and resources to implement a sustainable school sports programme. The benefits of the department’s mass participation initiatives are recognised. We, however, would like to ask: How is the department progressing in establishing 210 hubs, and ensuring one hub in each municipal ward?

Another major aspect on the department’s agenda is the 2010 Soccer World Cup. It is noted that while all the necessary objectives exist in this regard, a major backlog exists in delivering on those objectives before

1. In the light of this, the MF would like to ask this question: How effective is the co-ordination, organisation and monitoring of the preparations for 2010 between the department, the Department of Environmental Affairs and management?

Further, we are pleased at the department’s continued efforts to balance the sports arena through addressing gender shortfalls and ensuring the representation of disabled persons in various sports.

The MF supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.]

Mr L R R REID: Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister, invited guests, hon members, amidst all the doom and gloom expressed here today about the poor performance of Bafana Bafana, allow me, first of all, to congratulate two South African sports teams that have performed exceptionally well this past weekend: the KwaZulu-Natal under-15 soccer team that won an international soccer tournament in Germany beating Poland in the finals, and the South African national sevens team that won the International Rugby Board’s sevens tournament in France by beating, amongst others, New Zealand and Samoa. [Applause.]

Today I want to focus on school sports. On 17 March 2005 a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Minister of Sport and Recreation and the Minister of Education. In terms of that particular memorandum of understanding, all selected competitive and representative school sports at provincial, national and international level have become the responsibility of the Department of Education. This has far-reaching implications.

Previously, under the Department of Education, when a learner from a disadvantaged background was elected to play a national tour or go overseas, they had to withdraw from that team because of a lack of money. Members of the committee would know how they would phone around asking members for donations. Now, for the first time in this country, the Department of Sport will pay for both the travelling expenses and the accommodation of such learners. [Applause.]

What is also alarming, in terms of transformation of school sport, is an attempt by certain white schools to have competitions during school holidays involving white teams only. Here we refer to the “jong” or “klein Bokkies” [junior Springboks] who held a tournament outside Upington at some stage.

If we thought that this practice was stillborn, it is, however, still happening in the Southern Cape. It takes place in my hometown, Riversdale, on the fields of the agriculture school there. That is why it is important that we should soon be passing an amendment to the sport and recreation Act. We have to use that particular Act to put an end to this particular practice. [Applause.]

You know why I am raising this issue. The school level is the first entry point where transformation should take place. Those kids need to learn how to live and play together and later represent South Africa. [Applause.]

While school sport was still under the Department of Education it was administered by Ussasa. I think we must also thank Ussasa for the role they have played in advancing school sports since unification. They were just teachers at the time and some of them did not even know how to coach but all the same they did a good job.

When school sport left the Department of Education and was transferred to the Department of Sport and Recreation, Ussasa was dissolved and that has left a vacuum in terms of the administration of school sport. Fortunately, during our public hearings on the budget we heard several entities that made presentations. First of all, we heard Sports without Boundaries – a section 21 entity that was founded by a group of sportspersons, education leaders, community sports activists and sports volunteers. They made a very good impression on the committee. As a committee, we recommended a meeting between themselves and the department because I think they are well equipped to fill that particular vacuum.

We talked here today in terms of the skills levels. Another entity that met with us was the one which specialises in rugby, led by the former KwaZakhele Rugby Union and Saru player, Themba Ledwaba. If you have watched the Super 14 rugby this year, you would have seen that our national players in these Super 14 teams passed the ball as if they had never played rugby before. A player who will be captaining South Africa, Jean de Villiers, passed the ball behind his wing most of the time.

So it’s about time we charge these former players, like Themba Ledwaba, with the task of teaching our kids the necessary skills. If we don’t teach them at that particular level they will never learn those skills. [Applause.]

Some of the national sports federations also run competitions for learners. Athletics SA has a cross-country programme for learners and Saru has some junior rugby competitions. Regarding cycling, individual members of cycling coach some of our kids. But, I must say that these happen on an ad hoc basis. As regards Cycling SA, what we must know about them is that their management committee is still lily-white. They have no idea about transformation.

I think the biggest challenge for the department will be the provision of sports facilities. There are many schools in the previously disadvantaged areas that have no sports facilities at all. While others do have some facilities, those are not suitable for sport. This is the apartheid legacy of the provision of skewed facilities along racial lines.

Another challenge is the provision of sports facilities to farm schools. Here the problem is the ownership of these schools and the scarcity of land, because all the land belongs to the farmer. I propose that the department should interact with the MECs of education to hold discussions with farmers to provide land for basic sports facilities, because we cannot leave those farm children on their own. They, too, need to enjoy a better life.

The state of the nation address raised the issue of acceleration regarding the provision of sports facilities. This is no longer the responsibility of the Department of Sport but the department is nonetheless expected to play a leading role in the co-ordination and planning of new facilities through the municipal infrastructure grant and the Expanded Public Works Programme.

However, once again, I want to echo what the Deputy Minister said, namely that right throughout the country we met with many councils and to them sport is not a priority. So, we need to revert to the building for sport and recreation programme.

Another issue raised in the state of the nation address was around poverty and unemployment. [Interjections.] Will you please keep quiet while I am talking? [Laughter.] Through the upgrading and provision of sports facilities, short-term employment will be created and that will contribute to the improvement of quality of life.

Boxing SA was established in terms of the South African Boxing Act of 2001. They have started their baby champions league, that is tournaments for boxers in the lower weight divisions. These tournaments have become so popular that they are attracting large numbers of spectators.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: (Ms C-S Botha) Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr L R R REID: I thank you. [Applause.] Mr S SIMMONS: Chair, I rise in support of the Budget Vote.

Kwotas moet versigtig hanteer word ten einde werklike gelyke geleenthede in sport te bewerkstellig. So moet die integriteit en gehalte van die onderskeie sportkodes ook gehandhaaf word. [Quotas have to be handled with care to ensure that real equal opportunities in sport are achieved. That is how the integrity and quality of the various sporting codes should also be maintained.]

The UPSA does not believe that transformation in sport is merely a matter of numbers but rather the creation of circumstances and opportunities that will allow every participant to play his or her particular sport at the highest level that their talents allow them.

This is an objective that cannot be expected to be achieved instantaneously, for it is not only about the improvement of sports facilities, but the improvement of the level of our sports management too. We must improve the quality of our coaching abilities and depth. We must improve the quality and numbers of our sport scientists, and we must improve the quality and numbers of our sport physicians and physiotherapists, amongst others. The Australians have proved that this approach is working well. The UPSA believes that transformation goals and objectives will be achieved if we follow a bottom-up approach instead of what currently seems to be a top-down approach. This, in practice, would mean that schools would be the first point of departure in achieving transformation, not only in terms of numbers but rather in terms of the coaching and exposure to facilities that our youngsters need to reach their true potential.

We therefore believe that, in conjunction with the national and provincial education departments, the Department of Sport and Recreation should intensify its efforts to address the still lacking presence of quality sports professionals at schools.

The UPSA supports the programmes that the Deputy Minister … [Time expired.]

Mr S J MASANGO: Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, and fellow members, the ultimate goal of the Department of Sport and Recreation should be to create the opportunity for every child to choose in which sporting code he or she wants to participate. Failure to properly administer sport, to provide adequate facilities or to focus on talent rather than race has meant that a lot of South Africans are simply unable to make that choice. UMnyango wezeMidlalo nokuzithabisa uqalene neselela yokwakha iindawo zemidlalo, lapho zifuneka khona khulu. Lokhu kungenzeka ngokobana uRhulumende akhe iindawo ezaneleko zemidlalo emadorobheni nemalokitjhini wesitjhaba sethu. [The Department of Sport and Recreation is faced with the challenge of developing much needed sports facilities. This will only happen if the government develops adequate sports facilities in the towns and locations of our nation.]

The enormously high rate of unemployment in South Africa is well documented. Because of this, many young men and women dream of escaping from this poverty and unemployment through sport. But how can they realise their dreams if there are no sports facilities in their areas?

Ngqongqotjhe, abantu abatlhaga khulu abanganamali yokuya endaweni lapho bangadlala khona imidlalo abakghoni ukuya ngombana abanamali. Kodwana wena njengoNgqongqotjhe, unemali yokwakha iinsetjenziswa lapho kuhlala khona abantu. Ngakho-ke Ngqongqotjhe nawungabakheliko eendaweni zabo kufana nokuthi uyababandlulula. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)

[Minister, extremely poor people are unable to go to places where they can play sports, because they don’t have money. You, as the Minister, have the money to build the infrastructure where people live. Therefore, Minister, if you don’t develop sports facilities for them in their own places, it is like you are discriminating against them.]

One should also congratulate those sporting codes which, with limited resources, try their best to assist in building sports facilities. Sadly, there are municipalities that have sports facilities within their borders but do not have funds to properly maintain those facilities.

Many councils also do not consider sport to be a priority. This, Mr Minister, is where your responsibility comes in again. You should educate municipalities on the importance of spending money on sports facilities. I am not saying they should cut spending on service delivery to communities. What I am saying is that we need municipalities to spend money on sport and less on lavish inauguration parties and buffets. [Interjections.]

Mr Minister, since the municipal infrastructure grant was introduced the rate at which sports facilities have been built has dropped drastically. The Minister must seriously consider the ring-fencing of the money allocated for sport in order to ensure that the funds intended for sports facilities are actually spent on sports facilities. We will keep saying this until you have done that.

In sport, if you want to see a representative South Africa, we need to start developing at junior level while children are at school. This is not happening in our townships and rural areas because of lack of available facilities. Potential Bafana Bafana players are forced to play sports in which they have no interest or skill. What happened to the children’s freedom to choose? At the end of the day, South Africa loses out.

The memorandum of understanding signed between the Minister of Sport and Recreation and the Minister of Education is not worth the paper it’s written on. Very little, if anything, is being done by the Department of Sport to ensure that development takes places from the school level, and not only at senior level.

Another alarming issue concerns Boxing SA, Mr Minister. Boxing SA is a state institute funded by the taxpayer but it is still flouting laws and regulations. Every year Boxing SA makes excuses and promises to get its house in order but nothing has come of these promises.

Last year the Minister explained that non-compliance with financial regulations was due to different accounts held by provinces. These accounts no longer exist yet compliance has become an even worse problem. The Minister cannot escape the blame. He failed for two years to appoint a CEO for Boxing SA. [Interjections.] That is something which also contributed to non-compliance. [Interjections.]

Lastly, there are two issues where the department must seriously ask itself if it is fulfilling the department’s vision. The first one is the mass participation programme. What is the use of the department parachuting into a community with a huge fanfare without ensuring the sustainability of the programme in that particular area? If there is no way to measure it’s success, then it is only a once-off photo opportunity and a waste of one’s time and money.

The second issue is the provincial sports academies. Not all these academies serve any clear purpose. Some, in fact, are just buildings standing empty. Some at least have an administration clerk twiddling his thumbs. But how does that develop sport? The simple answer is that it does not. The purpose behind these academies is not to have a clerk doing administration work only; they should be used to promote sport in those provinces.

We can only change in this country if we build enough facilities all over the country; if we develop sport from primary school level; and if we make sure that the talented children and those who show potential are mentored all the way up to the provincial level.

Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo. [Thank you, Chairperson.]

Mr C T FROLICK: Chairperson and hon members, the annual Budget Vote of Sport and Recreation grants us the opportunity to assess the impact of the programmes of the department and these of national federations to improve the quality of life of all South Africans.

The leadership role in the department and in this committee is taken up by the ANC, and it is underpinned by the resolutions of the 51st conference of the ANC, which state that:

The ANC must give the lead in sport and recreation transformation to promote community development.

Another key resolution of this conference urges government to play a central and, where necessary, interventionist role in the transformation of sport and recreation in South Africa.

We are thus eagerly awaiting the tabling in Parliament of the Bill that will deal with transformation in sport. We could have heard today from the contributions of various speakers that some of our federations simply have not bought into the idea of transformation. For some time now, the portfolio committee has called for a blueprint for sport to guide these federations to achieve our national objectives.

Once again, during the debate, speakers have highlighted the chaotic state of affairs in certain federations and the lack of co-ordination of programmes. This has led to a situation where the centrality of transformation ended up as a side issue on the agenda of sports bodies and is often used as an excuse to justify the poor performance of national teams. It is thus expected that this legislation will not find favour with those political parties who believe that the development and wellbeing of our people should be left to market forces.

The tabling of this Bill will also coincide with a significant epoch in our history. Twenty-five years ago, when the anti-apartheid sports movement took the fight against racial discrimination onto the international stage by effectively disrupting the 1981 Springbok Tour to New Zealand, the Minister of Sport, Comrade Stofile, played an instrumental role in forging international resistance against the participation of the Springboks and South African teams in other countries while apartheid was still in place.

It is thus also significant that the adoption of the transformation charter by the SA Rugby Union last Friday coincides with this epoch. Whilst we do agree that transformation is a process, and we commend Saru on the adoption of this transformation charter, we need to remind rugby administrators that the unity process in rugby started way back in 1990.

As a result, we are growing radically impatient with the slow and lacklustre approach of certain provincial entities towards transformation. The charter should harness and accelerate the pace of transformation in rugby, instead of starting from the beginning again. The question is: How different will this charter be from previous transformation initiatives? Hopefully, it will not be a case of old wine in new bottles.

The ANC thus rejects comments attributed to certain rugby bosses who stated, after this transformation charter was accepted, that in future it might be acceptable – if there are good enough reasons – for a white-only Springbok team to be fielded. We cannot accept that. While it is not our job to select the national teams, we need to keep federations accountable to ensure that their selection policies are aligned to the transformation commitments they make and the developmental agenda of government.

Allow me, Chairperson, for a few moments, to turn my attention to the issues affecting sport in the Eastern Cape. The refusal of Saru to allow the Spears to participate in the Super 14 franchise competition is an illustration of the serious challenges faced by rugby in the Eastern and Southern Cape. The inability of parties to agree and commit themselves to a shared vision in preparing the team for Super 14 competitions ultimately betrayed the hopes and ambitions of supporters in the region.

We therefore need to reiterate our position that, in principle, we support a franchise in the South Eastern Cape and maintain that no political argument can be made for the region not to be part of a Super 14 competition in future. We call on Saru to accept full responsibility for the future of the Spears and to put a competent board of directors in place to manage and prepare the team for participation within the next two to three years.

However, this will necessitate a change in the way rugby players are contracted in the country. At the moment, provincial unions are primarily responsible for contracting these players and thus it gives them absolute control over the players. The result is that the provincial interests of the wealthy unions prevail at the expense of the national interest.

The prevailing norm of leading rugby nations such as New Zealand is to accept full responsibility for the contracting of its top players by the mother body itself. The board of Saru must seriously consider assuming this responsibility and not relegate it any longer to the unions. Such a system will fundamentally change rugby and ensure a more equitable distribution of financial and human resources amongst the rich union and the poor unions.

At the same time, Saru will play a more meaningful role in managing the players to prevent player fatigue and the alarming incidence of injuries to their top players. National teams are national assets and must be managed as such.

The trouble in which rugby in the South Eastern Cape finds itself is not a situation peculiar to rugby only. We are aware and we engage federations in that part of the country on sporadic incidents of conflict amongst administrators, whether it be soccer – cricket is a little bit quiet now and we welcome that – or athletics, and it is an indication for us of the turmoil in which sport very often finds itself.

The inability of administrators in the region to get their house in order impacts negatively on potential sponsorships, without which sports bodies cannot survive. Failure to comply with the principles of good corporate governance and transparency effectively nullifies any prospects for the region, which historically is the home of black sportsmen and women.

The question thus arises: What is at the root of the problem? If we want to be cynical, we can say that there are racial dimensions involved. That is not the case. The funny thing is that on both sides, in all groups, you find a very representative group of South Africans – from all races.

The problem is that once these federations go for their annual general meetings, they don’t accept the outcome and the result of those AGMs. They thus forever stay in election mode. They start preparing for the next election to take place and those who lost out in being elected into positions either marginalise the other group, or they form a pressure group which refuses to co-operate. As a result, there is no unity and agreement on how to advance the game.

Elected officials execute their duties alongside parallel structures and splinter groups to pursue their own interests. Divisions ultimately become institutionalised where you have two sports councils operating in one area, and they are also operating along the lines of the divide. Generally, there is a lack of commitment of leaders in these sports councils to unite and form one unitary body.

Notwithstanding this state of affairs - it is strange and it can be explained because the people of that part of the country love sport – school and club sport remain vibrant. Recently we experienced a sharp increase in participation levels in various communities. The problem is the leadership of the sports bodies.

To address this matter, members of the portfolio committee met on three occasions with opposing groups. At the last meeting, in April, the parties agreed to work towards unity and have one sports council in place by the beginning of August 2006. To our disappointment, however, we learned that one of the groups, after agreeing to this process, on their own took a flight to Pretoria where they met with certain government officials and gave a completely different picture of what is happening there. We are continuing to engage with them.

Very often, a lot of attention is paid to the bigger federations such as rugby, cricket, soccer and athletics. The reality is that there are numerous other federations where transformation challenges exist. Comrade Saloojee referred to cycling and there are a lot of smaller ones that we do not pay the necessary attention to.

Despite these problems and challenges that they have, we are aware, Deputy Minister, that Cycling SA approached the Department of Trade and Industry, and they successfully applied to have the 2006 Argus Cycle Tour declared a protected event. When we engaged with the officials from the Department of Sport we found out that they were not aware of this development, and one would like that in future there should be closer co-operation between DTI on the one hand and the Department of Sport and Recreation on the other hand to ensure that the benefits of protected events will also go to disadvantaged people.

In the coming financial year, we will also look at closer co-operation with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. We have only met them once since their inception and we are aware that there are various challenges. We cannot allow a situation to develop where there is an increasing divide between the portfolio committee on the one hand and Sascoc on the other. One instance is where the CEO was fired. We heard about the sacking of the CEO in the media. That is not acceptable. We cannot continue like that. We are looking for closer co-operation.

In the limited time at my disposal, I want to deal with some of the comments made, the last one being by the hon Masango on Boxing SA. Yes, Boxing SA does have its challenges. We have met with them. Whilst all the problems have not been resolved, it must be stated that the current administrators have made bold plans and taken steps to rectify the shortcomings. One is the firing or suspension of the managing director. An audit committee has been put in place and the supporting documents have been given to the Office of the Auditor-General to deal with the qualified opinion. We hope that matters will come to a conclusion very soon.

We also heard certain comments being made about the school sports programme. I don’t know to which school sports programme the hon Masango was referring, but the one we witness when we go out is a vibrant school sports culture that is developing. There is integration from different groups taking place and this bodes well for the future.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr C T FROLICK: The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson, I just want to pick up where the hon Cedric Frolick left off regarding school sport. You see, the difference between the hon Masango, Mr Cedric Frolick and Mr Reid, is that Mr Masango is talking to Parliament about something he has absolutely no clue about whereas the others are talking from experience of what is happening. Mr Masango was just making a speech whilst they were re-evaluating what is going on. He only needs to accompany me one of these days and I will introduce him to these programmes. And, as a matter of fact, he will see the difference between two and three years ago and what is going on today, including the perpetuation of those whites-only school competitions.

I intervened in one not so long ago. They do take place. But, notwithstanding that, the overwhelming majority of our schools, teachers and communities are involved in the resuscitation of school sport. I want to inform Mr Reid that I spoke to them directly in March this year. I spoke to Mr Ledwaba and his colleagues, including Skhumbuzo Oliphant and Bomza Nkohla - all of them. I instructed them to go to their schools and begin to do coaching for their school children. I am talking about something that is happening.

I am talking about Sugar Ray Xulu whom we have now entrusted with the responsibility of coaching football in KwaZulu-Natal and galvanising his mates into a team of masters. We were in Giyani to see other masters in football who are participating in the training of school kids in the art of playing sport.

I am not theorising here. In the gallery I know there is Mr Xandila Mannie who was my captain when I played my last game last month. [Applause.] I am not just talking about sport here in Parliament but I am actually doing sport with the children and our communities. You should have seen us coaching the under-15 players at Bethalsdorp – how to pass the ball, Mr Reid, how to tackle and how to drive and how to organise a ruck. I am not talking about Mr Masango and his ilk who are just making political speeches in this House, I am talking about the serious matter of playing sport.

I am not talking about Mr Lee who wears a cricket jersey once in a while. [Laughter.] He was not at Adcock when I was there last month. He should have seen what was happening on the sports field. He was not at the Gemsa grounds when I was there in his own … [Interjections.] That’s in the past, I am talking about the present. He is talking about the past. Who started the Gemsa grounds? I am talking about 2006. I am talking about what is going on at the Gemsa grounds in respect of sport activism.

Now, this is the difference between us and politicians and professional parliamentarians who just talk about these things. One common thing amongst us is that we need money to get these things done, whether it is incentives, the building of facilities or making kits available. We agree on that.

We need money to make sure that more of our children who get selected do travel and benefit from the sweat of our brows. Many of those who are talking here were playing with the cat when we were sweating for these benefits to be accessible to our own children. We are still there and we are still fighting for the accessibility of these benefits to all our children.

Comrade Gomomo, I was talking to some activists in Uitenhage, and we are working at reviving boxing in that great town. We are also working at reviving boxing in this great city of Cape Town so that the spirit of “Phantom Killer” - remember the people of Kroonstad used to shout “Phantom Killer” when Rakgajane entered the ring - the spirit of “Kid Dynamite” Konzi, Qashe Sithole and other great boxers, can be resuscitated. That spirit is being resuscitated in what Mr Reid was talking about regarding the tournaments that took place last year until the beginning of this year.

Boxing SA is in the process of appointing a CEO. They have not had one since 2003. They made interim arrangements by appointing a managing director who has now been relieved of this post because it is unconstitutional to have an MD in the first place. And, as custodians of that parastatal, hon members should note that there is nowhere in the boxing Act where it is said that boxing must be run by an MD. It is specific that it must be headed by a CEO and we reported here last year that, to correct all these administrative lacunas, we will insist that this new board appoints a CEO. We cannot quarrel with them when they do that.

I would also like to report that I agree with the speakers who say that we are looking in only one direction – in the direction of the big federations. We forget that our Basetsana team are doing a wonderful job on the football field. Those junior girls are doing very well. The same goes for their elder sisters, Banyana Banyana. They are doing very well.

Our under-23s, Amaglug-glug - if you were watching them over this past week

• are beginning to lay the foundation of how sport should be played in this country. [Applause.] And, of course, the SA Rugby Union will be sending their under-21 representative side to France next week. We must watch very closely how they perform.

But, what I want to say to all these federations is - and I agree with hon Holomisa – we are not going to make a difference if we simply go for the coaches in terms of dismissing them and hiring them. I do not think that is a priority. Whether it is the gymnasts you saw tumbling outside, football, cricket or athletics, the priority and the first step for all sport is talent identification. The second step is the preparation of the athlete – physical preparation, biokinetics and vascular performance. The psyche of the athlete is important. We must correct their mindset and make them ready to literally die for their country.

When the coach comes, regarding 2010, that coach must find this ready raw material. I have raised this with Safa. It does not help to bring in a coach in 2006 and expect this poor soul to win in 2010 when there is no material. As a matter of fact, if I were recruited to coach Bafana Bafana, the first thing I would say is: Show me your preparation plan. I would then ask: Where did you take them? How fit are they? How fast are they? How ready are they psychologically?

I hope, Mr Lee, that when you discuss that amending Bill you will not only endorse it but also strengthen it to deliver those things. Praatjies maak is niks, maar dis die doen wat belangrik is. [Talking achieves nothing, it is actions that are very important.]

Get there and have these things done. The “getjank en gehuil” [weeping and wailing] cannot deliver the goods. It is those who carry the burden that must do so.

Lastly, I want to say to Mr Lee that no Minister of the World Cup has ever been appointed by any country in the world over the past 100 years. There is nothing like that. In Germany, the Minister who accounts to Cabinet regarding the 2006 World Cup is the Minister of housing - in the same way as the Minister of Sport and Recreation in this country accounts to Cabinet. There is no add-on. He is simply deluding himself and misleading this House.

Mr Franz Beckenbauer is the custodian of the success of the World Cup in Germany. The Minister is the custodian of the delivery of the government guarantees. That member is deluding himself and has stated the untruth in this House, and that is not correct.

I want to thank everybody who has participated. They have not disagreed with anything we have put forward here. They have added some twists here and there. I want to agree that success on the sports field is directly proportional to the resources allocated to sport. Please, support this budget. [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

Debate on Vote No 10 – Public Service and Administration; Vote No 11 - Public Service Commission; and Vote No 12 - SA Management Development Institute:

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Madam Chairperson, hon members of this august House, members of the public in the gallery, representatives from various interest groups associated with this portfolio

• including five of our hard-working community development workers, kids from school, our young citizens in the making - whose lives are affected and their futures shaped by what happens in this portfolio, and everyone present here, I would like to welcome you all here today.

I would like to start out with a quote:

We are on course. Steadily, the dark clouds of despair are lifting, giving way to our season of hope. Our country which, for centuries, has bled from a thousand wounds is progressing towards its healing.

With these words, President Mbeki began his first state of the nation address in June 1999.

You will recall that earlier this year the President returned to the imagery of hope. In February he emphasised the centrality of the work of this portfolio, referring to the legitimate expectation our people have – that government will discharge its responsibilities effectively and efficiently while honouring the precepts of Batho Pele.

Time is not on my side. For more detail, I will refer you to the written Budget Vote document which has been handed out. I prefer to use this time available to highlight some of the most strategic issues that concern this portfolio and also to focus on all those institutions and components within this portfolio.

As you will see from the programme against which we report today, this team has a very wide remit, and it is constituted by the Department of the Public Service and Administration, the SA Management Development Institute, the Centre for Public Service Innovation, the State Information and Technology Agency, the Public Service Education and Training Authority and the Public Service Commission - that merely deals with its budget through this portfolio.

It is a team that has gained tremendous experience and has improved greatly on its own performance. However, this team is not immune against the same challenges and capacity constraints that bedevil the work of the Public Service elsewhere. This fact, once again, became evident during the Public Service imbizo held at Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto on Monday.

As much as public service transformation is about ensuring the implementation of the government’s agenda in the different line functions such as health, education, public works, policing, even sport and so on, transformation of the Public Service is also about implementation. The typical challenges it faces include resource availability, goal unity and commitment, organisation systems and processes and the complexity of ensuring joint activity, to mention a few.

We have to ensure that commitments are implemented. For example, we need to ensure that we can support our specialist clinicians and nurses to be exemplary professionals rather than obliging them to become managers. We need to ensure that the talk about technology as a means to support service delivery improvement does not remain at the level of talk only. We need to ensure that, indeed, we put in place the means to secure appropriate training of future generations of public servants.

We need to ensure that if we talk about complex schemes regarding co- ordination and integration we can, at the very least, get the basics right by having messages shared and passed on to the relevant people in the day- to-day settings of public administration.

If we are unsuccessful in translating big talk into real change, our words will ring hollow. I therefore remind my team, whose business is public service transformation, that our work is not done once we have prepared a document for Cabinet decision on a new initiative, no matter how intense a work process it was to get to that stage. And I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me. I am not dismissive of the importance of that part of the process to get to a good decision.

However, in reality, our work only begins at that stage. If Cabinet passes our decisions we have only received the green light to actually go out and implement. We have to work at getting the balance right in the allocation of our efforts between coming up with innovative ideas and nursing them through to fruition.

We need to develop the stomach to astutely navigate our own initiatives through difficult terrains of organisational politics or entrenched interests that go against some of our transformation initiatives. I am happy today to assure hon members that I am seeing a difference in the programmes of action that the directors-general have committed to and the performance agreements we are signing.

We are taking heed of the problem in terms of non-compliance with many of our initiatives highlighted by the Public Service Commission. You will see in the printed text a number of initiatives that have been taken to address this matter. Tool kits and guidelines are developed, introduced to departments and active support given with their implementation.

The monitoring and evaluation of all our initiatives is being strengthened, spreading it between a range of organisations, each with their own peculiar and particular focus, and their own purpose. Where necessary, we are prepared to relook at the assignment of responsibilities and the issue of devolution of tasks and functions.

We will not shy away from asking some of the difficult questions and shaping some of the most controversial debates when we think it makes a lot of sense, from an organisational structure point of view, to pursue certain lines which have become politically unpalatable or contested.

We are also putting in place proverbial teeth to deal with situations where giving the necessary support is simply not enough and non-compliance is a persistent issue. We will propose a rewriting of legislation and regulation where we deem it necessary to ensure better implementation.

In this respect, we foresee at least three legislative initiatives in the foreseeable future. These initiatives will be the amendments to the current Public Service Act, the introduction of a legislations framework regarding the creation of a single Public Service or at least regulations regarding the governance of public entities.

The past year saw issues of public administration - an area many a person has confessed to thinking is dry and boring, utterly abstract and incomprehensible - come to life in real drama that would put prime time television drama to shame. If we were to analyse the headlines as well as many of the current affairs programmes that have caught the interest of the public, the principles, policies and abstractions the members of this portfolio engage with daily, I am sure each one of us in this House would be able to cite examples in these categories without much difficulty, though I have referred to issues without naming them.

These were examples that have shown the aberrations in our system, because we have different systems of public administration for national and provincial administration on the one hand, and local administration on the other. We saw examples demonstrating how complex the relationship that is often referred to as the political administrative interface can become. It demonstrated the need for a system that allows for due processes, in the event of such relationships souring.

We had real life drama that demonstrated the dangers of senior public servants abusing their office and the resources they control in the interest of pursuing their own agendas. This demonstrated the importance of ethical behaviour and integrity and the damage that corrupt behaviour does to the views the population holds regarding all things official.

We have seen examples demonstrating the importance of having guidelines that standardise decisions and protect those who make them when these decisions are being questioned. There have been examples which demonstrated the fact that centralisation or decentralisation is not a matter of either/or but a very intricate balance of forces and counter-forces.

Some of the examples illustrated the need for proper co-ordination, since many of the policy issues we deal with involve a range of organisations. They demonstrated to us the very different effect that right and wrong appointments can have in terms of how the public experiences bureaucracy. In our overall system, the experiences demonstrate the importance of governance regarding the principle of separation of powers but also the imperfections and the limitations of this doctrine in reality.

If you permit me, I could quite enthusiastically continue to point out all these public administration day-to-day dramas to demonstrate to you that the work of this portfolio is anything but boring or abstract. One of the central areas of this portfolio is the macro-organisation of the state. A wide range of issues fall under this title and some of them have assumed great currency and political relevance.

As Minister for the Public Service and Administration, I would be remiss to remain silent when centralisation and decentralisation or the great centralisation tendencies – as some refer to it – and the management culture of the centre of government are discussed by all and sundry in the way they choose. My position is informed and supported by the prevailing thinking on organisational theory.

In addition, this portfolio looks at organisational structures that are desirable in order to effect redistribution of resources as well as organisational structures that are supportive of strong economic growth in the developmental context. I have spoken on this issue before, both here in Parliament and elsewhere. So there is nothing new in me advocating this position.

The relationship between the centre and the periphery is a carefully balanced system. In a highly decentralised system such as South Africa’s – and this is not the word according to Comrade Geraldine but an assessment by analysts that look comparatively at these issues in such a decentralised system – it is fundamentally important to have a strong pulling force at the centre of government which can hold relatively autonomous units together through imbuing a shared strategic vision and maintaining high- level oversight.

This is not a pathological desire to dominate and control but to maintain necessary functional coherence within a bigger system. After all, we opted to choose the unitary state in our Constitution as the form which we adopted. We have allowed for an executive President in our Constitution. This form obviously has some accompanying ways of working and systems that are typical, the world over.

The desire for a strong strategic and oversight role at the centre should not be confused with old-style ideas of micromanaging, hierarchy, inflexibility and command and control modi operandi. Further to providing coherent strategic direction and undertaking performance management, having an interventionist capability at the centre is a desire that builds on the idea that sometimes it is necessary to redeploy some from within the core to ensure active involvement of the core in the more operational units, or in public administration speak “the line department and executive agencies”. Of course, the challenge always remains for the core to add value to the way in which these operational units perform.

This way of working and organising can clearly be distinguished from the models that rely on the command and control culture. The organisational models that resemble our thinking regarding the role of the centre of government in a modern democratic developmental state resemble some of the most cutting-edge thinking in organisational design.

In regard to the organisational form required to pursue our redistribution agenda, I can say the following: it is a well-known fact that redistributive policy is the most difficult type of policy to implement. It needs the strongest internal goal and organisational coherence in order to pull it off and overcome resistance.

Last year, in an address to the National Council of Provinces, I cautioned members that they should not be uncritical in the debate on decentralisation. Although much can be said for decentralisation, in terms of local empowerment and direct participation, we cannot ignore the fundamental inequities in South African society when we discuss decentralisation. We cannot allow empowerment to be seen in an entirely localised fashion. It will result in the perpetuation into infinity of prevailing inequities.

For the disadvantaged part, localisation without access to the larger resource base will give rise to ever-growing gaps between the haves and the have-nots, the empowered and the disempowered, thus effectively bringing our ideals for transforming this country of ours to nought.

We also cannot ignore the fact that the discussion on decentralisation can very easily play into an agenda that’s actively seeking to weaken the state in the interest of a society where the behaviour of the strong and powerful is unchecked and unregulated, and the citizen and the individual are at the mercy of market interest.

Regarding this issue, again, I’d want to share the position. The tide has turned in the international discussion on public administration. The dominant paradigm is no longer one that argues for minimising state power in the interest of an all-powerful market. The current thinking says a strong state is a sine qua non, without which neither the market nor the third sector nor the community sector can flourish. Minimising state power, therefore, should be an undesirable option for all. [Applause.] I invite those whose mental maps are shaped by extreme positions, either the Stalinist notions of absolutist central control or, on the other end, liberalism that cannot stomach any state control, to broaden the perspectives with which they are engaging this discussion. Other configurations of organisation are possible. And to focus the discussion on the extreme options, as if other alternatives do not exist, is mischievous and unhelpful.

Given that I firmly believe in the necessity for a strong state with a particular configuration of roles and functions between the centre and the operational structure, we will continue to steer this portfolio in a direction that will contribute to the building of a kind of state machinery which is based on ANC policies drawn from the Freedom Charter, which is necessary at this point in time. [Applause.]

As part of our ongoing efforts to constantly do better, we’ve been looking at the governance arrangements internal to the Public Service and Administration portfolio. From April 2005 we brought the Centre for Public Service Innovation temporarily back into the Department of the Public Service and Administration. This will enhance accountability and improve co- ordination.

The SA Management Development Institute, Samdi, is in the process of reconsidering its institutional form and strategic direction. In order to assist us with this important task, I’ve constituted a ministerial committee under the chairpersonship of Prof Vincent Maphai. I think he and his team are in the gallery somewhere - could you stand up so that everyone can see you since you are accountable. I am looking forward to receiving their recommendations within the next month.

During its formative years, the State Information and Technology Agency, Sita, was beset with crippling start-up challenges. But, in the past couple of years, the organisation has achieved a remarkable turnaround. And I would like to express my gratitude for the expert guidance that was provided by that Sita board under the chairpersonship of Ms Thenjiwe Chikane, who is sitting in the space allocated to officials on my right hand side. She took office in August 2005. [Applause.]

Some of the highlights are that, as a result of restructured procurement services, the average turnaround time on tenders has been reduced from 240 to 75 days. The black economic empowerment component of the Sita-awarded tenders has increased to over 16%. Revenue has increased by over 12% and according to unaudited financial statements, the debtors’ days decreased from over 80 days in 2004 to 54 days in 2005.

The Public Service Education and Training Authority is at last emerging from a history of troubled performance. During the past year, great strides were made by the interim board, the Department of the Public Service and Administration and the Department of Labour in finalising the institutional arrangements of the PSETA.

What is it that it has done well? It successfully eliminated all 55 non- compliances reported to the SA Qualifications Authority and the Education and Training Quality Assurance audit, and SAQA has granted the PSETA full accreditation until 2008. It approved accreditation for 12 qualifications and 12 unit standards that support general public administration and a further four qualification standards are in the pipeline.

The year 2005-06 saw the implementation of eight learnerships for which 3 196 learners were enrolled. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate those successful learners who are scheduled to graduate at the end of July.

We are in the fortunate position of being able to benefit from powerful and well-considered feedback from the broader population through government’s programme of izimbizo, surveys, Public Service Week and other mechanisms. In addition, we receive regular and insightful feedback from the democratic oversight institutions created in terms of our Constitution, as well as from parliamentary structures that are related to this particular portfolio.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the chairperson, the hon John Gomomo and his committee for the outstanding work they have done in playing their oversight role. Amongst the oversight bodies, allow me to thank Prof Stan Sangweni and his team of commissioners – those who are with us here today - for the diligence with which they fulfil their role.

We are firmly in the era of implementation. Much of the attention of the executive is focused on capacity constraints. We have already embarked on interventions to strengthen capacity in the Departments of Housing, Health, Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, and Trade and Industry.

Our contribution has now also extended to include capacity assessments for the implementation of Asgisa, through the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition, Jipsa. Asgisa includes a strong emphasis on skills development. This portfolio is closely involved with Jipsa and Samdi plays the leading role in the project management initiative sponsored by Old Mutual South Africa.

The people aspect will always remain the most important factor in the discussion on capacity; and the Public Service Commission’s view is that notwithstanding the strides that the Public Service has made in the area of human resource management, there still remains room for improvement. Areas such as recruitment and selection, performance management, human resource planning, the challenge of HIV/Aids and employment equity need more attention if the Public Service is to maximise human potential, as envisaged in Chapter 10 of the Constitution. We, accordingly, put the programme of action for 2006-07 before you that we believe will begin to address many of these prevailing shortcomings.

We’ve noted with concern the paucity of long-term human resource planning in the Public Service. Accordingly, a project to improve the quality of human resource planning at the departmental level in the Public Service commenced in December 2005. We will request assistance from the Indian government regarding the development of training and skills transfer programmes in this area.

Building on the 1999 personnel expenditure review and the 2000 remuneration policy, the Department of the Public Service and Administration has commenced with a new Public Service expenditure review that will be released later this year. A key focus area of this revised remuneration policy will be the remuneration of professionals and other scarce occupations.

Medical aid is one of the standard conditions of service employees expect from an employer of choice. In order to address some of the problems we have identified in this regard, we’ve proceeded to register a medical scheme exclusively for government employees. It is popularly known as Gems. This scheme became fully operational on 1 January 2006. Membership has grown rapidly and is currently in excess of 8 500 principal members covering 28 000 dependants.

The new context for Public Service delivery requires a significant investment in skills development to enhance performance, productivity, quality and cost-effectiveness. The demands of a complex and changing economy require higher levels of skills and competence.

Public servants will need skills to support people-centred service delivery and that’s dependent on working with others, within and outside of government. In this respect, it is now five years since the launch of our first Public Service human resource development strategy. A review of this strategy is planned to inform the development of a second decision for 2007- 10 in the Public Service.

I also need to say that, given the prominence of information in modern management, we are required to put in place improved information and feedback systems. While statistical systems overall have been significantly improved during the past decade, we are particularly proud that we’ve moved into the realm of information systems that can support policy and programmatic interventions.

There is much to be said about service delivery. In this year of the 50th commemoration of the women’s march, I would like to focus quickly on the situation of women in the Public Service.

Statistics continue to show that, whilst the Public Service has made progress in achieving numeric targets for employment equity in terms of race, women still need to be better represented at leadership levels. At the end of the 2005-06 financial year, the senior management service had 6 727 members, and out of that number, 2 017 were women – that’s 30%.

We now have taken this commitment forward and Cabinet has approved that 50% gender representation must be achieved at all levels of the senior management service by 31 March 2009. [Applause.] We need to ensure that we make that happen.

People with disabilities remain seriously underrepresented. In response to this, Cabinet approved the 2006-10 job access strategy for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities.

In the gallery today we have, and I would like to welcome, Laurentia Mnguni and Zukeya Mohamed, who are the respective youth Ministers for public service and administration in Mpumalanga and Gauteng. I would like the two of them to stand up. I don’t know where they are. Could they stand up to be seen, please. They have been part of my day-to-day activities and they have been making comments on the work in this particular portfolio. They are sitting far back in the House. [Applause.] There is much to be said about community development workers, learning networks, the Expanded Public Works Programme learning network, our service delivery review journal, the national anti-corruption thrust and much else but time is running out and the clock is ticking.

As I draw this speech to a close, I would like to reflect on the fact that, in our commitment to the African agenda, this portfolio is also involved in an extensive international programme. The African Peer Review Mechanism is one of the key initiatives that the African Union has adopted. As a country, we are bringing our scheduled review to a close.

We have finalised the country self-assessment report that will be considered by the national governing council on Friday. We are looking forward to the APRM country review team coming to South Africa as from 12 July to do the review of our report. There is also much to be said about the celebration of Africa and United Nations Public Service Day on 23 June, but, again, time does not permit.

It would be an omission from my side if I did not talk about our work in the DRC. I want the team from this portfolio that has been working in the DRC to stand up - the whole team. Some of them are in the gallery and some are seated on the right-hand side. [Applause.] This is part of a team that is taking forward our work in ensuring that we assist the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s transitional government in their work around the public service census. This project remains a priority in the run-up to elections set for 30 July this year.

This particular portfolio, as part of South Africa’s commitment, will assist in ensuring long-term sustainability of the work through the establishment of a permanent census unit in the DRC Ministry by providing technical support, and ensuring the implementation of an integrated human resource management and development system. We are also involved in the anticorruption and skills development front as well as the capacity- building programme, where we are assisting them to strengthen their school of public service. There is much else to be said and the clock is still ticking.

At this point, I would like to say that the changes that were required to make the administration an appropriate and suitable mechanism to drive nonracial democracy and development were, and are, massive. Sometimes, when reflecting on the period that I have been steering this portfolio, I am grateful that the enormity of the task and the challenge of the DRC terrain did not reveal themselves simultaneously. We detect them incrementally. With perseverance, the task becomes less overwhelming and more manageable.

I believe that the initiatives we have embarked upon will make a huge difference in bringing about the public administration that this country requires, if we are to fulfil our hopes. I rededicate myself and my entire team to working tirelessly to turn all these initiatives into a success story for South Africa and Africa.

My task is immensely more manageable, thanks to the extremely generous support that I enjoy from those who are in the personal and professional domains of my life. I would like to single out my immediate family: Jabu; my children, Thando, Themba and Solomzi; my mother who, as usual, is sitting in the gallery; my mother-in-law; and my siblings who think that I am an incredible burden at times.

When I become enamoured with a project, you listen, encourage and share in the excitement. When I occasionally get exasperated or tired, you listen, support and sacrifice your own needs by making less demands on me, and increasing the share of the responsibility that you carry. When I debate and argue a point, you stand your ground. To you, there is no moral dilemma in speaking the truth to power. All of you share my love of and commitment to South Africa, and you know that the personal sacrifice is just part of what is demanded in the reconstruction of our country. Words are insignificant in the gratitude I feel towards all of you.

I want to thank the staff and advisory team that work in close proximity to me. This category of the team plays a very specific role in the political and administrative machinery, and they are often underappreciated for the contribution they make to allow the overall system to function. The chairperson of the portfolio committee and the committee members maintain constructive relations with me, as the executive head of the portfolio. I would like to thank them for their role.

I would also like to thank the serving and acting heads of units within this portfolio and all members of the respective teams – Richard Levin, Stephen Hendricks, Odette Ramsingh, Mavuso Msimang and various others. The nation is looking to to proceed rapidly and diligently with your work. Our era of hope must translate into tangible progress and development for our people, lest hope runs out and pessimism sets in. So I won’t give any slack and I won’t demand any less. South Africans out there demand the best and are entitled to the best. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr P J GOMOMO: Chairperson, hon Minister for the Public Service and Administration, other Ministers who are present here, members of Parliament, representatives of organised labour and the public gallery, ladies and gentlemen, directors-general, Prof Sangweni and all commissioners, I rise to support the Budget Vote of the Department of the Public Service and Administration, the State Information and Technology Agency, the Public Service Commission and the SA Management Development Institute.

I further welcome the debate on this Budget Vote, for it is this debate that gives us an opportunity to share with this august House and the public how our Public Service performs against the expectations of the masses of our people and the objective mandate of our constitutional democracy.

There is no doubt that this country is much better off than it was before. There is no doubt that the future holds much promise for this country, her provinces and her people, and there should be no doubt in our minds that all this is because of the once-hated liberation movement, and now the ruling political party of the Republic of South Africa, the ANC.

It is because of this state of affairs that we proclaim without the slightest doubt that today is better than yesterday, and tomorrow will be far better than today.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that would promote and maintain a high standard of professional ethics. We are proud today to realise that we have since rebuilt our Public Service from the ashes of apartheid decay into one that has a culture of morality and ethical conduct, and that we have put policies in place to manage and guide the conduct of our officials to be accountable in their call of duty.

For the first time in the history of this country we have officials who are required by policy and legislation to declare their interests for public scrutiny. For the first time in the history of this country we have an instrument for fighting corruption in the Public Service, in terms of which the actions of officials are regulated to ensure compliance with the ethical requirements dictated by the order of the day.

Through these instruments to fight corruption we are succeeding to sustain a culture of ethical conduct, because more often than not we manage to catch the culprits, and we will continue to do that, despite the fact that some opportunists such as the media and the so-called neutral research formations would, from time to time, scavenge our endeavours and claim the victory of being the source of exposing acts of corruption in the country.

We want to state that there should be no doubt in our minds that all these things are at the level where they are because of the once-hated liberation movement, and now the ruling political party of a liberated South Africa, the ANC.

Of course, in that foundation that we laid, we knew that a public administration in a democracy is a public administration firmly rooted in delivery and subjected to public accountability through the process of parliamentary oversight, in a clear separation of powers between Parliament, the executive and the judiciary.

Accordingly, the Portfolio Committee on the Public Service and Administration held a strategic planning session at the beginning of this calendar year, where we took a decision to entrench and defend the centrality of the committee in accelerating transformation and service delivery in the second decade of democracy, while observing the functioning of other portfolio committees in the line devolution of responsibilities according to sectors.

In doing so, we will rise above mere simplistic complacency and turf silos, and we will insist on compliance with the ethical standards that we set ourselves. It is for that reason that we will soon dig deep into the recent report of the Auditor-General that found that, among other things, there are some public servants who did not acquit themselves very well through nondisclosure of interests and moonlighting.

We are going to engage with that report, and get to the bottom of the matter, and we will do so because that is exactly what Parliament has to do, to work very hard to support our chapter 9 institutions, by ensuring that the reports they submit to Parliament find their way to implementation and execution.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that would promote efficient, economic and effective use of resources. Of course, Chairperson, it is an untenable economic reality that, whereas the needs of the people are not limited, the means through which to address those needs are perishable and limited. We can therefore not afford to be wasteful, and this is what marks a difference between our new dispensation and the extravagant and wasteful apartheid system, which would squander the limited resources to sustain the evil system.

They would build so-called administrative headquarters to appease their puppets and fool them into believing that they were being serviced. They would duplicate costly service delivery and sporting facilities, only divided through a thin line of ethnicity, tribalism and racialism.

Some of these poorly planned developments of apartheid convenience are becoming white elephants for us today, as we may not find any justification for their continued existence but we also do not want to be seen to be on a drive to simply destroy them.

Today we are here to do an introspection of our performance against this objective of being efficient, economic and effective, and it comes out clearly that the budget process enshrined in our policies and legislation is meant to achieve this, as, through this process, we have departments communicating their service delivery plans, and committing themselves to spending the money on those plans, either over a fixed-year plan or over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period.

As can be seen even in the current budget we are debating today, we have different programmes on which the commitment of resources is based. The same departments have a duty to come back to this Parliament six months after each financial year, through their annual reports, to account as to whether they spent the money efficiently, economically and effectively against tangible service delivery programmes, as contained in their strategic plans and budgets. We have no hesitation in stating that there is general compliance with this accountability requirement, but we have noted that there is room for improvement.

As a portfolio committee, and in line with our resolution to put ourselves at the centre of insisting that our public administration complies with the foundation we laid, we are going to call on departments to appear before us and account for qualified audit reports on their annual reports, and we have already scheduled the first such appearances, which include the following departments: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Department of Housing, Department of Health, Department of Social Development, and Department of Transport. Be ready, we want to see you.

Some will wonder why it should be so important to insist that there should be underspending against budgets, because there are those individuals who adhere to the school of thought that one should not be worried about that, and should only be worried if there is overexpenditure. That is not how we do things in this current dispensation. We say that underspending against a budget is just as bad as overspending, and we call for accountability in both instances.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that must be development-oriented. It is against this commitment that today we see a public administration with a corporate culture and with programmes clearly meant to fast-track development and to eradicate poverty in order to ensure a better life for all.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that must provide services impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias. We did so because of the understanding that a public administration of a democratic South Africa should be a public administration for the people.

In order to achieve this objective, we have introduced a service delivery culture and standards, commonly known as Batho Pele, which is rooted in the desire to put people first in the service delivery provision by our public administration.

As we debate this Budget Vote today, we are proud to realise that this culture of putting people first is an instrument that has become commonly known in our system of public administration, and is helping to drive the process of making sure that we have an accountable administration based on the expectations of the people.

It is also through this development that we have taken democracy to the service delivery points and empowered the people to take charge of their own destiny in terms of the extent to which they want to be receivers of services rendered by the state.

Of course, it may sound unfair if I did not mention the demonstrations we have seen in recent times, demanding the delivery of services, that caused some in this House to jump to the conclusion that such demonstrations signalled a general dissatisfaction with our record of service delivery, and they began counting their chickens before they were hatched to pronounce themselves victors, only to be shocked at the end when the people turned out in large numbers to vote for the ANC. Even where spoilers got involved and the situation got out of hand, we still maintain that such acts are common manifestations of democracy.

But I would be failing in my duty if I did not reflect on the failure of some public servants to comply with the Batho Pele principles. There are those people who will sing Batho Pele like a strange song for convenience, while they do the opposite of the provisions of the Batho Pele principles, particularly those public servants that entered our system through the sunset clauses of the Codesa negotiations and those inherited from the previous administrations of the apartheid structures.

Some of these people are just square pegs in round holes. They do not match the challenges. What is frustrating is to note that in the majority of cases these individuals are doing these things deliberately. They resist change, yet they remain in their positions. We must make it clear that they will not be allowed to obstruct us forever and that their days in our administration are actually numbered. [Applause.] It is high time that they begin to pack their bags and in fact leave before we push them out. [Interjections.]

It would be wrong of me only to point a finger at those public servants we inherited and turn a blind eye to some rotten apples from the post- apartheid era of recruitment. The people talk to us as we do constituency work and tell us that there are some new recruits who will subordinate the Batho Pele principles to what they believe to be their contribution in the liberation struggle.

It is time we made it clear that we will stop at nothing to insist on compliance with the Batho Pele principles, and that we will give no quarter to detractors who are hell-bent on seeing us compromised in our drive for a clean administration. People must simply comply, comply and comply, or they must go.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that must respond to the people’s needs and that must encourage the people to participate in decision-making, because we knew that the public administration of a democratic South Africa would be a public administration for the people and by the people.

Through izimbizo, citizens forums and the integrated development planning processes, the people are taken on board in terms of joining their government to determine their own destinies and service delivery priorities.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that must be accountable. Within our system of public administration there is a Public Service which, among other things, must be loyal in the execution of the lawful policies of the government. Our Public Service is the delivery arm which at all times executes that mandate as determined.

The effectiveness of any public service is seen through the actions of individual public servants deployed to the various departments of our government.

The ten-year review of our public administration suggests that we have gone far as a government in terms of policy-making and that our challenge is to ensure the implementation of those policies. We, as Parliament, should therefore intensify our oversight role to ensure that this implementation takes place as expected.

An important component of our public administration is the fact that we created an independent Public Service Commission so that we may have effective professional and technical oversight to monitor the implementation of policies, to ensure that there is effective service delivery for improving the lives of the people.

A quick glance at the operation of this important organ of the public administration family suggests that we need to do an assessment of how independent this independent Public Service Commission is and whether it is not somehow psychologically compromised in terms of budgetary business and the fact that it does not have enforcing powers in terms of its oversight.

The portfolio committee has resolved to lead a discussion on this matter and we believe that we will benefit from the experience, as will all those concerned in this matter.

As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a public administration that must foster transparency. I think we will all agree here that this is one area where we are doing well. Gone are the days when things would be swept under the carpet and only the bright side of things was exposed.

The people are entitled to information about issues of governance. They know the budgets and the plans on which such budgets are based. In terms of the Access to Information Act, the people are even entitled to information held by the state under conditions contained in the said piece of legislation.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): Order! Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr P J GOMOMO: I thank you, Chairperson. I must thank all the committee members, the portfolio committees, and the Whip who is really on his toes trying to ensure that the committee is doing the correct thing. I thank you, Minister, for all the good work that you are doing for us. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mnr K J MINNIE: Agb Voorsitter, agb Minister, kollegas, gaste, ons het tot dusver geluister na ʼn klomp bekende retoriek in die rigting van sentralisasie. Eerstens is daar my gunsteling onderwerp vandag van die afgelope twee jaar, naamlik die vestiging van ʼn enkele Staatsdiens.

Die afgelope vier of vyf jaar het die ANC baie oor ʼn voorgestelde enkele Staatsdiens te sê gehad. In wese, dames en here, wil die Departement van Staatsdiens en Administrasie ʼn uniforme Staatsdiens onder sy eie gesag skep. Die departement sal alle aanstellings in alle munisipaliteite, sowel as in alle provinsiale en nasionale staatsdepartemente, beheer. Die departement sal ook die bevoegdheid hê om staatsdiensamptenare vertikaal te ontplooi, met ander woorde van een regeringsfeer na ʼn ander, asook horisontaal, met ander woorde van een munisipaliteit na ʼn ander.

Die Minister sal dan die mag hê om byvoorbeeld – en luister mooi – ʼn DA- beheerde stad soos Kaapstad lam te lê, deur amptenare hot en haar te verplaas en ANC-amptenare strategies te plaas om weer die politieke mag te bekom. Die Minister moet vir ons sê of dit die bedoeling is dat artikel 57- aanstellings ingevolge die Wet op Munisipale Stelsels ook hierdeur geraak sal word.

Die President en die Minister is op rekord dat daar aan die einde van die jaar wetgewing ter tafel gelê gaan word om aan ʼn enkele Staatsdiens beslag te gee. Dit blyk uit beplanning dat daar teen die middel van die jaar tegniese wysigings aan die Staatsdienswet aangebring gaan word, wat na my mening die weg gaan voorberei vir wetgewing oor ʼn enkele Staatsdiens. Dit is onverstaanbaar hoe die Minister en die departement dit gaan regkry om oorkoepelende wetgewing daar te stel wat beheer gaan uitoefen oor staatsdiens-, provinsiale- en plaaslike owerheidswetgewing.

Miskien moet die Minister vandag vir ons by dié geleentheid verduidelik hoe die proses gaan verloop en watter wet oor watter ander wet gaan baasspeel. Die DA is daarvan oortuig dat ʼn enkele Staatsdiens ʼn onhanteerbare mega- burokrasie sal skep en ʼn verdere daling in personeel se moraal sal meebring. Albei dié gevolge sal die vermoë om dienste te lewer ʼn gevoelige slag toedien.

Tweedens, agb Voorsitter, kan ek nie nalaat om die Minister geluk te wens met haar twyfelagtige prestasie om in beheer te wees van die departement met die grootste besteding op die jaarlikse begrotingspos-partytjie nie. Minister, R489 681 mag miskien nie vir u baie geld wees nie, maar dit is baie geld vir die mense daarbuite wat aan swak dienslewering blootgestel is. Ons sien met belangstelling uit na die Minister se verduideliking waaraan sy dié enorme bedrag verlede jaar bestee het. Ek vertrou dat vanjaar se “gala dinner” baie meer bekostigbaar sal wees. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mr K J MINNIE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, colleagues, guests, up to now we have listened to a lot of well-known rhetoric about centralisation. Firstly, today there is my favourite subject of the past two years, namely the establishment of a single Public Service.

Over the past four or five years the ANC has had a lot to say about a proposed single Public Service. Essentially, ladies and gentlemen, the Department of the Public Service and Administration wants to create a uniform Public Service under its own authority. The department will control all appointments in all municipalities, as well as in all provincial and national state departments. The department will also have the power to deploy public servants vertically, in other words from one sphere of government to another, as well as horizontally, in other words from one municipality to another.

The Minister will then have the power, for example – and listen closely now – to paralyse a DA-controlled city such as Cape Town, by transferring officials left and right and placing ANC officials strategically in order to regain political power. The Minister must tell us whether it is the intention that section 57 appointments in terms of the Municipal Systems Act will also be affected by this.

The President and the Minister are on record as having said that legislation will be tabled by the end of the year to establish a single Public Service. Planning indicates that technical amendments will be made to the Public Service Act by the middle of the year, which in my opinion will pave the way for legislation regarding a single Public Service. I cannot understand how the Minister and the department are going to succeed in drafting all-encompassing legislation that is going to exercise control over Public Service, provincial and local authority legislation.

Perhaps the Minister should explain to us on this occasion today how the process will be followed and what Act is going to take precedence over what other Act. The DA is convinced that a single Public Service will create an unmanageable mega-bureaucracy and will result in a further lowering of staff morale. Both these consequences will have a detrimental effect on the ability to deliver services.

Secondly, hon Chairperson, I cannot neglect to congratulate the Minister on her dubious achievement of being in control of the department with the highest spending on the annual Budget Vote party. Minister, R489 681 may not seem like a lot of money to you, but it is a lot of money for the people out there who are exposed to poor service delivery. We look forward with interest to the Minister’s explanation as to what this enormous amount was spent on last year. I trust that this year’s “gala dinner” will be a lot more affordable.]

This year the Minister has shown precious little leadership in tackling her department’s failure to ensure service delivery. During its oversight visits at the end of last year, the portfolio committee found the Public Service to be in a shocking state.

Verder, agb Voorsitter, hoef ons nie vandag met mekaar te twis oor Suid- Afrika se groot gebrek en tekort aan mense met die nodige vaardighede nie. Dit is ʼn gegewe, dit is ʼn feit wat oral kommer wek. Dit is ʼn realiteit wat ons vinnig inhaal. Dit is ʼn ernstige saak wat onmiddellik toegespitste aandag nodig het. Menige positiewe beleidsrigtings, goed bedoelde inisiatiewe en uitvoerbare programme is besig om ineen te stort weens die tekort aan goed opgeleide mense.

ʼn Driejaar-studie deur die RGN het laat in 2003 aan die lig gebring dat Suid-Afrika ʼn kritiese tekort aan spesifieke tegniese vaardighede gaan hê. Tussen 1986 en 1998 was daar reeds ʼn afname van 13 249 vakleerlinge wat per jaar in die totale arbeidsmark opgelei is. Op ʼn vraag aan die Minister of die Staatsdiens sedert Januarie 2000 verklein of vergroot is, was haar antwoord soos volg: (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Furthermore, hon Chairperson, we do not have to argue with each other today about South Africa’s great lack and shortage of people with the necessary skills. It is a given fact, a cause for concern everywhere. It is a reality that is rapidly catching up with us. It is a serious matter which needs immediate focused attention. Many positive policies, well-intended initiatives and feasible programmes are failing because of the shortage of well-trained people.

A three-year study by the HSRC indicated late in 2003 that South Africa was going to have a critical shortage of specific technical skills. Between 1986 and 1998 there was already a decrease of 13 249 apprentices who were trained in the total labour market annually. When the Minister was asked whether the Public Service had become smaller or larger since January 2000, her reply was as follows:]

The size of the Public Service is determined by the service delivery imperatives and priorities of government, in order to fulfil the constitutional requirements of a developmental Public Service. The number of employees is currently larger than in January 2000. In Desember 2000 was daar 1,041 miljoen staatsamptenare en in Desember 2005 was daar 1,077 miljoen staatsamptenare. Agb lede, ʼn vermeerdering van 34 232 siele. Die realiteit is ʼn vergrote Staatsdiens met minder opgeleide mense en swakker dienslewering by die dag.

Op ʼn parlementêre vraag oor hoeveel amptenare pakkette of vervroegde aftrede sedert 2001 geneem het, het die Minister soos volg geantwoord: (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[In December 2000 there were 1,041 million public servants and in December 2005 there were 1,077 million public servants. Hon members, that is an increase of 34 232 people. In reality there is a larger Public Service with fewer trained people and service delivery that is worsening by the day.

In response to a parliamentary question on how many officials had taken severance packages or early retirement since 2001, the Minister replied as follows:]

Since 1 January 2000 no employer-initiated severance packages were granted to employees in the Public Service. A total of 9 295 employees, however, opted for employee-initiated severance packages. A total of 68 121 employees retired from the Public Service during this period, which includes employees who took early retirement.

An HON MEMBER: Why?

Mnr K J MINNIE: Die vraag ontstaan: hoeveel van die mense wat vroeg afgetree het, was goed opgeleide en vaardige mense? Dít is deel van ons probleem. Ons sit hier met ʼn veelkoppige draak wie se bedreiging van die hoogste, professionele vlak tot op die werkersvlak sigbaar is en ervaar word. Dit geld vanaf patoloë tot vragmotorbestuurders.

Op die boonste vlak is die mense fisies net nie meer daar nie. Dit is onder andere die gevolg van die Regering se beleid van regstellende optrede wat daartoe gelei het dat baie kundiges eenvoudig landuit is. Op die onderste vlak is die mense fisies teenwoordig, maar dit is mense sonder vaardighede.

Die ergste is dat die kundigheid wat daar nog is, só uitgestoot word, dat hulle later ook die hasepad kies. Swak dienslewering op alle vlakke waaroor klagtes by die dag meer word, kan basies toegeskryf word aan die gebrek aan kundiges.

Op ʼn vraag aan die President oor die Regering se standpunt oor of swart kandidate bo bruines aangestel moet word, was die President se antwoord dat die Regering eerder gelyke behandeling voorstaan. En ons stem daarmee saam.

In Beeld se hoofberig van 22 Mei 2006 skryf die redakteur dat gelyke behandeling ʼn welkome stap in die regte rigting van nie-rassigheid is. Nou moet die President nog net die ander groepe in die land – onder meer die wittes, Indiërs en Sjinese – ook gelykstel. Indien dit gebeur, sal daar reeds ʼn groot sprong na die oplossing vir die gebrek aan kundigheid gegee word. Die resultaat van alles wat ek nou gesê het, is dat die onderste en armste deel van die bevolking die swaarste ly, weens swak dienslewering.

AGB LEDE: Hoor, hoor!

Mnr K J MINNIE: Korrupsie is die een aspek van die samelewing wat saam met swak dienslewering en ʼn gebrek aan kundigheid hierdie land kan lamlê. Die hoof van die Skerpioene het onlangs aan die Portefeuljekomitee oor Justisie bevestig dat korrupsie tans die tweede grootste misdaad in die land is. As voorsitter van die anti-korrupsieforum, agb Minister, het u ʼn verantwoordelikheid om die totale samelewing te betrek en nie net sekeres nie.

Die DA het ʼn bydrae om te lewer en wil dit graag lewer, soos reeds uiteengesit in ʼn skrywe van die voorsitter van die kommissie. Die Minister het verder na al die jare nog nie daarin geslaag om beheer te neem oor die verklaring van amptenare se belange nie. Die agb voorsitter van die portefeuljekomitee het netnou daarna verwys. Die gesloer hiermee moet nou eindig en dit is tyd dat dit na die tafel gebring word.

Dames en here, ter afsluiting, ʼn Staatsdiens waar daar ʼn gebrek aan etiek en waardes, toewyding, stiptheid, dissipline, getrouheid, eerlikheid en oorgawe vir jou roeping is, is gedoem. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Mnr K J MINNIE: The question arises: how many of the people who took early retirement were well-trained and skilled people? That is part of our problem. We are dealing here with a multi-headed dragon whose threat is visible and is being experienced from the highest, professional level to the workers’ level. This applies to workers as divergent as pathologists and truck drivers.

At the highest level the people are no longer there physically. This is, inter alia, the result of the government’s policy of affirmative action which caused many experts simply to leave the country. At the lowest level the people are present physically, but these are people without skills.

Worst of all the experts who still exist are being pushed out to such an extent that they eventually also flee the country. Poor service delivery at all levels, which is causing more complaints by the day, can basically be ascribed to the lack of experts.

In reply to a question to the President regarding the government’s standpoint as to whether black candidates should be appointed in preference to coloureds, the President said that the government was rather in favour of equal treatment. And we agree with that.

In the leading article in Beeld on 22 May 2006 the editor states that equal treatment is a welcome step in the right direction towards nonracism. Now all the President still has to do is to equalise the other groups in the country – inter alia the whites, Indians and Chinese. If that happens, great strides will have to be taken in the direction of a solution to the lack of skills. The result of everything that I have just said is that the lowest and poorest part of the population is suffering the most, because of poor service delivery. HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr K J MINNIE: Corruption is the one aspect of society, together with poor service delivery and a lack of skills, which can paralyse this country. The chief of the Scorpions recently confirmed to the Portfolio Committee on Justice that corruption is at present the second-biggest crime in the country. As chairperson of the anti-corruption forum, hon Minister, you have a responsibility to involve society as a whole and not only certain people.

The DA has a contribution to make and would like to make it, as was set out in a letter from the chairperson of the commission. Furthermore, after all these years the Minister has still not succeeded in taking control of the declaration of officials’ interests. The hon chairperson of the portfolio committee referred to this a while ago. This procrastination must now come to an end and it is time this matter is brought to the table.

Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, a Public Service lacking in ethics and values, dedication, punctuality, discipline, loyalty, honesty and commitment to one’s vocation is doomed. I thank you. [Applause.]]

Prof E S CHANG: Chairperson, Minister, chairperson of the committee, hon members, the IFP would like to acknowledge the importance of this debate, which focuses on four important arms of the government: the Department of the Public Service and Administration, the SA Management Development Institute, the State Information and Technology Agency and the Public Service Commission, that are primarily responsible for service delivery.

My colleague Usha Roopnarain was supposed to present this speech. She is away on maternity leave. The following is essentially her thoughts on the debate.

Despite the successes of the Department of the Public Service and Administration, enormous challenges remain, the main one being the exodus of skilled workers from much-needed professions. My speech is premised on the loss of scarce skills. In KwaZulu-Natal there are more than 26 000 vacancies for medical specialists and emergency workers.

Some scholars feel that the brain drain may fuel the vicious cycle of underdevelopment and cost poor countries the very people who are able to resist corruption and bad governance. Devesh Kapur and John McHale argue in their book Give Us Your Best and Brightest that the loss of institution builders, hospital managers, university department heads and political reformers could trap countries in poverty.

Developing a coherent and targeted strategy to meet skills gaps is tied to the fact that South Africa is a continental leader in the provision of high- quality tertiary education relevant to the demands of a rapidly globalising, competitive, information-driven world. These skills are readily transferable and in high demand in industrialised countries.

South Africa is the number one host country for international students in Africa and compares favourably with the rest of the world. But South Africa has not developed a coherent policy to welcome international students as potential job-seekers, as other countries are doing. South Africa must be part of the race to attract the best brains.

In developing the ability to attract skills quickly, South Africa needs to take into consideration that industrialised countries are also experiencing a brain drain. What can South Africa do?

In managing the need to import skills, the task team put together by the Deputy President will need to develop a coherent human-resource database quantifying specialist skills required in government sectors and business. The task team will need to map out a comprehensive recruitment strategy to compete globally for people with high-level skills.

The recruitment drive must go beyond individual Ministers’ initiatives in seeking to identify skills needs in their particular departments. The recruitment strategy should take into account the fact that South Africa can attract skilled people in the health care profession precisely because of experiences that only the South African environment can provide. The drive should tap into the skills pool that exists in other countries, whose citizens wish to make South Africa their home.

Press reports of late show the South African government is on a “shopping spree” for skilled people, as one journalist put it. There has to be a “skills revolution”, as proclaimed by the Deputy President recently. Professional skills are desperately needed as the country “moves into higher economic gear”, she declared.

The IFP believes that the skills shortage needs to be dealt with as a top government priority. There are far too many graduates that are unemployed. There is too much dependency on foreign skills, dear hon Minister. The question I ask is: What about retraining our own people? Here, the SA Management Development Institute can move away from the same curriculum and begin training where skills are needed. Government has to be serious about this and put people first. The unemployment figures are soaring; and HIV/Aids is decimating our most productive force.

In one advertisement, a Saudi Arabian food company advertised for a series of highly specialised jobs in which the ad declared unambiguously, “highly competitive financial packages will be tailored to attract the best talent available”. It is significant that these international companies now advertise aggressively in South African newspapers.

One weekly employment supplement consisted of 40 pages packed with government, municipal and parastatal jobs. Week after week, newspapers carry more and more job ads, and week after week they are not filled. Looking at the qualifications needed to meet the requirements of most of the posts, it’s no wonder. Given the paucity of skills within South Africa’s black sector, the government will continue its jobs merry-go-round until the whole public sector implodes upon itself.

It is no wonder that the cream of our people are being poached overseas. And why not? Why bother to apply when your chances of getting the job are virtually nil?

During our oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal hospitals, namely the Northdale Hospital and Grey’s Hospital, we found that the ratio of doctor to patient is one to 300. How does one define quality of service? How much time is spent on interacting with the actual patient? Very little.

South Africa’s IT performance is slipping. The World Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report for 2005-06 ranked South Africa 90th on a list of 115 countries with regard to the availability of scientists and engineers. There is a huge shortage of air traffic controllers in South Africa. They are being lured overseas, and not enough people are undergoing training to replace them, according to the trade union Solidarity. The biggest psychiatric hospital in the country has only one psychiatrist and one psychologist on its staff. There is also a shortage of between 1 200 and 2 000 engineers in South Africa at present. What is to be done? The IFP believes that it is time for government to relook at the exodus of skills, to better incentivise jobs and to halve unemployment. In terms of the PSC, the commission has produced some excellent reports. The calibre of research is of an exemplary quality, but very often they fall short of carrying out the recommendations. They need to be more accountable. This is where our portfolio committee can come in.

Here, I would like to thank our chairperson, the hon John Gomomo, and all the members of this portfolio committee who have managed to steer the ship through some turbulent water. The IFP supports the budget. Thank you. [Applause.]

Ms M J J MATSOMELA: Chairperson, hon Minister and other Ministers present, hon members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, the responsibility of the SA Management Development Institute, Samdi, is capacity-building, as a specialised part of the present wider emphasis on building the capability of the state.

Samdi’s programme makes a vital contribution to a strong, efficient and effective Public Service, which can meet the professional development needs of public servants. However, its role must not be underestimated; it plays a vital role. It relates to the ANC’s emphasis on ensuring an appropriately capacitated and well-skilled public servant who delivers services to the people. Such a public servant places people first, as emphasised in the principles of Batho Pele.

It is important to reflect on what is meant by “appropriately capacitated public servants”. Samdi has a very important role regarding what this means. The Department of Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission have done work on this topic. However, it is important for Samdi to take it further.

In this regard, the difficulties noted in the Public Service report of 2006 concerning the implementation of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act must be taken account of. It is not only in courts but also in many Public Service institutions, especially at local government level, that the administration of justice has to take place.

We must be truthful about the history on which the present is built. It is an absolute truth that people, especially in remote areas, were not recognised by the apartheid bureaucracy. The result is that, under apartheid, the Public Service and Administration system did not provide basic services such as clean running water, proper sanitation, safe and secure social service paypoints, properly serviced roads, schools, clinics and hospitals for the masses of poor black people in rural areas. [Applause.]

Because the ANC has a contract with the people, and because it is a responsible and accountable government of the people, it aims to put in place a different bureaucracy; different from the apartheid bureaucracy where public servants were rubberstamping separate and unequal service delivery.

This developmental state needs a bureaucracy in which public servants administer services on a much more equal basis than ever before. In order to do so, we require a public servant who is committed to equalising service delivery through every Act of the Public Service and Administration, whether it is in a court of justice, a rural clinic or a primary school.

As mentioned earlier by other speakers, the budget is a developmental tool. It is a tool through which we believe that the Public Service and Administration system must be enabled to roll out programmes that will improve the lives of the people.

In this regard, we note the 23,1% increase from the 2002-03 to 2004-05 financial years to strengthen Public Service along the principles of Batho Pele. This allocation is certainly welcome as it is in line with the aim of the liberation movement to ensure a government that is focused on the needs of the people.

As our President mentioned in the state of the nation address earlier this year, this is a period of hope during which the ANC-led government is stressing the need to accelerate change. It stresses the need to accelerate delivery among all sections of the population. It stresses the need to unify and integrate service delivery across the three spheres of government.

To do so, we need a management development institute that ensures the development of courses that capacitate public servants to deliver services that are people-centred. These courses would ensure that public servants are more committed to their tasks and that they would carry out their duties proudly to improve the lives of the people while continuing to deepen their knowledge and skills base.

This training of public servants should be thought of as the backbone of the developmental state. It is a developmental attitude that would ensure the acceleration of service delivery to the people in all areas, more especially in the rural areas where so many people need assistance to live better.

The 2004-05 financial year has been characterised by some significant milestones towards improving our public servants by Samdi. It saw the introduction of various internal structures and systems to improve Samdi’s operations and service delivery. These include, among others, firstly, a redesigned quality development and assurance system; secondly, a streamlined monitoring and evaluation function through an electronic statistics system; and thirdly, a blueprint to establish Samdi’s e-learning capacity.

A further noteworthy achievement has been the successful implementation of Samdi’s new training model, which involves strategic partnerships with key departments to strengthen their capacity to deliver on their core functions.

Samdi continues to develop quality standards, guidelines and norms for courses aimed at capacitating public servants. These courses will ensure the development of key skills that public servants in all three spheres of government need to deepen service delivery.

Samdi is also working towards ensuring that all curricula will meet the National Qualifications Framework principles. Samdi is now able to make sure that its curricula can meet the needs of individual departments and government structures by including case studies and incorporating learning- by-doing research processes so that public servants apply what they learn in their areas of service delivery.

Samdi’s expenditure trend over the 2005-06 financial year is testimony to the increased demand for its training programmes. Expenditure increased marginally at an average annual rate of 5,8% from R30,7 million in 2002-03 to R34,4 million in 2004-05. It is expected to increase over the Medium- Term Expenditure Framework period to reach R57 million by 2008-09, since it was decided that the trading account should become more self-sustainable.

In researching some of the skills needs in Public Service institutions in all spheres of government, the niche areas of project and financial management have been found to be crucial. It is believed that training in these areas would greatly assist in accelerating service delivery to the people. In recognition of this, it must be noted that the National Treasury’s Vote for this financial year has included funds for capacity- building programmes in project and financial management for public servants.

In conclusion, allow me to state a fact. The ANC has won every single national and local government election in this country. That translates into a consistent mandate from the masses, that we are doing some things right. It also means that we are being entrusted with the duty to transform this country and its institutions in the best ways possible to accelerate and deepen transformation.

The SA Management Development Institute is one such institution. As the ANC we will continue, through our deliberations, to assist the institute by arranging and restructuring it to play a key role in capacitating public servants.

Before concluding, allow me to raise just two issues that may require attention. The first one relates to Samdi’s development of appropriate curricula for public servants through a learning-by-doing process. It may have to investigate induction programmes through which new public servants who enter the service are able to learn in more practical ways how to discharge their duties the Batho Pele way.

Secondly, Samdi, together with the Department of the Public Service and Administration and the Public Service Commission, may also have to investigate the unintended consequences of decentralisation of the Public Service.

We have the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, but there are things happening that are pulling us apart at key places where we should do better.

Finally, as the ANC, we support the budget allocations to Samdi as part of the recognition that it plays a crucial developmental and training role in the Public Service of this developmental state. However, we look forward to keeping an eye on how these are used to improve the lives of our people through appropriately developed courses for our public servants. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mnr H B CUPIDO: Voorsitter, agb Minister, ek kan nie noodwendig met alles wat u, Minister, vandag hier gesê het saamstem nie, maar ek wil u komplimenteer met die wyse waarop u, u begroting hier vir ons kom voordra het.

Net gister het ons van hierdie podium moes luister na die haglike toestand van die Departement van Binnelandse Sake. Dit wil vir die ACDP voorkom dat, na aanleiding van die onlangse verslag van die staatsdienskommissie, daar ook rooiligte vir die staatsdiens self flikker. Ons is seker dat die agb Minister en haar departement alles in hul vermoë doen om die uitdagings wat die menslike element in die staatsdiens bied te oorkom.

As oud-staatsamptenaar, wel nou baie jare gelede, is dit my ondervinding dat amptenary op vele vlakke nie meer die trots van dienslewering aan die publiek dra nie. Op sekere gebiede is daar pragtige en bewonderenswaardige vordering gemaak waarvoor waardering uitspreek moet word. Daar is egter kommer dat korrupsie - en uself het daarna verwys, agb Minister - en ander wanpraktyke wat nie voldoende aangespreek word nie, en dat “whistle- blowers” veral, nie genoeg beskerming ontvang nie.

Tydens ’n onlangse inbelprogram op Radio Sonder Grense, asook in die briewekolomme van die koerante, kon afgelei word dat baie mense as gevolg van vrees en intimidasie, en vrees vir vervolging veral, nie die fluitjie wil blaas nie. Dit vind plaas in beide die staatsdiens en die privaatsektor. Goeie amptenare en lede van die publiek verlang ’n skoon administrasie en daarom wil hulle korrupsie met alle mag uitgeroei hê.

Die ACDP wil die departement en die ministerie aanmoedig om die klagtes van die publiek as dringend te hanteer. Ons wil die vertroue uitspreek dat dringend aandag geskenk word aan amptenare wat direkte kontak met die publiek het en dat veral gewerk word aan die gesindheid van amptenare. ’n Vriendelike gesindheid van ’n amptenaar los baie keer ’n probleem makliker op vir ’n persoon van die publiek.

Omdat die ACDP dan ook ’n gesonde en doeltreffende staatsdiens verlang, sal ons hierdie begroting ondersteun. (Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)

[Mr H B CUPIDO: Chairperson, hon Minister, I do not necessarily agree with everything that you, Minister, said here today, but I would like to congratulate you on the manner in which you delivered your budget to us.

Just yesterday we had to listen to what was said from this podium about the critical situation in the Department of Home Affairs. It seems to the ACDP as if, with reference to the recent report of the Public Service Commission, the Public Service itself is also in danger. We are sure that the hon Minister and her department are doing everything they can to meet the challenges presented by the human element in the Public Service.

As a former public servant, although many years ago now, in my experience officials at many levels no longer take pride in service delivery to the public. In certain areas wonderful and admirable progress has been made, for which we express our appreciation. However, there are concerns about corruption – and you yourself referred to that, hon Minister – and other malpractices that are not being properly addressed, and the fact that whistle-blowers, especially, do not have enough protection.

With reference to a recent phone-in programme on Radio Sonder Grense, as well as the letters columns of newspapers, it can be deduced that a lot of people do not want to blow the whistle due to fear and intimidation and fear of persecution. This is happening in the Public Service as well as in the private sector. Good officials and members of the public are longing for a clean administration and hence they want corruption to be eradicated at all costs.

The ACDP wants to encourage the department and the Ministry to address the complaints from the public as a matter of urgency. We want to express the hope that urgent attention will be given to officials who have direct contact with the public and that, in particular the attitude of officials will be addressed. A friendly attitude on the part of an official often makes it easier to solve a problem for a member of the public.

As the ACDP also longs for a sound and efficient Public Service, we will support this budget.]

Mr M R SIKAKANE: Chairperson, hon Minister, as a budding economist, I went into town this morning and read the Business Times, particularly the item with the headline: “Expansion Crisis Break”. I felt so good because that meant that the CPIX, the consumer price index minus mortgage costs, has remained steadfast, ceteris paribas.

I’m saying this because I’m going to talk about the State Information Technology Agency, Sita. Perhaps, for the benefit of those who were not here in the past, I should mention that this is a business concern, with government as a shareholder and the Minister representing the government.

Sita is a business concern that was established by an Act of Parliament. It was established in 1999 to consolidate and co-ordinate the state’s information technology resources in order to achieve cost-saving through scale, increased delivery capabilities and enhanced interoperability.

Sita is committed to leveraging information technology as a strategic resource for government to manage IT procurement and the delivery process; ensuring that government gets value for money; and using IT to support the delivery of e-government services to the citizens of South Africa.

We have to assess whether Sita has served the purpose it was established for. It was established to recruit, develop and retain skilled IT personnel; to use IT to support transformation and service delivery; to effectively utilise expensive IT resources; and to integrate IT initiatives.

Sita is currently in the process of undergoing significant restructuring, based on the need to radically improve the quality and levels of service that it delivers to government departments. Without Sita, government departments wouldn’t be able to function properly. A business operating model designed to facilitate the achievement of the set objectives has been developed and is being implemented. Financially, Sita closed the year with 100% growth in revenue and decreased its debtor days to 54, compared to 90 debtor days of the previous year. Client satisfaction has improved from 40% to 64%. As a result, there is better engagement with clients.

Sita’s procurement cycle has decreased the average tender days from over 240 days in 2004 to less than 75 days in 2005, and I am directing this to those who are interested in tenders and have been complaining about the lengthy process.

Local economic development is also being addressed, with the tender process ensuring that revenue is retained within the provinces by allowing provincial governments to procure locally from local vendors.

The manager training programme saw 20 middle managers, mainly women, undergo training through the Gordon Institute of Business Science and practical training in London. The programme is continuing, and 20 managers will graduate in a month’s time after attending a practical course in Singapore.

May I pause here and specifically address the issue of our suffering in the past, when employees were not judged on their ability to do work but on how much the boss liked them. I am referring to transformation here.

Minister, you know that change causes pain and brings about victimisation in some cases. This should not happen within a government parastatal such as Sita.

There shouldn’t be bosses who are allowed not to follow procedures. There are cases of grave concern within Sita, which need to be investigated by top management. Transformation must not bring about victimisation, where cases are trumped up so as to frustrate employees’ chances of progressing.

The Minister responsible for the Public Service has stated that the aim is to establish one Public Service combining all three spheres of government. Sita has pre-empted that and it has already entered the terrain of municipalities to equip those areas that need e-government. This concerns the identification of the current system and its application within municipalities.

I now come to human capital. Profitability per employee has increased to 19%. As many as 63% of employees are black; 38% are female - the aim is to reach 45%.

I’ve noticed that Sita has jumped threefold from where it was in the past two years. Our staunch clients are SAPS and health departments. Sita reported that the workload of the IBM main framework technology platform operated at the Bisho and Ulundi data centres, in Eastern Cape and KwaZulu- Natal respectively, was consolidated into the Pietermaritzburg data centre, resulting in a significant reduction in operational costs. The operational costs of the previous administration were very high.

The disaster recovery capability was developed to accommodate the justice department’s accounting system, the State Attorney system and the court policy system. This is processed for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development at various courts to ensure system recovery within a 4-hour timeframe.

Sita has established a command centre. Hon members, you must take note of this because sometimes you get stranded in Pretoria and you don’t know what to do, when you could go to this centre to access information, which you could pass on to your constituencies. This, indeed, is an achievement.

It provides information technology support to government organisations through the utilisation of fault-logging and routing services. The cableway call centre, which services both citizens and business, was created to provide seamless access to information and services provided by the government, and is operational 24 hours a day.

The new regional operating model attempts to accommodate structural imperatives. Firstly, it mirrors the corporate operating model in terms of structure and process. Secondly, it addresses client processes at both national and provincial level.

The integration of provincial information and communication operations into the Sita infrastructure has been under way for a while. This has resulted in significant savings by provincial authorities.

Minister, I am concerned about this: very soon we will be lazy to do things for ourselves because technology from Sita will be there to do things for us. We must introduce technology gradually, because we may end up not having to move from our seats since Sita will be doing everything. The big question is: What more do we want, as Sita is there for us and it is there for the people?

I would like to urge members to visit the Sita offices in Pretoria. It is a wonderful establishment. You can’t believe that whilst Sita is based in Pretoria, it can cause the functioning of this House to collapse. It is therefore important for you members to go to Pretoria one day and look at the establishment called Sita, otherwise you might find yourself sitting under the ground.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon member. That was a bit scary. Hon members, I now call upon the hon W D Spies.

Mr W D SPIES: Chairperson, it’s “Spies”. It’s the Afrikaans word for “assegaai”, not the English word for izimpimpi [spies]. [Laughter.]

Sedert 1998 is meer as 60 000 skeidingspakkette in die Staatsdiens aangebied. In daardie stadium was die Staatsdiens oorvol en daar was algemene konsensus dat die Staatsdiens kleiner gemaak moet word. Sedertdien het sake aansienlik verander. Onlangse berigte dui daarop dat meer as 20 000 kundige staatsamptenare tans in die Staatsdiens benodig word. Verskeie inisiatiewe is onlangs deur die regering aangekondig om hierdie tekort aan te spreek, en daarmee kan die VF Plus nie fout vind nie.

In antwoord op ’n vraag aan die agb Minister verlede jaar het dit geblyk dat daar, gebaseer op die riglyne gestel in die Wet op Billike Indiensneming, tans in die Staatsdiens oor die algemeen ’n onderverteenwoordiging van wit sowel as bruin werkers is. Indien die persentasies omskep word in syfers, kom dit neer op ongeveer 20 000 wit werkers en 10 000 bruin werkers minder as wat nodig is.

Die agb Minister het destyds in haar antwoord aangevoer dat die onderverteenwoordiging regverdigbaar is omdat die topbestuur van die Staatsdiens nog nie ten volle verteenwoordigend van die bevolking is nie. Maar, agb Minister, is dit billik om 30 000 mense uit laer posvlakke te hou terwyl slegs die boonste 5% van die poste nie verteenwoordigend is nie? Ons kan mos nie toelaat dat 5% van die Staatsdiens die res gyselaar hou nie.

Wat betref pakkette wat reeds aangebied is, kan die VF Plus u daarop wys dat daar ’n geweldige groot hoeveelheid kundige oud-amptenare daar buite is wat jare gelede pakkette geneem het, en nou gereed, gewillig en selfs desperaat is om weer in die Staatsdiens te begin werk. Daar is al openbare uitsprake gemaak dat die beperkings op die herindiensneming uitgewerk gaan word, maar op die oomblik word dit slegs op ’n ad hoc-basis gedoen.

Agb Minister, die VF Plus sal graag met u in gesprek wil tree oor maniere en algemene amnesties wat toegestaan kan word, sodat ons seker is dat hierdie mense sonder hindernisse weer terug kan kom na die Staatsdiens toe. Ons praat graag met u daaroor. Baie dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Since 1998 more than 60 000 severance packages have been granted in the Public Service. At that stage the Public Service was too congested and the general consensus was that the Public Service should be scaled down. Since then matters have changed significantly. Recent reports suggest that more than 20 000 experienced public servants are currently needed in the Public Service. The government has recently announced many initiatives to address this shortage, and the FF Plus cannot find fault with that.

In answer to a question put to the hon Minister last year it transpired that, based on guidelines set out in the Employment Equity Act, in general there is currently an underrepresentation of both white and coloured workers in the Public Service. If the percentages were to be converted into figures, this would amount to approximately 20 000 white workers and 10 000 coloured workers fewer than required.

At that stage the hon Minister argued in her response that the underrepresentation was justified, as the top management of the Public Service was not yet fully representative of the population. But, hon Minister, is it fair to keep 30 000 people out of lower job levels whilst only the top 5% of posts are not representative? Surely we cannot allow 5% of the Public Service to hold the rest hostage.

With regard to the packages that have already been granted, the FF Plus wants to point out that an enormous number of experienced ex-officials who accepted packages years ago, are out there and are now ready, willing and even desperate to start working in the Public Service again. Public statements have been made that the restrictions on re-employment will be worked out, but at the moment this is only being done on an ad-hoc basis.

Hon Minister, the FF Plus would like to talk to you about general amnesties and ways in which they can be granted, so that we can be sure that these people are able to return to the Public Service without any hindrance. We will gladly talk to you about it. Thank you very much.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon Spies. I have corrected myself now.

Mr K K KHUMALO: Hon Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, guests in the gallery, I rise on behalf of the ANC in support of the Budget Vote on the Public Service and Administration. In particular, I hope the budget will help us realise our vision of a single Public Service.

The barometer for measuring the strengths and weaknesses of our government resides within the ambit of the capacity, organisation, vision and commitment on the part of its Public Service to deliver. It is this arm of government that is charged with the responsibility of delivering on the strategic objectives of government, in the context of understanding and advancing the key ingredients for deepening democracy in our developmental state.

It, therefore, becomes absolutely imperative that the Public Service is resourceful so as to be able to identify and recognise institutional challenges and turn them around. This will bring about a sustainable and comprehensive service delivery network that is pro-poor and, in fact, deliberately directed at benefiting the poorest of the poor at grass-roots level.

In the state of the nation address, on 3 February 2006, the hon President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, called upon the nation to celebrate this age of hope. He also reminded us that this age is accompanied by high expectations, and called upon us to do whatever is possible to meet them. But the question arises as to how we should do this. It is our view that this can be done within the context of recognising the contention of the ANC, as captured in our national conference resolutions at Stellenbosch, and I quote:

The fundamental transformation of local government into a democratic, developmental and accountable component of the state is not yet complete, and the system contains dysfunctionalities.

These dysfunctionalities in service delivery at local level, as alluded to by the ANC, are rooted in the fragmentation of service delivery between municipalities, departments and service delivery agencies. They are further exacerbated by tensions resulting from jurisdictional arrogance and red tape between departments and within municipalities.

Although the multipurpose community centres and community development workers provide a focused service, it is difficult to measure their collective impact on broader substantive service delivery. These multipurpose community centres are few, and one wonders why it is that we have so few of these in the rural areas and some urban areas whereas there is a budget for this service to be rendered. This causes a further breach in the service delivery chain.

The above scenario, coupled with the lack of capacity at local government level as exposed through Project Consolidate, clearly is a call for institutional interventions by national government to align state institutions in such a way as to complement one another. This would synergise the provision of services, resulting in integrated service delivery through co-operative governance.

Chapter 3, section 41, of the Constitution provides that all spheres of government and all organs of state within each sphere must co-operate with one another in mutual trust and in good faith, by fostering relations, assisting and supporting one another on matters of common interest, co- ordinating their actions and legislative processes. Section 41(2) provides that an Act of Parliament must be established to provide for structures and institutions to facilitate governmental relations. In order for institutional arrangements such as co-operative governance to be realised in the single Public Service, it must be sustainable for the purpose of effective service delivery. As established by the Department of the Public Service and Administration, this can only manifest if there is mobility between institutions of service delivery. Mobility in this context refers to the transfer of functions between spheres of government in order to allow for service to be delivered where appropriately needed and also to enable managers to be deployed where they are needed in government.

Ngamanye amazwi, injongo yethu apha kuhanjiso lweenkonzo zoluntu kukuba sidibanise iinkonzo ukuze izinto esifuna zenzeke, zenzeke ngokukhawuleza. Ukuba siyajonga phaya kweli linge lokwakhiwa kwezindlu le-Gateway, siya kufumanisa ukuba kuye kwadibana iphondo, umasipala kunye nozwelonke ukuze kugqitywe ela linge. Sithetha loo nto ke xa sithetha ngohanjiso lweenkonzo oluhlangeneyo kwaneenkonzo zikarhulumente ezihlangeneyo.

Kwakhona, enye injongo yethu kukuba siseke iqela labasebenzi abaza kuthi basebenzele urhulumente ukusuka phezulu kuzwelonke ukuya kutsho kumaphondo, ukuhla, sisenzela ukuba wonke umntu akwazi ukuphendula kurhulumente, ukuze singabi nabantu abaza kuthi xa kufuneka benze izinto ezithile bathi, hayi bona baphendula kumasipala kuphela. Kufuneka ukuba baphendule kurhulumente ngokupheleyo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[Our objective is to synergise services, resulting in an integrated service delivery process that renders them faster and in a more easily accessible manner. The Gateway project is an example of co-operative governance between the province, the municipality and the national housing offices. That is our idea of co-operative and integrated service delivery.

It is also one of our intentions to establish a flexible, cohesive workforce that can be transferred easily between the different spheres of government and can be deployed anywhere and everywhere they are needed in government in such a way that no one can say they are accountable to the municipality and not to other institutions. They should be accountable to government as a whole.]

This will, therefore, create a cohesive workforce through all the spheres of government. [Interjections.]

Ek weet nie wat praat julle daarso nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] [I do not know what you are talking about over there. [Interjections.]]

An HON MEMBER: We are talking about top down.

Mr K K KHUMALO: What top down?

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Just continue with your speech, hon member.

Mr K K KHUMALO: It’s correct that we are in government. We are going to determine how the Public Service functions, and that is it. We are going to do that. What you are doing here in Cape Town, sabotaging the national interest of this government will come to an end. [Applause.] It’s going to come to an end when we introduce a single Public Service that will account to the ethics of the ANC. [Interjections.]

Julle raas! [You are making a noise!]

I must also come back to the age of hope referred to by our President during his state of the nation address. Indeed, as the President said, there is hope because our people went out in their numbers to vote for the ANC and for a better tomorrow. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us that we look into the expectations of the people, as alluded to by the President. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr S SIMMONS: Chair, the UPSA supports Budget Votes 11 and 12. I consider the Department of the Public Service and Administration to be one of the most important role-players in ensuring effective service delivery out all levels of government. This responsibility requires the implementation of a human resource policy and strategy that complements the objective of effective and efficient service delivery.

South Africa has very specific guidelines for human resource practices aimed at ensuring that remedial action is taken regarding employment practices of the past. I specifically wish to refer to the Employment Equity Act, with its primary aim of providing for employment equity.

There appears to be a grave misunderstanding as to the practical implementation of employment equity, which now seems to create a new set of disparities, especially in the Public Service sector. This deduction is based on the hon Minister’s reply to a written question from hon Spies towards the end of last year.

The statistics given then by the Minister clearly illustrated that there was a clearly misconstrued interpretation of the definition of “black people” by human resource practitioners in the public sector as they considered this legislation as intended to set out a hierarchy. This practice has serious negative effects on our much-needed human relations and nation-building, as well as solidarity amongst all our people.

Die agb President het op die 18de Mei vanjaar erkenning gegee aan die erns van hierdie aangeleentheid deur die korrekte interpretasies te bevestig dat daar geen onderskeid getref behoort te word tussen die komponente van hierdie generiese term nie. Ek wil ’n dringende en ernstige beroep doen op die agb Minister … (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[On 18 May this year the hon President acknowledged the seriousness of this matter by confirming the correct interpretation that no distinction should be made between the components of this generic term. I want to make an urgent and serious appeal to the hon Minister …]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your time has expired.

Mr S SIMMONS: … om leiding te gee in die vorm van byvoorbeeld ’n direktief wat groter duidelikheid … [Tussenwerpsels.] [… to guide us by way of, for instance, a directive to provide greater clarity … [Interjections.]]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your time has expired! [Interjections.]

Mr S SIMMONS: … en sekerheid sal bewerkstellig oor die interpretasie. [… and certainty about the interpretation.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Simmons, your time has expired. Thank you!

Hon members, the following member will be making his maiden speech. [Applause.]

Mr I F JULIES: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, on 26 February this year President Mbeki was quoted in the City Press as having said he had not been presented with any information that indicated that public servants … [Interjections.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon members, the member is making his maiden speech and please give him an opportunity.

Mr I F JULIES: The City Press quoted the President as having said he had not been presented with any information that indicated that public servants in different levels of government are dying of Aids. “These is no crisis,” said President Mbeki. He said there were no alarm bells being sounded in the Presidency that people are dying and that no one had told him they were losing 10% of government staff every year because of Aids.

I would like President Mbeki to tell us if he thinks that the only people affected … [Interjections.]

Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, maybe the member has the wrong speech. I heard him debating about HIV/Aids. [Laughter.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Bloem, can you sit down. We said this is a maiden speech. Let’s just respect it for that, unless you want me to read the Rules to you. Please, let’s just respect that. In a maiden speech, anything can be said.

Mr I F JULIES: I thank you, Chairperson. Maybe hon Bloem doesn’t understand what is going on. Sit still and listen, hon Bloem. I would like President Mbeki to tell us if he thinks the only people infected and affected by this crippling disease are the general electorate and not our esteemed public servants, colleagues.

If that is what the President thinks, the DA would like to challenge President Mbeki to take a walk through the hallowed halls of the Public Service to see just how many of the staff actually are at work on any given day. We, however, welcome the fact that in the very same article President Mbeki said that we need to do research to establish what levels of deaths there are in the Public Service as a result of natural and unnatural causes.

The statement was released in February and now it is the end of May. It is no surprise that there is still no conclusive study being conducted within the Department of the Public Service and Administration around the prevalence of HIV and Aids within the workforce of the Ministry. Clearly, no alarm bells are being sounded because the administration seems not to really care whether or not its own staff are affected by a disease that killed more than 2,5 million people last year in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. The department does have a very impressive policy on employee wellness and the hon Fraser-Moleketi always seems very eager to engage the seriousness of this epidemic, as witnessed through the Public Service health journal. But, hon Minister, what we need now is action on this policy to ensure that service delivery to all the people – a direct mandate given to this government - will happen without negative impact.

Hon Minister, you owe it to those who make it possible for you to manage this department to ensure that you vigorously work towards ensuring that the department doesn’t sit without skills by the next election.

The DA challenges the department to put in place key strategies aimed at assessing the prevalence of HIV and Aids in the DPSA workforce. The DA also challenges you to then draw up a risk profile concerning the skills that could be lost, and that you take into account and project into the future the cost to the department and the people of the country if you don’t mitigate the negative impact of HIV and Aids.

I now want to direct my attention to community development workers, CDWs. We in the DA challenge the Minister to go back and take another look at the intended imperatives set out for community development workers. These community development workers are not the private recruiters for the ANC. They are not a lobbying group which works solely for the interest of its members and supporters.

Our people are crying out that your CDWs are once again causing the opportunity to divide and rule at local level by prioritising the support of the ruling party and ignoring the basic needs of those with the good sense to support the opposition parties. The CDWs have a responsibility to take government to all citizens.

Yes, Minister, they are meant to facilitate access to services for all our people. The abuse of this publicly-funded programme is a direct indication to your electorate, hon Minister, that Batho Pele is indeed for a select few only. Batho Pele principles are for creating a people-centred and people-driven Public Service. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mrs L MALONEY: Chairperson, I think we should respect the previous speaker because it is Wednesday today. All he was doing was to pose a follow-up question to the President. I think we should give credit for that. [Interjections.]

Since this morning, all the DA speakers have been talking about the gala dinner, which is not part of what we are debating. Maybe this gala dinner is their theme of the year but I don’t think that it’s a gala dinner per se. They only have one: Parliament is transforming and most black people are coming to Parliament to experience what the ANC is doing inside Parliament. That is what their concern is, as regards the gala dinner. [Applause.]

My take on this Budget Vote on the Public Service and Administration will be around the Public Service Commission. This structure was established by the Constitution with a clear mandate and terms of references. One of the responsibility enshrined in the Constitution is for the Public Service Commission to be impartial. It must exercise its powers and perform its functions without fear, favour or prejudice and in the interest of maintaining an effective and efficient public service.

The commission must be regulated by national legislation. This is a huge responsibility that the Public Service Commission is faced with. This task cannot be done by the Public Service Commission alone. This is a shared responsibility and it needs all structures, organisations and civil society organisations who are doing work on monitoring and evaluation to assist the Public Service Commission. This is where the portfolio committee features, through our oversight role to monitor and evaluate the executive departments and provinces. We can whip where we see that work has not been done.

Our participation and interaction regarding the Budget Vote of this department does not only start today, the portfolio committee engaged with the department during the strategic planning workshop which took place some two months back. So we are familiar with the issues and we are on top of the issues. This is just carry-forward work that has been done.

At least, we know about the vision and mission of the department, and we know where it comes from and where it is going. This shows that portfolio committees are not rubber-stampers nor are they passive recipients, but they are active participants in the end product of whatever it is that departments do.

Through the strategic workshop, the portfolio committee together with the Public Service Commission have come up with a toolkit on how to take forward the monitoring and evaluation programme of the department.

There are nine principles that govern the Public Service Commission. I am not going to deal with them one by one as they are all important components of driving the strategic plan of the Public Service and Administration. They are all compulsory to the Public Service sector.

At no stage can we have public servants performing better as regards certain principles and not doing better as regards principles that govern the Public Service Commission. I would suggest that even the evaluation of the performance of managers should be based on these principles. It should be a matter of “you break one you lose everything; you fail the test”.

The ANC supports this Budget Vote, with the hope that the lives of our people will be better today than yesterday and their tomorrow will be better than today. According to the Public Service Commission report, departments are not complying fully when they report financial misconduct cases, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act. For instance, in this area, national departments reported only 30% of cases and provinces reported only 61%. This needs attention.

Another area of concern is non-compliance of heads of departments in disclosing financial directorships that they hold outside the Public Service. Up until now, 78% of HODs from national departments have disclosed. We still need to reach 100% and this is a problem we are faced with as a monitoring and oversight portfolio committee. North West province has the highest number and stands at 82% while the lowest is the Eastern Cape, at 38%. As the portfolio committee, we take exception to this bad conduct. All those who are not complying are nothing but counter- revolutionaries.

Beside these setbacks that I have alluded to, the Public Service remains focused on its mandate. A number of initiatives have been set up by the Public Service Commission regarding how well the Public Service meets its obligations of impartiality, fairness, equity and non-bias. [Interjections.] I know that it’s after lunch and the deputy chair is coming from the private room there, next to the bar. That’s why he is howling like this. [Interjections.]

The Public Service Commission has introduced mechanisms such as the Batho Pele audit, the national anticorruption hotline and citizen survey to test whether citizens do experience government as meeting those ideals.

On average the budget of the Public Service Commission has increased. This does not mean more money in their kitty but it goes with more demands and more expectations, and this is going to put pressure on staff members of the Public Service Commission, who only number 185. Also, the role that the Public Service Commission plays within the SADC region, internationally and otherwise, is going to be increased because of the money that we have put in. So the demands are going to be more and more.

The capacity considerations concerning the challenges ahead are well noted. What I always fail to understand is when you are told that the department has spent all the money from the Treasury and there are no roll-overs but on the other hand you are told that the department has no capacity. I do not get it: How do you spend money but at the same time you are having a capacity problem concerning the delivery of services? Maybe the recruitment and selection strategy of the Public Service will address this.

The strategy should also look at gender imbalances and equity in the Public Service. The targets set are difficult to reach. For instance, while the target of 2% had been set regarding disabled people in the Public Service, there were only 0,25% in 2002. Thus far we have had 0,16% of disabled people. But I am very glad that the Minister has addressed this area of concern.

A framework on how to conduct inspections of service delivery sites will be used by the Public Service, starting this coming year. This framework will entail announced and unannounced visits to service delivery sites, as it was agreed that public servants should be at the coalface of service delivery points.

Programmes of the Public Service Commission are in line with government objectives. But what does not go down well with me is when I read an evaluation of the anticorruption co-ordination committee concerning the Public Service anticorruption initiative. I am told that it is subject to the availability of donors. This also needs to be looked at, because we cannot keep such a committee idle because we don’t have donors coming forward.

What is exciting when it comes to labour relations is the improvement of performance grievance rules which are to be translated into all official languages. I know there are new rules. The new rules say that, after 30 days, if there isn’t anything that is happening in the department, those rules must be shifted to the Public Service Commission. That also creates a problem because the department will not work or may delay the process and just shift those grievances to the Public Service Commission, and this will add more pressure to the Public Service Commission.

Regarding the hotline for handling queries, thus far 1 338 complaints have been received through this system. But the question of how to control whistleblowers is still a problem. There is still that old tradition of thinking that if you report misconduct you are an impimpi [informer].

Hon Minister, you know yourself that this name has bad connotations. However, hon Minister, it should be brought to the attention of those who do not condone corrupt practices in the Public Service that, if you do not report misconduct in the Public Service you are as corrupt as the person who is engaging in corrupt activities in that department. [Interjections.] [Applause.] You are becoming sober now.

Local government will remain a strategic area for service delivery. Regarding this aspect, we should not allow the DA, which won with only one vote, to spoil the good work that the ANC has done in that council. There is one good rule that the DA must learn: “You must not mess up so badly that nobody can work there again.” We are not going to allow a tsunami- style of administration that the DA is bringing to this council. [Interjections.] The hon Zille must know that she needs to govern. She must stop being a TV celebrity. People need service delivery down there.

Community development workers must also be given a course on Asgisa and Jipsa in order for them to be better able to explain these new concepts. They are the best people who are strategically located to interact directly with the people.

Regarding floor-crossing, I think the DA needs this floor-crossing legislation. You know what is going to happen to them? Zille is an unstoppable tsumani. So it will be difficult for them to control her. She is such a bully they can’t even control her. So the only thing that will control Zille is floor-crossing. [Interjections.] This is what we are going to do.

This Public Service Commission does not exist by accident, it is an integral part of the developmental state and plays an appropriate role in accelerating transformation towards better service delivery. Whoever is not complying should know that he or she is not only undermining the Public Service Commission but also the Constitution that established the commission. I thank you very much, Chair. The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, Chairperson and hon members. Many issues have been raised in this debate today and there have been a large number of inputs, many of which I welcome.

I’d like to state that the area this portfolio is responsible for will never be perfect. What we are doing and what we will do is aspire to a situation where we continually improve. We will show progress in the direction that we have set ourselves. In the light of all the criticisms that have been levelled, we will take them on board – some of them – and try to improve in order that by next week, next month and next year we will show progress.

I believe, fundamentally, that we do not give enough recognition where recognition is due. Albeit on a small and symbolic level, I would like to recognise a special public servant on the gallery today and his name is Mr Sipho Tiger Ndlovu, the headmaster of Dover Combined School in KwaZulu- Natal. Mr Ndlovu, would you stand up, please. [Applause.] I think Mr Ndlovu was here earlier.

I wanted to make this example, because earlier on I heard various allegations being levelled and flung from the side of the DA, suggesting that public servants are incompetent, unskilled, low-level, and they cannot really deliver. Let me just tell you a little bit about him. Through dedication, smart work, innovative problem-solving and creative application of technology; mobilisation between the landowners, business and other organisations; and the use of volunteers, both local and international, he transformed Dover Combined School from a traditional farm school on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal into a modern public school that excels and has achieved 100% Matric pass rates for the past five years. [Applause.]

I would like us to honour Mr Ndlovu for his individual achievements and to celebrate him as a symbol of all our hard-working public servants who display the characteristics that make him an exceptional public servant. May people like this who overcome the challenges that they face in their service delivery situations inspire others to go the extra mile.

I also want to commend a group of people who call themselves Bara people. These are health workers at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital; people who have stayed there and work under very difficult conditions. [Applause.] And, in the words of Prof Mativa, a clinician:

I am amongst the best when it takes to pulling a person from the brink of death, resuscitating that person and I can do that work. I will do it and I do it very well. What you need in the transformation process is to take away some of the management issues from me. I don’t want to be involved in that.

Those are people who are willing to work and make a difference. There are many other health workers and people who do not want to be referred to as “low-level, unskilled, incompetent people and people who shouldn’t be there”. That is what came from this side of the House. In the words of hon Minnie, who spoke about the Public Service …

… en hy het gedink mense kan hom nie verstaan nie. Hy het gepraat oor swak dienslewering, van die feit dat … [… and he thought that people could not understand him. He spoke of poor service delivery, the fact that …]

… at a senior level the senior skills are not there, and so on. He said that others are being pushed out. Nonsense. It is very clear that he is not following what is happening. If I could take the words of my colleague, even when you listen to Minnie …

… as hy praat van ’n enkele Staatsdiens. Hy sê dieselfde goed hierdie jaar wat hy verlede jaar gesê. Ek vra myself af: is dit omdat hy doof is? […when he speaks of a single Public Service. He is repeating the same things this year that he said last year. I ask myself the question: Is it because he is deaf?]

Must we ensure that we get a hearing aid for him so that he can actually engage with this? Let me withdraw that. I don’t want to equate Minnie to anybody who may be disabled, because it would be unfair to the disabled sector.

Mr C M LOWE: Chairperson, I wonder if I could address you on a point of order. I just wondered if it was parliamentary for the hon Minister to talk about an hon member of this House simply as “Minnie”. Is that parliamentary?

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Minister, address all as hon members.

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Chairperson, hon Minnie is Minnie and he is honourable and I will ensure that I refer to him as hon Minnie.

Mr D V BLOEM: Minister, maybe you must call him Cooper Minnie. Cooper Minnie. That is better.

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Thank you, Chairperson. I suppose a better reference at this point, when we are looking back at the issues that were raised by some, is a quote by Toffler that says:

The illiterate of the future will not be the person who cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how to learn.

I am rather saddened by the fact that there seem to be some members who, even at this stage, seem as if they don’t know how to learn or are not willing to learn. I think we should ensure that we do learn and draw on what is happening within the Public Service, bearing in mind the complexities that exist.

Hon Matsomela raised the issue of Samdi and one would want to agree with the issues that were raised. In relation to the induction programme, I want to indicate that that is indeed a priority programme that Samdi is unfurling. We do need to extend the capacity to ensure that it reaches all public servants.

Concerning the issue of the unintended consequences of decentralisation, I think that is indeed part of what one had raised earlier. I think, generally speaking, one would be in agreement with what has come up. I do want to raise one or two further issues.

The issue that has come up today, both from the chair of the portfolio committee and other members, has been the whole issue of the declaration of financial disclosures by public servants. I do want to say that that particular work done by the Auditor-General was commissioned by the Minister for the Public Service and Administration and the chairperson of the Public Service Commission. We wanted to have a sense of the levels of compliance.

That particular report indicated that more than 50 000 public servants had not declared or disclosed their financial interests. What I want to state to this House today is that 50 223 public servants are non-designated. They are not required by the regulatory framework to declare at this particular point in time. However, regarding the designated public servants that should declare, as has been stated here, 78% of them have declared. That is a system that we have put in place since 2000. We have a responsibility as the executive to ensure that we do have 100% disclosure and we will strive towards this disclosure.

There is indeed the reality that heads of department and directors-general must take steps against those senior managers that have not disclosed. I have been in communication with members of the executive and I am expecting a report from them on the levels of disclosure to date, so that we can take action in the instances where it has not happened.

To hon Spies, the whole issue of the voluntary severance packages was discussed previously and we indeed need to systematically look at how we can bring those who have left the Public Service on voluntary severance packages back into the service. It is not a matter that can be done unilaterally because it has been a Public Service co-ordinating bargaining chamber resolution. We have gone back to the chamber and requested a review but we need to do it within the framework.

We also need to ensure that we do not have double dipping, that is people who have left the Public Service on a package trying to come back and be employed like everyone else. We are looking at issues such as tenure that is specific to timeframes and so on. The point that I want to make is that we are engaging with these issues.

There was an hon member who delivered his maiden speech today and I think he regrettably disgraced himself and lost an opportunity to reflect that he was coming in new, making a new speech and that he had done his homework. He tried to get me to second-guess the President. I must respond for what the President thinks about issues and not what is in our policies or what has been raised.

It is a rather strange thing. Maybe he thinks for the hon Tony Leon. That may explain some of the crises in policy within the DA and hence the perception that there is overcentralisation and centralisation.

One cannot blame him. He is really in the wrong party. We don’t want him anyway. With that level of thinking, he is not going to add any value. He then went on and said that the whole issues of CDWs …

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: On a point of order, Madam Minister, I want him because I can work on him.

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: Our Chief Whip has always been a courageous man. He is reflecting his courage once more. We have had a policy in the past that said we should win over the enemy as well. This is part of it.

I should probably pause and focus on hon Julies. I can probably have some political discussions with him and it may just have some impact on him. I want to conclude with a last point about him. He left immediately after speaking and I thought where I grew up, we had a name for a man who runs away before an answer is given. He came back into the House very quickly, so I presume he only went to the bathroom for a short period and it wasn’t a case of fleeing, like some of his colleagues have done.

There is a further point that I would like to raise and that is the point that the hon Minnie raised as well. I just want to find the note on that particular aspect. He spoke about …

… ’n enkele Staatsdiens. Hy het gesê dat ons tog asseblief moet wegbly van ’n die enkele Staatsdiens, want hulle wil nie hê dat ons die Kaap moet lamlê nie. Ek wil sê: Helen Zille het niemand nodig om haar te help om die Kaap lam te lê nie. Sy doen ’n baie goeie taak daarvoor. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[… single Public Service. He told us to please stay away from a single Public Service, as they did not want us to paralyse the Cape. I want to say: Helen Zille does not need anybody to help her to paralyse the Cape. She is making an excellent job of it.]

And a single Public Service is not about disabling anything. It is about taking issues forward.

On a more serious note and ignoring the kinds of comments that came from this quarter that were very unhelpful, I think there is also a need for us to note that there were positive aspects that were mentioned in the State of the Public Service Report, 2006. It found that, in general, the Public Service has sound policies in place to sustain the consolidation of its transformation and improve service delivery; and that it has shown the capacity to promote and implement ethical and normative frameworks, such as the national anti-corruption forum and Batho Pele.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Minister, if you could conclude.

Mr C M LOWE: Yes, please.

The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: I will conclude and say: There are notable improvements in the capacity of the Public Service and the country as a whole to address corruption.

I’d like to thank all those who have joined in this debate and I’d like to use the words of Theodore Roosevelt, who said:

It behoves every person to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance. In the end, progress is accomplished by the person who does things.

Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

The House adjourned at 19:17. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. Introduction of Bills

 (1)    The Minister of Health


      a) Health Professions Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2006] (National
         Assembly – sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior
         notice of its introduction published in Government Gazette No
         28754 of 28 April 2006.]


     Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Health of
     the National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging
     Mechanism (JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160, on
     31 May 2006.


     In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of
     the Bill may be submitted to the JTM within three parliamentary
     working days.

1. Bills passed – to be submitted to President for assent

 (1)    Bill passed by National Assembly on 30 May 2006:


     (a)     Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
         Amendment Bill [B 32F - 2005] (National Assembly - art 75).

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister of Finance

   1) Government Notice No 362 published in Government Gazette No 28740 dated 13 April 2006: Publication of Local Government allocations and frameworks, in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, 2006 (Act No 2 of 2006).

   2) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Learnership Training System Programme, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

   3) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Learnership Training System Programme.

   4) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Legislative Drafting Programme, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

   5) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Legislative Drafting Programme.

   6) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Mpumalanga Rural Development Programme, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

   7) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Mpumalanga Rural Development Programme.

   8) Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on Technology-Aided Distance Self Learning in the South African Police Service, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

   9) Explanatory Memorandum on the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of South Africa on Technology-Aided Distance Self Learning in the South African Police Service.

 10) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
     Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
     concerning the Project: Technology Diffusion through Technikons,
     tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 11) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
     Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of
     the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Technology
     Diffusion through Technikons.

 12)  Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of
     South Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
     concerning the Project: Peace and Development Project, tabled in
     terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 13) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
     Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of
     the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Peace and
     Development Project.

 14) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
     Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
     concerning the Project: Programme to Develop Markets for Business
     Development Services, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
     Constitution, 1996.

 15) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
     Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of
     the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Programme
     to Develop Markets for Business Development Services.

 16) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
     Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
     concerning the Project: Skills Development Strategy Initiative
     (SDSI), tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution,
     1996.

 17) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
     Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of
     the Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Skills
     Development Strategy Initiative (SDSI).

 18) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
     Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
     concerning Financial Cooperation in 2005, tabled in terms of
     section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.

 19) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
     Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of
     the Federal Republic of Germany concerning Financial Cooperation in
     2005.

1. The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs

(1)    Report and Financial Statements of the Commission on Restitution
     of Land Rights for 2005-2006 [RP 54-2006].

1. The Minister of Safety and Security

(1)    Report of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) for
     January 2005 to December 2005, in terms of section 18(5)(c) of the
     Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act No 116 of 1998) [RP 56-2006]. COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Assembly

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security on Proclamations 4, 6, 9, 13, 14, 65 and 66 by the President in accordance with section 25 of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No 33 of 2004), dated 24 May 2006:

   The Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Proclamations by the President in accordance with section 25 of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No 33 of 2004), recommends that the House, approve the said Proclamations.

Request to be considered.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy on the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, dated 31 May 2006:

   The Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy, having considered the request for approval by Parliament of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, referred to it, and having conferred with the Portfolio Committee on Health, recommends that the House, in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, approve the said Convention.

Request to be considered.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism on Joint Strategic Planning Workshop with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Public Entities and Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs, dated 30 May 2006:

   The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism having participated in a Joint Strategic Planning Workshop with Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and its public entities as well with the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs, reports as follows:

2. Legislative background

   The public service regulations give responsibility for strategic planning to the executive authority of the Department concerned. The regulations issued in terms of Public Finance Management Act 1999 provide for further requirements with respect to strategic plans.

   They require strategic plans to cover the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period to which they relate. These plans are supposed to be submitted to the Parliament or the relevant legislature at least seven days before the discussion of the budget vote of the Department.

3. Joint Strategic Planning Workshop

   The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs held a join strategic workshop on 13-14 March 2006 at Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West (Western Cape) with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and Public Entities (i.e. South African Weather Services, South African Tourism, Grading Council, Tourism Hospitality Sport Education, South African National Parks, Greater ST Lucia Wetland Park and South African Botanical Institute).

   The main objective of the workshop was to present to both Members of the Portfolio and Select Committees an overview of the Departmental and the Public Entities’ work as per their strategic plans, with specific focus on main deliverables in each programme for 2006/07.

4. Ministerial opening

   In his opening address, the Minister of the Department of the Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Hon, Marthinus van Schalkwyk tabled five strategic priorities of the Department in terms of the resource allocation and overall coordination. These included:

a) The finalisation of new environmental impact assessment regulations and capacities;

    b) Keeping climate change and national responses at the  centre  of
       the domestic and international agenda;

    c) Strengthening compliance and enforcement capacity; unlocking the
       potential of the Tran- frontier conservation areas; and

  (d)   Building on the major growth achievements in the tourism sector,
       especially in preparation for the 2010 soccer world cup.

1. Presentation on the Strategic Plans of the Department and Public Entities

   Through the Co- Chairing of Mr L Zita, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and, Rev P Moatshe, Chairperson of the Select Committee of Land and Environmental Affairs, the Director-General and Deputy Director- Generals of the Department and Chief Executive Officers of Public Entities made presentations on 2006/07 strategic plans. The presentations focused on the vision, mission, achievements, challenges, commitments and 2006/-07 strategic priorities.

   As the achievements of the Department and the Public Entities were reported in their 2005 Annual Reports and the Portfolio Committee presented its report to Parliament on the 15 November 2005, this report will only cover the challenges and 2006/07 strategic priorities presented to Members of Committees during the workshop.

   The main objective of capturing only the challenges and 2006/07 strategic priorities, is to provide Members of the Portfolio and Select Committees with a monitoring and oversight tool that could ensure Departmental and public entities accountability in terms of the 2006 State of the Nation Address and programmes allocations in Budget Vote 27 as contained in 2006 Estimates of National Expenditure.

   4.1. Overview of strategic priorities of the Department

   This section provides an overview of the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the six programmes of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The main focus of the overview is on programmes such as administration and support presented by the Director General and environmental quality and protection, marine and coastal management, tourism, biodiversity and conservation presented respectively by Deputy Director Generals.

 1. Administration & Support Programme


  The Director General, Ms P Yako presented the strategic  plan  of  the
  administration programme. The  presentation  focused  on  the  vision,
  mission,  2005  achievements,  challenges  as  well  as  the   2006/07
  strategic priorities. According to the Director General,  the  2006/07
  strategic priorities of the administration programme will include:

❑ Implementation of black economic empowerment scorecard;


❑ Investment in skills development;


❑ Development of staff retention strategy and stakeholder engagement;
             and


     ❑ An increase of the representation of people with  disability  to
       at least 2% and women in Small Medium Enterprise (SME) to 26%.

 2. Environmental Quality & Protection Programme


  The Deputy Director General, Ms J Yawitch, presented 2006/07 strategic
  plans of environmental quality and protection programme. According  to
  the Deputy Director General, the following strategic  priorities  will
  be pursued in 2006/07:


     ❑ Establishment of comprehensive programme to  support  provincial
       and local government in capacity;
❑ Impact evaluation of plastic bag legislation;


❑  Strategic  enforcement  actions  directed  at  major   polluters   or
  dangerous
             pollutants;


❑ Finalisation of Waste Management Bill and publication public
             comment;


❑  Finalisation  of  tyre  and  asbestos  regulations  and  ambient  air
  standards;


     ❑ Delegation of landfill permits to provinces on basis  of  agreed
       implementation plan and capacity building support;


     ❑ Permits review of  major  polluting  industries  and  long  term
       scenario planning on climate change; and


❑ Improvement of air quality management training for provincial and
             local government


 3. Biodiversity & Conservation Programme


  The Deputy Director General, Mr  F  Mketeni,  made  presented  2006/07
  strategic  plan  of  the  biodiversity  and  conservation   programme.
  According to Deputy Director General, the 2006/07 strategic priorities
  of the biodiversity and conservation program will include:
     ❑  Finalisation  of  the  management  framework  for   Genetically
       Modified Organisms (GMO);

❑ Development of the biodiversity framework;

❑ Listing ecosystem in terms of NEMBA;

     ❑ Development of the norms and standards  for  the  regulation  of
       hunting  industry  and  the  management  of  elephant  in  South
       African;


❑ Regulations for threatened, protected, aliens  and  invasive  species;
  and

❑ Declaration of new National Parks in Wild Coast and Blyde River
        Canyon.

    4.1.4    Marine and Coastal Management Programme

  The Deputy Director General,  Dr  M  Mayekiso  presented  the  2006/07
  strategic plan of the marine and  coastal  management  programme.  The
  presentation focused on 2004/05 achievement and challenges.  In  order
  to address the compliance, research development,  resource  management
  and integrated management challenges, 2006/07 strategic priorities  of
  Marine Coastal Management include:

❑ Promulgation of coastal management act;

❑ Finalisation of aquaculture policy;

❑ Allocation of shark cage diving and boat based whale rights;

❑ Development of skills development strategy and research output

             through collaboration;

❑ Filling of new and vacant positions and Increase number of  inspector;



❑ Develop financial and procurement system and cost recovery

             framework; and

❑ Development of recreational permit system.




    4.1.5    Tourism Programme

  The Deputy  Director  General,  Dr  P  Matlou  presented  the  2006/07
  strategic plan of the tourism programme. The presentation focused 2005
  achievements  and  challenges  as  well  as  the   2006/07   strategic
  priorities. According to the  Deputy  Director  General,  the  2006/07
  strategic priorities of the tourism programme will include:

❑ Addressing tourism skills demands;


❑ Facilitating tourist  safety  and  security  and  building  a  tourism
  friendly
             nation;
❑ Improving movement of tourist to and within South Africa;


❑ Supporting local government to grow the tourism sector in 9 priority
             areas;

❑ Developing and entrenching accurate research instruments; and

❑ Implementing broad based black economic empowerment.

1. Strategic priorities of public entities

This section provides an overview of the 2006/07 strategic priorities of
the public entities accounting to the  Minister  of  the  Department  of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism. As indicated in the  introduction  of
this report, this section will  focus  only  on  the  2006/07  strategic
priorities presented respectively by the Chief  Executive  Officers  all
public entities.

 1. South African Grading Council


The Chief Executive Officer, Dr S Siddo presented the 2006/07  strategic
plan of the South African Grading Council. The presentation  focused  on
2005 achievements and  challenges  as  well  as  the  2006/07  strategic
priorities.


According  to  the  Chief  Executive  Officer,  the  2006/07   strategic
priorities of the South African Grading Council will include:
     ❑ Working with Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
       and provinces to monitor government procurement of graded
       establishment;
          ❑ Accelerating grading of conference venues;

          ❑  Finalizing  and  launching  grading  of  tourist  transport
            services; and


     ❑ Initiating of development of  grading  schemes  for  golf  n  ad
       endorsement  of  star  grading  by  domestic  and  international
       operators.


 2. Tourism Hospitality Sport Education Training Authority


The  Chief  Executive  Officer  Dr  M  Tsotetsi  presented  the  2006/07
strategic plans of the Tourism Hospitality Education Training Authority.
The presentation focused on 2005 achievements,  challenges  and  2006/07
strategic priorities. According to  the  Chief  Executive  Officer,  the
2006/07 strategic priorities will focus on:

❑ Reconstruction of the board;


     ❑  Submission  of  new  30   qualifications   to   South   African
       Qualifications Authority (SAQA);

❑ Accreditation of training providers;

❑ Research scarce and critical skills in the sectors;
❑ Conducting skills audit; and

❑ Streamline processes and procedures to ensure rapid deployment of
             resources.

 3. South African National Parks


The  Chief  Executive  Officer,  Dr  D  Mabunda  presented  the  2006/07
strategic plans of the South African National  Parks.  The  presentation
focused on 2005 achievements and  challenges  as  well  as  the  2006/07
strategic priorities.  According  to  the  CEO,  the  2006/07  strategic
priorities of the South African National Parks will focus on:


❑ Implementation of infrastructure development programme;


❑ Finalization and implementation of tourism model  and  brand  strategy
  D;

❑ Rolling out park management plan and reporting on the state of the
             park;


     ❑  Mapping  of  cultural   resource   in   all   the   parks   and
       Implementation of balance score card; and

❑ Development of scientific and biodiversity research strategy.

 4. South African National Botanical Institute


The Chief Executive Officer, Professor B Huntley presented  the  2006/07
strategic plans of the South African National Botanical  Institute.  The
presentation focused on the 2005 achievements and challenges as well  as
the 2006/07 strategic  priorities.  According  to  the  Chief  Executive
Officer, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the South African Botanical
Gardens will include:


❑ Developing network of national botanical gardens;


     ❑  Ensuring  legislative  coherence  in  relation  to  genetically
       modified organism and bio prospecting,  threatened  species  and
       ecosystems;

❑ Gap analysis of national capacity in biodiversity;

❑ Collection of taxonomy and future of natural history;

❑ Developing biodiversity knowledge management system; and

     ❑ Conducting research that  focuses  on  global  change  and  risk
       assessment, land degradation and adaptation to  climate  change,
       threatened and ecosystem.


 5. Greater St Lucia Wetland Park


The Chief  Executive  Officer,  Mr  A  Zaloumis  presented  the  2006/07
strategic plans of the South African National Botanical  Institute.  The
presentation focused on the 2005 achievements and challenges as well  as
the 2006/07 strategic  priorities.  According  to  the  Chief  Executive
Officer, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the South African Botanical
Gardens will include:


     ❑  Implementation  of  revised  commercial  strategy  focusing  on
       public access, refurbishment of existing park facilities and new
       investment;


❑ Support settlement of land claims and implementation; and

❑ Consolidation of uMkhuze, Ozabeni and Eastern Shores into one open
       ecological area.

  6.    Evaluation of the Strategic Planning Workshop


On the 24 March 2006, the Portfolio Committee on Environmental  Affairs
and Tourism evaluated the strategic planning workshops in terms of  its
objectives and outcomes. The following are  the  observations  made  by
Members of the Committee during the meeting:

     ❑ The workshop had provided  a  good  platform  for  members  and
       government  officials  to  discuss  departmental   and   public
       entities’ past achievements, challenges and  2006/07  strategic
       priorities;


     ❑ But due  to  time  constrains  the  workshop  did  not  provide
       adequate time to question the presentations;


     ❑ The presentations focused more on past achievements and  little
       on what will be done during the 2006/07 financial periods;


     ❑ As the result the workshop did not discuss  issues  related  to
       implementation of international instruments, climate change and
       diversification;

     ❑ Furthermore, the workshop did not  discuss  challenges  related
       to allocation rights in terms of new fishing policies;

     ❑ More time and duration should be given to future workshops  and
       must be held in one of the national parks rather  than  in  the
       hotels;


    ❑ The Committee further resolved that  future  strategic  planning
      workshops should be held in one of the national parks  and  more
      time should be allocated with more focus on strategic priorities
      and less on past achievements that can  be  captured  in  annual
      reports.


  7. Recommendations


In  order  to  facilitate  parliamentary  oversight  and   executive
accountability on Departmental and Public Entities  programmes,  the
Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism  recommends
that:

    a) The Department and Public Entities must during the  2006  Second
       Term of Parliamentary Session come  and  brief  Members  of  the
       Committee  on  poverty  alleviation  projects;  NEPAD  and  SADC
       Tourism  Plan;  Greening  of  the   Nation   Project;   Elephant
       Management Strategy; 2006 /07  Legislative  programmes;  Tourism
       Black Economic Empowerment Scorecard; Fishing rights policy  and
       breakdown   analysis   of   allocation;   Environmental   Impact
       Assessment; Skills development plans and  retentions  strategies
       of all the public entities and Hunting regulations;


    b) The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism must  during
       the 2006 third term of parliamentary session provide training to
       Committee Members on all the  international  instruments  passed
       since 1994 and departmental programmes;


    c) The Portfolio Committee to undertake oversight visits to  Kruger
       National Parks and St Lucia Wetland Authority  during  the  2006
       third term of parliamentary session to assess the progress  made
       in respect of  land  claims,  extended  public  works  programs,
       infrastructure  development,  eco-tourism  and  black   economic
       empowerment;

    d) During  the  2006  third  term  of  parliamentary  session,  the
       Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism must arrange and
       coordinate  workshops  with  Members   of   the   Committee   on
       Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative in South  Africa  (ASGISA),
       and on Genetically Modified Organism and National  Environmental
       Management Act;


    e) With effect  from  1  April  2006,  the  Department  and  Public
       Entities should provide quarterly  reports  to  Members  of  the
       Committee on all progress made with regard to their activities.

    f) The Department and Public Entities must ensure  that  in  future
       the  strategic  planning  workshops  focus  more  on   strategic
       priorities and less on past achievements that can be captured in
       annual reports as per requirements of Public Finance  Management
       Act of 1999.

Report to be considered.

1. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on Budget Vote 9: Public Enterprises, dated 31 May 2006:

   The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, having considered Budget Vote 9: Public Enterprises, reports as follows:

   1. Introduction

    1.1   The briefings on the budget of the Ministry and Department
        of Public Enterprises (DPE) took place on 10 and 11 May
        2006. These briefings followed on the “Annual Workshop of
        the Public Enterprises Ministry, Department and Portfolio
        Committee”, held on 15 March, and the “Autumn School”, held
        from 3 to 7 April, which both served, in different ways, as
        a background to the budget briefings and facilitated the
        expeditious processing of the briefings.
   
   
   1.2    The Committee adopted fairly detailed Budget and “Annual
         Report” reports in previous years. This year’s report should
         be seen against the background of these reports, especially
         those adopted in 2005. In this report we seek to avoid
         repeating issues covered in previous reports, except where
         necessary. Moreover, following the “strategic shift”,
         organisational restructuring and appointment of new managers
         over the past two years, the Department has become more
         stable and its programmes more consistent and easier to
         follow; and, as a Committee, we also now have a better grasp
         of our portfolio.  This report should be seen in this
         context – and our aim in future is to have reports that are
         less elaborate on what the Department says and focus more on
         the Committee’s views.  The current report is longer than it
         should be; but it serves as an important reference for us to
         play our oversight role more effectively.
   
   
   1.3    This report offers a brief summary of the presentations
         made by the Department at the briefings on its budget. The
         presentations, including the very useful Strategic Plan for
         2006-2009, can be obtained from our Committee Secretary, Mr
         Chris Thisani.
   
   
   1.4    Those who appeared before the Committee for the briefings
         on the budget included Minister A Erwin; Director-General
         (DG), Ms P Molefe; Deputy Directors-General (DDG) Ms S
         Coetzee, Mr L Mcwabeni, Mr T Mphuti  and Mr J Theledi; JPF
         Co-ordinator, Ms K Venier; Chief Financial Officer, Ms S
         Hutchings; and Chief Operating Officer, Ms R Issel.
   

   1. Minister’s Political Overview

   2.1    Minister Alec Erwin explained that the Department would
         respond in detail to the issues raised in the Committee’s
         2005 reports. His brief response to the issues included:
   
   
         The Department’s new three-year Strategic Plan would provide
         greater clarity and precision on the role of the Department
         and the state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Defining the
         contribution of the SOEs to the Accelerated and Shared
         Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGISA) had also enforced
         the need for this.
         There has been progress in defining more clear measurable
         objectives for the Department and the SOEs, but this is
         still “work in progress”, especially in respect of the SOEs.
         Defining shareholder compacts has proved to be “a very
         interesting intellectual and economic challenge”. The
         process will take “a bit longer” but the “quality of the
         compacts will be better – and that is important”.
         There has been “considerable improvement in risk management
         both in the Department and across the SOEs, but this is a
         massive area, it’s not simple, and we are looking at further
         ways of institutionalising these systems”.
         Reporting from the SOEs to the Department had also improved
         in the past year.
         The retention by SOEs of non-core businesses will not assist
         in employment; in fact, badly managing them would worsen the
         situation. Disposing of non-core businesses could save jobs.
         It is by allowing SOEs to focus on their core functions and
         contributing to economic growth that they can make a useful
         contribution to job creation.
   
   
   2.2    Minister Erwin said that the new Strategic Plan sought to
         more clearly define SOEs and their role. Whereas a private
         company sought to maximise profits, an SOE sought to
         maximise an economic rate of return. An SOE must achieve
         certain strategic economic goals set by government – but it
         must do this efficiently. Efficiency is necessary because it
         has to be financially successful and be able to raise
         capital in the domestic and international markets. Measuring
         the cost of capital therefore is an important criterion to
         judge the performance of an SOE’s Board. Many countries are
         moving towards a “much more precise classification,
         categorisation and measurement of SOEs”.
   
   
   2.3    The Minister said it is important to have clear
         shareholder compacts and mandates for the SOEs and appoint
         “exceptionally competent and professional Boards” and have
         good management teams. “We don’t want to micro-manage SOEs.
         We want them to be clear about what they must do and then
         get on with it.” Criteria by which SOEs will be measured
         include:
   
   
         How efficiently are SOEs utilising capital? This is
         especially important in view of the government’s macro-
         economic strategy.
         What are the SOEs investment plans, how strategic are they,
         and how effectively are they being implemented?
         How are SOEs contributing to the efficiency of the economy?
         Are the SOEs “taking this economy to the leading edge of
         efficiency of the operations of infrastructure”?
         Are SOEs complying with the Public Finance Management Act
         (PFMA) and other legislation?
   
   
   2.4    The greater clarity on the nature and role of SOEs has set
         the stage for new legislation. DPE is working with National
         Treasury and the Department of Public Service and
         Administration to amend the PFMA and introduce legislation
         on shareholder management.  The legislation will be tabled
         next year.
   
   
   2.5    The Minister said that the power outages had “tested Eskom
         and the Department quite considerably and highlighted that
         we have underinvested as an economy in infrastructure over
         the past 10 years. But we are pleased with progress on
         Eskom’s very big investment programme, so much so that we’ve
         asked the Board to give us a revised plan which would speed
         up the projects if we need to. We need to stabilise the REDs
         (Regional Electricity Distributors). We need some clarity on
         the national RED, in which Eskom could play a facilitating
         role. Otherwise it’s full steam ahead for Eskom”.
   
   
   2.6    Transnet had made progress in reorganizing its divisions,
         giving them clarity and beginning the disposal of non-core
         assets, said the Minister. Metro Rail had been transferred
         to the Department of Transport with effect from 1 May. The
         separation of SAA from Transnet was “technically
         exceptionally challenging because of the overlapping
         financial and loan links. There are two important steps. One
         is, at what value do we transfer the assets? And, two is,
         once separated, what about the capitalization of SAA?” The
         Minister explained that rate of growth of container traffic
         is higher than it has ever been, and that the ports have to
         be expanded.
   2.7    Denel has “embarked on a fundamental and critical
         reformulation of the strategy which means it will not be a
         full systems manufacturer in the international markets, but
         will be a systems integrator for the South African National
         Defence Force. This has probably been the most difficult of
         the turnaround strategies. The first step was to persuade
         Treasury that we at least had a turnaround strategy that was
         worth financing. Denel received R2 billion.  And I’m pleased
         that we’re on track to sign our first partnership deal in
         the aerospace sector with SAAB. There’s going to be no magic
         turnaround in the financial fortunes of Denel. The aim is to
         stabilise Denel in the next two years or so.”
   
   
   2.8    The Minister said that a settlement of the Richtersveldt
         land claim was “very close. We have an excellent
         relationship with the community. I congratulate the
         community leaders for their courage and vision.”  He said
         that “the uncertainty on the legal status of Alexkor is
         destroying its viability”. With the settlement, Alexkor
         would be revitalised commercially. There is “no strategic
         reason” why the state should own a diamond mine, and once
         Alexkor transfers its current state responsibilities to
         local and provincial government and becomes commercially
         viable, the state may withdraw from Alexkor.
   
   
   2.9    The Minister explained that Safcol’s role is being
         reviewed and a new strategy being developed.
   2.10   Arivia.kom will not be disposed of as a whole, but parts
         of it may be ring-fenced and sold. A new ICT infrastructure
         company (Infraco) may be formed. It will deal with broadband
         infrastructure.
   
   
   2.11   A new SOE to cater for the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor
         (PBMR) is to be established by the end of 2006. The aim is
         to develop the technology to provide environmentally
         friendly and cheap electricity and to develop a leading edge
         nuclear industry in South Africa. “This is a scientifically
         and technologically path-breaking project. The world is once
         again looking closely at the nuclear industry again. We in
         South Africa are making an exceptionally big intervention in
         the nuclear industry and our partners are some of the
         world’s top nuclear companies. Many people say this is not
         dissimilar to the early days of Sasol.”
   
   
   2.12   The Minister explained that the major SOEs were trying to
         revive their old apprenticeship systems, and Eskom and
         Transnet will be playing leading roles in the Joint
         Initiative for Priority Skills in South Africa (JIPSA).
   
   
   2.13   The Minister explained that the Department had a
         relatively small budget, but “was changing a bit from being
         an administrative department to having a budget that
         reflects transfer payments for capitalisation of SOEs.” The
         R2 billion allocation to Denel is an example.
   
   
   2.14   The Committee feels that the new Strategic Plan is very
         much clearer about the role of the Department and its
         programmes, measurable objectives, and structures. The Plan
         also provides greater clarity on the nature and role of the
         SOEs and what is required of each SOE. The Committee
         welcomes the Minister’s direct responses to the issues
         raised in our 2005 reports, and accepts that there has been
         meaningful progress in addressing these issues. Obviously,
         we will pursue the matter of tabling shareholder compacts in
         Parliament once they are finalised – and will exchange
         further with the Minister on this. We accept that job
         retention cannot necessarily be ensured through the SOEs
         retaining their non-core assets; the Committee’s concerns
         are about effective negotiations with the trade unions, the
         effectiveness of Social Plans, employee share option
         schemes, and other issues related to the disposal of non-
         core assets. The Committee congratulates the Transnet
         management and trade unions on their amicable settlement of
         the strike. Of course, the Committee does not understand the
         full complexities of the dispute, and hopes that both sides
         have drawn useful lessons from it. There may well be some
         lessons for other SOEs in the Transnet strike. We find the
         criteria for assessing the performance of SOEs set out in
         section 2.3 above useful – and need to explore how we use
         them, together with any other criteria relevant to a
         portfolio committee, to become more rigorous in our
         oversight role.
   
   
   2.15   The Committee welcomes too the Minister’s statement that
         the power outages have highlighted the underinvestment in
         infrastructure over the past 10 years. The Committee feels
         that there should be greater acknowledgement of the
         consequences of this. We feel too that the Executive must
         take its fair share of responsibility for this
         underinvestment and draw the necessary lessons. But
         Parliament too cannot escape its responsibility for this –
         and our and other parliamentary committees need to also draw
         lessons and become more effective in fulfilling our
         oversight responsibilities.
   
   
   2.16   The Committee feels that as Denel has been allocated R2
         billion from the national fiscus and is likely to be
         allocated more money to meet its R5,1 billion
         recapitalisation target, we should be more rigorous in
         monitoring progress in the implementation of Denel’s
         turnaround strategy and its financial recovery. Since the
         budget briefings, the Committee received a briefing from
         Denel, and was impressed with Denel’s greater clarity of
         vision, strategy, programmes and structures, and the
         progress it has made in the past six months, notwithstanding
         the considerable challenges.
   
   
   2.17   The Committee is keen to hear more from SAA about its new
         strategy and how it is being implemented.
   
   
   2.18   The PBMR project is very new for the Committee, and we
         will have to develop an understanding of the key issues
         entailed, especially in view of the significance and
         complexities of the project.
   
   
   2.19   The Committee welcomes the much-needed legislation
         proposed on the new shareholder management model.
   
   
   2.20   The Committee recognises that the portfolio of the
         Ministry is constantly expanding and increasing in
         significance. Yet the funding and resources available remain
         essentially the same. The progress achieved over the past
         year and the programmes decided on for this financial year
         therefore have added importance.
   
   
   3.     Overview of Strategic Plan and Budget
   
   
   3.1    Overall, the DG, Ms Portia Molefe, complemented much that
         the Minister said, and gave further details. She stressed
         that the new Strategic Plan went a long way to clarifying
         the role of DPE and the SOEs. She said that the
         classification of SOEs, given their variety, is quite
         complex, and suggested that the Committee considers holding
         a workshop so that the Department can engage with us more
         fully on the new shareholder management model and broader
         issues raised in the Strategic Plan.
   
   
   3.2    But for some refinement, the DPE’s mandate, vision and
         mission are essentially similar to last year. The DG said
         that the Department was still working on making these more
         concise and “refining the language”.
   
   
   3.3    To ensure a more focused and integrated role in
         transactions, DPE has merged the Corporate Finance and
         Transactions Unit with the Legal, Governance and Secretariat
         Unit to form the Legal, Governance and Transactions Unit.
         Programme 5 will now deal with special projects such as
         Aventura and Alexkor. The Joint Projects Facility (JPF),
         reporting to the Minister and the SOEs Chief Executive
         Officers Forum, has been established.
   
   
   3.4    The DG explained that the five priority areas of DPE
         activities are to implement an effective shareholder
         management system, ensure the implementation of the
         infrastructure investment programme, strengthen SOE balance
         sheets, introduce private sector partners where optimal, and
         leverage the SOE’s Capex programme to “catalyse new economic
         activities and re-established industries”.
   
   
   3.5    DPE is increasingly focusing on the “medium-term to long-
         range economic and developmental goals of the SOEs and the
         country. For example, if we are to achieve our target of 10%
         clean energy, we need to know where we are going to get our
         gas supplies 20 years from now.”
   
   
   3.6    DPE is paying keen attention to the investment programmes
         of the SOEs and their contribution to economic growth.
         Eskom’s 20-year investment programme is being reviewed to
         take account of higher economic growth forecasts. Transnet
         is to soon finalise its 20-year investment programme. DPE
         has developed an investment dashboard to monitor progress.
         DPE is also giving attention to investment by the private
         sector in the SOEs and the sectors in which the SOEs play a
         role.
   
   
   3.7    DPE is also concerned to ensure adequate local content in
         procurement by SOEs, especially with the massive Capex
         programme underway. A procurement guide is to be finalised
         by September 2006. This guide will also be used by
         government generally in the overall Capex programme.  DPE is
         also focusing on the role SOEs can play in fostering call
         centres in rural areas as a contribution to job creation.
   
   
   3.8    DPE has also developed its Transaction Guidelines further,
         particularly in respect of processing significant and
         material transactions in terms of section 54(2) of the PFMA.
   
   
   3.9    The total number of posts allocated to DPE is 157, of
         which 127 are filled. The vacancy rate is 19% and the
         turnover rate is 13%. The Department of Public Service and
         Administration benchmark for turnover rate is 8%. Sixty-
         three per cent of DPE’s staff comprises women. Of these 47%
         are at senior management level. There are no people with
         disabilities employed at DPE. The target is to employ 15
         people with disabilities over a two-year period. The DG said
         that the Department is much better skilled this year and is
         running more efficiently. Internal processes and procedures
         and the documentation system have improved and there is
         better co-ordination across the entire Department. Co-
         operation on project management has improved and “we now
         have a project management system where we can, at any given
         time, check progress on any project”.
   
   
   3.10   Of the Department’s budget of R683,4 million, R580 million
         comprises transfer payments, the largest being to the PBMR.
         In effect, the DPE’s budget is R102,3 million, which
         includes R10 million for the JPF, previously funded by SOEs.
         The Department underspent by 0,2%. This rises to 4,77% if
         the transfer to Denel is excluded. The reason for this is
         that the R3, 1 million due to Diabo Share Trust was not
         transferred because its audited financial statements were
         not available.
   
   
   3.11   The Committee welcomes the DG’s commitment to refining and
         making even more concrete and clear the Department’s
         mandate, vision and mission, even though there have been
         improvements since last year. The DG wants these functions
         to be more concise and in simpler language. This is
         surprising, coming from a senior manager in a government
         department! MPs have often complained about the bureaucratic-
         speak and unnecessarily technocratic language used by
         officials of a department, which often tends to hide or
         obfuscate (we cannot find a simpler word that conveys this
         precise meaning!) issues – and we have had to really
         struggle to get anywhere with officials of a department on
         this. So the DG’s attitude is a breath of fresh air. Of
         course, this is not to deny that the complex technical work
         of some departments sometimes requires technical language
         which is not easy to simplify – but in general there is
         certainly room to be more precise, concise and simple. This
         too should be a measure of a department’s progress.
   
   
   3.12   The Department’s re-organisation referred to in section
         3.3 above seems very reasonable. The Department is again
         commended for the high percentage of women it employs. That
         not a single person with disabilities is employed is
         unacceptable. The Committee would be interested to see what
         progress there has been by next year’s budget briefings in
         addressing this, especially as the Department has set a
         target.
   
   
   3.13   It seems to the Committee that the Department is very
         productive in the use of its budget. The underspending is
         understandable.
   
   
   3.14   The Committee welcomes the DPE’s project management
         system.
   
   
   3.15   The Committee is very keen to see progress on the call
         centres referred to in section 3.7 above.
   
   
   3.16   The Committee is keen to engage further with the
         Department on its investment dashboard and Transaction
         Guidelines, and will arrange briefings on these within six
         months. The Committee has arranged for a workshop on the new
         shareholder management model and will also deal then with
         outstanding issues raised in the Strategic Plan.
   
   
   4.     Programme 1: Administration
   
   
   4.1    This programme is responsible for managing the Ministry
         and Department and providing administrative support
         services.
   
   
   4.2    The Chief Operating Officer, Ms Rashida Issel, said that
         this programme “ensures an infrastructure geared to respond
         effectively and timeously to the needs of core programmes.
         We are responsible to ensure adherence to the Department’s
         mandates through various units.” These units are:
   
   
   Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation;
   Human Resources;
   Communication and External Relations;
   Information Management;
   Corporate Services;
   Finance;
   Internal Audit and Compliance.
   
   
   4.3    The programme’s budget of R44,3 million is similar to last
         year’s allocation, but there are shifts in allocation
         between different items. These are due mainly to internal
         capacity building needs and the costs of leases and
         accommodation.
   
   
   4.4    Two key concerns of this programme for this financial year
         are to upgrade the Department’s ICT system and ensure
         effective skills training for the staff.
   
   
   4.5    From what the Committee can tell, the administration and
         technical co-ordination of the Department seems to be
         improving, and the achievements of the outputs for this
         financial year will take DPE further in this direction.
   
   
   5.     Programme 2: Analysis and Risk Management
   
   
   5.1    This programme has been covered in some detail in previous
         reports of the Committee and will be dealt with briefly
         here.
   
   
   5.2    DDG Mr James Theledi said that the main purpose of the
         programme is to “analyse and monitor the financial,
         operational and socio-economic performance of the SOEs to
         ensure compliance with corporate plans and shareholder
         compacts, and actively mitigate key risks flowing from SOE
         activities”.
   
   
   5.3    There are three sub-programmes: Management; Analysis; and
         Risk Management.
   
   
   5.4    The key risks include safety; occupational health and
         HIV/AIDS; environment; security of key infrastructure, such
         as pipelines, ports, railways and airports; security of
         supply against demand in a growing economy; industrial
         action; skills; solvency of SOEs and their contribution to
         national financial stability; governance; and litigation.
   
   
   5.5    Among the outputs for this financial year are the
         following:
       • Progress on specific aspects of the review of SOE pension
         and medical aid funds (October);
       • Approval of financial analysis manual (May);
       • Standardised Annual Reports (December);
       • Approved KPIs and benchmarks (November 2006);
       • Publishing 5-year review of SOE performance (June 2006);
       • Progress on Risk Register for SOEs (September);
       • Approved Risk Management Framework (August);
       • Implementation of the Risk Management System (November);
       • Submission of the proposed Crisis Management System to the
         CEOs Forum (May).
   
   
   5.6    Mr Theledi explained that DPE actively engages with the
         SOEs on risk management and advises them on section 54 PFMA
         applications and materiality frameworks. DPE identifies
         risks that it has to monitor, assess their impact and
         likelihood, and set up early warning and reporting systems.
         “The SOE Boards and management are responsible for
         enterprise-wide risk management. The Department is more
         concerned with the aggregate risk profile and mitigation
         plans and the key risks that have a systemic impact with
         limited Board responsibility.”
   
   
   5.7    Mr Theledi said that the electricity power outages in the
         Western Cape highlighted the importance of having a
         functioning risk management system. “Some of the reasons for
         the outages are beyond anyone’s control, but with an
         effective risk management system it would be possible to
         anticipate some risks and take measures to avoid them.”
   
   
   5.8    The programme’s budget more than doubled from R7,09
         million last year to R16,72 million this year. This is
         partly to fill vacancies in the financial risk section. An
         amount of R2,5 million has been allocated for consultants,
         contractors and special services, and R2,8 million for
         computer services. The increases for consultants are
         necessary for capacity building in risk management, projects
         in Alexkor’s internal control review and exploration
         programme, and SOE risk assessments. The increased computer
         services are for setting up the risk management,
         benchmarking and integrated financial systems.
   
   
   5.9    The Committee feels that this programme is making steady
         progress and we do not have much to add to what we have said
         in previous reports. We feel that the outputs projected for
         this financial year and the deadlines provided are good. We
         would, however, be interested to better understand how a
         more effective risk management system would assist in
         dealing with electricity outages – and what precisely is
         being done to ensure that this happens. We look forward to
         the finalisation of the Risk Management Framework which is
         set for August. The Committee feels that greater emphasis
         should be placed on measuring financial risk, including
         through such measures as “
         Value at Risk”. The programme’s budget seems to us to be
         appropriate for the activities and outputs intended.
   6.     Programme 3:  Legal Governance and Transactions
   
   
   6.1    As explained in section 3.3 above, this programme is the
         merger of two previous programmes. It seeks to provide SOE
         mandates, and ensure alignment of SOE governance systems,
         compliance and performance with government’s policy
         objectives.
   
   
   6.2    Its measurable objectives are to “develop effective
         governance, transaction and policy frameworks that ensure
         that all SOE activities are performed with integrity,
         honesty and in compliance with appropriate legislation”.
   
   
   6.3    Its sub-programmes are Management; Legal and Litigation;
         Governance and Secretariat; and Legal Transactions.
   
   
   6.4    DDG Sandra Coetzee explained that more work is being done
         on drafting the new SOE legislation (referred to by the
         Minister in section 2.4  above). The precise classification
         of SOEs is proving challenging. Consideration is also being
         given to using categories such as state-owned and state-
         reporting enterprises. How precisely is government as a
         shareholder different from shareholders in private
         companies? How should the state deal with SOEs in which
         government is the sole shareholder compared to where it
         shares the shareholding with other partners? These and many
         other issues are being addressed in the draft legislation.
   
   
   6.5    “I find the analogy of a jockey and a racehorse useful“,
         said Ms Coetzee, “to communicate the relationship between
         DPE and the SOEs. We are the jockey steering the potential
         winning racehorse in the right direction. It’s not always
         easy. Racehorses can have a mind of their own. But without
         the jockey, the racehorse is not worth much, and the same
         applies in reverse. We are working on becoming better, more
         confident jockeys”.
   
   
   6.6    Among the outputs for this financial year are the
         following:
   
   
       • Reduction of outstanding litigation by 25-50%;
       • Establishment of Legal Panel;
       • Regular reports on impact of draft legislation;
       • Internal DPE procurement guidelines;
       • Finalisation of new SOE legislation;
       • Setting Minimum Requirements for Memoranda and Articles of
         Association of SOEs;
       • A generic shareholder compact and key performance areas and
         indicators;
       • More effective Board management: remuneration guidelines;
         Board induction toolkit; Board profiling and Shadow Board
         Database; improved AGM and strategic intent general
         meetings; and better Board evaluation;
       • Transaction Good Practice Framework: Transaction Management
         Guidelines; Employee Share Option Schemes and Management Buy-
         Out guidelines; Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment and
         Preferential Procurement  guidelines; corporate structure
         guidelines; and model shareholders agreements;
       • Transaction Execution: Eskom Finance Corporation
         securitization; PBMR; SAA; Property Project; Infraco; and
         Safcol.
   
   
   6.7    “This is a heavy-loaded work year”, said Ms Coetzee. “We
         want to establish consistency in shareholder management
         during this financial year so that in the following years we
         focus on implementation and further precisioning. So this is
         a year of building, heavy building activity in this
         programme.”
   
   
   6.8    To ensure that there is effective co-ordination within DPE
         and across government and that messages given to the SOEs by
         different parties are consistent, DPE is working on a
         governance workflow model.
   
   
   6.9    The budgets for the two separate programmes that have been
         merged will be consolidated during the adjustments estimates
         process. The significant increase in salaries is due to the
         original restructuring of the unit and the need for highly
         skilled staff. A portion of the budget allocation for the
         new Programme 5, Special Projects, will be retained to
         accommodate the expenditure which will be incurred in this
         programme. This will also be addressed during the
         adjustments estimates process. The 30,2% expected average
         annual growth in expenditure is mainly to provide for
         increases in staff, higher costs of specialists and
         refurbishing equipment.
   
   
   6.10   The Committee feels that this new programme is an advance.
         It is coherent and comprehensive. But is it aiming to do too
         much? Are there the personnel and resources to effectively
         achieve the targets?
   
   
   6.11   That the new shareholder management model is going to be
         encapsulated in legislation is most welcome. Progress in
         this regard seems to be good. The Committee looks forward to
         the Bill.
   
   
   6.12   Co-ordination between DPE and the regulatory and other
         departments that impact on SOEs seems to be improving, and
         is meant to be consolidated further this year. The Committee
         is keen to see this happen. The Committee welcomes the
         governance workflow model that is being shaped, and is
         interested to pursue this further with the Department.
   
   
   6.13   The Committee welcomes the Department’s commitment to
         speedily addressing outstanding litigation issues.
   
   
   6.14   The budget of the programme seems very reasonable given
         the aims, activities and intended outputs.
   
   
   7.     Programme 4: Corporate Strategy and Structure
   
   
   7.1    The aims of this programme are to define and implement
         industry structures; and ensure public/private service
         delivery and SOE strategies that will optimise overall
         industry efficiency, service provision, pricing of services
         and economic development.
   
   
   7.2    The overall objective of this programme is to design
         strategies and structures for the SOEs and the industries in
         which they operate that ensure delivery on government’s
         economic growth objectives. This will be achieved through
         increased competitiveness; lowest sustainable input costs;
         globally competitive services; sufficient capacity
         provision; and utilising SOEs to strengthen key sectors.
         Other objectives include improving the quality of
         infrastructure investment and liaising with the JPF in
         development of strategies.
   
   
   7.3    Its sub-programmes are transport; energy; strategy;
         Economic Research Unit; and JPF.
   
   
   7.4    DDG Mr Litha Mcwabeni set out in detail the work programme
         and DPE objectives for each SOE – amplifying the
         presentations of the Minister and DG in sections 2 and 3
         above. He said a key concern of this programme is to ensure
         that SOEs reduce the cost of business and strengthen key
         sectors of the economy as part of ASGISA. “The gross fixed
         capital formation as a percentage of the GDP has declined in
         the past 10 years and the state is determined to change
         this.” He also stressed the important role of the private
         sector. “For example, we need private sector participation
         in the ports, particularly in Coega, Richards Bay and
         Saldanha, at the level of operations, not infrastructure
         ownership at this stage.”
   
   
   7.5    He said that with the separation of SAA from Transnet, DPE
         will have to play a more direct monitoring role and develop
         expertise in this. “It presents peculiar challenges because
         SAA is involved in a fairly volatile environment which is
         influenced by fluctuations in both the exchange rate and oil
         price. So unlike other SOEs, here we have oversight without
         any control over two major variables.”
   
   
   7.6    Among other issues he dealt with are:
   
   
       • Eskom’s pricing framework, and the financing of its Capex
         programme while keeping its balance sheet positive;
       • The role of the Capex programme in resuscitating certain
         dormant industries and also drawing on “local content” to
         encourage job creation;
       • The need to address the SOE Capex programme being hampered
         by the “tedious administrative process” of securing
         Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs);
       • A study on the mining sector as it impacts on Alexkor;
       • The need for state ownership of Safcol for now because
         “demand is higher than supply” and also to “encourage small
         players in the industry and diversify the market share”.
   
   
   7.7    Among the outputs for this programme during the current
         financial year are the following:
   
   
       • Procurement of Private Sector Partner for Coega container
         terminal;
       • Separation of SAA from Transnet;
       • Pricing Policy for Electricity Sector (October);
       • Introduction of Private Sector Participation in electricity
         industry;
       • Key partnerships for Denel;
       • Beginning of sale of Denel’s non-core assets (September);
       • Development of Safcol strategy (September).
   
   
   7.8    JPF Co-ordinator, Ms Katherine Venier,  explained that the
         JPF is “a financial facility for the development of projects
         that enhance the value of an industry or can leverage off
         the assets and/or capabilities of the SOEs to benefit SOEs
         and  the economy as a whole”. Its measurable objective is to
         facilitate the rapid development of projects so that an
         operational company or financial investor accepts an
         investment case and/or costed operational plan.
   
   
   7.9    The six areas for projects are ICT; property; energy and
         pipelines; human resources; continental investment; and
         investment optimisation.
   7.10   Among the outputs for the JPF are:
   
   
       • Efficient SOE infrastructure investment in the Continent;
       • Pipelines Masterplan;
       • Training Facilities and opportunities for SOE capital
         expansion programme;
       • Provision of low cost telecommunications infrastructure and
         reduction of telecommunication costs by 50%;
       • Disposal of SOE non-core properties;
       • Consolidation of SOE procurement for supplier industry
         development.
   
   
   7.11   The Corporate Strategy and Structure budget increased from
         R8,5 million last year to R600,7 million. This is because of
         the R580 million that has to be transferred to the PBMR
         project and the increases for salaries and goods and
         services.  Excluding the PBMR, the budget for this programme
         is expected to rise at an average annual rate of 38,6% and
         reach R24,8 million in 2008/9. The allocation to JPF is
         expected to increase by R10 million per year for the next
         three years.
   
   
   7.12   The Committee’s views on many of the issues covered in
         this programme are expressed in section 2 above and will not
         be repeated here. Overall, the programme is clearer this
         year. The work that has to be done in each particular sector
         is more clearly defined. Of course, it is not easy to set
         deadlines for certain outputs, especially with certain
         ongoing activities, and it would not do to impose mechanical
         deadlines, but consideration should be given to setting more
         specific deadlines for aspects of this programme.
   
   
   7.13   The Committee is very interested in the Department’s focus
         on the role of the SOE Capex programme in revitalising
         certain dormant industries and encouraging “local content”,
         and will monitor this keenly.
   
   
   7.14   The Committee agrees that some of the administrative
         requirements of the EIAs may be too cumbersome, but the
         changes effected should not serve to dilute the need for and
         goals of EIAs. The Committee needs to better understand EIAs
         and also further develop our views.
   
   
   7.15   The Committee will follow the progress on Eskom’s pricing
         framework.
   
   
   7.16   The Committee is interested to see what emerges from the
         Alexkor and  mining sector study.
   
   
   7.17   The Committee feels that, for the reasons referred to in
         section 7.6 above and others, Safcol should, for now, remain
         in state hands.
   
   
   7.18   The JPC is interesting, exciting and laudable. To the
         Committee, the challenges seem more formidable than is made
         out, and the Department’s willingness to take them on is
         impressive. Are there adequate staff and resources to carry
         the project through?
   
   
   7.19   The Committee will obviously be monitoring progress on the
         delivery of the overall Capex programme very keenly, and
         will focus on this in greater detail during the Department’s
         first quarterly briefing on this on 14 June.
   
   
   8.     Overview of Committee’s Response to the Strategic Plan and
         Budget
   
   
   8.1    The Committee’s specific views on different aspects of the
         Department’s programmes and budgets are covered in different
         sections of this report, and will not be repeated here
         except as necessary.
   
   
   8.2    Given the scope and complexities of the Department’s
         portfolio, we feel DPE has made significant strides since
         the last budget briefings, is much clearer about its role
         and current programmes, and has budgeted appropriately for
         the achievements of its targeted outputs in this financial
         year. The new Strategic Plan for 2006-2009 is commendable,
         as expressed in section 2.14 above, and there is a much
         better fit between the Plan and the budget than in previous
         years. We will be able to better assess after we have
         considered DPE’s Annual Report for the last financial year
         when we consider it later this year, but, at this stage, we
         feel that DPE has made effective and productive use of last
         year’s budget.
   
   
   8.3    Of course, major challenges persist, but the Committee
         feels, at this stage, that the Department certainly has the
         potential to meet most of these challenges. The Department’s
         senior managers are new, young and enthusiastic – and hold a
         lot of promise. The skills level of DPE has improved since
         the last budget sittings, although challenges remain. It was
         a more confident Department we engaged with this year.  The
         Minister and new DG must be commended for putting together
         such a potentially good team. The challenge, of course, is
         to create a productive harmony of this new team and most
         effectively deploy their skills and passion – and here too
         the signs are promising. Of course, given the nature of the
         interaction between departments  and  parliamentary
         committees, and for a variety of other reasons, there are
         aspects of the a department’s role and functioning, usually
         negative, that we are unable to see, but with this
         qualification, we are very clear: DPE is doing well, and is
         poised to do better. Of course, time will tell!
   
   
   8.4    There is a fairly high level of synergy between the
         Minister and DG’s approach to their portfolio and this is
         also reflected in the approach of the senior managers – and
         this too suggests the clarity being forged in attending to
         this portfolio.
   
   
   8.5    There seems to be increasing co-ordination between DPE and
         the policy, regulatory and other relevant departments. Of
         course, this co-ordination can be challenging – but the
         Committee notes the progress, and hopes to see more.
   
   
   8.6    As the SOEs stabilise and their new role becomes clearer,
         DPE is increasingly focusing on the long-term economic and
         developmental needs and goals of the country – and this is
         to be welcomed.
   
   
   8.7    Given the importance of the SOE Capex programme, the
         Committee will meet with DPE quarterly to receive progress
         reports.
   
   
   8.8    As explained earlier, the Committee looks forward to the
         new SOE legislation.
   
   
   8.9    As happened last year, DPE’s presentations at the
         briefings were in respects different from what appeared in
         Vote 9 (Public Enterprises) of the “Estimates of National
         Expenditure” (ENE), including the financial figures. The
         quality certainly of the Strategic Plan and the
         presentations at the briefings was significantly superior to
         that found in the ENE. The Committee feels that the
         different time cycles are not enough to explain the
         differences. While there have been major improvements in the
         presentation of National Treasury budget documents over the
         years, there is still space for some improvements in the way
         Vote 9 is presented so that it is clearer and more
         accessible – and the Committee feels that DPE should engage
         with Treasury about this, especially since it agrees with
         the Committee on this. The differences between the ENE and
         DPE documents presented at the briefings serves to reinforce
         the Committee’s concern to receive DPE budget documentation
         at least seven days before the briefings so that the
         Committee can prepare properly.
   
   
   9.     Challenges for the Committee
   
   
   9.1    For the Committee to get a better sense of DPE’s Strategic
         Plan, programmes and budget, we need to be able to evaluate
         how effectively the Department fulfilled its programmes and
         used its budget for the previous financial year. Yet such an
         evaluation cannot be properly done until we consider DPE’s
         Annual Report for the 2005-6 financial year – but this
         report will be tabled in parliament at the end of September.
         Of course, there are National Treasury and DPE documents,
         including DPE’s Quarterly Reports, that provide information
         on progress on programmes and use of budgets. In the
         consistency and manner we play our oversight role, and the
         way we make use of a variety of documents, including
         Quarterly Reports, we need to more effectively link
         assessments of a Strategic Plan, proposed programmes and
         budgets during a budget briefing with progress achieved on
         Strategic Plans, programmes and budgets of the previous
         financial year.
   
   
   9.2    This report has focused more on plans, strategies and
         programmes, and not enough on the concrete details of the
         budget. We need to address this in the way we manage future
         budget briefings and report on them.
   
   
   9.3    We need to develop our skills in evaluating DPE’s budget
         and become more rigorous in our oversight role.
   
   
   9.4    We need to more actively pursue the possibility of
         engaging the services of technical experts in the energy,
         defence and transport sectors.
   
   
   9.5    The Committee needs to visit more SOE sites as part of our
         study tour programme to better understand several aspects of
         DPE’s programmes and assess progress.
   
   
   10.    Appreciation
   
   
   10.1   The Committee expresses its appreciation to the Minister,
         DG and other officials of the Department for their co-
         operation in processing the budget briefings.
   
   
   10.2   The Committee expresses its appreciation to researcher, Ms
         Desmoreen Carolus, for the background report on which this
         report drew.
   

2. Report of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy on Budget Vote 30 – Minerals and Energy, dated 24 May 2006:

   The Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy, having considered Budget Vote 30 – Minerals and Energy, reports as follows:

   A. Terms of Reference

    The Committee resolved to conduct budget briefings on 16 and 17
    May 2006. The objectives of the briefings were to:
   
     • Establish how allocated funds and transfers to statutory
       bodies were to be spent;
     • Monitor the achievement of targets, and whether funds
       allocated meet those targets;
     • Monitor progress made and establish problems encountered;
     • Fulfill its mandate of overseeing the Department of Minerals
       and Energy and statutory bodies that fall within its
       portfolio;
     • Determine whether policy developments take place in accordance
       with the key objectives and aims as stated in the Department’s
       strategic plan;
     • Determine whether policy developments take place in accordance
       with government’s priorities of poverty alleviation, job
       creation Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), human resource
       development and growing the economy;
     • Monitor compliance with the Public Finance Management Act
       (PFMA).
   

   B. Introduction

    The first day of the two–day session with the Department of
    Minerals and Energy was a joint session with the Select
    Committee of Economic and Foreign Affairs. The Director-General
    presented the Department’s strategic plan for the 2006/7 MTEF
    period. The focus of the first day was on programmes 1 to 4,
    which covered Administration; Mine Health and Safety; Mineral
    Regulation; and Mineral Policy and Promotion. The focus of the
    second day was on Hydrocarbons and Energy Planning, Electricity
    and Nuclear and Associated Services.
   

   C. Overview of Departmental Programmes

    The Director-General explained that Department’s strategic plan
    was informed by a commitment to ensure that its implementation
    plans, programmes, time and resources were allocated to
    activities aimed at advancing the economy, bridging the gap
    between the first and second economies, redressing past
    imbalances, developing of appropriate skills needed to grow the
    economy, facilitating job creation and fighting poverty. Special
    attention was also paid to providing access to energy and
    ensuring security of energy supply to all South Africans. The
    implementation of key legislation, such as the Mineral and
    Petroleum Resources Development Act, the Petroleum Products
    Amendment Act and the Petroleum Pipelines Act, demanded a shift
    in focus from policy making to policy implementation. This also
    meant that restructuring the Department would be imminent to
    effectively improve service delivery.
   

   D. Key issues emanating from the presentation

    1.    Mine Health and Safety Branch
   
   
          The purpose of this programme is to regulate and promote
          health and safety in the mining industry to the highest
          standards in the world, thereby improving the quality of
          life of those employed in industry and those affected by
          industry’s activities. Its measurable objective is to
          reduce mining-related death, injuries and ill health. The
          Department highlighted “the fatality rate per million hours
          worked has decreased from 0.25 in 2004 to 0.21 in 2005 –
          this corresponds to 246 deaths in 2004 and 202 deaths in
          2005.” (These statistics were taken from the Director-
          General’s presentation notes). Much more work was needed to
          bring it in line with international rates. As it stood, the
          rate was at its lowest in South African mining history.
          Detailed statistics were made available to the Committee.
   
    2.    Mineral Regulation Branch
   
   
          The main aim of this programme is to effectively promote,
          manage, transform and regulate the mining sector to achieve
          transformation and sustainable development. This branch’s
          responsibility was to implement the Mineral and Petroleum
          Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and other mineral
          policies. It would also be incumbent upon the branch to
          improve the turn-around time for processing prospecting and
          mining licence applications in this sector, with a special
          focus on assisting first-time entrants in the industry.
          Statistics on progress relating to licences and
          applications were made available to the Committee.
   
   
    3.    Mineral Policy and Promotion Branch
   
   
          This branch is effectively responsible for policy
          formulation and promotion. Work has already started around
          amending the MPRDA, which proved to have some unintended
          negative consequences to the spirit of the Act.
   
   
    4.    Energy
   
   
          4.1   Electricity
   
   
                The first Regional Electricity Distributor (RED) was
                launched in Cape Town last year in an attempt to
                consolidate the country’s electricity distribution
                industry. Following a Cabinet directive to establish
                a seventh RED, the Department has started to explore
                the viability of this National RED, which will cover
                the areas outside the six metros already identified.
                Other highlights included the launch of the National
                Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), a single
                energy regulator for electricity, piped-gas and
                petroleum pipeline industries.
   
   
                In terms of reaching the targets for universal access
                by 2012, the Department was behind schedule as a
                result of inadequate financial allocations. The same
                challenge was experienced with the Integrated
                National Electricity Programme (INEP) which made
                provision for the electrification of 500 000
                households per annum, but the funding provided in the
                2006/7 budget only allowed for 89 525 connections.
   
   
          4.2   Nuclear
   
   
                Investment in nuclear research and development
                capabilities will increase during this MTEF period.
                Cabinet’s approval of the Radioactive Waste
                Management Policy necessitated the establishment of
                structures to facilitate the implementation of the
                policy.
   
   
          4.3   Renewable Energy
   
   
                Legislation was being developed to address areas in
                the White Paper on Energy (1998), which had not yet
                been covered by existing legislation. Special
                attention will be given to promoting the uptake of
                renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate
                change.
   
   
          4.4   Hydrocarbons
   
   
                The petroleum industry in South Africa will for the
                first time this year be regulated by way of licensing
                and fuel quality regulation. The Petroleum Products
                Amendment Act and the Petroleum Pipelines Act would
                be key regulatory tools. The unsatisfactory results
                from the five-year review of the Liquid Fuels Charter
                necessitated the establishment of a supplier
                development agency, SASDA, to address issues around
                procurement.
   
   
                The Department set out to conclude the paraffin
                safety strategy this year, which will ensure the
                phasing out of paraffin as a household fuel, while
                looking at other more environment-friendly fuels. The
                provision of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and other
                renewable energy sources to households will be
                intensified.
   

   E. Budget

   The Committee was given a breakdown of the Department’s budget. Of
   the total budget of R2, 548 billion, transfers and subsidies
   accounted for R2 billion, of which R1,5 billion was allocated to
   electricity and the remainder to the public entities. An amount of
   R500 million was used in the department of which R290 million went
   to employee compensation. The remainder was allocated for goods
   and services.  Mining rehabilitation programmes also took up a
   large portion of the budget.
   

   F. Public Entities

    A large portion of the Department’s budget was transferred to
    the public entities. The Department plans to improve the
    monitoring of the operations of its entities and also to align
    the entities’ objectives with those of the Department and
    Government.
   

   G. Other Key Focus Areas

    Restructuring of the Department to improve service delivery,
    finalising its strategy on the support of SMME’s, using the
    transformation legislation to ensure effective and efficient BEE
    and gender empowerment would receive special attention in all
    line function programmes. There would be a commitment towards
    continuous capacity–building within the minerals and energy
    sectors.
   

   H. Issues raised by the Committee

     • The Committee expressed concern at the lack of information
       around the motivating factors to establish RED 7. The
       Committee was taken through an extensive process of
       understanding and overseeing work towards the establishment
       of the other six REDs. The Committee was not aware of any
       evaluation of the RED process, which would inform the
       viability of a seventh RED, nor had it been involved in any
       discussion in relation thereto. The Committee, therefore,
       questioned its establishment at a time when only one of the
       six REDs had been launched.
     • Were there enough mine inspectors to visit the mines?
     • How would the new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
       regulations affect the Department?  Would the Department be
       bound by the new EIA authorisations and would there be a need
       to amend the MPRDA, which also provided for regulation on
       Environmental authorisations?
     • Clarity was sought on the Department’s youth and gender
       focus.
     • How would electricity targets be met from the current budget?
     • Did the Department have a reliable staff retention programme?
     • What was being done to identify suitable sites for high-level
       nuclear waste? What was the Department’s position with regard
       to the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)? How much more money
       would be required for the PBMR?
     • What portion of the budget goes to ESKOM, and why was only
       10% allocated to electricity and nuclear? Would such a low
       allocation not cause the Department to run into problems in
       these areas?
     • What were the time frames for filling vacant posts in key
       offices of delivery?
     • How was the Department monitoring the mining scorecard and to
       what extent were companies complying?
     • Could legislation be used to address the issue of “fronting”?
     • Was progress being made with regard to SMMEs. in the mining
       sector, and what statistical information was available in
       that regard?
     • If the need arose to urgently assess a mine, would the
       Department have the flexibility to attend to it? What was the
       line of communication in drawing attention to a particular
       mine, given that the presentation made mention of the
       involvement of the Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry
       and Environmental Affairs and Tourism?
     • What happened to the Committee that was established and
       tasked with overseeing compliance with the Liquid Fuels
       Charter?
     • The Department should explore developing policy to encourage
       government departments to procure energy-saving appliances in
       terms of stand-by time.
     • The Committee commented on the opportunity for BEE in
       relation to biofuels and was looking forward to the strategy
       on biofuels. It was suggested that one should look beyond
       just using agricultural products for biofuels. Weeds from
       wetlands might be an option to consider.
     • The presentation did not place much emphasis on climate
       change, commitments and plans relating to the Kyoto Protocols
       although South Africa was a signatory thereto.
     • Tax and other incentives with regard to renewable energy were
       not sufficient.
   

   I. Responses by Department • The substance of the Department’s policy was to de-racialise the South African mining industry and to introduce previously disadvantaged South Africans into this sector. The shift from policy formulation to policy implementation exposed a number of challenges. These challenges related to activities of not only established companies, but also to the beneficiaries of this process. Black people allowed themselves to be used to defeat the objectives of the law. In an attempt to penalise “fronting“, the Department wanted the documentation submitted in this respect to be in the form of a declaration, so that a false declaration would constitute criminal liability according to law. • Compliance with the mining scorecard was being monitored. • Staff retention and vacancies remained a challenge due to the scarcity of skills and the skills requirements were knowledge- intensive. This also has an effect on the time frames for filling vacancies. • The evaluation of the business case for RED 1 was not only confined to the Department, but also involved broader role players. At the implementation phase of RED 1 and at the time of making the business case for RED 1, it was felt that some things might have been overlooked by the Department, which necessitated the establishment of the National RED. A process of engagement on this matter between the Committee and the Department should follow. • There were enough inspectors to visit mines. • In terms of mine rehabilitation, the Department was prioritising the most polluted mines, but these priorities could be shifted. Provisions under the MPRDA were still being enforced, but there were consultation processes with the Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry and of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. • There had been a five–year review on the Liquid Fuels Charter. • The Department could not respond to questions on the PBMR as its governance, operational and shareholding functions were located in the Department of Public Enterprises. The Department of Minerals and Energy was the policy department as far as the PBMR was concerned. The Director-General explained that the same applied with Koeberg and ESKOM, where the Department of Minerals and Energy was only responsible for the regulatory environment. • The development of the biofuels strategy would result in enormous opportunity for rural development and upliftment. The Committee would be updated as the strategy was being developed.

   J. Conclusion and Way Forward

    1.    The Committee acknowledged the open manner in which the
       Department presented its strategic plan and budget,
       highlighting both strengths and challenges. The Committee
       resolved to follow up on key issues raised with the
       Department on an ongoing basis. The Committee undertook to
       strengthen its oversight and monitor the implementation of
       programmes and projects highlighted in the Department’s
       strategic plan. The Department’s annual report will have to
       reflect the extent to which it had delivered on its services
       efficiently, effectively and economically, and whether these
       services had impacted on or made a difference in terms of the
       strategic priorities identified.
   
   
    2.    The Committee was not satisfied with the Department’s lack
       of response on PBMR matters. The Committee noted the movement
       of this project from the Department of Minerals and Energy to
       the Department of Trade and Industry, and questioned the
       current location of this project within the Department for
       Public Enterprises. In discussing its scope for oversight on
       nuclear-related matters, the Committee resolved to seek
       clarity on the situation of the PBMR project through a
       meeting to which both the Ministers of Minerals and Energy
       and Public Enterprises will be invited in order to start a
       process of discussion on the subject.  The Committee was also
       concerned about the minimal role the state utility on nuclear
       issues, the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa
       (NECSA), had to play in the PBMR process. It recommends that
       the Executive be requested to arrange for a much more
       meaningful role for NECSA in the PBMR process to be explored.
       Role clarification was necessary to ensure accountability.
   
    3. The Committee recommends that the Department strengthen its
       leadership initiatives in the profiling and highlighting of
       key departmental programmes and policies. Specific reference
       was made to the Minister of Public Enterprises’ recent
       pronouncement on the biofuels strategy, once again motivated
       by the issue of role clarification between
       departments/ministries to give effect to meaningful oversight
       and accountability.
   
   
    4.    On the issue of electrification and the inability of INEP
       and the Department to meet their targets due to insufficient
       budget allocation, the Committee has decided to approach
       National Treasury to arrange a briefing session for Members
       of the Committee to enhance their understanding of how
       allocations were made to departments that were tasked with
       specific goals by the President, but that lacked the
       financial resources to implement.
   
    5.    The Committee expressed concern over the lack of
       consultative processes regarding the establishment of a
       seventh RED and will invite all relevant stakeholders to a
       meeting to discuss, through a public participatory process,
       the decision to establish the viability and role of this
       seventh RED.
   

Report to be considered.