National Assembly - 31 August 2006
THURSDAY, 31 AUGUST 2006
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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The House met at 14:03.
The Deputy Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Mr J P CRONIN: Madam Deputy Speaker, on the next sitting day of the House, I shall move:
That this House discusses the challenge of fatalities and injuries on our country’s roads.
Mrs I MARS: Madam Deputy Speaker, on the next sitting day of the House, I shall move:
That this House discusses special initiatives required to alleviate poverty, with reference to youth and rural communities. WISHES TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC FOR A SPEEDY RECOVERY
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House –
(1) notes that on Wednesday, 30 August 2006, the President of the Republic, President Thabo Mbeki, was down with a bout of influenza;
(2) further notes that the influenza was exacerbated by the President’s hectic and punishing schedule; and
(3) wishes the President a speedy recovery.
[Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon members, it was difficult for me to follow what the hon Chief Whip of the Majority Party was saying towards the end of that motion. I would like to please get the Chief Whip to repeat it, and I would like silence. I think this is a very important motion. Let us please be as honourable as we are supposed to be.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: In that motion, the latter part was:
(2) further notes that the influenza was exacerbated by the President’s hectic and punishing schedule; and
(3) wishes the President a speedy recovery.
Thank you.
Motion agreed to.
NOMINATION OF TEMPORARY PRESIDING OFFICERS
(Draft Resolution)
The DEPUTY CHIEF OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House elects Mr M R Sikakane and Ms N J Ngele to preside during today’s sitting of the House when requested to do so by a Presiding Officer.
Motion agreed to.
TIME ALLOCATION FOR PARTY RESPONSES TO STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move the draft resolution printed in my name on the Order Paper, with an amendment, as follows …
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: With an amendment?
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: With an amendment, Madam. I move as follows:
That notwithstanding Rule 106(5), the time allocated for party responses to Ministers’ statements for the rest of the year be as follows:
African National Congress: 8 minutes; Democratic Alliance: 3 minutes;
Inkatha Freedom Party: 2 minutes and all other parties: 1 minute each.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Any objection to the IFP getting an extra minute? No objections. [Laughter.] It was definitely not for the IFP to respond to!
Motion agreed to.
PRECEDENCE GIVEN TO STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that precedence be given to the Minister’s statement, as requested.
Motion agreed to.
RENAMING OF JOHANNESBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO O R TAMBO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
(Statement)
The MINISTER OF ARTS AND CULTURE: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, here, on the African continent, we are faced with the challenge of furthering the social and economic development of Africa.
Ours is the second largest continent on earth, spanning a vast expanse of the earth’s territory from the Mediterranean in the north to Cape Agulhus in the south. That the continent is culturally diverse is readily recognised. Less evident is the role that culture can play in nurturing social cohesion, conflict prevention and the promotion of human security in our continent.
Culture has a very important place in the developmental agenda of the continent. Developing a sound forward-looking cultural policy for South Africa necessarily must take account of the cross-cutting character of culture, affecting all spheres of government activity.
The International Convention on Cultural Diversity, adopted by the General Assembly of Unesco in 2005, defines cultural diversity as, and I quote:
… the multiplicity and interaction of cultural expressions that coexist in the world and thus enrich the common heritage of humanity.
A group of independent experts set up by the Director-General of Unesco define cultural diversity as, and I quote again, “the manifold ways in which the cultures of social groups and societies find expression”. In other words, far from separating us, humanity’s cultural diversity is our collective strength, which should benefit the entire world. It is in this sense that it should be recognised and affirmed as the common heritage of humanity.
This human family of ours has over the ages built up a huge fund of knowledge and experiences that are being shared amongst all of us in a myriad of ways. No section or portion of the human family can therefore claim to be the exclusive repository of wisdom, knowledge, valid experience and worth. We all have something to teach to others. We all have learned from others. We all have been enriched by such interactions with others and, what is more, it is precisely that capacity to teach, to learn and to be enriched by others through such exchanges that makes us human.
We, here in South Africa, are perhaps more fortunate than others in that our country and our nation is, in and of itself, racially, religiously, linguistically and culturally diverse. Whereas in the past, under the regimes of colonialism or the regime of “white supremacy with justice”, to use the absurd formulation of Jan Smuts and apartheid, such diversity was regarded and treated as problematic, as something to be denied and vigorously repressed by legislation and, where necessary, by force of arms, since 1996, through and in our democratic Constitution, we have recognised that our diversity is one aspect of South Africa’s great strength. It is something we should nurture, actively promote and applaud.
When promoting South Africa as a tourism destination we proudly proclaim: “A world in one country!” We are absolutely right to do that. We speak of the different hues, sounds, faiths and modes of expression one finds in our country as the diverse threads of one beautiful tapestry.
With regard to the legislation in question, the South African Geographical Names Council Act of 1998 was passed by Parliament as an Act of affirmation; an Act to affirm precisely the cultural diversity of South Africa, born of the recognition that we all regret the past but nonetheless recognise it as part of South African reality.
There had been a conscious effort to deny that diversity through various acts of omission and commission. I think all hon members are aware that one of the founding myths of the apartheid ideology was that this was an empty land, devoid of all people before the 1400s, other than the Khoi and the San who lived in South Africa.
Historians, archaeologists and demographers have more than amply demonstrated the falsity of that claim. Therefore, I will not bother to enter into that debate. What is demonstrably true is that literally thousands of geographical names were imposed on the country by the colonial powers that ruled South Africa and portions thereof over the past three and a half centuries. They did this without regard to the pre-existing names, let alone the sensibilities of the indigenous people who, in most instances, continue to use the original names.
There are also numerous instances where colonial administrators misheard indigenous names, but notwithstanding imposed their misconstruction of those names. There are some places that were renamed to celebrate the military victories of white settlers over African armies, some to memorialise European kings and queens, some to celebrate colonial governors and soldiers. And then there are places that were renamed and given names that are offensive.
In the renaming of geographical features and places, all these matters have been taken into account: the diversity of our society, the integrity of our languages, the sensibilities of our people and sometimes just plain common sense.
The proposed name change of the Johannesburg International Airport was done in terms of an Act of Parliament, namely the South African Geographical Names Council Act of 1998. The preamble of that legislation reads, and I quote:
To establish a permanent advisory body known as the S A Geographical Names Council to advise the Minister responsible for arts and culture on the transformation and standardisation of geographical names in South Africa for official purposes; to determine its objects, functions and methods of work; and to provide for matters connected therewith.
The relevant passage, clause 10 of the law, reads, and I quote:
(1) The Minister may approve or reject a geographical name recommended by the Council in terms of section 9(1)(d). (2) A geographical name approved or rejected by the Minister in terms of subsection (1) must be published in the Gazette. (3) Any person or body dissatisfied with the geographical name approved by the Minister may, within one month from the date of publication of the geographical name in the Gazette, lodge a complaint in writing to the Minister. (4) The Minister may refer the complaint to the Council for advice whether or not to reject or amend a geographical name so approved. (5) The Minister must inform the complainant of the decision on the complaint and reasons for the decision.
It is of paramount importance that those who object to the changes in place names, especially the leaders of political parties, educate their members, especially those serving in legislative bodies at the national, provincial and municipal levels about this law and its provisions. It should be a cause of embarrassment that we have to educate parliamentarians about laws that they had a hand in passing, and on the content and the meaning of those laws.
I want all hon members to note that, as the law stands, it is not the Minister - and I repeat, it is not the Minister - who initiates or sets in motion changes of geographical names. The Minister receives recommendations from other bodies empowered by this law to propose those changes. Having satisfied herself or himself that the provisions of the law have been conformed with, the Minister may approve or reject a proposed name change.
In this instance, regarding the proposal of the Ekurhuleni Metro Council that the name of the Johannesburg International Airport be changed to O R Tambo Airport, I am satisfied that every provision of the law has been followed. The process commenced in that municipal council in 2003. It was debated in the council chamber with arguments for and against being tabled. There was a testing of public opinion by the relevant local authority and their proposal was forwarded to the SA Geographical Names Council. They then sent that to my office, together with a number of others published in the Government Gazette some two months ago. Today I am formally announcing that I am approving the name change. [Applause.]
The name of the Johannesburg International Airport will be changed to O R Tambo International Airport. [Applause.] After consultations with the Minister of Transport, a formal naming ceremony will be performed, hopefully to coincide with the late O R Tambo’s birthday on 27 October. [Applause.]
In closing, I can do no better than to quote the words of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former secretary of the Commonwealth, who had this to say about Oliver Tambo:
Oliver Reginald Kaizana Tambo’s place in history is secure. He was a great South African, and an even greater son of Africa. More than this, he belonged to all humanity. As he himself said that the campaign against apartheid was humanity’s own cause, and by playing such a pre-eminent leadership role in the defeat of this evil system, he contributed decisively to the removal of one of the greatest blots on our common humanity. That was what made his life such a blessing and a benefaction.
By honouring Oliver Tambo in this manner, we honour the best in all of us. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr H P MALULEKA: One of Oliver Tambo’s most enduring legacies has to be the role he played in keeping the ANC together under very difficult conditions, when others were splitting into belligerent factions. His other, equally enduring legacy is the success he had in persuading the international community to support the liberation movement and thereby isolate the apartheid regime, turning it into a pariah in world politics.
Being at the head of the oldest liberation movement in Africa, O R Tambo also found himself adviser to many African leaders whose countries had gained independence. The internationalist character of the ANC owes its strong evolution to the tireless work of Oliver Reginald Tambo among the nations of the world. For this reason, it is appropriate to name our Johannesburg International Airport after him to always remind us of our duty to act in solidarity and to support social, political, economic and just struggles wherever they occur.
We will never ever reach a stage when we can say we have really honoured O R Tambo enough. I think what is required now of us as South Africans is to show tolerance. In the past, whilst the majority of our people knew that places like Pietersburg were actually Polokwane, that Magaliesburg was actually Thaba tsa Mogale, they used names such as Pietersburg and Magaliesburg.
What is required now of us is to show tolerance and I think it is not enough to just name the international airport after O R Tambo. If we really want to show that we are serious, as the highest decision-making body of our country, we should, in honouring O R Tambo, agree that this very Chamber would be named after him. [Applause.] We should stop talking about the Old Wing and New Wing and call it the O R Tambo building. [Applause.]
Mrs D VAN DER WALT: Agb Minister en kollegas, Suid-Afrika behoort aan elkeen wat daarin woon. [Hon Minister and colleagues, South Africa belongs to all who live in it.]
We should all share its resources and we should all have ownership of its institutions. No part of South Africa belongs to one single party or race and no part of South Africa should be owned by one party or race. We should all share this country.
Na die demokratiese verkiesing in 1994 het die ANC-regering met vorige naamsverandering besluit om ons land se lughawens van hul politieke name te verlos en dit met geografiese titels te vervang; ’n besluit wat uiteindelik die einde bring aan ’n tydperk waarin ’n politieke party ’n beleid nastreef wat ’n eensydige beeld van ons land se geskiedenis voorstel en dit dan op alle Suid-Afrikaners afdwing. So het ons almal gedink. Duidelik aanvaar die plaaslike ANC politici in Ekurhuleni nie die besluite van hul beleidmakers nie. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[After the democratic elections of 1994 the ANC government decided with the previous name changes to relieve our country’s airports of their political names and to replace these with geographical names, a decision that at last was to bring an end to an era in which a political party followed a policy that represented a one-sided picture of our country’s history and then forced this upon all South Africans. That is what we all thought. The local ANC politicians in Ekurhuleni clearly do not accept the decisions of their policy-makers.]
The ANC, however, is increasingly acting like it, alone, runs this country and that it, alone, has a legitimate history. Wanneer naamsveranderings oorweeg word, moet dit slegs geformaliseer en aangekondig word sodra voldoende en deursigtige konsultasie met alle rolspelers plaasgevind het. Enige naamsverandering moet die ondersteuning van die gemeenskap, in dié geval inwoners van Suid-Afrika, geniet. Dit behoort nooit ’n stryd te wees, Minister, wat tot gevolg het dat gemeenskappe verdeeld agter bly nie. Sonder ’n inklusiewe proses doen ons onreg juis aan die mense wat ons wil vereer. Ek sluit af. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[When name changes are being considered, these should only be formalised and announced after sufficient and transparent consultation with all role players. Every name change should enjoy the support of the community, in this instance the residents of South Africa. It should never be a battle, Minister, that leaves communities divided. Without an inclusive process we are doing an injustice to the people we want to honour. I will conclude.]
Name-changing should only be undertaken after the direct and downstream financial impact of the proposed change has been quantified, has been found to be affordable and after it has been properly budgeted and planned for. Ekurhuleni is the municipality with the most outstanding debts owed to them in the whole of the country. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mnu V B NDLOVU: Phini likaSomlomo neNdlu ehloniphekile, ukuqanjwa kwendawo ehlala amabhanoyi eGoli ngegama likaMnu O R Tambo, thina beNkatha yeNkululeko siyakusekela. [Ihlombe.] Uma kukhulunywa ngoMnu O R Tambo kukhulunywa ngendoda esayazi ngomholi wethu kusukela ngo-1979 ngenkathi benomhlangano e-London kanye naseLusaka ngo-1985. Ngakho-ke siyamazi kakhulu uMnu O R Tambo.
Siyabonga futhi ukuthi uma ngabe kukhulunywa ngabantu abangamaqhawe akithi, kuqanjwa izindawo ezimqoka, kuziwe kule Ndlu kuzo khulunywa ngalokho. Siyakugcizelela-ke mhlonishwa Ngqongqoshe ukuthi akufanele ukuthi njalo uma kucatshangwa ngokushintshwa kwegama kuvele kwenzeke kube lula nje. Kufanele kuhlalwe phansi kucutshungulwe, kukhulunywe kahle ngoba izinto ziyashintshashintsha, namhlanje kukwenye indlu kanti kusasa kuyoba ngenye indlu. Ngakho-ke uma sekushintsha izindlu akufunakali labo abayongena kuleyo ndlu yesibili yasekhohlo bafike bashintshe izinto ekade zenziwa yindlu yasendlunkulu.
Siyakuncoma ukuthi kube khona umcabango wokuthi kuhlalwe phansi njalo kuxoxiswane uma kuzoshintshwa amagama ngoba lokhu kuthinta nenkece eningi kanti sisenabantu abahluphekayo. Kodwa maqondana nalokhu esikhuluma ngakho namhlanje, cha, nongaboni uyoze abone. Siyabonga. [Ihlombe.] (Translation of isiZulu speech follows.)
[Mr V B NDLOVU: Deputy Speaker and the honourable House, we the IFP support the renaming of Johannesburg International Airport after Mr Oliver Tambo. [Applause.] Mr O R Tambo was a man we came to know through our leader in 1979 when they held a meeting in London and later in Lusaka in 1985. We, therefore, know Mr O R Tambo very well.
We are also grateful to see discussions in honour of our heroes and the naming of important places being brought to this House for debate. Hon Minister, we, therefore, would like to stress to you that whenever renaming is being considered, the matter should not be treated as a simple issue. It should be analysed transparently and discussed thoroughly, because things change all the time. Today, we have this situation but in the future things would have changed. Therefore, we should not allow a situation in which new people will come in and change the procedures that have been followed by the people before them.
We applaud the idea of transparency with regard to the renaming because this exercise also has huge financial implications, while most of our population still lives in poverty. As far as this topic today is concerned, I think it will make a great impact on everyone. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Mr G T MADIKIZA: Madam Deputy Speaker and hon members, the worthiness of the late O R Tambo is not in dispute. Indeed, I am certain that none in this House will deny the necessity of commemorating his contribution to our history.
What the government has made a habit of, though, is making decisions such as this without proper consultation, without actually being open to other options, without regard to its own previous undertakings and without concern regarding the cost that it incurs, not only for the taxpayer but also for every individual and business affected by such a name change. The UDM opposes the renaming for these reasons. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, hon members! We don’t ask questions like those.
Mr G T MADIKIZA: We must also point out that these valid objections and concerns do not simply disappear because the ANC shouts down the opposition or accuses people of being counter-revolutionary. It is the ANC’s unwillingness to be inclusive in these processes that leads to division and not the other people’s unwillingness to unite around the name of a historical figure. I thank you. [Applause.]
Rev K R J MESHOE: Deputy Speaker, while the ACDP respects and acknowledges the important role played by many politicians, the clergy and ordinary people in the liberation struggle, we nevertheless do not believe that naming important facilities like airports after them is correct.
We believe the decision to change Johannesburg International Airport to O R Tambo International Airport highlights government’s incorrect priority spending. As the current name is not offensive, we fail to see the wisdom of spending money on such an exercise.
By politicising our airports, the ANC is repeating the same mistakes that were made by the NP. And the ACDP will not support this renaming. [Applause.] The ACDP still supports what we were told was a Cabinet decision, that airports should be named after localities and not after politicians.
Because we do not deny or question the greatness of the late O R Tambo, we believe we should have found another way of honouring him. The fact that we do not agree with this name change does not mean that we do not see, admire and appreciate what the late O R has done; we are grateful.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Your time has expired.
Rev K R J MESHOE: But this is not the way to go. Thank you. [Applause.]
Dr C P MULDER: Hon Deputy Speaker, the ANC changed the name today because they have the power to do so. But mark my words, it will change again because unlike what you think, you will not govern forever in this country. [Interjections.] Your time will come and you will be chucked out by the electorate sooner than you think. [Interjections.] Die probleem is die ANC probeer sy onvermoë om te regeer, sy onvermoë om ’n beter lewe en dienste vir almal in Suid-Afrika te bied verdoesel met … [The problem is that the ANC tries to gloss over its inability to govern, its inability to offer a better life and better services to all in South Africa, with …]
… tokens such as name changes. [Interjections.] That’s what you are busy with.
Mnr die Minister, u woordvoerder, mnr Mamela, het op 7 Julie reeds aangekondig: “The process is unchangeable. It’s been finished.” Dis afgehandel.
Ons gaan met ’n fynkam kyk na die prosedure wat u departement gevolg het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr Minister, your spokesperson, Mr Mamela, announced as early as 7 July: “The process is unchangeable. It’s been finished.” It has been concluded.
We will look at the procedure your department followed with a fine-tooth comb.]
Mr E N MTHETHWA: Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: Is it parliamentary for the hon member to point at the Minister like that? [Interjections.] The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, treating an hon member in that manner, much as it is not unparliamentary, I don’t think is decent. But it is up to you, if that is what you want to continue doing.
Dr C P MULDER: Mag ek u toespreek, Mev die Adjunkspeaker? In my kultuur is dit nie “indecent” om te beduie as ’n mens met iemand praat nie. [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek wil hê die Minister moet weet ek praat met hom spesifiek. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[Dr C P MULDER: May I address you, Madam Deputy Speaker? In my culture it is not “indecent” to gesture while one is speaking to someone. [Interjections.] I want the Minister to know that I am speaking to him specifically.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: But we know exactly where he is, you don’t have to show us.
Dr C P MULDER: The tragedy is this: Since Mr Mandela left, there remains no one in the ANC with any vision or understanding of what nation-building should be about. [Interjections.] Basically, you are polarising South Africa with what you are doing. You may think you have won today, but in the end you will lose in this process. Thank you very much.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: A point of order was raised where you were asked to rule on it and to rule in terms of the Rules. With respect, you ruled quite correctly that there had not been a breach of the Rules. You then editorialised and said you considered it not decent. May I suggest to you that the Chair shouldn’t editorialise, and shouldn’t express personal opinions. One should just give a ruling in terms of the Rules. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Gibson, will you please take your seat? The hon member said that in his culture there is nothing wrong with what he did. And we are a country that celebrates diversity of cultures. Some people are offended when you point fingers at them. Some people appreciate that. So, if you point a finger at me, I will definitely react because I would think that I am being insulted, and other people think that it’s okay.
That is why I said it’s up to him. If in his culture he feels that it is something that he has to continue doing, he could do so but it is not decent. In fact, the hon member stopped pointing and said he was trying to show us where the Minister is. I then said, “We all know where the Minister is. You don’t have to point at the Minister.” Please sit down.
Rre B E PULE: UCDP ga e kgatlhanong le gore ditheo dingwe tse di rileng di ka reelelwa batho bangwe ba ba rileng. Se se tshwenyang ke go nyeletsa ditiragalo tse di fetileng. Ditiragalo le fa di ka nna maswe jang, di tshwanetse go itsege jalo go ya go ile. Puso ya ANC e tlhokomele gore e se ke ya nna boseilakgaka-senwa-moro. Dilo dingwe ba a di sotla, gore ke tsa tlhaolele, mme gape ba di raya maina a bagaka ba bona. A gona ga se gore ba a ba sotla?
Go fetolafetola go senya madi a setšhaba. E ne e le Jan Smuts, ya nna Johannesburg, jaanong e nna OR Tambo. Go sa ntse go na le matshwao a tsela a a sa ntseng a supa Jan Smuts. Ke eng go sa agiwe tamo ya thusa batho ka metsi mme ya bidiwa OR Tambo? Go bonala gore ga go na sepe se se ka tlholang se dirwa, se se gaisang tsa pele, se se ka tshwanelang bagaka ba, mme sa bidiwa ka bona. A bana ba rona ga ba ne ba re bona, re le puso, gore ga re na mpa e re robalang ka yona? A maungo a kgololosego a fitlhe pele kwa bathong, maipoko a tla tla morago. [Nako e fedile.] (Translation of Setswana speech follows.)
[Mr B E PULE: The UCDP is not against the fact that certain institutions be named after certain people. What worries us is getting rid of our history. It does not matter how bad our history is, it should be known forever. The ANC government has to guard against its tendency to condemn something which it later approves. They condemn some of the things which they regard as structures of apartheid and rename them after their heroes. Isn’t this discrimination?
This chopping and changing is a waste of state funds. The airport was named after Jan Smuts, and changed to Johannesburg; now it is named O R Tambo. There are still road signs bearing Jan Smuts‘s name. Why can’t we build a bridge that will provide people with water and then name it after O R Tambo? It is clear that there is nothing new that can be done which is better than what was done in the past which can benefit these heroes. Are we not betraying our children as government? Let us deliver on the promises of what is expected from freedom to our community and then accolades will follow thereafter. [Time expired.]]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Madam Deputy Speaker, Johannesburg has been indigenously called Lejweleputswa. In renaming places in our country, political sectarianism and parochialism must be avoided, otherwise the government that comes to power will change the names. This has happened in Russia regarding St Petersburg. It was changed to Leningrad in 1917, and changed back to St Petersburg after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In Africa, name changes are part of decolonialisation and part of projecting a proper national image. Not long ago, Jan Smuts Airport was changed to Johannesburg International Airport. Why could it not have been changed to Lejweleputswa or Sekhukhune, Makhado or Moroka? These are some of the heroes who faced the bullets of the colonialists with their inferior weapons to defend our land. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, hon member! Order! Your time has expired.
Dr S E M PHEKO: Here is the paradoxical tautology: Louis Botha Airport has been renamed Durban International Airport. Benjamin D’Urban was a colonel in colonial wars of aggression. And Durban airport is still “Durban”. Why is it not Shaka airport? [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, order!
Dr S E M PHEKO: Name changes must recognise all heroes of our struggle, regardless of their political affiliation. Anything else is not nation- building. Izwe lethu! [Our land!] [Interjections.][Applause.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: O fa kae ntate Pheko? Ntate Pheko, re a kopa. O motho o re mo tlotlang thata. Re kopa o tlotle melao ya Ntlo e. [Mr Pheko, you should not forget where you are now. You are someone whom we respect very much. Please respect the Rules of this House.]
This is not happening for the first time.
Re kopa gore o re utlwelele. Re bana ba gago e bile re a itse gore o a re tlotla. A re tlotlaneng. Re a leboga. [Please listen to us. We do not have doubts that we are your children and you respect us. May we please respect each other. Thank you.]
Take your seat.
Mr A HARDING: Madam Deputy Speaker, there can be no question about the role that O R Tambo played in the consolidation of democracy in this country, ensuring that many of us today have the rights that we have in this country. [Interjections.]
But exercises like these should be used to build national unity. They should be used as nation-building exercises. They should not serve as exercises through which we divide. [Interjections.] I want to reaffirm to those people who are making a noise at the back of the House that we are not questioning the role that O R Tambo played. There is only respect for the work that he did in this country. [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Hon members, please!
Mr A HARDING: And you can show respect by at least giving me the opportunity to speak. [Interjections.] What has been particularly disconcerting …
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Unfortunately, you missed the point. I tried to give you 15 seconds more, but it is also gone. [Interjections.]
Ms S RAJBALLY: Madam Deputy Speaker, the MF respects the sentiments of the SA Geographical Names Council for recognising and renaming geographic features as a form of symbolic reparation in respect of an unjust past.
However, it needs to be established which geographic features qualify for such change. We need to acknowledge that these places do not only symbolise oppression. Some symbolise a history connected to places that blacks, whites, Indians and coloureds, no matter which race, colour or creed, called home.
Yes, we need to abolish all traces of apartheid, but we should not lose sight of the fact that every part of South Africa has brought us together to our present success. Yes, it is the Johannesburg in which we were oppressed, but it is also the Johannesburg in which we fought. It depends on how we look at a name that holds value. We need to remember our past in order to progress in the future but, more importantly, we need to ensure that apartheid shall never be resurrected in this country ever again.
The MF has no objection to changing Johannesburg International Airport to Oliver Tambo airport. We honour the late O R Tambo for bringing to our people a free South Africa.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Your time has expired.
Ms S RAJBALLY: Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr P J NEFOLOVHODWE: Madam Deputy Speaker, Azapo supports and encourages the renaming not only of airports, but also of symbols, geographic features and names that characterise apartheid colonialism. [Interjections.] Azapo believes that the process of renaming and removing symbols, geographic features and names that remind our people of the oppressive past is long overdue.
However, whilst Azapo supports this process it nevertheless wants to point out that it should be pursued as part and parcel of a decolonisation national agenda that should cover the whole spectrum of all the geographic areas of our country. The process of Africanisation should be pursued with determination, in line with the African Renaissance and this should culminate in South Africa being named Azania. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
Mr L M GREEN: Madam Deputy Speaker, it is common practice for governments throughout the world to name and rename cities, airports, streets, hospitals and even dams after leading political figures who have played a cardinal role in the transformation of a particular society.
In New York, the international airport has been named after John F Kennedy, a former president of the United States, because of the important political role he played during his lifetime. The FD has no objection to the renaming of Johannesburg International Airport to O R Tambo International Airport. The FD has not particularly lobbied for this name change but we understand why supporters of the governing party and our government may have the desire to honour the name of the late Oliver Tambo. Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa in 1991, after three decades in exile. He died on 24 April 1993 and in recognising the major role he played in transforming South Africa into a free and democratic country, the FD acknowledges the need to honour the name of Oliver Tambo. We therefore concur with the name change. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr Y I CARRIM: Madam Deputy Speaker, comrades, friends, surely the issue is not whether Johannesburg International Airport should be named the O R Tambo International Airport, but why it has taken us so long to do so. It is 12 years into our democracy before we have come to this, and even now we have to go through a very torturous, even unseemly, process. It is an indictment, it seems to me, on all of us really, that we have taken so long to take this very simple step.
Let us be clear: We are talking here of a Nelson Mandela-type figure. Would anybody object, really - any sensible person at least - if the airport was called the Nelson Mandela airport? Or, in India, if a major airport was named after Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Theresa?
Many in the public - not all - who object to the renaming of Johannesburg International Airport as the Oliver Tambo airport, it seems to me, would not do so if it was the “Nelson Mandela airport”. So the question that arises is: How much of the objection is based on prejudice and how much on ignorance? I am not talking about members of this House, necessarily - they don’t know who Comrade Oliver Tambo was. That is a shame, given his outstanding role and his contribution to our negotiated transition, from which all these people who are objecting have benefited so much.
So whether they know it or not, they all owe Comrade Oliver Tambo an enormous debt. [Applause.] In short, we are not talking here about a controversial or sectarian leader. Comrade Oliver Tambo was a national figure in the fullest sense. He was a unifier, a peacemaker, a humanist.
In fact, my first meeting with him, interestingly, was in 1988 as part of a multiracial or multicultural delegation. It is interesting that when a woman - a white woman as it happened - an Afrikaner woman, saw him for the first time, in the first 15 seconds she broke down and cried. After the meeting she said to me: “This man was projected to me as a terrorist but came across to me like a priest. He was a fatherly figure.” I think that is very revealing.
In fact, while he led the ANC during our exile years, he was received with the protocol of a head of state in many, many countries, at the same time that P W Botha, John Vorster and De Klerk could not enter many, many countries in this world. [Interjections.] Even Zac de Beer and Helen Suzman, with the greatest of respect, did not receive that sort of protocol when they left the country.
It is not correct to say, “We respect Oliver Tambo.” and then say, “Well, he was a minor or maybe majority party leader.” If you truly understand his role and respect him, you will agree that this airport should be named after him.
Let me respond quickly to Ms van der Walt and in that way other people too. Yes, we should all share in this country, which is precisely why the DA is being invited to participate in this process and agree, for once, rather than polarise this country.
Secondly, regarding the statement that local politicians decide, it’s partly true. It started there because Oliver Tambo lived in Benoni. But it is this community, this Parliament, on behalf of the country as a whole, that is making the final decision, not a local municipality.
There was consultation in Ekurhuleni. What community were you talking about? The majority clearly supports the naming of that airport as Oliver Tambo. Regarding the financial impact, it is very interesting that the people who do not care about the poor are the first to complain about wasting money. Oliver Tambo saved us lots and lots of money, and even lives, through the role he played in bringing about peace in this country.
I am sorry that my time is running out, but I want to say, comrades, given our history and our current need to weld a sense of nation, we do need to be sensitive, agreed. I think it is very important, Comrade Pallo Jordan, for all of us, not least ANC people and the youth, that we communicate what Oliver Tambo meant to this country and what his values still mean to us, particularly given the challenges we have now. And I think if more people understood, there would be less criticism.
Finally, I want to say I look forward. We didn’t destroy Sophiatown and rename it Triomf; we didn’t destroy District Six and rename it Zonnebloem. We have public participation. Deputy Speaker, I look forward to landing at and leaving from Oliver Tambo International Airport, especially with regard to overseas visits sanctioned by you. Long live the spirit of Comrade Oliver Tambo, long live!
HON MEMBERS: Long live! [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
ARBOR WEEK
(Member’s Statement)
Nksz N M MAHLAWE (ANC): Sekela-Somlomo, ukususela kumhla wokuqala ukuya kowesixhenxe kweyoMsintsi, kowama-2006, le veki yaziwa njengeveki yotyalo- mithi. Injongo yayo kukuba kwandiswe ulwazi lwabantu bakuthi ngokubaluleka kwemithi ebomini nasempilweni yethu, ukwandisa ulwazi ngemithi yemveli nokubaluleka kolondolozo lwayo. Ukususela ngonyaka wama-2000 ukuya kowama- 2015 rhoqo ngonyaka kutyunjwa imithi emibini ibe yimithi yaloo nyaka. Kulo wama-2006 imithi yonyaka nguMthobankomo kunye noMvuma.
Umbutho wesizwe i-ANC ukhuthaza abantu bakuthi ukuba batyale imithi. Imithi inceda kwizinto ezininzi, esingabalula kuzo ezi zilandelayo: ukuthibaza ungcoliseko lomoya oluthi lubangele ubushushu obungaqhelekanga. Ngelinye ixesha olu ngcoliseko lomoya luye lubangele izikhukula eziye zimke nemiphefumlo yabantu, kwaye zonakalise nempahla.
Kwiintsuku ezingephi ezigqithileyo kuye kwabanda ngendlela esisimanga kusiwa ikhephu, kwafa nempahla emfutshane, into leyo engaqhelekanga ngeli xesha lonyaka. Yiyo ke loo nto kubalulekile ukuba silukhuthaze utyalo-mithi ibe yinto kawonke-wonke. Ndiyabulela. (Translation of isiXhosa member’s statement follows.)
[Mrs N M MAHLAWE (ANC): Deputy Speaker, the week of 1 to 7 September 2006 is known as the week of tree planting, or Arbor Week. The purpose of this is to broaden the knowledge of our people about the importance of trees for our lives and health, and to expand knowledge of indigenous trees and the importance of looking after them. From the year 2000 to the year 2015 every year two trees are to be identified as the trees of that particular year. This year, 2006, the trees of the year are the Wild Pomegranate and the Kosi Palm.
The people’s organisation, the ANC, encourages our people to plant trees. Trees help in various ways, of which we could specify the following: they alleviate air pollution, which causes global warming. Sometimes this air pollution results in floods, which causes loss of people’s lives, and also damage to property.
A few days ago it was very cold; it was snowing and livestock died. This is something we are not used to at this time of the year. That is why it is of importance that we should encourage tree planting so that everybody should take part. I thank you.]
MR YENGENI’S ALLEGED PRISON PRIVILEGES
(Member’s Statement)
Moulana M R SAYEDALI-SHAH (DA): Madam Deputy Speaker, the DA wants to draw the attention of the House to a recent media report in which it is alleged that the convicted fraudster, Tony Yengeni, now serving a prison sentence in Malmesbury Correctional Centre, has a special bed, a 74-centimetre television set and a music centre in his cell.
The report also says that Yengeni was not subjected to the normal admission procedures, that he was not searched and that he received several visits from his wife and family this past weekend, despite the fact that newly admitted inmates are not permitted visits.
It is instructive that neither the Minister’s office nor the department has denied these reports. The DA calls on the Minister to categorically deny these reports and thereby dispel the notion that there is one treatment for the ANC elite in prison and another standard for ordinary criminals. Thank you. [Applause.]
METRO POLICE CORRUPTION
(Member’s Statement)
Mr V B NDLOVU (IFP): Madam Deputy Speaker, we in the IFP do understand that members of the metro police work under extremely dangerous and difficult conditions, and we do believe that they do not get adequate payment for the dangerous tasks that they are expected to perform on a daily basis. This, however, is not an excuse for taking bribes or for corrupt behaviour by metro police officials.
We must therefore commend the Johannesburg metro police department for their action in dismissing five metro cops after they were found guilty of corruption and fraud and of assaulting a fellow officer who had blown the whistle on them.
The message must be sent out that corruption within the security forces in the whole country will not be tolerated and anybody found guilty of such an offence will be dealt with harshly. We hope that other police departments around the country will follow their example and make it a priority to stop corruption within their ranks. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
SASCOC’S SPORTS ACADEMY
(Member’s Statement)
Ms M W MAKGATE (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, the formation of the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee two years ago heralded a new dawn in South African sport. One of the key mandates of Sascoc is to establish a national sports academy to prepare athletes from different sporting codes for international competition. The ultimate objective of such an academy is to ensure that South African athletes win more medals at events such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and other international competitions.
The ANC thus welcomes the joint announcement by the president of Sascoc, Moss Mashishi, and the CEO of the United Children’s Fund, Comrade Carl Niehaus, on the construction of the national academy at Modderfontein, Gauteng, early next year.
The project will be implemented over an eight-year period and aims to house 3 000 athletes from different sports disciplines. The state-of-the-art facility will focus on physical, mental and technical preparations of athletes. This highly commendable initiative is a giant step for sports development in South Africa in ensuring that children are afforded the opportunity to be groomed from an early age to represent the country as patriotic citizens on the world stage. I thank you. [Applause.]
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT’S DECISION ON CHOICE ON TERMINATION OF PREGNANCY ACT
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs C DUDLEY (ACDP): Madam Deputy Speaker, the ACDP welcomes the Constitutional Court’s decision, which resulted in the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act being struck down on 17 August 2006. The amending Bill was highly contentious and raised a public outcry as it provided measures for even greater access to abortion without any measures to protect the nursing staff or vulnerable women.
Public concern that provincial legislatures had neglected their democratic responsibility to hear the people on this and other issues resulted in an application by Doctors for Life alleging that the NCOP and the nine provincial legislatures had failed to provide a meaningful opportunity for the public to participate in the democratic process of the passing of Bills.
The ACDP commends Doctors for Life, who have stood their ground against great odds and at tremendous cost and have won a great victory for democracy and the people of South Africa. In terms of the judgment, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act is not valid. The department and Parliament have 18 months to replace it with an amendment, which must allow an acceptable democratic process.
The ACDP calls on the Minister and her department to carefully reconsider the choice on termination of pregnancy amendment, which will have to withstand the scrutiny of the public, which has clearly expressed its concern on issues of abortion. We appeal to you to take this opportunity to include clauses which will ensure greater protection of women through recording of maternal injuries and deaths from legal abortions, provision for conscientious objection by medical personnel, mandatory and comprehensive counselling for women and many more.
The ACDP mourns the hundreds of thousands of babies who have been legally aborted since 1997 in South Africa. These children will not have an opportunity to fulfil their God-given destiny. I thank you. [Time expired.]
HOUSING IN N2 GATEWAY PROJECT
(Member’s Statement)
Me F BATYI (OD): Mevrou die Adjunkspeaker, die OD wil vandag ons ernstige ontevredenheid uitspreek teenoor beide die Nasionale en die Weskaapse Departement van Behuising, sowel as die Kaapstadse Stadsraad. Net verlede week het nog 29 plakkerhuise in Joe Slovo afgebrand, terwyl baie inwoners daar kla oor verspoelings binne huise. Die OD wil vandag ‘n ernstige beroep op al drie regeringsliggamme doen om nou iets aan hierdie ongrondwetlike situasie te doen. Hoeveel mense se huisies gaan nog moet afbrand, hoeveel huise gaan moet inmekaar val, en hoeveel sal nog moet verspoel terwyl so baie N2 Gateway-huiseenhede nog leeg staan? Die OD is nou moeg daarvan om te sien hoe die blaam alewig van een departement na die ander verskuif sonder dat daar ‘n verskil aan die minderbevoorregtes se lewens gemaak word.
Die DA-regering het tydens die afgelope verkiesing beloof om dienste te lewer en nou wil die stadsraad nie verantwoordelikheid vir die projek aanvaar nie. Dis hoogtyd dat die DA-administrasie in Kaapstad besef dat anders as tydens die apartheidsjare toe hulle bevoorreg was en swart werkers van ander provinsies slegs tydelik in Kaapstad kon bly, hulle nou hier is om te bly. Puma Uphele [uitsetting] sal nooit terugkom in Suid- Afrika nie.
En, anders as die wit bevoorregte minderheid in hierdie land, het hulle nie meer as een huis in verskillende dele van die land nie.
Die OD doen dus vandag ‘n beroep op samewerking sodat die mense wie ons hier verteenwoordig ordentlike dakke oor hul koppe kan hê. Dankie. (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)
[Ms F BATYI (ID): Madam Deputy Speaker, we in the ID today wish to express our serious dissatisfaction with both the National and the Western Cape Departments of Housing, as well as with the Cape Town City Council. Only last week a further 29 squatter shacks in Joe Slovo burned to the ground, while many residents complain that their shacks are being flooded. The ID today wishes to address a serious appeal to these three government bodies, that they should do something about this unconstitutional situation. How many more people’s shacks must burn down, how many more shacks must collapse, and how many more shacks must be flooded, while so many of the N2 Gateway housing units are still standing empty? The ID is tired of seeing how the blame is continually being shifted from one department to the other, without any change in the lives of the underprivileged.
During the recent elections the DA government promised service delivery, but now the city council does not want to take responsibility for the project. It is high time the DA administration in Cape Town realised that, contrary to during the apartheid era when they were privileged and black workers from other provinces could only stay in Cape Town temporarily, these people are now here to stay. Puma Uphele [Get out] will never return to South Africa. And, unlike the white privileged minority in this country, they do not own several houses in different parts of the country.
The ID therefore today calls for co-operation, so that the people whom we represent here may have a decent roof over their heads. Thank you.]
LAND REFORM IN LIMPOPO
(Member’s Statement)
Ms C NKUNA (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, the land reform programme in South Africa is a key component of government’s commitment to deracialise the agricultural sector and restore ownership rights to communities who were dispossessed of their land during apartheid.
In Limpopo, the ANC government is implementing several programmes to develop our people’s livelihood to contribute to economic growth. Thus far, the land reform programme in the province has succeeded in restoring 139 518 hectares of land to identified beneficiaries.
In the process, 19 676 households in Limpopo have benefited through the restitution programme of government. However, challenges remain in resolving land claims in four major farming areas of the province such as Magoebaskloof, Levubu, Hoedspruit and Sekororo.
The ANC expresses the hope that the outstanding matters will be resolved to the benefit of all affected parties. At the same time, efforts by the Department of Agriculture to recognise and develop small-scale farms for sustainability are encouraging.
The ANC appreciates the efforts of the government in supporting the initiatives of emerging farmers. I thank you. [Applause.]
RULE OF LAW
(Member’s Statement)
Mr S SIMMONS (UPSA): Deputy Speaker, the past week has seen court rulings and highlighted threatening signs of government’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for its dereliction. The first was the court’s intervention in the Department of Correctional Services’ failure to adhere to an earlier ruling by the court, and the second concerned the levels of work ethics in the police service relating to the testing of forensic evidence. We also recently saw the Constitutional Court striking down legislation, passed through this House, because of the lack of proper public participation.
Dit is dus duidelik dat Ministers en hul departemente die meerderheidsverteenwoordiging in die Nasionale Vergadering misbruik ten einde eie beleide te vestig ongeag selfs teenigheid en waarskuwing binne eie geledere. [It is clear that Ministers and their departments are abusing the majority representation in the National Assembly in order to establish their own policies notwithstanding opposition and caution from within their own ranks.]
This is no longer government by the people because the people are not being consulted. If Ministers continue with the current modus operandi then the rule of law is slowly but surely being threatened and eroded.
The UPSA also believes that unless the government subordinates itself to the law and to the sovereignty of the people through the Constitution, the government may rule by law but its authority will not be grounded in the rule of law.
This government’s subtle lenience towards rule by law is the strongest similarity between itself and China’s style of governance. Respect for and adherence to the rule of law must be extended from the Presidency to the rest of the Cabinet members. I thank you.
REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF PROVINCES
(Member’s Statement)
Dr J T DELPORT (DA): Agb Adjunkspeaker, die DA sal alle pogings van die regering ondersteun wat daarop gemik is om die haglike toestand waarin die landsadministrasie verval het te verbeter.
Een van die stappe wat blykbaar oorweeg word om administrasie te verbeter is om die getal provinsies te verminder. Dit is ‘n belaglike idee. Die probleem is nie die getal provinsies nie, maar die gehalte van die administrasie. Getalle het met gehalte niks te maak nie. Hierdie regering het op alle vlakke administrasies daargestel wat deurtrek is van korrupsie, wat wanadministrasie tot nuwe hoogtes gevoer het en wat amptenare teen buitensporige salarisse aangestel het gegewe hulle vlak van bekwaamheid en vlak van dienslewering en dan nog bonusse ook gegee het.
Die ANC regering moet ophou om redes vir probleme elders te soek as in sy eie onvermoë om effektief te regeer en te administreer. As daar na provinsiale grense gekyk word, moet dit op rasionele en deurdagte wyse gedoen word. Dit help nie om iemand se been af te sit as hy tandpyn het nie. Net so min sal wanadministrasie gestop word deur aan provinsiale grense te torring. Dankie. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)
[Dr J T DELPORT (DA): Hon Deputy Speaker, the DA will support all attempts by the government that are aimed at improving the wretched condition into which public land administration has deteriorated.
One of the steps that is apparently being considered to improve administration is to reduce the number of provinces. This is a ridiculous idea. The problem is not the number of provinces, but rather the quality of the administration. Numbers have absolutely nothing to do with quality. This government has established administrations on all levels that are steeped in corruption, that have taken maladministration to new heights and that have appointed officials at exorbitant salaries given their level of competence and the level of service delivery, and then awarded them bonuses too.
The ANC government must stop trying to find causes of problems anywhere but in their own inability to govern and administrate effectively. If provincial boundaries are considered, then it should be done in a rational and well-thought-out manner. Amputating a person’s leg if he has a toothache will not help him. By the same token maladministration will not be stopped by meddling with provincial boundaries. Thank you. [Applause.]]
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
(Member’s Statement)
Mnu B M SOLO (ANC): Sekela-Sihlalo, kwimpela-veki edlulileyo uMphathiswa weSebe loLawulo lwePhondo neeDolophu kwiPhondo leMpuma Koloni, edibene namanye aMasebe oLawulo lweeDolophu neZithili, uzimase ingqungquthela ebintsuku-ntathu begwadla iqhinga lokuphucula uziso lweenkonzo zikarhulumente ebantwini. UMphathiswa, uQabane uSam Kwelita, uthi isebe lakhe lizama ukwakha kwaye liqinise unxibelelwano phakathi kwephondo kunye n amasebe olawulo lweedolophu nezithili. Le ngqungquthela ithe yaqaphela nento yokuba oomasipala abaninzi, ngakumbi abo basemaphandleni, bayasokola ukufumana abasebenzi abaqeqeshiweyo nabaza kukwazi ukumelana nemingeni yezi ndawo.
Umbutho wesizwe, i-ANC, uhlaba ikhwelo kubemi beli lizwe lethu ukuba baseke amabhunga ezophuhliso kwiindawo abahlala kuzo ukwenzela ukuba basebenzisane nooceba ukuzisa iinkonzo ebantwini. Sikwabongoza noomasipala ukuba nabo bancedisane nabantu ngokunikezela ngoncedo olufanelekileyo njengoko uMongameli, uThabo Mbeki, wayalelayo ngelixa ehambela iimbizo zakhe kweli. Ndiyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa member’s statement follows.)
[Mr B M SOLO (ANC): Deputy Chairperson, the MEC for Provincial and Local Government of the Eastern Cape, together with other local government departments, last weekend honoured a three-day workshop where they were discussing strategies for improving delivery of government services to the people. The MEC, comrade Sam Kwelita, says his department is trying to establish and strengthen communication between the province and local governments. This workshop has noted that most municipalities, especially those in rural areas, find it very difficult to get skilled personnel who will be able to face the challenges in these areas.
The African National Congress is appealing to the citizens of our country to establish development co-operatives in the areas where they live, so that they can co-operate with the councillors to bring services to the people. We are soliciting municipalities to provide the people with the appropriate help, as President Thabo Mbeki advised during his countrywide izimbizo. I thank you. [Applause.]]
DISTURBANCES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND
(Member’s Statement) Mr A M MPONTSHANE (IFP): Madam Deputy Speaker, the University of Zululand has for the past few weeks been embroiled in yet another student strike. Students are boycotting classes in protest against high fees, poor residence management and nonrecognition of some degrees, amongst other grievances. Damage to property has been highlighted as one of the factors among many that have forced the rector to close the institution.
This is the second time the university is faced with such a crisis from students within a short period. This also happened in October last year. Judging from the attitude of the parties involved, we could experience the same crisis next year around this time. It is alleged that things have returned to normal, though the student representative council believes that there are still issues that need to be resolved with the university management.
We therefore call upon the Minister to investigate the issue of non- recognition of degrees that are alleged to be offered at the University of Zululand. This issue has formed one of the reasons for the boycott of classrooms. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
WATER PROVISION IN LIMPOPO
(Member’s Statement)
Ms T E LISHIVHA: (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, from 30 July to 4 August 2006 the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry undertook an oversight visit to Limpopo province. The committee was impressed by the good work that the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is doing in the province.
The department, together with other stakeholders, is hard at work to provide clean drinking water for all. Large projects are in progress, including the raising of the Nandoni Dam, the Flag Boshielo Dam and the completion of the brand new Inyaka Dam.
We commend the ANC-led government on its visible efforts and commitment to improve the lives of all South Africans. Yes, indeed, today is better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
2010 SOCCER WORLD CUP
(Member’s Statement)
Mr G G BOINAMO (DA): Madam Deputy Speaker, the DA believe South Africa should at all times aim to host the best World Cup ever. The World Cup should be better managed than previous World Cups and more efficient than all the other tournaments, and our stadia should be of a world-class standard.
However, it is not possible to achieve these goals unless the national government is also committed to making this World Cup an unprecedented success. It is worrying that the National Treasury has dramatically reduced the amount of money it is willing to make available to the city of Cape Town for the development of the World Cup stadium in Green Point. The decision raises questions about the national government’s commitment to achieving the highest standards. If we are indeed going to keep that promise, and if this World Cup is to be of a world-class standard, we need to do whatever it takes to achieve this. We don’t want visitors leaving South Africa after the World Cup with a sense that we ran a budget tournament.
The National Treasury should rethink its position. The stadium and the infrastructure development will exist long after the World Cup is over. It is far better to leave the people of Cape Town with a world-class development rather than a second-best stadium with lasting financial implications. I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
An HON MEMBER: Madam Deputy Speaker, on a point of order: When the statement was read, the hon member said that we should manage this World Cup better than other World Cups. This will be the first time that South Africa hosts the Soccer World Cup. Which other World Cups is he referring to? That statement misleads the House and I ask for your ruling on it, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Laughter.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Unfortunately, I am not going to rule on that because he could be referring to how other countries have run the World Cup.
LAND RESTITUTION
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs D G NHLENGETHWA (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, the ANC works to ensure that the implementation of the Land Reform and Agricultural Development Programme is accelerated and includes a comprehensive support package for farmers, farmworkers and farm dwellers.
The date of 26 August 2006 shall forever be imprinted in the minds of the community of Bakwena-Ba-Mogopa because it was the day the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights handed back the land from which they were forcibly removed 50 years ago. Their late Chief James Mamogale lodged the claim in 1996 on behalf of the community. The 8 families, who together make up 150 beneficiaries, have resumed farming on their ancestral land.
The ANC-led government in the North West province has committed itself to providing the community with the financial help and expertise that they might require to run a project of this nature.
The ANC will accelerate the tempo of the land restitution process to ensure that we meet the target of 30% agricultural land redistribution by 2014. Thank you, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]
PEACE INITIATIVES IN UGANDA
(Member’s Statement)
Ms K R MAGAU (ANC): Madam Speaker, on 26 August 2006 the people of Uganda took a very positive step towards the restoration of lasting peace in their country when the government of Uganda and the rebel movement the Lord’s Resistance Army signed a peace agreement in southern Sudan.
Under the current peace pact, the Lord’s Resistance Army have agreed to assemble in two Sudanese camps within the next three weeks. This agreement represents a major stride in the efforts to rid Africa of all conflicts and deepen the culture of settlement of disputes through peaceful means.
The ANC therefore commends the efforts of the Ugandan government, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the African Union in bringing about peace in that country. This, we believe, will contribute to the advancement of world peace and sustainable development which all nations of the world need. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
METRO POLICE CORRUPTION
MR YENGENI’S ALLEGED PRISON PRIVILEGES
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: Deputy Speaker, I would like to start by thanking hon Gatsheni for his constant focus on issues of safety and security. It does mean that, as a legislator, you really are doing the work that you are supposed to do – that of oversight over the work of the departments. Corruption in the security forces will not be tolerated, as the Minister of Safety and Security has indicated time and again.
I think, as government, we have always emphasised the point that corruption won’t be tolerated in the security forces or anywhere else. That’s why we have departmental units that look at some of those issues. I will pass that on to the Minister of Safety and Security. That’s about the statement made by hon Gatsheni - for the IFP.
The second point is that we are legislators. Whatever we do should be to really further the work of legislation passed in this House. We should always try to put political content that is going to assist us in the work that we do. In the correctional centres we no longer strip-search, frogmarch and humiliate offenders. [Interjections.] We don’t do that anymore. We sit down with an offender and explain the process of administration, sentencing and then the rehabilitation path that everyone has to take. We don’t try to do all those things that were done before we became correctional services. I am very thankful and grateful for the fact that we treat offenders the same way.
The constant harping and the desperation, as well as the nonexistence of political debate from the DA always surprise me. Our prisons have approximately 167 000 offenders. Definitely, we cannot be focusing our eyes on one offender when we have 167 000 of them. Mr Yengeni is being treated as any other offender. Tony Yengeni is wearing the clothes that any other offender is wearing. [Interjections.]
Unfortunately, I am not going to lower myself to that level of concentrating on one offender when I have 167 000 offenders. The same treatment is meted out to all of them. We will continue doing so even with the constant harping, focus and all the kinds of things that are thrown at us by the DA. We will not be deterred from the work that we do. This has been very nice to respond to – in a very calm way, just to show that I do rise above you in all these things. I thank you. [Applause.]
RULE OF LAW
DISTURBANCES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULULAND
REDUCTION IN NUMBER OF PROVINCES
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF EDUCATION: Chairperson, only a leader of a party called “oops” would make such an “oops” in their view of the recent court judgments. The notion that the rulings in some way reflect upon government and the development of law is actually quite laughable. I suggest that the hon member reads the full ruling by the judge.
The judge said that one of Parliament’s Houses failed to provide sufficient time for public consideration of the legislation. [Interjections.] I am not sure what the public comments are, but I suggest that you do your work, hon member, and read your judgment. Otherwise you should join the “oops party” because you perhaps belong there.
Nevertheless, the issue in the court’s ruling was that Parliament needs to ensure that it provides sufficient opportunity for public hearings when considering legislation that might have a great deal of public interest at its core. That was the ruling, hon member.
Chairperson, I understand we can only respond to two matters. Secondly, I would like to combine the following matters, if you would allow. We are certainly looking into the developments at the University of Zululand. We are concerned that when student elections come up, there develops this greater propensity for what is termed by students “activism”. We are worried at the association there seems to be between SRC elections and some of the protests that we see. But we are certainly looking into the matter. We have provided over R40 non-breaking space million for the upgrading of residences, specifically at that institution, in order to address some of the concerns on infrastructure in our campuses.
Finally, there has been no proposal from government that there will be a reduction in the number of provinces. What has been mentioned is that there should be an examination as to the functioning, delivery and action on mandates by ourselves, as government, in their entirety; and that there should be an examination as to how better effect is given to co-operative governance in addressing the needs of the people of our country.
There is no decision that has been taken that there should be fewer provinces. I think the members shouldn’t allow themselves to get heated because they will develop blood pressure problems and all sorts of illnesses if they become excited about media reports and construe them as government’s policy. I thank you. [Applause.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Minister, we still have time for further responses. I don’t know why you were placing a limit of two on yourself, except if there are other Ministers who would like to respond as well.
LAND REFORM IN LIMPOPO
LAND RESTITUTION
(Minister’s Response)
The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: Madam Chairperson, the fact that two members made statements today on land reform and mostly land restitution, I think, is worth noting. We must thank them. I am very glad about the fact that on Saturday I will be in Brits, concerning the restitution matters.
I am especially glad about the restitution to the Bakwena-Ba-Mogopa community. The hon Mulder will be interested. Kgoshi Mamogale is the one who originally made the application. Kgoshi Mamogale is from the community after whom Magaliesburg has been named.
When I grew up, I never knew that that is actually where the name came from and that we messed it up like that. I think we must tell our communities over there in North West that they should stop using the name Magaliesburg. It is just wrong. The community and these other communities related to this will also be … [Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon Deputy Minister, if I am not mistaken, that was a response to the Minister Jordan’s statement. This is not a response to one of the members’ statements.
The DEPUTY MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS: With great respect to you, I submit that this was the restitution the member was making the statement about. So I am just talking about the restitution of the Bakwena- Ba-Mogopa and who they are. I was just thanking the member for that as well as the statement on the reform in Limpopo.
I would just like to make this observation: The restitution programme is now moving forward with great speed. One of the reasons for that is the fact that we are not taking nonsense anymore. We are quite strict about applying the restitution Act and we intend continuing with that. I thank you. [Applause.]
THE STATE’S COMPLIANCE WITH ITS CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A RIGHT TO A BASIC EDUCATION
(Subject for Discussion)
Mr M J ELLIS: Madam Chair, I am glad that the Minister of Education is here but I need to ask her upfront whether she is here in her capacity as the Minister of Education or the Minister of “everything else” because she certainly does participate very fully during the period allocated to members’ statements. Obviously, I am not expecting her to answer now but I hope she will later on.
Madam Chair, I am extremely pleased that we have the opportunity this afternoon to debate what the DA believes is a critically important matter: that of the right of South Africans to a basic education. My colleague, the hon Boinamo, will later on in this debate put the DA’s position with regard to the right to basic education, but my job now is simply to introduce this as a subject.
According to our Constitution, basic education is in fact a basic right in this country. I must say that, after 12 years of democracy and 10 years of operating under our noble Constitution, it is important for our country to accept that, to date, the government has paid only lip service to this issue of basic education.
We have an essentially flawed education system in this country, and many of the problems can be traced back directly to the lack of an available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable basic education system. The UN Development Programme in its SA Human Development Report of 2003 observed that, I quote:
The poor management capacity of provincial education departments remains an important constraint to delivering education services.
It also went on to make the point that the government’s funding model has failed poor schools. Both of these points emphasise that unless drastic measures are taken the state will continue to fail in providing a meaningful basic education for South Africans.
I want to say that I look forward to this debate very much indeed. I do sincerely hope that there will not be a series of speakers who will try to defend the indefensible, but rather that we will have a debate which offers open and proper constructive matters or solutions to the matter at hand. [Time expired.]
Adv A H GAUM: Madam Deputy Chair, in keeping with the Freedom Charter, the ANC went much further than required by international law by including an unlimited right to basic education in our Constitution. No one can deny that the ANC has done more in such a short time than any other government anywhere in the world to make education more available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable than ever before.
In a little more than a decade, the government has made basic education much more available by placing enormous resources into addressing the iniquitous provision of educational resources inherited from apartheid. Today textbooks arrive on time at our schools, thousands of teachers are being trained and qualified, and the backlogs in infrastructure have been aggressively reduced.
The government has made basic education more accessible by eradicating discrimination, providing learners with transport and ensuring that there is no poor learner who is denied basic education. School nutrition programmes were introduced that ensure that young learners do not go hungry at school. Participation rates have improved dramatically and no-fee schools have been introduced.
Our government has made education much more accessible by adopting some policies on matters such as language and religion and by having the courage to review and revise the national curriculum. Today, basic education is much more adaptable to the ever-changing needs of our society. Extensive HIV/Aids programmes in our schools, important gains towards more inclusive education and our school safety programmes are examples in this regard.
Despite this enormous progress, we do acknowledge the dire challenges we still face. That’s why the President said earlier this year that we have to vigorously attend to the improvement of our education system, and the Minister said we need to be ready to excel. These were not empty words. We are seeing educational reforms that will change the face of education forever for the better, including improved conditions of service for educators to ensure that teaching is a profession of first choice again, a national reading programme and strategy to arrest illiteracy problems, and a maths and technology strategy to double the number of learners passing higher grade mathematics and science by 2008.
It is precisely because of its deep commitment to quality basic education for all that this government invites constructive contributions aimed at the improvement of our education system. Therefore we welcome the report on public hearings on the right to basic education from the Human Rights Commission. The government has stated that it agrees with the report on many of its recommendations and takes the report very seriously. It has responded to each and every recommendation and has drawn attention to a number of areas where policy and/or implementation thereof is already in place.
Pertaining to the commission’s call for a transport assistance programme, for example, the Department of Education has indicated that it is developing a national framework on learner transport. Eight provinces already have transport subsidy schemes whilst KwaZulu-Natal is introducing its scheme this year.
With regard to the recommendation that issues concerning the morale and working conditions of teachers should be addressed, the commission was informed of the recently signed collective agreements to provide improved career pathing and accelerated salary progression for teachers as well as revised school grading norms.
Although it cannot be denied that the commission has pinpointed a number of very important matters, there are limitations in its evaluation methodology. Regarding the public hearings that were conducted - our valuable sources of information for evaluating the provision of the right to basic education - they alone cannot be a foundation for drawing major conclusions about the education system. The evaluation of the right to basic education needs to include systemic information and be balanced and assessed against commonly agreed benchmarks.
The DA’s recent campaign document on this matter and the Bill they have tabled is little more than an edited version of the Human Rights Commission’s report and recommendations. I am sure that, in compiling its report, the HRC intended to fulfil its constitutional mandate to assist all of us with the challenges we face and that it would have been deeply disappointed to learn that its report is opportunistically being abused by the DA to score cheap political points – as I am sure we will also hear later this afternoon.
Die DA gaan boonop baie selektief met feite om in hierdie verslag van hulle en verkondig halwe waarhede. [The DA, furthermore, deals very selectively with the facts in this report of theirs and puts forward half-truths.]
They quote the Minister selectively regarding the shortage of water facilities, sanitation and libraries at schools. But they conveniently forget to mention that the Minister also said that there will be an accelerated infrastructure programme and that the provision of libraries will be addressed. The DA alleges in these documents that enrolment in primary schools has declined by 7%. In actual fact, the primary gross enrolment ratio stands at 104%. And the number of children aged between 7 and 15 years who attend some form of educational institution has increased, not decreased, since 2002.
They attack the government on the question of literacy and numeracy standards, but fail to mention the major programmes embarked upon to make sure that our learners excel in these areas. They say that we are not doing enough to educate learners about HIV/Aids, but refuse to mention that the Minister has this year increased the conditional grant substantially, allowing for the structured integration of life skills and HIV/Aids programmes across all learning areas in the school curriculum.
Maar wat hulle veral vanmiddag verswyg het en steeds verswyg, is hoe hulle misluk het toe hulle die geleentheid in die Wes-Kaap gehad het om basiese onderwys van kwaliteit aan alle leerders van ons provinsie te bied. Kort nadat ons in 2001 by die DA in die Wes-Kaap oorgeneem het, is die syfer in geletterdheidsvaardighede van Graad 3-leerders getoets. Hierdie was dieselfde leerders wat skool toe gegaan het toe die DA die onderwysportefeulje oorgeneem het, en die resultate was baie swak. Die DA het geen strategie om die probleme op te los nie, en ons moes die kastaiings uit die vuur krap. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[But what they have particularly kept quiet about this afternoon, and are still keeping quiet about, is how they failed when they had the opportunity in the Western Cape to provide basic quality education to all learners in the province. Shortly after we took over the Western Cape from the DA in 2001, the figure for literacy skills of Grade 3 learners was tested. These were same learners who went to school when the DA took over the education portfolio, and the results were very poor. The DA has no strategy to solve the problems, and we had to resolve the matter.]
In its report, the Human Rights Commission stressed the importance of mother-tongue education in the achievement of quality basic education for all. Under the DA, there was no emphasis on the critical role of mother- tongue education. On the contrary, Helen Zille advocated that learners should be taught through the medium of English as soon as possible, denying them the benefits of mother-tongue education. We had to change this short- sighted policy.
The DA is making a lot of noise about the dropout rate in their document. But why didn’t Zille do anything about it? Today, under the ANC, we have a system in place that enables us to track learners, and we have career guidance to guide and assist our learners in the decisions they make about their future.
There are many other examples of how the DA failed the learners of the Western Cape when they had the opportunity to deliver.
My raad aan die DA is: Agb Ellis, vee eers voor julle eie deur voordat julle hierdie regering wil aanvat. Hierdie regering het in 11 jaar ’n bewese rekord opgebou, waaroor julle maar net kan droom. [My advice to the DA is: Hon Ellis, get your own house in order before you want to take on this government. This government has over 11 years built up a proven record that you can only dream about.] Whatever the DA’s motives for this debate – and I am sure we will see in no time exactly what their motives are when the hon Boinamo takes this podium – the ANC will always remain absolutely committed to quality basic education for all our people. We will excel. We will vigorously improve our education system. We know that an education system that befits our age of hope that the President spoke about is a system of quality and excellence, not of mediocrity. Nothing will stop us from realising the aspirations of our nation. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. [Applause.]
Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Madam Chairperson, section 29 of the Bill of Rights in the 1996 Constitution states that: “Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education.” That then is the obligation placed on the state, in other words to provide for the realisation of the right to basic education enshrined in our Constitution.
But the Constitution does not define basic education and does not provide more clarity on what exactly is meant by basic education. Does it mean enabling access to learning? Does it mean basic skills, such as reading and writing? Does it mean the provision of the minimum infrastructure required to teach and learn, such as classrooms and books? Does it mean employing an adequate number of teachers?
None of these questions is answered directly by the Constitution, yet this debate has to answer whether the state is, in fact, complying with its constitutional duty towards basic education. For guidance on what basic education means, we can turn to the 2006 report of the Human Rights Commission, which held hearings into the subject, and to General Comment No 13 of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Both of these reports referred to the four A’s of basic education: Is it available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable? These reports also referred to basic education that is compulsory and free, the importance of primary education, the right to nondiscriminatory access, and ensuring free choice of education.
The question is: Has the state complied with its constitutional duty in respect of basic education in the context of the aspects mentioned above? These are the facts: access to primary education and secondary schooling in South Africa has improved significantly since 1994, with near universal enrolment in primary schooling and 86% enrolment in secondary schooling by
- Overall education expenditure increased from R31,8 billion in 1994 to R51,1 billion in 2000.
These facts indicate two major themes. Firstly, the state has made significant progress since 1994 to improve basic education and it would be disingenuous to suggest that it has failed completely in executing its constitutional duty, considering the legacy of apartheid. But, on the other hand, these facts clearly indicate that further and very big improvements still need to be made for the state to claim that it has, in fact, fully complied with its constitutional duties. For instance, there is still a shortage of about 31 000 classrooms countrywide; almost 5 000 schools are without water and more than 4 000 schools are without sanitation; in the region of about 16% of teachers were still underqualified in 2002, and more than a third of Africans were illiterate in 2004.
The IFP therefore calls on the government to accelerate the process of improving the conditions for basic education. In addition, renewed efforts must be made to ensure that school-leavers do so armed with the necessary basic skills and not as functionally illiterate and unprepared learners, as so often happens currently. I thank you.
Mr S D MONTSITSI: Chairperson, hon members, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, chapter 2, section 29, states that:
1) Everybody has the right –
a) to a basic education, including adult basic education; and
b) to further education, which the state, through reasonable
measures, must make progressively available and accessible.
2) Everyone has the right to receive education in the official language
or languages of their choice in public educational institutions
where that education is reasonably practicable. In order to ensure
the effective access to, and implementation of, this right, the
state must consider all reasonable educational alternatives,
including single medium institutions, taking into account –
(a) equity;
(b) practicability; and
(c) the need to redress the results of past racially discriminatory
laws and practices.
The Constitution therefore is the foundation on which the legislative pillars of the South African Schools Act, Act 84 of 1996, are anchored. Section 29 of the Bill of Rights, which deals with education, therefore finds full expression of its meaning, intention and spirit in the South African Schools Act.
Section 3(1) of the South African Schools Act requires that every parent must cause every learner for whom he or she is responsible to attend a school from the first school day of the year in which such learner reaches the age of seven. Section 6(2) of the Act states that the governing body of a public school may determine the language policy of the school, subject to the Constitution. Section 6(3) states that no form of racial discrimination may be practised in the implementation of the policy determined under this section.
Chapter 4 of the South African Schools Act, section 34, deals with the funding of public schools. It states that the state must fund public schools from public revenue on an equitable basis in order to ensure the proper exercise of rights of learners to education and to redress the past inequalities in education provision.
Some of the powers that reside with the school governing body in order to assist in the administration and regulation of the activities of the schools at local level were, unfortunately, used overzealously and, in the process, abused.
In the public schooling system, why does the governing body in a former Model C school take a decision to use only one medium of instruction, that is Afrikaans? Why does the same school governing body increase school fees, while aware that there are children who come from disadvantaged backgrounds? Why does the same school governing body prefer to enrol children from the neighbourhood and create an endless waiting list for children in the township? Why does this governing body take issue with the hairstyles of African children?
These actions are, without doubt, not meant to promote accessibility and acceptability. Nevertheless, we cannot condone the late delivery of textbooks and neither can we condone the nonpayment of companies that transport children to school. These are matters that should be tackled very strongly by the education MECs together with the officials responsible. However, some of the programmes in the Ministry’s departments, which are meant for a certain section of no-fee schools, are part of the process to implement free education in most of the schools across the country.
Now, I’d like to refer to some of the amendments put forward by the DA. Firstly, in chapter 3, clause 12, they want to insert that “members of the executive council must provide learners with an education that is available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable.” And, again, they say: “… to make available this education, it must necessarily be a resource including adequately trained educators, school buildings, classrooms, furniture”. All this is what is required. Then, again, they say: “… to make education both economically and physically accessible on the basis of nondiscrimination”.
Some of the amendments that have been put forward here are amendments that are in the body of the South African Schools Act. The Ministry, in its own business plan, has been able to embody most of the ideals that are contained in these particular amendments made by the DA. Now if the ANC were to reject these amendments today, Mr Ellis would take it that the ANC is not serious about effecting changes to education.
We want to indicate to the DA and the communities out there that the ANC has been able to implement a process of effective change in our education system and, secondly, that there is no way in which you can rectify the legacy of damage by the system of apartheid within a short period of time. The Bill of Rights, on page 18, talks about the limitation of rights, including less restrictive means to achieve the purpose. Gradually, the ANC and this government will be able to ensure that education in our country becomes free. But, for now, everybody knows that we don’t have those types of resources.
Let me mention that when we dealt with this problem regarding the demand for free and fair education, we were arrested and thrown into prison. Some of my colleagues who demanded these ideals had their testicles squeezed with pliers.
The hon members on this side of the House are not going to have members on that side of the House tampering with their testicles. Why? Because this is a new democracy, this is a new South Africa, and we are going to be able to transform education in this country. I thank you. [Applause.]
Nksk SIGCAU: Sihlalo, i-UDM iyavumelana nokuba imfundo esinayo kule mihla isemgangathweni oncomekayo kunaleyo yexesha lengcinezelo nomkhethe phantsi kwenkqubo yocalu-calulo. Kutshanje kubekho amaphulo okuqinisekisa ukuphuculwa kwemfundo afana nephulo lemfundo engahlawulelwayo, umzekelo. Oku namanye amanyathelo kufuneka siwancomile, kodwa oko makungayiqumi inyaniso yokuba usemkhulu umngeni ojongene nemfundo. Oko kucaciswa kukwabelwa kweSebe leMfundo isixa-mali esisisithonga.
Siyakholwa ukuba iinguqu ezininzi ziseza ngokubhekisele ekuhlawulweni kwabafundisi-ntsapho. Imfundo ayiphelelanga kwinkqubo yezikolo zokufundisa abantwana namaziko emfundo ephakamileyo, koko ikwabandakanya imfundo yabantu abadala ukuze bakwazi ukufunda nokubhala. Le meko iyintsinda-badala engumqobo kwiinzame zokwenza ngcono impilo yabantu abadala. Kambe ke, nangona isaziwa le meko, ayikhe ikhankanywe apha ePalamente.
Kumnombo wabaphathiswa abakhe bongamela iSebe leMfundo akukho namnye okhe wabonisa ukuyilima le ndima. Inga ingabaluleka kulo Mphathiswa ukhoyo uhloniphekileyo. Ndiyabulela. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa speech follows.)
[Ms S N SIGCAU: Chairperson, the UDM is in agreement with the view that the education we have these days is better compared to that of oppression and segregation under the apartheid system. Recently there have been initiatives to ensure the improvement of education, like the one of non-fee- paying schools, for example. This and other initiatives need to be appreciated, but that should not blur the fact that there is still a big challenge facing education. This is proved by the high budget allocated to the Department of Education.
We believe that many changes are still to come in the area of the payment of teachers. The end of education is not only about teaching at the schools and higher education institutions, but it also involves education of adults so that they should be able to read and write. This situation is an old problem that inhibits efforts to improve the lives of the old people. However, although this fact is known, it is never mentioned here in Parliament.
In the history of ministers who have been in charge of the department of education there is not a single one who showed any interest in addressing this issue. One wishes that our present Hon Minister could treat this as an important issue. I thank you. [Applause.]]
Mrs C DUDLEY: Madam Chair, hon Minister, despite vigorous attempts to transform the education sector in South Africa, many challenges not only remain, but escalate daily. In June 2006 the Human Rights Commission reported on the state of education and on delivery on the constitutional right to education. It found that poverty, HIV, violence and abuse undermine the right of all children to a decent education, which will afford them a fair chance in life.
The ACDP has constantly drawn attention to the unacceptable vulnerability of children in our schools and is dismayed at the lack of progress in this area. As government encroaches more and more on parental authority and the lives of children, and parents abdicate this authority, more and more social problems arise. Children are individuals and cannot be dealt with en masse. Every child is gifted; every child can learn; every child has value; and every child has the right to reach their full potential. A school curriculum, for example, based on unproven theories, such as evolution, which teach children that they come from nowhere, have no purpose in existence and are going nowhere, cannot hope to inspire anyone to higher achievements. And parents should have a greater say in this and many other matters.
Of great concern to the ACDP is government’s policy of compulsory education ending in Grade 9, which exacerbates the problem of dropouts – and our streets are full of increasing numbers of street children of 13 and 14 years of age. This is a particularly vulnerable age and we should be doing anything possible to see to it that children stay in school much longer.
Fee exemptions should not discriminate against children of 13 to 18 years of age, or even 21 - in cases where education has been disrupted. More creative activities and sport should be compulsory and included in the curriculum. School hours must be extended and children kept active, creatively occupied and out of harm’s way.
Successful programmes such as the Global Rock Challenge and similar local programmes should be seriously considered, funded and incorporated into school syllabi. The costs will not compare to the savings in the long run, as we invest in human capital and develop the incredible potential of this nation.
The ACDP is of the opinion that we’ll have to wait … [Time expired.] Mr G G BOINAMO: Madam Chair, hon Gaum knows very well that he has been quite economical with the truth.
The 1994 election was a political miracle. The dynamic growth of our economy since then has been an economic miracle. However, over the past 12 years it has become apparent that, despite these miracles, the overwhelming majority of South Africans are not getting anything in return for their years of struggle for liberation.
It is clear that political and economic miracles are not enough. We need an educational miracle so that all South Africans can enjoy the benefits of a peaceful and democratic South Africa. Unfortunately, the kind of transformation of the education system that we need seems a very distant prospect.
When our Constitution was being negotiated it was agreed that it would include the right to basic education. The Constitution does not give us a very clear idea of exactly what this entails. However, in 1999 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights agreed that the right to basic education must embrace four key elements, namely schooling must be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable. On all these grounds South Africa fails dismally.
Spending on education has taken a more significant chunk of the budget since 1994. But this has not translated into results. Maladministration and financial mismanagement in provincial education departments have caused provinces to continually underspend on their budgets in the past decade, leaving children literally out in the cold.
Furthermore, it cannot be said that education is available in circumstances where 21 000 teachers are leaving the profession every year and only 5 000 are joining it, and when government spending on teacher education declined by 9% between 1998 and 2001. It cannot be said that education is accessible to all when class and race considerations are used, 12 years after the death of apartheid, to determine whether or not you can go to school.
Despite the introduction of free schooling, the poor still have to borrow a massive R2,7 million a year to spend on education. There are many children who simply cannot go to school because they cannot afford to. Moreover, it still remains a reality that in poor, rural areas some learners still have to walk up to 30 kilometres each day to and from school.
It cannot be said that education is accessible when the number of pupils enrolled in primary schools is falling and not rising. The truth is that between 1995 and 2003 enrolment in primary schools declined by 7% and only 50% of learners who start Grade 1 continue all the way to Grade 12.
Declining enrolment ratios mean that fewer and fewer children are receiving basic education, and that they therefore do not acquire the skills to lift themselves and their own children out of poverty.
It is probably in measuring the acceptability of South African education that alarm bells ring the loudest. Acceptability refers to whether or not curricula and teaching methods are able to meet basic learning needs and whether the learning environment is conducive to learning.
The dismal performance of South African learners in internationally benchmarked tests should not be news to anyone sitting here. The results of a Western Cape study on literacy and numeracy among Grade 3 and Grade 6 learners were recently described by no less a person than the Director- General of Education as “a national disaster”.
Furthermore, even a cursory look at any of our schools shows that, far from being safe and nurturing, the learning environment is often nothing short of a war zone. For example, in 2005 there were 498 assaults on pupils in Mpumalanga, the Western Cape and the Northern Cape alone. These include 187 sexual assaults.
Adaptability refers to the ability of the education system to respond to the variety of needs of learners, particularly those learners who are vulnerable, for example those with disabilities. Government’s failure in this regard is indicated by the fact that only 14,8% of disabled children of school-going age attend school.
The state is failing dismally in its constitutional duty to secure the right to basic education. Analysed in terms of availability, acceptability and adaptability, the state’s provision of basic education in South Africa is inadequate. This right is violated repeatedly because of poor policy decisions, ineffective financial management and inadequate administrative capacity in the provinces.
Until this government gives attention to the primary needs of children and not its political agenda, our children will continue to be sold short. Thank you. [Applause.]
Ms P R MASHANGOANE: Madam Chair, hon Minister of Education, hon Deputy Minister of Education, hon Deputy Speaker, hon members, we as the ANC are, together with the overwhelming majority of our people, vigilant in regard to challenges we still face in the education sector. Equally, we are also very proud of the significant achievements made over the last 12 years. These achievements, notwithstanding their shortcomings, are indeed enormous.
Our inclusive approach of involving educators, parents, learners, the labour movement, business, community and civil society has yielded the desired results and continues to be the bedrock of all our endeavours.
Se se akaretšwa ke seema se se rego ngwana wa mošimane šogela setsiba banneng gore ge se kgaoga ba go thuše. [This is summarised by an idiom which says: Surround yourself with wise people and you will be wise.]
Furthermore, on the occasion of the opening of the third democratic Parliament, President Thabo Mbeki, in his state of the nation address, emphasised our government’s commitment to open the doors of learning and culture, and placed the following priorities before us: recapitalisation of the further education and training sector; ensuring that no learner receives tuition under trees, mud structures or dangerous conditions; and ensuring that all schools have access to clean water and sanitation.
As we are gathered here, it is indeed encouraging to know that the national Department of Education, in conjunction with its provincial counterparts, has heeded the President’s call, not only in respect of delivery but in ensuring that, in relation to the report on the public hearing on the right to basic education, all of us contribute to improve public dialogue in education. Moreover, as the Portfolio Committee on Education and ultimate stakeholder responsible for oversight and monitoring, we have paid more than a vested interest in this dialogue.
Yes, we believe and concur with other participants in this critical debate that basic education constitutes more than just primary education. As the ANC, we have paid and still are paying particular attention to section 29(1)(a) of the Constitution. We are particularly proud to emphasise here today that, unlike other constitutions, our Constitution guarantees all citizens and affirms the right to education. Section 29 is indeed a strong, positive right and imposes an affirmative obligation on government to provide access to education for all.
The report on public hearings does make a range of recommendations, which, in themselves, speak to many issues - such as delivery, capacity, human resource constraints, legislative constraints and, in some cases, downright failure on the part of our educators and officials to discharge their responsibilities with the necessary integrity, dignity, diligence and enthusiasm.
At the same time, it must be noted that during her Budget Vote speech in this House earlier this year, the Minister of Education, hon Naledi Pandor, did outline her department’s priorities for the current financial year. Amongst many of these critical areas, she also prioritised nutrition in schools. As we all should know, nutrition is an important element in our education, health and wellness strategy. Nutrition is vital for the survival and early development of children. Nutritional experts have determined that food which lacks vital elements such as zinc, iron, vitamin A and iodine badly affects the health of children. Needless to say, malnourished children have a low resistance to infections and are more likely to suffer common childhood ailments. Furthermore, it is important to note that the damage done to children through poor nutrition cannot, in most cases, be reversed later in life.
At present, about 5,5 million learners receive nutrition at 17 000 targeted schools through the national school nutrition programme. The programme also ensures that those targeted learners who are from poverty-stricken households are fed on all school days in all provinces. Also, as we speak, food gardens and small stock projects have either been set up or are in the process of being set up in 4 500 schools.
Apart from providing food to needy learners, the school nutrition programme also provides job opportunities to many parents in communities, particularly women. At present, the national department is in the process of developing a capacity-building programme for these women. Surely, as the ANC, we are addressing the issue of basic rights.
On the issue of uniforms, again, in order to alleviate the impact of poverty, our ANC-led government has passed legislation to ensure affordability, particularly regarding the poorest of the poor. Critical to these guidelines is ensuring that no learner is denied access to education in any manner and that we do not infringe on the constitutional rights of learners.
Our school governing bodies, parents and staff at schools are cognisant of these guidelines. These guidelines must accommodate elements such as sensitivity to age and religion and must be limited to one uniform only. We also believe that the design and manufacture of school uniforms can play a major role in creating SMMEs and establishing co-operatives.
In terms of the recommendation with regard to curricula, we have, as a government, over the past 12 years continuously evaluated and even adjusted our curricula instruments for precisely the purpose of promoting the right to basic education. The Revised National Curriculum Statement is proof of this. We are therefore confident that the curriculum as a whole deals exceptionally well with these aspects. We are, however, mindful of the issues concerning implementation, monitoring and improvement.
All the above policies, legislation, interventions and programmes are geared towards the goal of compliance with our constitutional duty. What is perhaps amiss in this whole debate, particularly in the wake of the opportunity given to the opposition to fire their missiles, is the fundamental truth that in our schools there exists, indeed, an overwhelming consciousness about the ANC-led government’s commitment to expand, uphold and defend the right to basic education.
As the ANC, we are guided by the Constitution and we will continue to abide by its prescripts. And we have no doubt that the Human Rights Commission will attest to this. Even their report confirms this. The DA should accept that the ANC is ruling and that the ANC is here to stay.
Mohlomphegi Boinamo, o gakanegile; ga o tsebe pele le morago. [Nako e fedile.] [Legofsi.] [Hon Boinamo, you are confused; you do not know what you are saying.] [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Mr I S MFUNDISI: Chairperson, hon members, there is no dispute that education is of great interest to the nation, hence the interest of all political parties in this debate. Furthermore, with education being a human right, government has a responsibility to ensure that citizens are not deprived of that right regardless of their circumstances.
If progress has to be registered, it has to be accepted that education is a fundamental lever of social change and the government of the day should make education accessible. To this end, however, the state is doing well and even injects life into the farm schools.
The UCDP notes though that adult basic education is lagging far behind, despite the ambitious statement made by the former Minister of Education that by 2002 we would have broken the back of illiteracy. The state has let the nation down in this respect. The high rate of illiteracy among our people in this age calls for greater effort by the state to direct their energies because illiteracy makes it difficult to teach new techniques such as saving for the future. [Time expired.]
Dr S E M PHEKO: Section 29 of the Constitution states that: “Everyone has the right to a basic education, including adult basic education.” It is clear that the state is not doing enough to comply with its constitutional duty on this matter.
Many children of the poor cannot afford education. They are not getting any basic education. Government officials say some schools have been declared no-fees schools. This is a drop in the ocean. Some students have been so frustrated that they have committed suicide. In January this year we reported that Khethukuthula Cele hanged himself and died. His school had refused to release his Grade 10 results because he owed school fees.
Few students complete matric. Those who pass matric are not able to go to institutions of higher learning. Many students from secondary schools to higher levels of education depend on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. This scheme is a mere drop in the ocean. Education must be free. [Time expired.]
Mr R B BHOOLA: Chairperson, the Bill of Rights states that: “Everyone has the right to a basic education, which the state, through reasonable measures, must make progressively available and accessible”. We have all noted the transition of our education system and the efforts to make it accessible to all. Our no-fees schools and the nutrition programme are proof of that. However, we have to take into account accessibility in these no-fees schools and whether the nutrition programme is offered at all schools that qualify for such assistance.
We further need to acknowledge the contributing factors to persons receiving basic education - that poverty places a lot of pressure and results in learners dropping out earlier. It is for this reason that the MF seriously seeks the adoption of nutrition programmes at institutions of higher education.
Further, schooling is hampered by a shortage of teachers. As reported last year, out of 400 students who enrolled for junior primary school teaching at university, only 24 were blacks. This situation automatically depicts a shortage of home language teachers.
The fact is there are many challenges to attaining a sustainable education system that shall equitably address the needs of an education system that shall serve our nation’s skills shortage, serve the economy and improve the standard of living.
It is in the light of this that we find it imperative to acquire a definite measure on the performance, the accessibility and the availability of education to the nation. This will assist us in ensuring that our goals and our constitutional obligations of a basic education for all are met.
The MF, however, notes that in the Statistics SA report released early this year, it was reported that the number of children who attended and completed school in our democracy is far higher than prior to 1994, when the apartheid regime was in power. That, indeed, should stand as proof of government’s improved accessibility.
So, while the MF is firm on basic education for all, we do find it imperative that we should utilise a proper measurement of our efforts and acknowledge that the definition of basic education is extremely important in establishing such measurements. [Time expired.]
Mr B MTHEMBU: Chairperson, hon members, I think it is important to put this debate in the proper historical context, because the problem we have is that when we adopt a noncontextual, ahistorical and technicist mode of reasoning we lose focus of the progress we have made.
The right to basic education as a human right, which was entrenched in the 1996 Constitution, is a right that did not fall down from heaven, but was realised through the struggle by the masses of the oppressed people of our country. Throughout the history of apartheid colonialism the doors of basic education were slammed closed by the various apartheid colonial regimes. The 19th century colonial regime regarded basic education for Africans as a charitable exercise best performed by churches or missionaries.
The defining feature of African education in the greater part of the 20th century was the failure of the state to take full responsibility for funding African education. The state then placed the burden of financing African education on the African communities themselves. The then Minister of Native Affairs, Verwoerd, in the infamous senate speech of 17 June 1954, had this to say:
It is sound educational policy to create among the Bantu a sense of responsibility by allowing them to bear sufficient financial responsibility to make them accept that their development is their own business.
It is this discriminatory principle that led African education to be financed separately and to be borne by the tax paid by black males. In addition, it placed a further burden on the African communities themselves in respect of the capital costs of buildings, as well as paying private teachers.
It is within this context that the Freedom Charter’s vision for education, contained in the clause “the doors of learning and culture shall be opened”, must be seen. The Freedom Charter, adopted in 1955, offered a vision of free and compulsory schooling of high quality for all children, based on the principles of democracy, equality, justice, inclusivity and nondiscrimination.
It is this that inspired the 1976 Soweto student uprisings. It is this vision that also inspired the mass democratic movement of the 1980s in general and in particular the National Education Co-ordinating Committee, with their call for the people’s education.
As the 20th century drew to an end, the long struggle for a vision of nonsexist, nonracial, democratic, just, equitable, free and compulsory education was rewarded when these values were entrenched in the basic law of our country, the 1996 Constitution.
I have argued that the right to basic education that is entrenched in our Constitution - and which is the subject of debate today - is the product of a long, drawn-out struggle by the masses of our people and their movement, the ANC. The question, therefore, is not whether the state, under the leadership of the ANC, complies with the constitutional provision of the right to basic education, but the extent to which the ANC-led state has made progress in the fulfilment of the right to basic education.
The notion of compliance is based on a simplistic, erroneous assumption that it is an event and/or a linear process that takes place in a vacuum from point A to point B. It is this that informs our friends. I need to emphasise that the realisation of the right to basic education is a complex process in a complex environment that needs a comprehensive and multifaceted implementation strategy.
It is a complex process because the transformation takes place within the broader social and economic reconstruction and development of our country. It is a complex environment in that the state inherited two economies: on the one hand, a developed economy with a high standard of living for the minority - whites; and, on the other hand, an underdeveloped economy characterised by poverty for the majority, who happen to be blacks.
The critical challenge that was confronting the state at the dawn of democracy was that of a trade-off in terms of resources between quality and establishing equity through universal access to basic education, given the huge inequalities inherited from the past. The state decided to do both.
Managing complexity demands innovation, creativity and commitment, because there is no international benchmark like the special type of postcolonial apartheid state of South Africa. It is unique and it will need a unique approach.
The progress made by the ANC-led state towards the realisation of the right to basic education in just one decade - from the mess inherited over three decades of oppression - sounds miraculous. Yes, there are still challenges, but we are on course. Let me not bore this House by regurgitating the achievements of the ANC-led state, but I would like to highlight a few points. The provision of quality basic education is a dependent variable. The key input variables that influence it are a sound legislative and policy framework, appropriate funding, and management capacity. I need to point out that we have put in place appropriate legislative and policy frameworks. We have ensured that education should be accessible to all.
It is no exaggeration that, as I am speaking, we have achieved a rate of 97% of parents sending their children to public schools. That is an achievement as far as access is concerned.
I need to point out that, in terms of funding, we are spending close to 7% of the gross domestic product, which is above international standards. What more do we want? There is nothing that hasn’t been said here. It is just a regurgitation of what we know. The key challenge that we have is management capacity, and we are fully aware of that. The state and the President have commissioned a full study to be made of the capacity of the state to deliver.
As far as the policies, framework and funding are concerned, given the demands with regard to other needs like housing, water and sanitation, it is not possible to spend more than 7%. Hence, we want to improve the economy, because there is a relationship between economic growth and education, hence the question of Asgisa, hence the question of Jipsa - the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition - so that we are able to cope with the challenges. There is nothing that is new. It is simply politicking, and that does not send us anywhere.
We agree with the commission, and the Minister has stated it very clearly: Those weaknesses that are simply implementation problems or challenges will be dealt with, and they are being dealt with. Some of the weaknesses pointed out will be placed in the strategic plan early next year.
The ANC is committed to providing quality, universal, basic education. We have made progress, and the goal of realising quality education for all is going to be realised. We are committed to that. We have fought for that, and nobody is going to prescribe to us how we should do it, because it is something we fought for and believe in, and we are doing just that. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Chairman, I want to say I thoroughly enjoyed the debate, and I thought that the comments made generally were really very good indeed. Having said that, I do need to say that the hon Gaum really is a very strange man indeed. Regarding the very rosy picture he painted of education, he will know as well as I do, quite frankly, that it is just nowhere near as good as the picture he painted today.
Of course we understand that the hon Gaum has to sing for his supper, and he is doing it very well indeed. His comments about the DA’s research are, of course, typical Gaum gobbledegook, which we have become very used to, Mr Gaum, over the years. One does, of course, note that the one thing the ANC did not do after the 2004 election was to make you the MEC in charge of education in the Western Cape. Maybe that says everything.
The fact of the matter is that by not recognising the seriousness of the problems that face education – which, I believe, the hon Minister really does want to address - we will fail to make the progress in education that we really do need to make.
I thought that hon Mr Mpontshane’s comments were really very valuable indeed. The story he told of the shortcomings of our education system was certainly very much more accurate than the hon Gaum’s. I think he indicated many of the problems that we do, in fact, have to overcome.
I also want to say that I appreciated very much the comments that the hon Montsitsi made. I think, quite frankly, he put Mr Gaum in his place very well indeed. Maybe you should have had a look, Mr Gaum, to see what he was going to say before you wrote your speech. I don’t agree with everything he said, but certainly his less hysterical approach to the DA’s private member’s Bill on basic education is appreciated.
I also want to say to the hon Montsitsi: we will not necessarily be critical of the ANC if the ANC do not agree with everything we have put forward. But what we are hoping to do is to have a constructive and provocative look at the whole issue of basic education in this country, and to try to ensure through that that we do make sure that basic education in this country is more acceptable, more adaptable, more available and more accessible.
I believe that my hon colleague, the hon George Boinamo, placed very squarely on the agenda what the problems are that we face, and certainly what the DA believes needs to be done in order to solve these problems.
I want to thank hon Mr Mfundisi too for his comments as far as the issue of illiteracy in this country is concerned. They really were very relevant indeed. Also, I think the comments made by the PAC and the MF were also very relevant. I am sorry that I have no time to address Mr Mthembu, because he made some very important points, but I want to thank everybody, indeed, for participating in this debate. [Time expired.][Applause.]
Debate concluded.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING COLLEGES
Prof S M MAYATULA: Chairperson and hon members, the Portfolio Committee on Education visited further education and training colleges in four provinces, that is Gauteng, Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. I am happy that most of the concerns that are reflected in this report are included in the Further Education and Training Colleges Bill that is going to be tabled in this House.
Our general observation was that it seems the FET colleges felt, as a sector, that they were forgotten and marginalised. They had a number of issues that indeed had to be addressed specifically. I will just quote a few recommendations, as I have said that most of them are already taken care of in the Further Education and Training Colleges Bill that is coming.
As far as human resources are concerned, we recommended that both academic and research vacant posts should be filled by suitably qualified people with immediate effect. Still on human resources, we recommended that the existing moratorium on senior positions should be lifted and that the development of clear procedures for appointment be considered.
Regarding the alignment of the curriculum with the National Qualifications Framework, the committee recommended that FET colleges should be afforded the opportunity to offer NQF programmes that are responsive to the needs of the economy and that are accredited by the sector education and training authority, that is the Seta.
Concerning the recognition of prior learning, the committee recommends that FET colleges should be responsive to the needs of the community they serve. Recognition of prior learning should be prioritised in order for members of the community to embrace FET colleges as their own.
Regarding the separate working hours for FET colleges, while the tuition in FET colleges is mainly practical and conducted in the workshops, and partly theoretical, the working hours are the same as in FET schools. As FET colleges have to work odd hours, including overtime, the current inflexible working hours are not suitable.
The portfolio committee recommended that special working hours for FET educators should be developed. This will facilitate the recruitment of relevant educators from industry who do not necessarily have professional training.
Concerning the FET colleges legislation, which I have just referred to and which is, fortunately, coming, the committee recommended that it is of utmost importance to have new college-specific legislation that excludes schools but incorporates provision of staffing.
I propose that this report be adopted. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION - STUDY TOUR TO MALI AND GHANA
Prof S M MAYATULA: Sihlalo, ndiza kuqala ndithethe ngale nto intle ndiyinxibileyo. Andidli ngakuzinxiba ezi zinto zitsala amehlo. Yinto esayiphiwa yipalamente yaseGhana, endinethemba lokuba ithi, “Namkelekile eGhana.” Ndicinga ukuba abantu bethu beli lizwe, ukuhambisana nento ebithethwa nguSekela Mongameli kwenye imbizo, yokuba banako ukuyithatha into enjengale, ukwenzela xa sisingethe iNdebe yeHlabathi ngowe-2010, abantu bethu bakwazi ukuzuza imali ngokwenza izinto ezilolu hlobo, ekuzithengiseni kwabo.
Kule ngxelo yaseGhana, manditsho ukuba ndibe bubothuka xa ikomiti yayivene, ikhona ne-DA, ukuba le ngxelo ayizi kunikwa ngamalungu onke. Njengokuba sivene ngayo iveza imibono yethu sisonke, iya kusuka ishwankathelwe ngusihlalo, yandule ukwamkelwa yiNdlu. Ngelishwa ke kuthe kunganyulwanga naye ohlonophekileyo uBoinamo olilungu lekomiti seva ngaye, sele kusithiwa loo nto ijikiwe. Ndabae bubothuka ke ukuba kanti ezi zinto sizenza njani na kwezi komiti zethu. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Prof S M MAYATULA: Chairperson, I am going to talk firstly about this beautiful attire I am wearing. I do not usually wear these things that draw attention. We were given this attire by the parliament of Ghana, by which I hope it was saying, “Welcome to Ghana”. I think that, concurring with what the Deputy President has alluded to in one of the izimbizo, people of this country can take this example, so that when we host the 2010 Soccer World Cup, they can raise money by making these things and selling them.
With regard to this report from Ghana, I must say I am a bit surprised because the committee – including the DA - had agreed that the report would not be presented by all the members. As we had agreed that it expressed our joint visions, it would be summarised by the chairperson, and then it would be accepted by the House. Unfortunately before Hon Boinamo, who is a member of the committee, was elected, he told us that it had been changed. I was a bit surprised as to how things were done in our committees.]
I am not going to go into the purpose of the trip, but I am just going to highlight a few issues. Firstly, I will refer to the South Africa–Mali relations. According to Dr Mathoma, the High Commissioner, the following are some of the links between South Africa and Mali.
Let me first speak about the links with the University of Pretoria. There are three of these links. Firstly, there is a twinning with the University of Bamako. Secondly, AngloGold has sent 10 Malian students to study mining- related courses at the University of Pretoria. Thirdly, the embassy and the Malian government identified two Malian officials to be trained in the English language at the University of Pretoria for three months in order to be more efficient in performing their official duties.
With regard to the second link, the embassy is considering sending South Africans to Mali to be trained in French to benefit both countries. The third link concerns a joint project by the South African and the Malian governments on the Timbuktu scripts. I must say this is one project for which, wherever we went, our South African government was highly commended.
With regard to the education system in Mali, they have a primary education system which is nine years long, and a secondary education system which is three years long. In the first year of schooling, learners are taught in French and as they proceed to their second year they are taught in English. Over a period of years students are able to speak French and English fluently. About 70% of children attend school in Mali.
Due to cultural resistance, parents prefer rather to send boys to school than girls. The reasons for that are based on socioeconomics and culture.
When it comes to education, although the policy says that it is free, we also got a report that 5% of the budget comes from the students and some parents pay for their children.
With regard to university, there is only one university, which was only established in 1996, and that is the Bamako University. It has nonbreaking space 32 000 learners. If one looks at gender equity, statistics suggest that participation of females as opposed to males in the university is in the ratio of 30:70.
With regard to academic development, there are no mechanisms to develop academics at the university. Most professors were trained in Russia, France, the United States, Canada and China. One would understand that because the university is only 10 years old. Some of the challenges of the university are that there is a shortage of professors, and a lack of infrastructure and equipment.
The general cry in Mali is for South Africa to assist in creating links with Mali. As you can see, of all the universities in South Africa, there is only one that is linked with Mali, and that is the University of Pretoria.
We paid a visit to a school that is named after our former President, Nelson Mandela. It is called the Nelson Mandela primary school. What interested us most there was to learn that they teach certain subjects in the Bambara language, which is an indigenous language. Even in the second school that we went to, we were given the same story, and we thought that this is one area in which we as South Africans can learn from Mali and find out how they fare when they use their mother tongue in the basic levels. But, they did share with us one of their problems even on that front, which is that parents were taking learners away because they thought it is not a good policy to use one’s mother tongue.
Regarding relations with Ghana, according to the commissioner, there is a project between the University of Ghana and the University of Stellenbosch, which deals with HIV/Aids. It is driven by Prof Jan du Toit of Stellenbosch. There is also a Masters programme which exists between the two universities.
There are 25 South African companies in Ghana, such as Checkers, Woolworths, Stannic, MultiChoice and many others. A well-established college for senior military staff was built in Ghana and the two countries have working relations in peacekeeping missions.
I would like to refer to what I am wearing today. When we visited the parliament of Ghana one of our main surprises was to be told that, as parliamentarians, they do not have committee rooms. To convene a meeting, parties make use of lobbies. As if that was not bad enough, we were also informed that they don’t even have offices as members of Parliament, but that there is a process of restructuring another building under way so that they can have this facility. Again, they do not have researchers dedicated to them.
The system of education in Ghana currently is six primary school years, three junior secondary school years and three senior secondary school years – and they are going to change that system as from 2007. What they are going to do is to start with two years’ preprimary education, remain with the six years of primary school education, three years of junior secondary school and expand the senior secondary school years from three years to four years.
Currently, their university degrees are done in four years and they are saying that the overall plan is to reduce the university time by increasing the preparation for learners in the primary and secondary levels of schooling. Maybe that is one area that we could look at and see what potential and advantages it has. One of the advantages that we can put upfront is that it is cheaper to do this at primary level, because it ensures that by the time kids arrive at university they are mature and well grounded.
We also visited a school where we were again told that, according to policy, education is free, but we found that the learners were paying what they referred to as levies. These levies covered the school fees, boarding and food. This means that although education is free, as parents they were still expected to pay something.
Let me move over to the Nepad project, which was part of the objectives. In Ghana they have taken Nepad so seriously that they have a Ministry responsible for its affairs. One of their projects that they ran through the Ministry was a Nepad school feeding scheme programme that had been started on a pilot basis. So, they were still piloting what we are already doing here. The programme would be expanded across the country by 2006.
Again, as a Nepad structure, they indicated that they would like to co- operate with some institutions in South Africa. They had tried to link with the SA Institute of International Affairs and they indicated that they would like to have institutional exchanges with South Africa. And they would like these relationships to be more permanent.
What was also peculiar there was that they have a special university which does nothing but prepare teachers. It is the Winneba University of Education. All teachers are taught in that university. All resources are put there in order to produce the best teachers that they can.
When it comes to partnerships, we found that universities in Ghana are more linked with other countries. There is no link with African universities but with universities in the United States, Germany, Canada, you name them. They are also crying out for this link with universities in Africa.
So, these are some of the lessons that we have learnt. I want to propose that this report be adopted. [Applause.]
Mr G G BOINAMO: Chairperson, the trip to Mali and Ghana has been a learning experience. Mali is riddled with abject poverty. Teaching and learning occur under very difficult conditions. Most of the schools are ancient, with medieval roads all over Bamako. The learning spaces are overcrowded. In many instances there are 150 to 200 learners of different grades in one learning space. Teachers of various grades share time to attend to their grades in the same learning space.
The provision of electricity, running water and sanitation to schools is an enormous challenge in Mali. However, learners are well-disciplined and educators are highly committed to their work. What is most interesting is that HIV/Aids is running at 3%. It’s amazing, unlike in our country.
Ghana is one of the African countries with a viable economy. Education is taken very seriously. School buildings are very modern and educator-learner ratio is 1:35, which is internationally acceptable. Teaching and learning occur under conducive conditions. No learner comes to school without wearing a school uniform. Hairdos are prohibited among all learners. All learners, males and females, cut their hair short and female dungarees go below the knees. The schools do not spare the rod; consequently, discipline is very high. The morale in both educators and learners is very high.
The schools do not have problems of teenage pregnancy, HIV/Aids and child- headed families. All children register at schools to complete their studies. Television programmes do not show sex movies in Ghana. So, children’s minds are not contaminated like in our case.
The provision of running water, electricity and sanitation to schools is up to scratch in Ghana. Schools are easily accessible because roads are very good.
Ghanaian public education has been reformed to meet expectations in terms of its coverage, quality, equitableness and economic utility. Greater emphasis is placed on technical, agricultural and vocational education and on structured apprenticeship.
There is a continuous 11-year basic education system. In order to address this situation, the government has introduced a new universal and continuous basic education programme from age 4 to 15 and thereafter in a redefined 4-year senior high school system to replace the present primary, junior secondary and senior secondary school structures. This decision will create a universal and compulsory basic education system comprising 2 years of kindergarten, 6 years of primary and three years of junior high school to cater for all of Ghana’s children from age 4 to 15.
This arrangement will far exceed the standard required under various international conventions and people’s rights to which Ghana has ascribed, such as the UN Millennium Development Goals. [Time expired.]
Mr A M MPONTSHANE: Deputy Speaker, I just want to confirm that what our chairperson, Prof Mayatula, has said is exactly what we saw in both Mali and Ghana. But what is important is not what we saw. What is important is what we are going to do with what we saw in order to enrich our own education system. Therefore, I won’t bother this House by relating what we saw - students with short hair or long hair or this and that - because you can read this yourselves in the ATC report, which was published on 23 May
- I will just relate a few experiences and recommend what we could also do here in our country.
As has been said, the objective for going to Mali and Ghana was to observe the education systems – how they reveal themselves. They did reveal themselves to us with their special features and one of their special features was the disciplined teachers and learners. Teachers there still perform their traditional role - that of teaching.
I am not saying that teachers should not meddle in politics but I didn’t hear them meddling in succession battles. They talked to us about teaching – which was important. This is what the IFP has always argued, namely that there is no system of education, anywhere in the world, which is better than its teachers. So, we must start with our teachers performing their traditional role, that of teaching.
Lastly, the IFP supports this report as it appears in the ATCs of 23 May
- I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr R B BHOOLA: Deputy Speaker, the oversight visits to FET colleges clearly indicate the need for financial and learner-support services. Funding, management and structure all need to be addressed urgently.
With respect to the recommendations of a permanent student exchange programme to be hosted with Ghana, we have no objections and find the suggestion to engage in partnership between our universities and Mali promising.
However, considering that we have 11 official languages, we feel the Bambara example of teaching learners from Grade 1 to 6 in their mother tongue and teaching English as a second language a bit problematic. At an early age, children are much more easily socialised into learning. In Grade 6 it would be difficult for a learner to adjust to English as the main language. Also, children will be restricted to go to schools of their languages and that in a way creates boundaries and segregation that we do not want.
We have to thank the Department of Education for these informative reports and request that their recommendations be taken seriously and acted upon.
The MF supports the report. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Deputy Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION – CONSIDERATION OF ANNUAL REPORT OF DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION – VOTE 15 – 25 OCTOBER 2005
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION – HEARINGS ON ANNUAL REPORTS 2004-2005 OF PUBLIC ENTITIES ON 11 TO 12 OCTOBER 2005
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION – STUDY TOUR TO UNIVERSITY OF FREE STATE ON 25 FEBRUARY 2005
Prof S M MAYATULA: Deputy Speaker, I propose that the reports be adopted.
There was no debate.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Deputy Speaker, we move that the reports be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Reports accordingly adopted.
CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON SPORT AND RECREATION – OVERSIGHT VISIT TO THE WESTERN CAPE
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is there any speakers’ list? I don’t see any. [Interjections.]
Mr S J MASANGO: Deputy Speaker and hon members, oversight visits give us an opportunity to identify gaps and whether government resources are utilised properly in accordance with the intended purpose, and if not, corrective steps that should be taken. It will be fruitless and a waste of taxpayers’ money if the recommendations of portfolio committees, flowing from oversight visits, are not taken into consideration and implemented. It should not be about visit after visit while nothing changes between those visits. We need to make a difference with our oversight visits so that there is a better life for the people out there. Most of the challenges we come across during oversight visits are common to all provinces.
Sports facilities are in direct competition with service delivery and, in most cases, sports facilities are not considered as important. The lack of sports facilities remains one of the biggest problems in our country. In places where there are facilities, either they are not maintained or there are no caretakers to look after them. The most painful and worrying factor is the vandalism of our own facilities by our own communities. This is actually a criminal act and perpetrators should be arrested.
An education drive is needed to teach our communities about the importance and cost involved in maintaining those properties. They should understand that sports facilities are assets belonging to the community and the country. They should see those facilities as theirs and be jealous about caring for them. Unless they take ownership of these assets, we are fighting a losing battle.
Oversight visits also provide us with an opportunity to take another look at the way government does things. One of the things the Department of Sport and Recreation should do is to make sure that when a new facility is to be constructed that facility must be a multipurpose facility. This gives everyone an opportunity to showcase his or her talent in the field that he or she has an interest in. It is a pleasure to participate in a sport that you have an interest in. A multipurpose facility brings the community together and builds relationships. The multipurpose usage of a facility ensures security as most members of the community use the facility, and it is simple to catch the perpetrators of vandalism. It actually gives the ownership of the property to the community.
Without sports facilities there are no sports activities, no recreation, no physical exercise; only worries, stress, drugs and criminal activities. Through sports facilities and participating in sports activities, we have a healthy and sharp mind; we have a healthy mentality; we have a healthy family; we have a healthy community; we have a healthy country and, lastly, we have a health nation. Thank you, Deputy Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr B W H DHLAMINI: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon members, I will not waste your time as you have read the report in the ATCs. This is one of the provincial visits that we had undertaken as the sports committee and we had agreed that we would not debate this. I don’t know why it is being debated today.
I think what is highlighted in the report is that, since the advent of the Building for Sport and Recreation Programme in the Department of Sport and Recreation, we have been able to build more than 200 sports facilities. However, after the programme was moved from Sport and Recreation to be part of the municipal infrastructure grant, we have only been able to build four in the past financial year. So, it is really a concern that needs to be taken up. Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Mr R B BHOOLA: Deputy Speaker, we acknowledge and value the contribution of sport and recreation to South Africa and its people.
Oversight visits play a vital role in ensuring that government facilitates the growth and development of the sector. It is evident from this report that while we have a great supply of sportspeople, the participation in and contribution to South African sports is limited.
In view of the recommendations, the MF strongly feels that society needs to adopt a far more serious approach to sport in the country and recognise its value. While the recommended 5% of the municipal infrastructure grant allocated to building facilities is a wise offering, we feel that special funding needs to be allocated to address the building of these facilities.
The MF thanks the Portfolio Committee on Sport and Recreation for an informative report, and calls on the House to address its recommendations in all earnestness. Thank you.
Mr L R R REID: Hon Deputy Speaker and hon members, this oversight tour took place from 12 to 15 March. Amongst the highlights of this tour was the visit to the Swartklip Multipurpose Indoor Sport Centre, in terms of our visit to the metro here in the Western Cape.
This centre was built between Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain. Building it at that particular spot integrates the two communities. In terms of that particular multipurpose indoor sport centre, it was stated here the other day that it will be one of the venues for practice games during the World Cup in 2010.
Now, in terms of our meeting with the Khayelitsha Sports Council, one of the points raised was that there was too much talent in Khayelitsha but it lacked nurturing. Another point was the problem around the O R Tambo Hall, which is an indoor sports centre which, because of a lack of facilities in Khayelitsha, is a venue that is also used by church groupings for funerals and for church services. It is not being utilised for the purpose that it was built for.
Regarding Khayelitsha stadium, this stadium was built but has no drainage system and it is very problematic during the rainy season. There is no grass on the field and they only have temporary stands. Concerning the Site C stadium, we have two fields without grass, and the playing surface is very dangerous because players can break their legs.
In the Boland area, we visited the Dal Josafat Athletics Stadium. This is a facility with a Tartan track. On that same field, there is a double-storey house that was built as part of the 2003 World Cup legacy.
Regarding the Boland Sports Council, what came out of the meeting with them was that, in respect of that particular area, the Drakenstein sport forum had managed to participate in the independent development plan process. The council in Paarl had allocated R1,56 million for sports facilities in the area, of which R80 000 would go for rural sport development. From that money which they allocated, R500 000 would be distributed to farm schools.
We then we went to the West Coast. In Vredenburg, we met with the sports council, and the Mayor of Vredenburg mentioned that, due to a lack of sports facilities in that particular area, and the fact that the kids cannot play on those fields, they spend their time on liquor consumption and doing other bad things. I think this is one area that we should look at.
Coming to the Cederberg municipality, that municipality has financial problems. It is a very poor area and they are being assisted by the provincial government of the Western Cape. They have one field that is being used for both rugby and soccer. It is very soft, and the playing surface on the field is of such a nature that people can’t play there.
We then went on to Oudtshoorn. That is one area which, if you talk about skewed delivery of facilities, is the best example to look at, because in town they have an indoor sports centre and a rugby field where previously the national teams played. In the disadvantaged areas there is one rugby field called De Platter with no stands. It is just a playing field.
In terms of Bongolethu, they have a soccer area there, but because there was no consultation with that community, that field continues to be vandalised by the people. They were not involved in discussions with the former sports department prior to 1994.
We also went to Dysseldorp. There is one facility that was built by Score, the European Union, and the local authorities. It is a multipurpose sport facility where, on the very same court, they play basketball, netball, mini soccer and also volleyball. There is also, as part of their project, a storeroom to keep the equipment.
Klaarstroom, which is one of the poorest areas in that particular area, has a facility built through the Building for Sport and Recreation Programme to the value of R350 000 where they can play both rugby and soccer.
In Beaufort West, a soccer stadium was built. During 2002-03, they received R3 million from Sima. They have also put up ablution blocks. In terms of the meetings we had with sportspeople there and the councillors, sport is not a priority in terms of their independent development plan. Also, they mentioned to us that, through the Building for Sport and Recreation Programme, they were able to build facilities, but nothing is happening regarding the municipal infrastructure grant.
Now the committee found that, amongst other things, the facilities built by the Building for Sport and Recreation Programme have made a big difference, but the impact of the municipal infrastructure grant, or MIG, is a big challenge, hence the fund is not ring-fenced for sports issues.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon member, please pause for a glass of water. I don’t know why you were not given water. You may continue now.
Mr L R R REID: We found that right through the Western Cape sports councils are not part of discussions during local IDP processes.
I just want to make a correction regarding the number of facilities. Through the Building for Sport and Recreation Programme, 144 facilities were built right through the country but since the introduction of MIG, only four have been built.
We also found that smaller municipalities that do not have a revenue base cannot afford to maintain facilities, resulting in the depletion of the facilities or vandalism.
Khayelitsha has a lot of talent, as I alluded to earlier, and there is interest and enthusiasm, but there are no facilities in Khayelitsha. This causes the talented youth to use drugs, alcohol and other stuff.
The ANC recommends that this report be adopted. Thank you. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, we move that the report be adopted.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I didn’t get that.
The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, we move …
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Please, I need to hear some energy in your voice! [Laughter.] The DEPUTY CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker, I move that the report be adopted.
[Applause.]
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
The House adjourned at 17:11. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
WEDNESDAY, 30 AUGUST 2006
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly
The Speaker
- Formal notice of cancellation of House Sitting - 30 August 2006
a) FORMAL NOTICE: CANCELLATION OF HOUSE SITTING
The Presidency has informed me that the President is indisposed due
to illness and on doctor’s orders cannot be present in the House
today to reply to questions.
As this is the only business before the House today, I have
cancelled the House sitting for this afternoon.
Questions to the President will be rescheduled.
__________________
BALEKA MBETE, MP
SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
30 August 2006
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister for Public Enterprises
a) Report and Financial Statements of Vote 9 – Department of Public
Enterprises for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-
General on the Financial Statements of Vote 9 for 2005-2006 [RP 154-
2006]. 2. The Minister of Labour
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Services Sector Education
and Training Authority (Services Seta) for 2005-2006, including the
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-
2006 [RP 85-2006].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the Health and Welfare Sector
Education and Training Authority (HW-Seta) for 2005-2006, including
the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for
2005-2006 [RP 76-2006].
c) Report and Financial Statements of the Wholesale and Retail Sector
Education and Training Authority (W&R-Seta) for 2005-2006,
including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 88-2006].
d) Report and Financial Statements of the Chemical Industries
Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) for 2005-2006, including
the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for
2005-2006 [RP 69-2006].
e) Report and Financial Statements of the Public Service Sector
Education and Training Authority (PSeta) for 2005-2006 [RP 83-
2006].
f) Report and Financial Statements of the Media, Advertising,
Publishing, Printing and Packaging Sector Education and Training
Authority (MAPPP-Seta) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 80-
2006].
g) Report and Financial Statements of the Information Systems,
Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies Sector Education
and Training Authority (ISETT-Seta) for 2005-2006, including the
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-
2006 [RP 78-2006].
h) Report and Financial Statements of the Energy Sector Education and
Training Authority (Eseta) for 2005-2006, including the Report of
the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP
71-2006].
i) Report and Financial Statements of the Mining Qualifications
Authority (MQA) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-
General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 82-2006].
- The Minister in The Presidency
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Media Development and
Diversity Agency (MDDA) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006.
- The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development a) Report and Financial Statements of the Legal Aid Board for 2005- 2006, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 44-2006].
b) Report of the Auditor-General on the unsigned summary of statements
of monies kept in trust in the Guardian’s Fund for 2004-2005. 5. The Minister of Education
a) Report and Financial Statements of the National Student Financial
Aid Scheme (NSFAS) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 150-
2006].
- The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
a) Report and Financial Statements of Vote 27 – Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism for 2005-2006, including the
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
27 for 2005-2006 [RP 175-2006].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the South African National
Biodiversity Institutes (SANBI) for 2005-2006, including the Report
of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
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Report of the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B 12 -2006] (National Assembly –sec 75), dated 29 August 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security, having considered the subject of the Firearms Control Amendment Bill [B 12 -2006] (National Assembly –sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 12A – 2006].
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Report of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs on NEPAD Conference Championing Agricultural Successes for Africa’s Future, A Parliamentarians Dialogue, dated 29 August 2006:
THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND LAND AFFAIRS HAVING
PARTICIPATED IN THE ABOVE-MENTIONED CONFERENCE, REPORTS TO PARLIAMENT AS
FOLLOWS:
1. Introduction and Background:
The NEPAD Conference, Championing Agricultural Successes for Africa’s
Future, A Parliamentarians Dialogue, took place at the Erinvale Spa
Somerset West from 15th until 18th May 2006.
The conference was organised by the African Union/NEPAD, and its
partners, the PAN African Parliament, Capacity Building International
Germany (InWent), the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation
(CTA).
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Agriculture and Land
Affairs, Hon. Ms D.G. Nhlengethwa delegated by the Speaker of the
National Assembly Hon. Ms. Baleka Mbete opened the conference, which
provided a unique opportunity for Members to interact, learn and shape
the destiny of Africa’s agricultural future.
South Africa was the host country for this event, which was attended
Parliamentarians from all corners of Africa.
Broad based economic growth and poverty reduction in Africa will require
significant increases in agricultural growth. Given that 80% of Africa’s
poor work in agriculture and that the urban poor spend the majority of
their income on food, only agricultural growth can simultaneously
increase real incomes of Africa’s rural and urban poor.
Yet over the past four decades, agricultural growth has failed to keep
pace with Africa’s demographic bulge. Africa remains the only developing
region where per capita food production has fallen over the last four
decades. Declining funding by African governments and donors has
contributed to this decline by eroding the quality of Africa’s key
agricultural support institutions in research, extension, education and
farmer organisations.
To counter these dangerous trends, African heads of Government and
State, in their Maputo Declaration of May 2003 pledged to make
agriculture top priority and to increase funding for agriculture to 10%
of total budget outlays up to approximately 6%.African Parliamentarians
heading agriculture and budget committees will play a decisive role in
translating those commitments into reality.
2. Objectives of the conference:
The conference brought together African Parliamentarians with farmer
groups, private sector representatives, researchers and donors. The
overall objectives were as follows:
1. To raise the awareness of parliamentarians on the importance of
agriculture for poverty reduction and economic growth
2. To briefly review the agricultural constraints and share
significant success factors in stimulating agricultural growth and
food security. 3. To identify early actions and medium term interventions
4. To review evidence on agriculture’s role as a motor of aggregate
economic growth and poverty reduction
5. To examine significant successes in African agriculture and factors
decisive in enabling that superior performance 6. To identify and discuss forward looking issues affecting agricultural growth
7. To solicit participant input on feasible means of monitoring Maputo
Declaration commitment by African heads of state to increase
budgetary allocations for agriculture to 10% of total government
spending
8. To identify follow up necessary support for parliamentarians to
pursue a successful agricultural agenda.
3. Delegation of the committee:
The Portfolio Committee on Agriculture and Land Affairs made a decision
in its committee meeting held during 2005 that resolved that as the host
country it was necessitated that the full committee attend the
conference. The attendance of Members of the committee was as follows:
Ms D.G. Nhelengethwa (ANC) (Chairperson); Ms B. Thomson (ANC); Mr S.
Abram (ANC); Mr T.D.H. Ramphele (ANC); Mr D.M. Dlali (ANC); Adv. S.P.
Holomisa (ANC); Ms L. Ngwenya (ANC); Mr C.H.F. Greyling (ANC); Ms C.
Nkuna (ANC); Ms H.M. Blose (ANC); Ms. B.M. Ntuli (ANC) ; Mr Nel (DA); Dr
A.I. Van Niekerk (DA); Mr E.J. Lucas (IFP); Mr. Bici (UDM); Ms C.
Zikalala (IFP); Mr Ditshetelo (UCDP) and Dr Pheko (PAC).
The delegation of the committee was accompanied by the following support
staff: Ms M. Koff (Committee Secretary); Ms N. Mafani (Secretary to
Chairperson); Ms Z. Jara (Committee Assistant) and Ms T. Pepeteka
(Committee Researcher).
4. International representation:
Parliamentarians from the following countries were represented at the
conference:
Egypt; Ghana; Nigeria; Burundi; Cameroon; Gabon; Ethiopia; Kenya; Mali;
Mozambique; Senegal; Rwanda and Malawi. Other organisations who were
presented were: The International Food Policy Research Institute, the
World Bank, The African Union Commission; The New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD); The Technical Centre for Agriculture and
Rural Co-operation (CTA); Centre'de Coope'ration International en
Recherche' Agronomique pour le De'veloppment (CIRAD); InWent
(Internatioale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung and the Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
5. Conference Programme:
Conference format:
The conference programme was divided into two main areas i.e. plenary
sessions and working group discussions.
Plenary:
The Plenary sessions enabled the conference participants to start
deliberations with a common understanding of the context of the
agricultural sector, its challenges and what the best practice models
for agricultural growth are.
Working group discussions:
To facilitate diversity and inter-parliamentary discussion, participants
in the conference were divided into working groups. Within these working
groups participants were given questions to debate and to provide
recommendations. The outcomes of which were then further debated upon
within plenary.
6. Presentations:
The Conference programme constituted of plenary sessions, which included
the following presentations which are available on request.
• The Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme
(CAADP)
• Agricultural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Africa
• Past Performance and Future Prospects for Agricultural Development
and Food Security in Africa in support of CAADP.
• The future of Small farms
• The Cassava Transformation, Africa’s Best Kept Secret in Support of
CAADP (Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme).
• Seeds of Success: The Maize Revolution in East and Southern Africa
• Agriculture Technology for Africa’s Future: Options, Capacity and
Required Investments in the Context of FAAP.
• Globalisation, Concentration and Supermarkets: Implications for
African Smallholders
• Governance on African Agriculture: Parliamentarian Interactions
with Farmers and Agribusiness
• Country Agricultural Policy: Uganda’s Plan to modernise Africa.
• Monitoring Maputo Commitment for Increasing Funding for African
Agriculture in the context of CAADP (Comprehensive African
Agricultural Development Programme).
7. Discussions of the Conference:
Section 1: The Importance of Sustained Agricultural Growth
Sustained Agricultural growth is necessary of Africa is to stimulate
economic growth and to reduce poverty. Over 70% of Africa’s poor work in
agriculture; a majority of them are women. Meanwhile, Africa’s poor
spend half their income on food staples. Thus, agriculture has the
greatest potential to simultaneously increase production and
productivity while enhancing incomes for the majority of Africa’s poor,
and at the same time raise real incomes of the urban poor by reducing
the cost of food staples. Members further recognised that agricultural
prosperity stimulates demand for non-farm goods and services, generating
large spill-over growth in other sectors of the economy and driving
large GDP growth multipliers. Further, agricultural growth improves
national food security and drives rural prosperity and wealth creation
which in turn help in stemming the rural – urban migration.
Section 2: Prospects for Success:
The conference recognised that African farmers and agricultural policy
makers have achieved a series of substantial successes in agricultural
development, although these have proven inadequate in number and scale
to counter Africa’s rapid demographic growth. Many of these successes
have endured for decades, without being scaled up. The development of
Tropical Manioc Selection (TMS) varieties of cassava have launched to
decades of breeding breakthroughs in most regions of Africa. The
development and diffusion of modern, high-yielding varieties of maize
from the 1960’s onwards, have transformed this imported cereal from a
minor crop into the continents major source of calories today. By
crossing African and Asian varieties of rice, African rice breeders have
developed a hardy, high yielding upland “NERICA” variety of rice which
is spreading rapidly in West and Central Africa. Further, members noted
that in recent decades African farmers have successfully contested
highly competitive export markets for high value agricultural
products—including cotton, coffee, livestock and horticultural
products—for Europe, the Middle and Far East.
Reviews of past successes suggest a regular confluence of three key
ingredients. First, is new more productive technology that lowers costs
and makes farming more competitive and profitable. Second is a focus on
growing markets. Third is high-level political, which has consistently
proven essential for creating favourable policy environments and
ensuring adequate budget allocations to agricultural support
institutions and related infrastructure.
Looking forward, medium term projections suggest that the largest
immediate opportunity for agricultural growth lie with the anticipated
explosive growth in Africa’s internal and sub-regional markets for food
staples. Flexible responsiveness to high-value and niche export markets
can supplement this with opportunities for external growth. Both
domestic and export markets can supplement this with opportunities for
value addition up-and downstream input supply and processing industries.
Africa’s abundant resource base can underwrite these gains provided
African governments can maintain sustained policy follow ups to maintain
favourable policy environments and provide necessary public goods- such
roads, power legal institutions and research- that the private sector
will not supply.
Section 3: The Role of Public Policies and Investments
The conference further recognized that a modern African agriculture must
view farmers as entrepreneurs seeking profit through access to credit
and productivity-enhancing technologies in order to compete in growing
domestic and export markets. Indeed, Africa’s farmers have proven
inventive and resourceful as well as highly responsive to new
opportunities. Input suppliers, together with agribusiness processing
and distribution networks form vital links between farmer and final
output markets. Public policy must provide a favorable environment for
sustained agricultural production and agribusiness. Access to land and
security of tenure, a solid legal framework, stable macroeconomic policy
and well-functioning support institutions provide a necessary foundation
for agricultural prosperity. However, members expressed concern about
the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other debilitating diseases. Harmonized
access to continental, regional and sub-regional markets enhances
prospects for sustained agricultural growth, particularly in rapidly
growing markets for food staples. Fair trade conditions and prices are a
necessary part of this favorable incentive system. Likewise, significant
public investment will be required in rural roads, electricity, and
other infrastructure as well as in agricultural research and extension
of new, more productive technologies. Returns to public investment in
agricultural research and development prove consistently high, both in
Africa and elsewhere. Yet Africa, on average, has continued to under
invest in its key productive sector. While Green Revolution Asian
countries invested 15% of their budgets in agriculture, on average,
African governments today allocate only 6%.
Similarly, the conference acknowledged that public investments necessary
to sustain rapid agricultural growth will require a significant boost in
African government budgetary allocations for agriculture. Recognizing
this imperative, African Heads of State and Government agreed, at the
African Union Summit in July 2003, to make agriculture a top priority
and to raise budget allocations for agriculture to a minimum of 10% of
their individual countries’ total public spending, by 2008.
Section 4. What is required to achieve the CAADP goals?
Conference Recommendations
The conference recommends that achievement of the CAADP (Comprehensive
Africa Agricultural Progamme) goals will require concerted action at
multiple levels:
A. AU/NEPAD level
Communicate the Maputo Declaration to all stakeholders, including
governments, relevant ministries, parliaments, civil society and
private sector.
The NEPAD Secretariat and AU Commission should enhance the monitoring
of these agreements, including the Maputo Declaration for all
member states.
Provide a website with real-time information on spending targets and
achievement.
Harmonize definitions of agriculture and total spending. Support the
NEPAD initiative on agricultural expenditure tracking within
government institutions and the necessary budget translations.
Host regular, sub-regional seminars to include government, Parliament
as well as representatives from the farmer’s organizations.
B. National level
• Immediately internalize, formalize and institutionalize the Maputo
Declaration (MD) in national budgeting process. Prepare Cabinet
memoranda; provide high-level briefings within government,
legislative branches as well as stakeholder groups. Integrate the
MD into national medium-term planning and budgeting systems.
• Improve the quality of agricultural investment allocations.
• Enhance internal capacities to utilize budget allocation
effectively and efficiently.
• Develop transparent and efficient accounting systems that will
accurately track actual expenditures on a timely basis.
• Initiate national peer review mechanisms whereby government,
legislature and civil society can monitor progress towards this
goal.
• Engage and enhance the capacity of farmer organizations, civil
society and other beneficiary groups on follow up and expenditure
monitoring.
• Document and showcase past agricultural successes.
• Make agricultural education and image attractive.
C. Parliamentarians
• Designate the agriculture and associated committees of parliament
to monitor progress towards the CAADP goals.
• Annually verify the implementation of the CAADP programme,
including progress towards the Maputo Declaration by reviewing
annual budget allocations and actual expenditure.
• Engage in sub-regional dialogues.
• Alert constituencies, including the youth, men, women and
political parties, to the importance of agriculture and increased
investment in agriculture.
• Require briefing by the executive to parliament on all initiatives
related to agriculture.
• Monitor government progress in achieving the Maputo Declaration.
• Introduce private member resolutions advocating achievement of the
MD.
• Parliamentarians should take a leading role in fighting HIV/AIDS.
• Encourage exchanges of experience and mutual learning with other
parliamentarians and technical experts.
D. Development partners:
• Encourage development partners to prioritize agriculture again and
provide matching grants to support African governments that
display commitment to CAADP.
• Support capacity building efforts among African governments,
parliaments and parliamentary groups.
• Support regional and sub-regional parliamentary fora on
agriculture.
• Provide technical backstopping on technical issues affecting
agricultural technology, development and trade.
• Provide links to industrialized country parliaments and policy
makers so African parliamentarians can communicate the
interdependence of African and developed country farm policies.
8. Conclusion:
The NEPAD Conference provided a platform to facilitate inter-
governmental partnership and collaboration in terms of agricultural
development. This unique opportunity provided a forum for discussion,
and created an environment for collective learning and co-ordinated
action in terms of agricultural development as a means to poverty
alleviation.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HOME AFFAIRS FROM JANUARY – DECEMBER 2005
-
OVERVIEW
This report gives an overall account of activities performed by the
Committee as wellas services rendered by the officials to members. The
National Assembly as a peopledriven institution and its delivery cannot
be measured against tangible results, but against the quality of
services provided to the people of South Africa. In other words the
performance of our committee should not be measured against the number
of sitting days or the number of Bills passed in a particular year, but
against the quality of performing its constitutional duties. During the
period under review, the committee worked towards fulfilling the Vision
and Mission of the national Parliament.
The Committee derives its authority from the Rules of the Assembly,
Joint Rules of both Houses and the Constitution of the Republic.
Parliament, as the assembly of freely elected representatives of the
people of South Africa, has a mission to represent, and to act as a
voice of the people, in fulfilling their constitutional functions of
passing legislation and scrutinising the actions of the executive.
Parliament’s vision is to build an effective peoples institution that is
responsive to the needs of the people and that is driven by the ideal of
realising a better quality of life for all South Africans. The vision
will be reached through the implementation of strategic objectives
namely:
❑ Building an oversight process that ensures a quality process of
scrutinising and overseeing government’s action, and that is driven
by the ideal of realising a better quality of life.
❑ Further build a people’s Parliament that is responsive to the
needs of the people of South Africa, deepening public participation
and involvement, and being people –centred.
❑ Build an effective and efficient institution through the Service
Delivery Improvement Programme.
- VISION
The vision of the Committee is to see the establishment of an efficient
and effective Department of Home Affairs that provides quality,
accessible services to all our citizens.
- MISSION
The mission of the Committee is to work towards the goal of a better
life for all.
- STATUTORY BODIES
The Committee exercises oversight function on the following statutory
bodies:
1. Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
The Independent Electoral Commission is one of the Constitution’s
Chapter 9 state institution in support of constitutional democracy. The
primary responsibility of the Commission is to manage elections and to
establish and maintain the national common voter’s roll. Additional
functions of the Commission are described in section 5 of the Electoral
Commission Act, 1996.
2. Film and Publications Board (FPB)
The Film and Publication Board is a statutory body established by the
Film and Publications Act (1996) as amended. The act regulates the
creation, production, possession, exhibition and distribution of films,
interactive computer games and publications. The board is also
responsible for monitoring adult premises.
3. Government Printing Works (GPW)
The Government Printing Works provides stationary related items to
government departments, the provincial governments and local
authorities. The GPW also provides related services to other African
countries, such as printing high security documents for Namibia, Malawi
and Swaziland, and ballot papers for the Tanzanian government.
- MEETINGS
As in the past, committee work consumed most of the Members time during
the period under review. This was as a result of the activities the
Committee was engaged with.
During the period under review, the following matters appeared on the
Committee agenda:
❑ 22 February 2005 – discussing Committee programme for 2005
❑ 17 May 2005 – briefing by the Department of Home Affairs on
draft strategic plans for 2005/6 and progress review of 2004
strategic plans
❑ 11 August 2005 – briefing by Bosasa on the operations of
Lindela
❑ 11 August 2005 – meeting with refugee stakeholders on programme
development and preparations for public hearings on the plight
refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa
❑ 24 August 2005 – briefing by the Minister of Home Affairs, Ms N
Mapisa- Nqakula, on latest developments that were happening in
the department regarding Lindela
❑ 30 August 2005 – Public hearings on the plight of refugees and
asylum seekers in South Africa
❑ 13 September 2005 – briefing by the department on security
issues of Identity Documents (IDs) and passports
❑ 25 October 2005 – briefing by the Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) on their annual report, 2005
❑ 15 November 2005 – briefing by Vodacom, MTN, SABC, cell C, and
Hustler Magazine on pornography advertisements (pornography in
general/ adult material)
❑ 14 December 2005 – briefing by e.tv and the Daily Voice on
adult material (pornography)
6. BILLS
For the period under review, no legislation was referred to the
committee for consideration and report.
- OVERSIGHT VISITS
For the period under review, the committee undertook seven oversight
visits on different occasions.
1. Visit to Immigration Office, Cape Town International Airport and
Cape Town Harbour
Background to the visit
On 14 June 2005 the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs visited the Cape
Town International Airport and the Harbour in the Western Cape Province.
This follows a meeting with the officials whereby the Committee pledged
to re-visit them to assess the progress made with regard to the issues
raised previously.
A multi-party delegation led by the Chairperson of the Committee, Mr H P
Chauke, was comprised of the following persons: Mr K W Morwamoche (ANC);
Mr M P Sibande (ANC); Ms N B Gxowa (ANC); Ms S V Kalyan (DA) and Mr M
Swart (DA). Mr M R Mankge (Committee Secretary) and Ms L Martin
(Committee Assistant) accompanied the delegation for support.
Objectives of the visit
The purpose of the visit was to understand the progress made so far
about the issues raised during the meeting held with senior immigration
officials in February 2005. There were numerous problems affecting the
staff such as, but not limited to, the low salaries, late payment of
salaries, shortage of staff, lack of transport for staff working
irregular hours and other concerns.
2. Visit to Department of Home Affairs, Port Elizabeth
Background to the visit
The Committee undertook a visit to the Department of Home Affairs in
Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province on 01 June 2005. This was part of
the series of oversight visits planned for in the Committee’s program
for the year 2005.
The following members made up the delegation for the visit: Mr H P
Chauke (ANC); Mr P Sibande (ANC); Mr W M Skosana (ANC); Ms S V Kalyan
(DA); Mr I S Mfundisi (UCDP); Mr M T Likotsi (PAC). Mr M R Mankge
(Committee Secretary) accompanied the Committee.
Objectives of the visit
The committee paid a surprise visit to the Department, including the
Immigration Office, in the province as part of its oversight
responsibility to check how the Home Affairs services were rendered to
the public.
3. National Conference Against Pornography, Port Elizabeth
Background to the visit
The committee visited the Eastern Cape province from 01 – 03 June 2005
to attend a National Conference Against Child Pornography hosted by the
Films and Publication Board (FPB) in conjunction with the Department of
Home Affairs.
The following members made up a delegation for the conference. They were
Mr H P Chauke (ANC); Mr P Sibande (ANC); Mr W M Skosana (ANC); Ms S V
Kalyan (DA); Mr I S Mfundisi (UCDP) and Mr M T Likotsi (PAC). Mr M R
Mankge (Committee Secretary) also accompanied the delegation as part of
the support staff.
Objectives of the visit
The aim of the visit and the conference was to come up with a
sustainable program of action that seeks to educate and inform the South
African public about the effects and dangers of child pornography to
society at large. Further, this was an attempt to strengthen the
relations between government, business and civil society organisations
based on the program of action.
4. Visit to Independent Electoral commission and Government Printing
Works, Tshwane
Background to the visit
The committee visited the Independent Electoral Commission and the
Government Printing Works on 14 June 2005 as part of the Committee’s
oversight duty.
The visit was comprised of the multiparty-delegation headed by Mr H P
Chauke (ANC). Other members were Mr W Skhosana (ANC); Ms S Kalyan (DA)
and Ms I Mars (IFP). Mr R Mankge (Committee Secretary) and Ms L Martin
(Committee Assistant) accompanied the committee as the support staff.
Objectives of the visit
The aim of the visit was to get the briefing by the Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) on state of preparedness for the forthcoming
local government elections. The committee also visited Government
Printing Works (GPW) to understand the factory’s operational matters,
security of official documents and processing systems.
5. Visit to Department of Home Affairs, Free State Province
Background to the visit
As part of the Committee’s program for the year 2005, an oversight visit
was undertaken to various offices of the Home Affairs Department in the
Free State Province from 15 to 17 August 2005.
A delegation for the visit was comprised of the following: Mr H Chauke
(ANC); Ms M Maunye (ANC); Mr P Sibande (ANC); Mr I Mfundisi (UCDP); Prof
E Chang (IFP) and Ms C I Ludwabe (ANC). Mr R Mankge (Committee
Secretary) accompanied the delegation.
Objective of the visit
The purpose of the visit was to understand the state of readiness by the
Home Affairs Department in preparations for the forthcoming Local
Government elections. Further, the Committee wanted to observe Identity
Documents (IDs) campaigns, and to study child-online birth
registrations. The committee also wanted to observe the border posts
used as a transit zones between South Africa and Lesotho and view the
systems used to control the movement of people. And lastly, to
understand the challenges faced by immigration officials and the
department.
6. Visit to Department of Home Affairs, Northern Cape Province
Background to the visit
The Committee undertook an oversight visit to Northern Cape from 17 to
19 August 2005. The visit was undertaken as part of the Committee’s
programme for 2005 oversight responsibility.
The following members formed a delegation for the visit: Mr H Chauke
(ANC); Ms M Maunye (ANC); Mr I Mfundisi (UCDP) and Ms I Ludwabe (ANC).
Mr M R Mankge (Committee Secretary) accompanied the delegation to the
Northern Cape.
Objectives of the visit
The purpose of the visit was to understand the state of readiness by the
Home Affairs Department in preparations for the forthcoming Local
Government elections. The Committee also wanted to study the ID
campaigns as well as on-line childbirth registration. Further, to
understand the challenges faced by immigration officials and the Home
Affairs Department.
7. Visit to Department of Home Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal
Background to the visit
The Committee undertook a visit to KwaZulu-Natal from 25 to 27 August
2005. The visit was one of the Committee’s oversight trips planned for
the year 2005.
A delegation for the KwaZulu – Natal visit, under the leadership of Mr H
P Chauke (ANC), was comprised of the following members: Ms M Maunye
(ANC); Mr R Sikakane (ANC) and Ms S Kalyan (DA). Mr M R Mankge as the
Committee Secretary accompanied the delegation.
Objectives of the visit
The purpose of the visit was to understand the state of readiness by the
provincial Home Affairs Department in preparations for the forthcoming
Local Government elections. Part of the plan was to check Identity
Documents (ID) campaigns and observing the on-line childbirth
registration. The committee also wanted to understand the challenges
faced by immigration officials in the Department of Home Affairs.
- INTERNATIONAL VISITS
For the period under review, the committee undertook three international
visits to the following countries:
1. Visit to Mozambique
Background to the visit
The 2005 year programme for the Committee reflected amongst other
things the international visits to the Southern African counterparts
of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia for discussions on the
SADC protocols on free movement of persons. On their first leg of the
visits, the Committee went to Mozambique from 22 to 28 June 2005.
Under the leadership of Mr H P Chauke, the multi-party delegation to
Mozambique was constituted of the following persons: Mr S S Vundisa
(ANC); Mr W M Sikhosana (ANC); Ms N F Mathibela (ANC) and Ms S V
Kalyan (DA). The delegation was accompanied by Mr M R Mankge as the
Committee Secretary.
Objectives of the visit
The aims of the trip were four-fold. They were:
i. Policy coordination pertaining to waiving of visa fees. In March
2005 South Africa launched a New Immigration Branch (NIB), and
protocol on free movement which is still to be signed. Challenges
exist at ports of entry, like informal crossing at Imbuzini border,
which the committee wanted to look into.
ii. The committee further wanted to understand why there is an
increasing number of non-Mozambicans like Nigerians, Angolans and
Pakistanis arrested in South Africa with false documents from
Mozambique.
iii. Other problems relate to deportation of illegal Mozambicans from
South Africa.
iv. The problem of drug and human trafficking using Mozambique as a
gateway to South Africa and the rest of the world also necessitated
some exploration.
2. Visit to Zimbabwe
Background to the visit
The Committee undertook a visit to Zimbabwe from 10 to 13 October 2005.
This was part of the Committee’s SADC study tours planned for the year
2005.
The following members formed a delegation for this visit: Mr P Chauke
(ANC); Mr W M Skhosana (ANC); Mr K W Morwamoche (ANC); Ms I Mars (IFP);
Mr M Swart (DA) and Mr M R Mankge (Committee Secretary).
Objectives to the visit
The Committee aimed to hold talks with their Zimbabwean neighbours on
the SADC protocols on free movement of persons, and understand the
implications of these agreements. The Committee also needed to
observe and have an understanding of the immigration processes so as
to prevent the abuse of privileges. They also wanted to have
discussions on the deportation of illegal immigrants. The intention
was also to study the refugee laws and the electoral laws of its
neighbour.
3. Visit to Namibia
Background to the visit
The Committee undertook a trip to Namibia from 17 to 19 October 2005. A
delegation for the visit was formed by Mr P Chauke (ANC); Mr W M
Skhosana (ANC); Mr K W Morwamoche (ANC); Ms I Mars (IFP); Mr M Swart
(DA) and Mr M R Mankge (Committee Secretary).
Objectives of the trip
The purpose of the visit was five-fold, such as
i. Holding discussions with Namibian counterparts on the Southern
African Development Community (SADC) protocols on free movement of
persons, and understand the implications of these agreements
ii. To observe and have an understanding of the migration processes
so as to prevent the abuse of privileges
iii. Discussing deportation of illegal immigrants
iv. To visit the border posts as to understand its operations and
challenges
v. To look at the refugee laws of its neighbour and their electoral
laws
- FINANCIAL OVERSIGHT
The Portfolio Committee attached great importance to its oversight duty
as required by the Constitution, and specifically financial oversight. A
structured programme for financial oversight was developed, adopted and
followed. Departments tabled their Budgets and Strategic Plans for
2005/2006.
Senior Departmental managers and Chief Executive Officers of the public
entities were requested to appear before the committee to explain the
state of their finances and to answer questions from members. The
Portfolio Committee then considered these reports and compiled a
Committee Report containing its findings and recommendations.
The report of the committee on financial oversight was tabled, discussed
and adopted and referred to the House.
The recommendations adopted by the House were conveyed to the
Departments and public entities for implementation in terms of Rule 307
of the Assembly.
- ANNUAL REPORTS
Annual Reports play an important role in the processes of oversight
function of Parliament. Annual report is an important mechanism by which
department accounts to Parliament. Section 65 of the Public Finance
Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999) requires that the executive
authority responsible for a department or public entity must table in
the National Assembly the annual report and financial statements and the
audit report of those statements.
For the period under review, the following annual reports were referred
to the Committee for consideration and report:
❑ Independent Electoral Commission, Annual Report 2004/ 2005
❑ Films and Publications Board, Annual Report 2004/ 2005
❑ Government Printing Works, Annual Report 2004/ 2005
❑ Department of Home Affairs, Annual Report 2004/ 2005
However it must be noted that due to the delays on the audit of the
financial statements of the Department of Home Affairs, the department
did not table its report in 2005 as required by the PFMA. The GPW was
also affected, and it would be able to present its report before the
Committee on 17 May 2006 while the department is scheduled for the 26
May 2006
-
OTHER REPORTS During the period under review, the under-mentioned reports were considered, adopted and referred to the House:
❑ Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on oversight visit to Immigration Office, Cape Town International and the Cape Town Harbour, 14 June 2005
❑ Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Oversight Visit to Department of Home Affairs, Eastern Cape, 01 June 2005
❑ Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on the National Conference Against Child Pornography held in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, from 01- 03 June 2005
❑ Report of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Oversight Visit to Independent Electoral commission and Government Printing Works in Tshwane, 14 June 2005
-
MEMBERSHIP
Changes have been made to the membership of the Portfolio Committee, as
at the 07 November 2005. The Committee has 16 active or full members.
The table below shows the committee members and their status.
Table 1: Members of the Committee
| Surname | Initial & | Party | Status |
| Title | |||
| Beukman | Mr F | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Chauke | Mr H P | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Gxowa | Ms N B | African National | Alt. |
| Congress | |||
| Huang | Dr S | African National | Alt. |
| Congress | |||
| Mabuyakhulu | Mr D V | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Maunye | Ms M M | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Mathibela | Ms N F | African National | Alt. |
| Congress | |||
| Morwamoche | Mr K W | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Ntombela | Ms S H | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Sibande | Mr M P | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Sikakane | Mr M R | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Skhosana | Ms W M | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Vundisa | Mr S S | African National | Full |
| Congress | |||
| Kalyan | Ms S B | Democratic Alliance | Full |
| Swart | Mr M | Democratic Alliance | Full |
| Chang | Prof E S | Inkatha Freedom Party | Alt. |
| Mars | Ms I | Inkatha Freedom Party | Full |
| Nkabinde | Ms N C | United Democratic | Alt. |
| Movement | |||
| Swart | Mr S N | African Christian | Full |
| Democratic Party | |||
| Mulder | Dr C P | Freedom Front Plus | Full |
| Mfundisi | Mr I S | United Christian | Full |
| Democratic Party | |||
| Likotsi | Mr M T | Pan Africanist Congress | Alt. |
| of Azania |
- WORKSHOPS / CONFERENCES
At the end of the period under review, the committee held no workshops,
however, it attended the National Conference against Pornography held in
Port Elizabeth from 1 – 3 June 2005.
14. SPONSORSHIPS
For the period under review, the committee did not receive any
sponsorship from any sources outside Parliament.
- BUDGET
Initially, the committee submitted a budget amounted to R 990 000 for
2005/06 financial year. After intense negotiations with relevant
stakeholders, all committees were requested to make budget cuts. On the
basis of this request, the committee resubmitted a revised budget
amounting to R 935 000.
However, the final budget allocated to the committee for 2005/06
financial year was R 506, 785.00. The budget expenditures is presented
in the table below:
Table 2: Budget expenditure
| Committee allocation | 506, 785.000 |
| Catering | 24, 699.50 |
| Provincial visits | 265,105.00 |
| Overseas trips | 256,230.00 |
| Public hearings | 37,111.10 |
| Transfer to staff travel | 15,200 |
| Balance | -91,561.60 |
- OUTSTANDING MATTERS
As at the end of the period under review, the following matters were
outstanding and are yet to be prioritised and programmed for the
following year.
❑ Hearings on the annual report (2004/ 2005) of the Department
❑ Adoption of the oversight reports and other reports
❑ Meeting with the Department of Home Affairs, SITA and
Government Printing Works on security of IDs and passports
❑ Briefing by the Department of Home Affairs on progress of the
Smart Card
❑ Oversight visit to Northern Cape Province – a consultative
forum of Home Affairs Departments (provincial managers)
❑ Oversight visit to Johannesburg International Airport and other
private airports
❑ Oversight visit to Hustler Magazine warehouse and FPB in
Johannesburg
❑ International visit to Botswana and Swaziland for SADC
protocols on free movement of persons
❑ International visit to France, UK and Spain or Germany (and
Morocco) to investigate the migration policy within the European
Union, and China to study their smart card model
❑ Hearings on the plight of refugees and asylum seekers (Durban &
Johannesburg).
- SUPPORT STAFF
During the period under review, the committee was supported by a staff
complement of five officials, namely:
Committee Secretary: Roussseau Mankge
Control Committee Secretary: Zanele Mene
Committee Assistant: Dineo Martin
Secretary to Chairperson: Nomsa Magazi
Researcher (Research Unit): N/A
- ATTACHMENTS
The following appendixes would be attached as supporting for documents
for archives of National Assembly:
❑ Appendix 1 – Reports
❑ Appendix 2 – Minutes
❑ Appendix 3 – Master attendance Register
❑ Appendix 4 – Copies of budgets statements and approvals
- CONCLUSION
In fulfilling the constitutional mandate of exercising an oversight on
the executive and government entities and facilitating a public
participation in the legislative process, the Committee has made some
tremendous efforts in meeting these objectives.
The committee held public hearings and visited various government
departments and entities to observe service delivery. Numerous
challenges uncovered were brought to the attention of the department and
entities, which helped to improve service delivery. Efforts were also
made to visit and hold dialogues with other nations to learn from one
another. All these and many other achievements were realised because of
the members and the staff who participated in all the committee
activities despite many other commitments. The Department, the
Independent Electoral Commission, Films and Publications Board and
Government Printing Works and other stakeholders should also be
applauded for co-operation and willingness to appear before the
Committee. 20. ADOPTION OF THE REPORT
The annual report was considered, adopted and signed by the Chairperson
on behalf of the Committee.
THURSDAY, 31 AUGUST 2006
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Draft Bills submitted in terms of Joint Rule 159
1) Civil Union Bill, 2006, submitted by the Minister of Home Affairs.
Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and the Select
Committee on Social Services.
2) Films and Publications Amendment Bill, 2006, submitted by the
Minister of Home Affairs. Referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Home Affairs and the Select Committee on Social Services.
3) Immigration Amendment Bill, 2006, submitted by the Minister of Home
Affairs. Referred to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs and
the Select Committee on Social Services.
4) Postal Services Amendment Bill, 2006, submitted by the Minister of
Communications. Referred to the Portfolio Committee on
Communications and the Select Committee on Labour and Public
Enterprises.
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Speaker and the Chairperson
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Public Protector of South
Africa for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-General
on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 212-2006].
- The Minister of Finance
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Financial Services Board
(FSB) 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the
Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 91-2006].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the Accounting Standards Board
(ASB) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Independent
Auditors on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 102-2006].
c) Report and Financial Statements of the Public Investment
Corporation (PIC) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 14-
2006].
- The Minister of Labour
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Commission for Conciliation,
Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) for 2005-2006, including the
Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-
2006 [RP 106-2006].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the Agricultural Sector
Education and Training Authority (Agri-Seta) for 2005-2006,
including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 66-2006].
c) Report and Financial Statements of the Manufacturing, Engineering
and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (MER-
Seta) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-General on
the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 81-2006].
d) Report and Financial Statements of the Safety and Security Sector
Education and Training Authority (SAS-Seta) for 2005-2006,
including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 84-2006].
e) Report and Financial Statements of the Forest Industries Education
and Training Authority (FIETA) for 2005-2006, including the Report
of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006
[RP 74-2006].
- The Minister in The Presidency
a) Report and Financial Statements of Vote 7 – Government
Communication and Information System (GCIS) for 2005-2006,
including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements of Vote 7 for 2005-2006 [RP 123-2006].
- The Minister of Housing
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Rural Housing Loan Fund
(RHLF) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Independent
Auditors on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006.
- The Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
a) Report and Financial Statements of the South African Weather
Service (SAWS) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-
General on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 48-2006].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the Marine Living Resources Fund
(MLRF) for 2005-2006, including the Report of the Auditor-General
on the Financial Statements for 2005-2006 [RP 173-2006].
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Health on the Health Professions Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 76), dated 29 August 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Health, having considered the subject of the Health Professions Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 76), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 76 Bill, reports the Bill with amendments [B 10A – 2006].
-
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services on its Visit to Prisons in the Eastern Cape Province, dated 29 August 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services having undertaken an oversight visit to the Eastern province from Monday 31 July to Friday 04 August 2005, reports as follows:
A. Introduction
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services decided to
undertake an Oversight visit to the Eastern Cape Province from 31
July to 04 August 2006.
B. Delegation
The following members of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional
Services visited prisons in the Eastern Cape province.
• Mr. DV Bloem (ANC) (Chairperson)
• Mr. NB Fihla (ANC)
• Mr. S Mahote (ANC)
• Ms. W Ngwenya (ANC)
• Mr. LJ Tolo (ANC)
• Mr. ET Xolo (ANC)
• Mr. J Selfe (DA)
The following Members submitted their apologies:
• Mr. MA Cele
• Mr. MJ Phala
• Mrs. SA Seaton
C. Objectives
The objectives of the visit were to examine the following:
Centres of Excellence: The implementation of the White Paper will
be rolled out at the Centres of Excellence. There are a number of
Centres in the Eastern Cape that have been declared as Centres of
Excellence. The Committee should investigate the reason for these
Centres being declared as Centres of Excellence, the significant
difference between these centres and normal Correctional Centres,
as well as best practices that can be learned at these centres.
These Centres should mostly host juveniles.
Awaiting Trial Detainees: The large number (46 327/ 29%) of
Awaiting Trial Detainees in our prisons contributes toward the
problem of overcrowding. The delegation will focus on the plight of
the ATD’s in the various prisons with a view to identifying
blockages in the system, which prevent release while awaiting
trial. Awaiting Trial Detainees are not involved in any training
rehabilitation programmes. They do not receive training, schooling
and seldom engage in recreational activities. In the Eastern Cape,
1876 detainnes have been awaiting trial for longer than three
months. The Committee should meet with the various stakeholders in
the province who play a role in determining the release of ATD’s
into the community while awaiting trial, including the police, the
various justice officials, the Legal Aid Board lawyers and
representatives from the Department of Social Development.
Staff Concerns: The delegation intends to meet with correctional
officials at the prisons in order to discuss staff concerns and
solutions to the problems faced by staff on the ground. Staff of
the DCS should strive to be turning around the public perception.
Only the behaviour of officials will dictate how the public
perceives Correctional Services.
Corruption: The DCS stated that it is committed to a cleansed,
trained and dedicated management, the consolidation of relations
between managers and their staff in order to form a team necessary
to deliver on rehabilitation and an enhanced ability to immediately
investigate, prosecute and deliver appropriate sanction to any
allegation of corruption.
Escapes: The Department has been plagued with escapes, many often
very violent, from Correctional Centres. In April 2006, two
prisoners escaped from the Middledrift Centre in the Eastern Cape.
The DCS has confirmed that these escapes have been abetted by
officials and these officials have subsequently been suspended. The
Committee stressed that this phenomenon be seriously addressed by
the DCS and that proper strategies are put in place to curb escapes
from Correctional Centres countrywide.
Youth and Children in prison: There are 2354 children under the age
of 18 years in prison, 12 are younger than 14 years, 1217 of them
are awaiting trial, and 1137 are serving sentences. In line with
the President’s State-of-the-Nation Address, the priority of the
Committee remains to assist in the creation of a better environment
for juveniles in conflict with the law and to ensure that children
are not in prison. With the Special Remission process and a
concerted effort of the DCS, Prosecutors and Magistracy, there are
now 706 less children in prison, but the Committee does not want to
see children in prison at all.
The Committee visited the following prisons in the region:
• East London Correctional Centre
• King Williamstown Correctional Centre
• Middledrift Correctional Centre
• St Albans Correctional Centre
D. Findings and recommendations
The following are the findings and recommendations of the Portfolio
Committee on Correctional Services:
1. Overcrowding
Overcrowded conditions in prisons affect both offenders and
staff working within those prisons. The following table
represents the percentage of overcrowding.
| Prison | Approved | Actual Total | % Occupation |
| Accommodation | |||
| East London | |||
| Prison | |||
| Medium A | 846 | 1045 | 123% |
| Medium B | 535 | 696 | 130% |
| Medium C | 447 | 299 | 66.89% |
| King | 301 | 748 | 248% |
| Williamstown | |||
| Middeldrift | 411 | 1550 | 377% |
| St Albans: | |||
| Medium A | 1446 | 1800 | 124.5% |
| Medium B | 760 | 1400 | 144.5% |
| Maximum | 717 | 1900 | 216% |
All of the centres visited during the Oversight visit are
extremely overcrowded. The Committee inspected a cell at the
Middledrift centre which was originally built to hold 30
inmates, but at the time of the visit, it housed 79 inmates,
with only toilet, shower and basin.
Overcrowding has a serious effect not only on the inmates, but
on the Correctional staff as well. Staff members have to guard,
count, rehabilitate and lock up inmates and in many instances
the staff to inmate ratio can be as high as 1 member to 83
inmates. Many of the male staff members are under extreme
pressure at these centres, because they have to guard the
offenders as well as safeguard their female colleagues as well.
Not all inmates at the centres can participate in rehabilitation
programmes as the facilities are not conducive for
rehabilitation programmes and because of the high number of
occupation, programmes such as schooling are offered in
corridors as well as in courtyards outside the sections as is
the instance at East London Medium C as well as at King
Williamstown.
At centres such as Middledrift, rehabilitation programmes are
suspended over weekends, as there are not enough staff members
to guard the high inmate population.
Because of overcrowding in centres such as St Albans,
gangsterism is rife. An official was stabbed to death by an
inmate, an incidence believed to have been a gang initiation.
This had a very traumatic effect on the staff at the centre.
Through gangsterism, many drugs and other illegal substances are
smuggled into the centre, often by staff as well as members of
the public.
2. Intersectoral Communication
The Portfolio Committee met with the Intersectoral Cluster at
all the centres it visited in the Eastern Cape and had very
successful discussions with all the stakeholders. Intersectoral
communication between the various components of the criminal
justice sector including the police, the courts and the prisons
was very successful in the region.
a) The number of Awaiting Trial Detainees (ATD’s) in the
region hasbeen reduced through Plea Bargaining agreements
andinterventions by the Integrated Justice Cluster.
b) Many ATD’s with bail of less than R1000.00 have been released.
c) The Committee was informed that each of the centres visited
has a permanent representative who attends the Integrated
Justicemeetings on a monthly basis.
d) Public Education Awareness: The DCS has embarked on raising
awareness in communities with regard to social
reintegration.
e) The Area Commissioners at the centres are in continuing
discussions with Magistrates and Prosecutors with regard to
the conversion of sentences for those inmates who do not
pose a danger to society.
f) The East London area has a full time bail court and
procedures and conditions are explained to offenders on
their first appearance. Prosecutors regularly visit ATD’s
especially juveniles to ensure that they are not
incarcerated unnecessarily. The Committee was however
informed that many juveniles have committed serious
offences and that bail cannot be considered for many.
g) There is also a shortage of probation officers to monitor
probationers in the region. There is space available for
juveniles at Secure Care facilities, but due to the serious
nature of crimes, cannot be sent there as staff are not
trained to handle such juveniles. Another serious problem
the cluster is facing is the fact that parents do not want
to take responsibility for their children and do not want
them to be released in their care.
h) It was stated that many of the investigating officers take
long with the dockets of offenders, but that could be
assigned to the fact that investigating officers deal with
as many as 200 cases at a specific time. Another
contributing factor to the delay of cases is that of
witnesses and attorneys who do not attend court sessions.
i) A very successful ATD project is run in the East London
area where ATD’s are assisted with bail. Information is
forwarded from the Correctional Centres indicating those
ATD’s who have not been released. Magistrates are being
sensitized not to set high bail amount.
j) At King Williamstown and Port Elizabeth, permanent staff
members of DCS are employed at the court facilities to
assist with backlog of cases and have a good working
relationship with the Magistrates.
k) The Committee was informed that the population in Port
Elizabeth has grown tremendously in the past years, thus
contributing to high levels of crime. A Socio Crime
Prevention Plan has been drawn up to deal with the issue.
l) The Committee was informed that through initiatives such as
Business Against Crime and Stepping Stones in the Port
Elizabeth area, the court facility at St Albans prisons are
a major success. The court has its own Magistrate,
Prosecutor as well as Legal Aid Board attorneys and even
its own Identification Parade room. The court is also used
to deal with outside cases. The public are allowed to sit
in when the court is in session. The cluster has monthly
meetings as well as continous workshops where magistrates
are being sensitized around issues of diversion, community
supervision, in other words, alternative sentencing.
Comments and Recommendations
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services
understands that the Department of Correctional Services
(DCS) cannot be held solely responsible for resolving the
problem of long periods of awaiting trial. The Committee
identified a female in East London Correctional Centre who
has been incarcerated for twelve (12) months with her two
children (one being only a few months old) for stealing
baby shoes. The Committee is aware that the offender had
prior convictions for other petty offences as well, but is
of the opinion that imprisonment had a greater negative
impact on the lives of the children involved.
The Committee recommends the following additional measures
that should be initiated in the shorter term to reduce the
awaiting trial population:
(a) The Portfolio Committee believes in a just and fair
judicial system and will never be soft on crime, but
in an attempt to relieve overcrowding in Correctional
Centres, recommends that the DCS should liaise
continuously with Magistrates with regard to those
ATD’s who cannot afford bail and that such people
should be considered for alternative sentencing.
(b) Independent Prison Visitors should act as the link
between the offender, DCS and the Judiciary. It is the
responsibility of the IPV to ensure that all cases are
attended to.
(c) The Committee supports the deployment of full time
staff members of the DCS to nearby courts to assist
with the backlog of awaiting trial cases and strongly
recommends that this action is rolled out countrywide.
(d) The DCS should redirect resources to enhance the
Community Correction Programme. This will assist in
improving the confidence of court officials to
sentence offenders to supervision within the
community.
(e) The Committee is very impressed with the
successful intersectoral activities and commitments in
the region.
All stakeholders in the cluster must communicate and
participate to ensure intersectoral solutions. The
DCS must take responsibility for ensuring the
effective functioning of cluster committees at all
levels.
3. Staff concerns
The Portfolio Committee met with both management and staff
in all Correctional Centres to address key concerns and
problems. Most of the problems identified were common in
the region. The following are some of the key concerns
highlighted by managers and staff:
3.1 Communication
Through various discussions with staff as well as
management in the Eastern Cape region, it is clear
that there is little, and in some instances, no
communication strategies between the National Head
Office and staff as well as between management and
staff. This causes a lot of uncertainty and confusion
amongst officials. Grievances tabled by staff are
not attended to, with some grievances only attended
to after years and staff not receiving feedback on
grievances. Many complaints were received about the
implementation of policy in DCS. Staff within DCS are
not adequately informed on key issues and
developments within the Department. It also became
clear that staff meetings are essential as many of
the issues could have been addressed by regular
interaction of the regional office, area
commissioners and managers in the region.
Comments and Recommendations
The Committee recommends the following:
It is recommended that monthly meetings be arranged
in each management area and that these meetings be
adequately represented by officials from the Regional
Office. The Committee further recommends that the
National Head office embark on country wide staff
information sessions, where staff will get
information on all new developments within the DCS.
This will certainly address concerns of staff members
and relieve frustration in the work place.
3.2 Acting Posts
Much unhappiness was raised during the oversight
visit, as on all other oversight visits, about acting
positions. The process of restructuring was completed
in 2004 and yet staff stated that there are still
numerous problems with regard to the filling of
posts. In some cases, staff are appointed to act in
three (3) different positions without remuneration.
Staff are not being paid the allowance that would be
allocated to a financed post in which they are
acting.
This is a matter that has been raised with and by the
Portfolio Committee on numerous occasions. It is
unfair to have staff acting in the same position for
years and then not be considered for promotion in the
position the official occupies.
Comments and Recommendations
The high number of people filling acting positions in
the DCS is unacceptable to the Portfolio Committee.
The Committee strongly believes that no persons
should be filling acting positions for longer than
the 3 months as laid out in the policies of the DCS.
If posts have been identified as critical then they
must be financed and filled on a permanent basis.
The DCS’ Head Office will be called in to account to
Committee as to why numerous posts have not been
financed and what action will be taken to address the
situation, as this is a matter of grave concern.
3.3 Shortage of Professional Staff
The shortage of professional staff within prisons
hampers the ability of DCS to fulfill its stated
mandate of rehabilitation. Many DCS officials e.g.
nurses, leave the Department in search of better work
opportunities, some being employed abroad and some
returning to the Department of Health, who offer
better incentives to health care workers. The
shortage of social workers is especially problematic,
as it is a requirement that an inmate must consult
with a social worker before appearing before the
parole board. The shortage of social workers means
that parole hearings are often delayed. The ratio of
social worker to inmate can be as high as 1 to 240 at
any given time.
Poor salaries and difficult working conditions for
professionals have been identified as key reasons for
the inability of DCS to attract and retain
professional staff. The need to offer improved
salaries for professionals was identified as a
priority by staff.
At the East London Correctional Centre, school is
attended by the inmates only every alternate day,
because of a shortage of educationists.
Comments and Recommendations
The Portfolio Committee recommends as follows:
a) That the DCS tables before Parliament a
retention and recruitment strategy for all
staff of DCS, not only professionals,
b) The Portfolio Committee has on numerous
occasions complained about the salary packages
of Professionals. Those packages will not
attract and retain the necessary and critical
staff members.
c) The Portfolio Committee should be provided with
a list of all vacant positions within the DCS.
4. Salary Adjustments and Promotions
Staff were extremely dissatisfied with the current
status of promotion. Staff feel that there is no
incentive for them to study while employed by DCS, as
there is no link between further studies and
promotion.
The Committee was informed that the Interim Promotion
Policy implemented by the DCS only benefited certain
categories of staff e.g. those with matric. Many
employees did not benefit from the Interim Promotion
policy, as they did not meet the criteria, but had
years of service in the DCS. Many long serving staff
members in the DCS do not have matric and this was
not recognized previously.
Salaries of DCS staff are not on par with the
salaries of other staff in the safety and security
cluster. Notch promotions i.e. promotions from Grade
2 to Grade 1, have left many staff stagnant at the
same salary levels.
It was stated that the DCS staff work with very
dangerous and rich offenders and are often lured into
acts of corruption by these inmates, because of a
lack of financial resources. It was further stated
that staff often have to rely on “money lenders” to
meet all their daily and monthly expenses.
Comments and Recommendations
(a) The Portfolio Committee recognises the
implementation of the Interim promotion policy
within the DCS, but recommends that much more
needs to be done in terms of promotions. The lack
of promotion is one of the key factors that have
led to the decline in staff morale.
(b) The Portfolio Committee urges the DCS to
develop a promotion policy for staff at lower
levels. This will boost the morale of staff and at
the same time enhance the rehabilitation of
offenders.
3.5 Shortage of staff
Whilst many of the staff members understand the
provisions and or procedures of the 7-day
establishment, it has created many problems within
their working environment. When offenders go to
court, there are not enough officials to assist with
other duties. This shortage of staff hampers the
education programmes of offenders.
The 7-day establishment has also resulted in many
officials taking sick leave and this also causes
staff shortages. Staff also stated that the shortage
of staff on weekends posed a security risk to both
staff and inmates.
The guarding of inmates has become a very stressful
duty, because of the high numbers of inmates in the
centres coupled with the shortage of staff. This can
translate to a ratio of 1 staff member to 83 inmates
at any given time.
The Committee has also visited the many workshops of
the DCS, specifically at the St Albans centre. Many
of the workshops were not manned as there is a
general lack of artisans in the DCS.
The Committee was further informed that the region
does not have a single Employee Assistance
Practitioner for the whole Eastern Cape region.
Comments and Recommendations
a) The Portfolio Committee would like to be kept
abreast with the recruitment of staff in the
DCS on a 3 monthly basis.
b) The Committee should also be approached to
assist with the head hunting of staff such as
artisans etc.
c) With the high levels of stress amongst staff as
well as staff suicides, the Committee urgently
recommends that the appointment of an Employee
Assistance Practitioner (EAP) in the region be
fast tracked.
3.6 Transport
Many officials at centres such as at Middledrift and
St Albans, complained about the non availability of
transport, especially for attending funeral services
of fellow colleagues or attending sport events of the
DCS.
Staff also complained that this issue makes it
extremely problematic for night shift workers, those
working in rural areas and those living in areas that
are far away from the prison.
Comments and Recommendations
While the Portfolio Committee recognises that the
provision of transport to staff has budgetary
implications, it is clear that when there is no or
limited public transport systems available and when it
is dangerous for staff to travel at night, the DCS
should ensure that transport is available to staff to
ensure their safety.
The Portfolio Committee is aware that the DCS provides
transport to the funerals of staff members, not
exceeding 200km.
a) The Portfolio Committee recommends that the
transport policy of the DCS be revisited so as
to allow transport, especially for those
working night duties. This should be
prioritised in the rural areas.
3.7 Transfers
Many staff members identified that they had been
placed to work in prisons far from their hometowns
and that they had applied for transfers to prisons
closer to their hometown.
Comments and Recommendations
a) Recruitment should be nation wide but placement
after training should take into consideration
proximity to the areas in which people come
from.
b) Resolution 7 was applied to match and place
persons but needs to be revisited
administratively to ensure that members of
staff are placed closer to their hometowns.
3.8 Danger Allowance
The Committee was informed at the King Williamstown
centre that many staff must work with ATD’s, from
admission to the centre up until the holding cells.
Staff complained that according to policy, danger
allowances are paid only to staff working with
maximum sentenced offenders, but that staff working
with ATD’s do not get paid this allowance even though
the ATD’s with whom they work may be extremely
dangerous.
Comments and recommendations
a) The Committee is fully aware that ATD’s is not
the responsibility of the DCS alone, but
recommends that since these detainees are
incarcerated in DCS facilities, the DCS develop
an Interim classification system for ATD’s.
This will assist Correctional centres and staff
with the general management of centres and
detainees.
b) In the light of the above recommendation, the
Committee recommends that danger allowances for
staff working with ATD’s, be developed.
3.9 Facilities
Correctional Centres were never build to rehabilitate
offenders, but rather to detain people. These
facilities are very old and definitely not conducive
to rehabilitation. DCS’ facilities are literally
bursting at its seams.
It was stated that even at Centres of Excellence, the
programme of Unit Management is merely a “writing on
the wall” and that the infrastructure of centres does
not allow the implementation of Unit Management.
Staff mentioned that because of the structure of
Correctional Centres, there are not enough
facilities, such as classrooms to facilitate
educational programmes. Social Workers need enough
space to carry out essential rehabilitation
programmes with offenders.
Comments and Recommendations
a) The Committee strongly recommends that more
classroom facilities and other optimal space
are provided. This should be seen as part of
the Rehabilitation role of the centre.
b) The Portfolio Committee is aware that all
maintenance and repair work of all government
buildings are done by the Department of Public
Works, but recommends that the DCS looks into
the possibility of using its own labour force
(inmates) to do minor maintenance and repair
works.
3.10 Resources
The Portfolio Committee is concerned about the lack
of resources, especially at Centres of Excellence.
The Committee was informed that in many of the
sections, staff do not even have access to
telephones, two way radios or office materials.
Comments and Recommendations
The Portfolio Committee recognises that there are 241
Correctional Centres country wide, but it is a
serious problem if the National and Regional offices
do not provide the basic resources.
Resources, such as telephones or two way radios are
essential to combat escapes, assaults or the
ambushing of staff members.
The Committee recommends the following:
a) The Committee is aware that the DCS has
utilised its budget to purchase protective
clothing such as bullet proof vests, but would
like to see that sections are equipped with
telephones for staff and that each staff has a
two way radio.
3.11 IT Systems
The Committee was informed that a company by the name
of Sondolo IT has been awarded contracts for
biometric access and CCTV cameras at centres such as
East London and St Albans.
At both these centres, many complaints with regard to
the systems have been received. It was said that
there is only one point of entry and exit with these
IT systems and this will cause major havoc in case of
fires etc.
At the St Albans prisons there is a duplication of
biometric access and CCTV systems. There are two
companies, i.e. Superway and Sondolo IT performing
the same functions. These two companies operate from
the same operating room in the facility and only
staff employed by them can operate these systems. At
the time of the visit, the equipment of the company
called Superway, was unmanned.
3.12 Training of Officials
New recruits of the DCS receive theoretical training
at the colleges and are then placed at the centres
without any practical training.
Comments and Recommendations
a) The Committee recommends that the DCS
implements a training strategy on how best to
handle ATD’s in Correctional Centres.
b) The Committee recommends that all staff be sent
on refresher courses, if possible, at the
centres, as many received their training when
they joined the DCS.
c) The training curriculum should be amended to
accommodate practical training for new recruits
as well.
4. The Middeldrift Correctional Centre
The Committee met with the Regional Office, the Management
as well as the staff of the Middledrift Centre to:
(i) understand the problems at the Centre, and
(ii) provide guidance to the managers and staff
Previously the centre was under the former Ciskei government
and staff employed at the centre are mostly from the area.
The Centre has a post establishment of 258 staff, but
currently only 180 staff members are employed at the centre.
The centre houses 1550 inmates with an approved
accommodation number for 411 inmates only. Most of the
inmates incarcerated are maximum offenders with many serving
long sentences such as 82 years + 7 life sentences.
Middledrift centre is subsequently referred to as “Sons of
the Soil”. This emanates from a vision that staff members
has at the centre that people who are not from the area and
who are not long serving members of this centre, are not
welcome there.
Middledrift has experienced many difficulties such as
escapes and the abetting thereof, smuggling of illegal
substances as well as the smuggling of fire arms. The
Committee was informed that many of the members are unruly
and disrespectful towards management and often escapes are
abetted to prove that managers don’t or can’t manage the
centre.
During the visit, the Committee also established that female
staff members at the centre had intimate relationships with
inmates incarcerated there and even have children from
inmates. The Committee was also informed that inmates have
their own mobile phones inside the centre, they had their
bankcards and some even play the National Lottery from
inside the prison. The Head of the Centre found an
architectural plan of the prison in the possession of an
inmate.
It was said that the centre was a challenge, it then became
a problem, but now it is in a crisis. The Unions at the
centre have their own agenda, which is not the agenda of
POPCRU (Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union) or the PSA
(Public Service Association). Management of Middledrift
complained that they do not get any support from the
Regional Office as well as the National Office.
Disciplinary cases take very long at the centre as staff is
intimidated by other staff members, to the extent that staff
fears other staff members. 7 Staff members have been
suspended for abetting escapes and insubordination.
There were Commissions of Inquiry instituted by the National
office into the Middeldrift centre as far back as 1992. The
Commissions concluded four inquiries into the Middlefdrift
centre and made several recommendations with regard to the
centre. These reports were handed over to the National
Commissioner.
Comment and Recommendations
The Portfolio Committee had very successful interactions
with the staff employed at Middledrift and it became evident
that the lack of communication as well leadership and
guidance from management, hampers the effective running of
the centre.
a) The Accounting Officer of the DCS must report to and
furnish the Portfolio Committee with the reports of
the inquiries into Middledrift Centre within 14 days
after the tabling of this report.
b) The DCS should incorporate Middledrift into the East
London Management area.
c) The DCS should deploy managers with proven track
records and strong managerial skills to the centre.
d) The DCS should transfer all maximum prisoners to other
maximum prisons around the country and convert
Middledrift into the Medium institution it should be.
e) The shortage of staff at the centre should be urgently
addressed.
E. Conclusion
The Portfolio Committee has identified many serious concerns and
issues in the Eastern Cape region and concludes that the region is a
very challenging region.
The Committee is of the opinion that the Department of Correctional
Services is not in control of its Centres and many of the centres
visited, especially the Middledrift centre, is at the verge of
collapse. From Head Office, Regional Office and Area Management level,
there is no involvement in the running of Middledrift centre.
The Committee applauds the officials of the region for their hard work
under very difficult circumstances.
The Committee will monitor the implementation of the recommendations
in this report and the DCS should report back to the Committee within
one month after tabling of this report.
Report to be considered.