FRIDAY, 9 MARCH 2007 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

                                ____

The Council met at 09:32.

The Deputy Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.

                 WELCOMING PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Please be seated. Thank you members, I would like to welcome the hon Premier of the Free State to the sitting today and special delegates from all the provinces and also the councillors who are present. Thank you very much for being here this morning.

                             NO MOTIONS

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: Hon Deputy Chairperson, we have agreed in the Whippery that today there will be no notices of motion and also no motions without notice. Thank you.

CONSIDERATION OF REPORT ON NCOP VISIT TO THE FREE STATE IN TERMS OF THE PROGRAMME OF TAKING PARLIAMENT TO THE PEOPLE

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Madam Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, hon Premier of the Free State, hon Beatrice Marshoff, distinguished special delegates, hon members, fellow friends, colleagues and comrades, the real test of democracy does not lie in the frequency of multiparty democratic elections after every five years, but in the ability of the institutions of our government to inspire confidence in the masses through sustained action to bring about a better quality of life for all.

The consideration and the debates on the report of the NCOP Taking Parliament to the People in the Free State should once more afford us an opportunity to reflect on the impact this programme has on changing the lives of our people. As we do this, it should not escape our mind that this programme is the first ever innovative initiative of its kind in the whole world undertaken by the National Council of Provinces in the 21st century to give living and programmatic expression to the notion of a people’s parliament that so many parliaments and democrats in the world aspire and continue to aspire to. We therefore must use this occasion as a fitting tribute to the successive visionary leadership of this august House for the pioneering task that will forever represent an indelible mark on the history of redefining and repositioning Parliament in the 21st century.

In this regard our honour should be bestowed to the pioneer of this programme, the now Minister of Education, Comrade Naledi Pandor, the late Comrade Joyce Kgoali, who never hesitated to take this programme to new heights, and lastly, the current Chairperson of the NCOP for breathing new life into this programme of Taking Parliament to the People that has proven so many sceptics wrong.

We should celebrate this as a trademark that defines the new People’s Parliament of the 21st century, whose intellectual property rights reside accordingly with the collective wisdom and determined efforts of all of you, our legislatures and the executive arm of government in all three spheres of government.

A people-centred development and reconstruction process has become the defining feature of the 21st century development paradigm for developing countries over the world. Accordingly, South Africa’s reconstruction and development programme, inspired by the vision of the Freedom Charter, is firmly rooted in the philosophy and paradigm of people-centred and driven development.

According to the 2006 Human Sciences Research Council’s South African Social Attitudes Survey, more than 60% of South Africans of all races do not have the means and ability to participate meaningfully in the governance of the country in order to influence the outcome of policy decisions of government, except through participation in the elections. We are saying that this is not enough.

This is, in part, attributed to the history of secrecy and the lack of accountability of the successive white minority regime, and on the other hand to the lack of experiences, resources and expertise to meaningfully engage the government of the day on issues that affect people’s lives. As a result of this, the majority of our people depend on the goodwill of their elected representatives to make policy choices that respond to their aspirations that is giving the space of engagement with government with the allied formations that represent a minority interest in the economic, political, social, religious and cultural spheres of public policy-making.

It is not an overstatement to say that the majority of our people are not participating in the formulation of the Integrated Development Plans, IDPs, and budget formulation of their municipalities, not because they are deliberately excluded, but due to the technical language in which these processes are driven, which by nature is alienating. In this regard our IDPs and budget processes are dominated by the selected privileged elite who represent the interests of tiny sections of our citizens.

If you are to test this against the vision of the Freedom Charter when it says “no government can justly claim authority, unless it is based on the will of the people”, we certainly agree that we still ought to traverse some more miles to empower our people, as a democratic state, to ensure that their voices are a final verdict in the policy-making and the resource allocation processes of our country in a meaningful way.

This is not a given course because of democracy, but a highly contested terrain of struggle that must be fought and won in our lifetime. A developmental democratic state that takes itself seriously must instil capabilities within ordinary men and women, young and old, rich and poor, and inspire them with confidence to master the art of constructively engaging the state on a continuous basis to shape the content and pace of transformation.

It is through this effort that, as elected representatives of our people in a democratic state, we can truly come alive to the clarion call of the late President of the ANC, Comrade Oliver Thambo, when he said:

Constant mobilisation of our people to firmly take charge of their destiny and the future of their country in their hands is an indispensable weapon for the victory of our revolution in the hands of the liberation movement.

The NCOP, through the programme of Taking Parliament to the People, has achieved and continues to achieve the following core strategic objectives: There is the democratic consolidation through sustained interaction with the masses of our people to find common solutions to the challenges of transformation; placing the exercise of oversight and the accountability mandate of Parliament firmly in the hands of the people so that they are able to shape their own future and their destiny; building the capacity and confidence of our people to constructively monitor and evaluate government performance on a structured and sustained basis; and creating a platform for ordinary men and women to provide the democratically elected government with feedback on how their actions and policies are impacting on their lives.

Through its ability to straddle the three spheres of our executive and legislative arms of government, as President Thabo Mbeki has said, the NCOP has the opportunity to bring cohesion in our co-operative system of governance by constantly ensuring that the three spheres of our government are capable not only of joining efforts together in the acceleration of service delivery, but of enhancing efficiency and effectiveness through better integrated development planning.

The ability of one sphere of government to detect deficiency in terms of both planning and the implementation of nationally agreed development priorities resides firmly in the hands of the NCOP to monitor implementation across the three spheres of government. To reduce this task of monitoring to the encroachment of the NCOP on the legislative and oversight competency of other spheres of our legislatures, as some sceptics have alleged, is an academic fantasy that should find no place in the contemporary politics of development and transformation in our country. [Interjections.]

Against this background, allow me to make a few observations on critical issues that were raised by the people of the Free State in Tumahole, Parys during that week of the NCOP Taking Parliament to the People. The first and the most burning issue that pervaded our four days of deliberation was the persistent perceptions and allegations of nepotism and corruption within the municipalities.

Hon Premier Marshoff would certainly agree with me that that perception is one of the most dangerous weapons against the stability of the state, more so when it is repeated over and over again. If people have made serious allegations against public officials, how are you going to act on this matter to allay their fears, without the danger of being seen to be covering up? It is a critical challenge and therefore it is fitting on the occasion of the debate on this report that the hon Premier give us some insight in terms of the kind of programmes and interventions that the Free State government will undertake to respond to that particular allegation that was made during the NCOP Taking Parliament to the People visit. It is my view that bold action on matters of this nature, to clear our government and lay matters to rest, is one such act that inspires the confidence of our people in our elected institutions of governance. I am saying this because councillors have rejected these allegations outright and therefore believe it is also in their best interests that an open and transparent process of further investigation into these allegations be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

The second issue relates to farm evictions and the alleged abuse of farmworkers by farmers. If we cast our minds back, we will recall how one farmworker was gruesomely murdered by his employer, who pulled him behind a moving bakkie in 2001. That situation nearly caused racial chaos in the whole region and therefore a speedy and urgent look into this matter is required, and the people deserve to know how their elected government is going to deal with this question.

In conclusion, on behalf of the presidium of the NCOP I want to convey sincere appreciation for the warm reception that the Free State province accorded the NCOP under your good leadership, hon Premier, and further thank you for bothering to come in person, when this august House is considering the Free State report. I am confident that you derive strength and courage from the 2006 HSRC South African Social Attitudes Survey that ranked the Free State as number one in terms of a population satisfaction rating on government performance. I think it would be of interest to hon members to go through that report. It was released. After the Free State, it is Limpopo which is then followed by the Eastern Cape. There are a lot of indicators that are used to do so. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

Ms N MTITSHANA (Eastern Cape): Madam Chairperson, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, molweni ngale ntsasa [I greet you all this morning]. In 2002, the NCOP adopted a programme of Taking Parliament to the People with the aim of promoting public participation in parliamentary affairs and to assist the NCOP in carrying out its oversight functions.

Sifanele ukuba siliqhwabele izandla eli linge ngenxa yendlela elisebenza ngayo. [We have to applaud this programme because it works very effectively.]

From 6-10 November 2006, the NCOP held sittings at Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State province. The visit was a success as it was very well attended - with the President, Ministers, MECs, Mayors, members of this House and various other stakeholders in attendance. In particular, the people greatly welcomed the address of President Thabo Mbeki.

The Free State visit was a true reflection of the entrenchment of the programme of Taking Parliament to the People as a key mechanism of ensuring public participation in Parliament and a strong culture of participatory democracy in our country.

Throughout its sittings in Parys, the NCOP held hearings and visited various sites. It had the opportunity to interact with the people on issues pertaining to the delivery of quality services by the municipality and also observed the impact that legislation and various development programmes, established by the government, have on the lives of ordinary South Africans. Today, they have assisted people through the programmes on a number of issues such as supporting and training young emerging entrepreneurs. However, a major issue that was raised was the unavailability and inaccessibility of Umsobomvu at regional levels.

As you know, Umsobomvu …

… uphaya kufutshane nalapho iziseko eziphezulu zikhoyo, babe abantu abatsha belapha ezantsi, uninzi lwabo lungaphangeli. [… is situated up there with the other institutions of government, far from the young people, most of whom are unemployed.]

In terms of local government, various issues were raised pertaining to the inaccessibility of councillors and the fact that the people are not able to reach the councillors in a reliable and effective manner. More needs to be done to ensure that people are encouraged to attend izimbizo, IDPs and also participate in these important gatherings because that is the formal place for raising issues and sharing information.

Uye ufumanise ukuba ezinye izinto zazithethiwe, kodwa kwathi kuba abantu babengekho, baphoswa, zaba ngathi zange zaphathwa. [You would find that some issues had been raised, but because some people were not in attendance when this happened, and missed out, it would seem as if these issues were never mentioned.]

Also, there must be strong partnership and co-ordination between the legislature and local government municipalities.

On the issue of reporting, the NCOP must monitor and check that these report-back meetings do happen and that feedback transpires from them.

Kufuneka kukhangelwe ukuba ngaba izinto eziphakanyiswa ngabantu ekuhlaleni ziyenziwa na. Sidinga ukuba sikhangele ukuba oomasipala bethu bayabonelelwa na ngezinto abazidingayo … [We need to assess whether issues raised by the people in their communities are attended to. We also need to check whether our municipalities’ needs are catered for …]

… so that they are in the forefront of the reconstruction and development of the country. There is a need for the municipality to play an efficient and effective role to ensure that poor households have access to basic needs.

With regard to agriculture people raised a number of issues and concerns. The main issue that caught my attention was the issue of a lack of support for emerging farmers, and the lack of follow-ups on farmer support projects that are funded through the Department of Agriculture. We cannot afford that …

… iSebe lezoLimo kuzwelonke libe alikwazi ukuqinisa isebe lezolimo lephondo kuba kulapho siya kubona khona ukuba sibheka phi na nendlala. [… the national Department of Agriculture is unable to strengthen a provincial department of agriculture, because it is at that level where we would be able to see how effective our efforts are at fighting poverty.]

The Free State department of agriculture clearly falls short in some areas and thus needs to sit down and determine, in consultation with the relevant stakeholders, what needs to be done to address the various problems and shortcomings of the programmes in the province.

Another issue is that …

… akuzi kunceda ukuba abantu sibanike iifama, kodwa singabi nayo inkqubo yokuhlola ukuba baqhuba njani na kuzo. [… it is not going to help to give people farms, without a programme to monitor their progress.]

I would like to applaud the Fezile Dabi District Municipality on their youth development programme in partnership with Umsobomvu for, despite the many challenges faced by the youth, they have managed to train them here and there.

In conclusion, the programme of Taking Parliament to the People was essentially to ensure that the NCOP plays a more significant and effective role in ensuring a better quality of life for people of South Africa. I thank you. [Applause.]

Mr D A WORTH: Deputy House Chairperson, hon Premier of the Free State and special delegates present, as the President has indicated, the NCOP is the only institution in the constitutional system of governance in South Africa that straddles all the three spheres of government and which has the mandate to monitor the implementation of legislative and executive decisions in these three spheres.

Taking Parliament to the People has the aim of promoting public participation in parliamentary affairs and assisting the NCOP in carrying out its oversight function. As part of this function, the NCOP held its sittings in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality in the Free State, which is my home province, from 6 to 10 December 2007. Some of the topics selected for public hearings were, for example, co- operative governance, poverty alleviation, education, social needs, agriculture and trade and development affecting the Free State.

Whilst a wide range of issues was discussed, I would like to concentrate on just a few of them. The national government has set targets on the eradication of the bucket toilets by 2007, water supply by 2008, sanitation by 2010, and solid waste and road infrastructure by 2013.

The eradication of the bucket system remains a major problem in the Free State as alluded to in the report. According to the department of land and environmental affairs, the Free State province has 88 791 bucket toilets, a backlog of 67%, which still have to be replaced from January this year. The next worse province, according to the official figures was the North West province with 15%.

Most municipalities in the Free State have capacity problems with the sewage treatment plants and have little spare capacity. How this backlog is going to be eliminated by the end of the year 2007, remains to be seen. The ageing water pipes and sewerage treatment are in urgent need of attention, particularly in the Parys area, as much water is lost due to leakage and many rivers are periodically polluted.

The provision of water to farm schools and populated rural areas also needs to be addressed.

The poor condition of the gravel and service roads in the Ngwathe municipal area during the NCOP visit is also mentioned in the report. This, however, must be viewed against the budget allocation for roads in the Free State province, which was increased from R516 million to R947 million. However, the department needs some R2 billion a year for five years to catch up on the backlog of the condition of roads in the province.

Insufficient RDP houses and poor construction of houses also continue to be a problem throughout the province. Contracts to built houses should be awarded to large building contractors who use local labour and can be financially liable for incomplete or badly built houses. In the past financial year, the Free State lost R117 million due to their inability to spend the money allocated for housing in the province.

The Premier of the Free State has stated that poverty and unemployment continue to be the biggest enemy of the people in the province. Unemployment and poverty continue to deny our people their dignity. According to the Institute of Race Relations, 46,4% of the people in the Free State still live in poverty. Joblessness in the province has increased to almost 40% in the last 10 years. Mining, which contributed only 14,3% to the Free State’s GDP way back in 2001, continues to decline despite the anticipated establishment of the Voorspoed mine, which is a diamond mine near Kroonstad. And urgent attention, which should have taken place years ago, will have to be given to the Welkom and Goldfields area to sustain and grow the economy.

Most of the challenges and shortcomings highlighted in this report about this particular area, are not unique to the Free State province, but are similar to those found in most other provinces which the NCOP has visited. Bloemfontein, I must say, was voted the best city and town to live in, and the growth rate is increasing for the Free State. There must however be a follow-up process and oversight to ensure that the shortcomings and backlogs are addressed in a concerted and an efficient manner.

Lastly, I would wish to thank the Premier of the Free State and all concerned for the hospitality and courtesy extended to all the NCOP parliamentarians during our visit to the province. I thank you. Viva, Vrystaat! Viva!

Ms N D NTWANAMBI: Deputy Chairperson, you know, for the first time I hear somebody from the DA acknowledging in the House that the ANC administration is good in the Free State. Keep that up! When credit is due, please, do give it.

The NCOP programme is a very good and useful tool in interacting with our people. From province to province, we have been able to get the ordinary person in the street. We have been able to talk to MPs and people. So, they don’t only have to watch television or listen to the radio, they also - once in a lifetime - have this opportunity.

When we visited a farm in Heilbron, we expected to see a prosperous business for a group of young men and women. We went there with the officials from the provincial government. From our findings and observations, all I can say is that our officials, as implementers of government programmes and policies, are really not doing us proud. A beautiful idea like that one is done a disservice by officials from both local and provincial governments.

The farm is a big piece of land – about 77 hectares and can have a very good turnover. Those young people were not taken through a process. There is neither development nor managerial mentoring – they were just given money …

… ukuze bazibonele ukuba benza njani na [… and left to their own devices].

All that was needed there was to teach them skills and train them. You may think that they are lazy. Maybe that element would be there, but … … isebe nalo ngokwalo lavuma ukuba zange lenze nto [… the department also acknowledged that it did nothing].

There was not even a week’s course to mentor them.

The failure of local government to assist the emerging black farmers through the LED strategy is something the province must follow up, because the Free State is a farming province. The previous farm owner …

… wasebenzisa amaqhinga ukuze iinkomo zakhe zidle kumadlelo akule fama. Uwuthengisile lo mhlaba, kodwa usafuna ukufumana into kulo mhlaba. [… used devious means to ensure that his cattle could graze the fields on this farm. He sold this land, yet he still wanted to benefit from it.]

That’s not right. When you sell, you must sell. It’s wrong to say I’m selling, but borrow me.

Ngaphezulu, xa sifuna uMzantsi uqhubele phambili, kufuneka abo babenamathuba okuxhamla bancedise ekuphuhliseni. Eliyinene lelokuba sonke masiphucule ubomi babantu, sibancede ukuze nabo bakwazi ukuqingqa. [Furthermore, if we want South Africa to develop, those who had opportunities before have to assist with development. The truth is that we all have to better the lives of the people, and help them learn to stand on their own two feet.] I’m saying this in isiXhosa so that one can understand better. There is a difference between “ukuqingqa” [to learn to stand on your own] and “ukukhasa” [crawl]. We have passed the crawling stage now.

Bonke abantu kufuneka bemile. Asisafuni ukukhasa kuba sikhase ngokwaneleyo. [One has to stand on one’s own two feet. However, we no longer want to crawl, because we have crawled long enough.]

If we keep on crawling, we will crawl to the fire. We don’t want that! [Laughter.]

I also want to say that we need to do some oversight work.

There is the issue of saying those who live far from the main road … and this does not only apply to the Free State. I’ve been to one province, which I don’t want to mention, because sometimes we go home. Those who live far from the main road or the tarred road, will be the last to get electricity. And that’s not right!

That farm had electricity before, but because the colour of management has changed, suffering must come back because that is where it belongs. I don’t think we were created to suffer, but some people are responsible for our suffering. What guides us at the beginning of each year is the state of the nation address by the President. [Interjections.]

Uyangxola wena! [Kwahlekwa.] [You are making a noise there! [Laughter.]]

Officials are not informed by the real conditions. They only give out money but they never follow up.

Let me conclude by saying that there should be joint planning with municipalities on a timely basis, and we should put technical skills and resources at municipal level, as this is the sphere of government closest to the people.

The fact that that farm had no running water and electricity is a cause for concern. I hope they’ve gone back to look at all the issues we raised with them so that when we follow up, we can say: But you were supposed to correct this, what have you done?

Lastly, our young people do not know how to acquire accredited technical and work experience on farming projects. Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the Youth Commission, wherever they are, must get this message, because I think for us there is everything in place.

Nto nje abantu abazimiliseli izigqibo zikarhulumente. Ndiyafuna ukuthi, Mam’ uNkulumbuso, kuza kufuneka ubajonge ngeliso elibanzi abaqeshwa bakho. Abantu bayafuna ukuba ngoobhongoza nabo: “Hayi sidiniwe kukukhongoziswa, sifuna ukukhongozisa abanye. Kodwa xa izinto zisenzeka ngale ndlela, azenzeki ngendlela. Aba bantu baye kula fama okokuqala, okwesibini besiya kwakuziintsuku ezimbini okanye ezintathu phambi kokuba kufike iggiza elisuka kwiBhunga leSizwe laMaphondo. Iyalifuna iliso lakho laa nto.

Ndicinga ukuba nomphathiswa wephondo zange azi ukuba kwenzeka ntoni na kulaa ndawo. Wayeqala ukufumana umfanekiso ngento eqhubeka phaya apha ebomini bakhe. Sidiniwe kukuba ngokuthi kuthethwe ngabantu abamnyama njengabaqeshwa basezifama, ngoku sifuna ukuba babe ngamafama. Lithuba labo eli.

Okwangoku kusaphethe thina, singasoze siphinde siyeke ukuphatha, kuza kufuneka sibone ukuba abantu bethu, nezizukulwana zethu, ziyaxhamla. Enkosi kakhulu Sekela-Sihlalo. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)

[It’s just that people do not implement government’s decisions. I do want to say, Madam Premier, that you have to keep an eye on your employees. People want to be able to stand on their own two feet. We are tired of receiving hand-outs; we now want to be our own bosses. However, this is not the way things are supposed to be. These people went to that farm two or three days before the arrival of the delegation from the NCOP. That needs your attention.

I think that even the MEC had no idea what was happening there. It is only recently that she has been able to form a picture of what is going on out there. We are tired of speaking of black people as farmworkers; we now want them to be farmers. This is their opportunity.

Whilst we are in power - and we will never relinquish it - we will have to see that our people and future generations do benefit. Thank you very much, Deputy Chairperson. [Applause.]]

Mrs J N VILAKAZI: Chairperson, hon Premier, hon MECs, and hon members, taking Parliament to the Free State enabled us to get to know, and interact directly with, ordinary citizens of the province. In Parys, also through communication with people, we identified problems such as a lack of water supply and electricity, inadequate housing and collapsing of RDP houses, a lack of quality health care systems and education, a shortage of industries that contributes to the lack of employment and poverty alleviation.

Hon Deputy Chairperson, in order to deal with these problems that I, together with other colleagues, have also mentioned we urge the provincial and local government to improve their capacity to deliver through the Expanded Public Works Programme, whilst fast-tracking delivery. The IFP also urges government to pay more attention in fighting corruption by involving civil society participation so that communities will be able to engage more in poverty eradication. All in all, the IFP is saying that you should continue to strive for the best in the Free State. A lot has been done although a lot still needs to be done. The journey is not yet finished. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr N D HENDRICKSE: Hon Deputy Chair, Premier, and hon delegates, it is evident that Project Consolidate has yet to have an impact on basic service delivery, which is nonexistent in some Free State districts, because the bucket system is alive and well. Irregularities related to housing tenders continue to exist. Poor workmanship that relates to ineffective monitoring, poor quality control, and monitoring and evaluation by various agencies and large companies is not the answer.

What is ugly and repulsive are the many faces of government corruption, which seems to have pervaded some district municipalities in the province. General infrastructure concerning roads impacts negatively on productive economic activity via transportation of goods, etc. What is very concerning is the delayed implementation of IDPs. Does this point towards lack of technical capacity to implement?

Poor intergovernmental relations in terms of co-ordination need to be addressed by the relevant MECs. The prevalence of the increase in farm evictions in some areas is disturbing and unacceptable, and this is a national thing. The ESTA needs to be looked at urgently by government. The inability to provide effective support services to small and medium enterprises indicates that Seda agencies’ reach needs to be expanded. Provision of information and mentoring services to small business owners is essential for job creation to be sustainable in the second economy.

Given that HIV/Aids is a national pandemic and is high on the government’s agenda, the poor roll-out of ARVs at clinics presents issues in terms of political will. The MEC for health should prioritise sufficient supply stock of ARVs to clinics. Health infrastructure at some clinics is in neglect. Poor staff management, inferior equipment, etc present cause for a national outcry. Skewed funding allocations to public and private schools impact negatively on the quality of education and efficient management. Teacher levels, inadequate funding for colleges, and poor learning infrastructure contribute to the deteriorating education system in pockets of the province.

Hon Chairperson, it is time that oversight becomes more meaningful by requesting sanction where possible, as to how things will be turned around. Where is Batho Pele, basic service delivery, and anticorruption mechanisms? They certainly do not seem to operate in some areas of the Free State province. Perhaps the concept of a single service needs quick implementation so that skilled human resources can be transferred from national to provincial government, which is required in this instance. These are not just criticisms, and I think they should be taken in the way they are given. Thank you. Mr C A T SMITH (Northern Cape): Hon House Chairperson, Premier Marshoff of the Free State, acting Premier Mr Tselapedi … [Laughter.] … members of the NCOP, special delegates of the provinces, MECs present, distinguished guests, and ladies and gentlemen, it is actually very sad that we have this debate in this House only now. My humble opinion is that we should have had it immediately after the visit last year, and the reason is that this is a very important oversight exercise.

Therefore I want to take the liberty also to congratulate the leadership of the NCOP, and all the members for doing this. But it is important to note that the Premier of the Free State and the executive could have benefited much more out of this debate if we had had it last year so that she could have include some of the very important points that came out of here in the state of the province address that they have had. So, my suggestion and recommendation is that the NCOP should think of having this debate immediately after the visit, so that it can have the impact it deserves.

Madam Deputy Chair, this month we celebrate Human Rights Day, one of the most important public holidays of our new democracy. We call on all South Africans to work for peace, stability, a culture of tolerance, and an appreciation for the wonderful rainbow nation that we have. The visit by the NCOP to the Free State province illustrates that whether someone lives in a rural or urban area all South Africans are equal. Deliberations were therefore aimed at creating a platform for people to engage government and Parliament on issues such as the right to basic service, including crime, and health care, the functioning of local government, and job creation through the Expanded Public Works Programme, or EPWP.

One of the things that struck me immediately as we turned off from the N1 towards Parys was the quality of the secondary road that we used, which was fairly bad.

Dit het ook onder my aandag gekom dat daar ten tyde van daardie besoek aan die pad gewerk is. Dit sê vir my dat daar net aan die pad gewerk is vir die besoek van die NRP. Dit sê vir my dat dit nie ’n standhoudende strategie is wat deurlopend so gehou word nie. Paaie is ’n baie belangrike aspek wanneer dit kom by die instandhouding van die ekonomie. As ’n mens kyk na hoe snel die ekonomie groei, is dit belangrik dat ons die instandhouding van paaie ernstig moet opneem. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[It has also come to my attention that they were working on the road during that visit. This leads me to believe that they were only working on that road for the duration of the NCOP visit. This leads me to believe that this is not a lasting strategy that is continuously maintained. Roads are a very important aspect when it comes to sustaining the economy. If one looks at how rapidly the economy is growing, it is important for us to take the maintenance of roads seriously.]

We have set a clear vision to provide an integrated transport system and a client-centred public works service, which satisfy the needs of the people while supporting and facilitating social and economic growth, and the development of all the people of the Free State. We have to promote accessible, safe and affordable movement of people, goods and services, and render efficient and effective public works services. Road safety remains a daunting challenge for all of us. The horrific road fatalities cannot be allowed to continue. We must shift from being reactive to being proactive, and allocate resources where they will have the most impact.

The main strategic objective of the EPWP is to ensure that there is a long- term self-reliance in economic sustenance in a sustainable manner on the part of our people. In order to achieve this, we need to ensure that the EPWP helps us to develop the pool of skills our economy requires, because part of the main problem around unemployment in the country is structural unemployment. This means that whereas there are job opportunities created from time to time, there are, however, no corresponding skills on the part of the majority of job seekers.

Therefore the implementation of the EPWP is aimed at responding to these challenges as a matter of urgency. Discussion on the effectiveness of local government revealed that there was significant concern amongst communities about the slow pace of delivery of services.

Ek kan onthou daar was verlede jaar baie opstandigheid in plaaslike owerhede in die Vrystaat. Alhoewel baie hiervan na my beskeie mening te doene het met politieke opportunisme, is ek ook daarvan oortuig dat daar somtyds regte griewe onder die mense is omtrent die implementering daarvan. Daaraan moet ernstig aandag gegee word omdat plaaslike regering dié sektor van regering is wat die naaste aan ons mense is. Dit is waar die implementering van die beleid geskied wat op nasionale vlak gemaak word en op provinsiale vlak gemoniteer word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[I can recall a lot of turmoil in local authorities in the Free State last year. Although a lot of this, in my humble opinion, has to do with political opportunism, I am also convinced that sometimes there are actual grievances among the people regarding the implementation thereof. Serious attention must be given to this, as local government is the sector of government which is the closest to our people. That is where the policy, which is formulated at national level and monitored at provincial level, is implemented.]

Taking Parliament to the people is a democratic process to understand clearly the needs of our people and for the people. There is no way that we can isolate our people. One of the critical and most urgent challenges is to accelerate the programme of ensuring the homeless and those who live in squalor will have decent houses built on well-located land, and have access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

Local government needs to reorientate themselves in order to deliver better services to communities. The municipalities need to change the mindset of their approach to people at management and operational levels. There must not be a lack of motivation, lack of organisation, and lack of sufficiently developed technical knowledge to deal with these problems. All municipal officials must take action, meet deadlines, and take the best decisions in the shortest time. The provincial government, local government and the private sector must work together to create partnerships that respond to the mandate given to us by the people of the Free State, and that is to create work, combat crime, fight poverty and deliver services.

The Constitution ensures that local government is recognised as a sphere of government that enhances the status of local government as a whole, and of municipalities in particular, and gives them a new dynamic role as instruments of service delivery. Rural people, and rural women in particular, bear the largest burden of poverty in South Africa. If we can change the inequalities and inefficiencies of the past, rural areas can become productive and sustainable.

Good information is the basis of good planning. It is also a basic requirement for monitoring and responding to poverty and hardship in rural and urban communities, and for monitoring and alleviating environmental damage. Appropriate information is therefore a powerful tool which rural people can use to ensure that they can compete with the urban areas for government funding.

AgriSA het nou die dag uit ’n vergadering met die nasionale Minister gestap omdat hulle kwansuis nie genoeg inligting het oor plaaswerkers nie. Ek wens hulle kon hierdie verslag van die NRP in die hande kry en daar gewees het toe die plaaswerkers opgestaan het en hul name en klagtes in die vergadering geopper het oor hoe hulle mishandel word, en hoedat die howe nie aandag aan hulle gee nie. Dit is baie belangrik dat ons aandag daaraan skenk en dat AgriSA hierdie inligting kry sodat hulle kan wegdoen met die verskonings wat hulle aanbied. Ek will ook praat van die hoë persentasie van veediefstal wat daar plaasvind en dit moet ook aangespreek word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[The other day AgriSA walked out on a meeting with the national Minister as they ostensibly did not have enough information on farmworkers. I wish they could get hold of this report of the NCOP and could have been there when the farmworkers got up during the meeting and gave their names and raised their grievances about how they are ill-treated, and how the courts do not take them seriously. It is very important that we give attention to this matter and for AgriSA to get this information in order for them to do away with the excuses they are making. I also want to raise the high percentage of stock theft that is happening there and the fact that this should also be addressed.]

We, as the ANC, understand that high levels of violent crime and fear thereof undermine the freedom that we have struggled so long to attain. Our sense of citizenship and common belonging, of autonomy and dignity, of purpose and agency, and of hope and possibility are all eroded by the sense of powerlessness and victimhood that violent criminals inflict upon us in our streets, homes, schools, and communities. Violent crimes also deter investment, and constrict entrepreneurship. It does threaten the achievement of our social and economic objectives.

The relationship between the communities and police is an essential element of an effective crime-fighting strategy, which has had considerable success in improving relationships between the community and the police, but confidence in the criminal justice system is also undermined by poor service delivery. However, a developmental approach to crime prevention must be understood as including an emphasis on law enforcement. Fighting crime is essential if we are to promote investment, tourism and job creation.

Hon Deputy Chairperson, community police forums must remain an essential element of our crime-combating strategy. When residents establish neighbourhood watches, provide police with information, report suspicious activities, and watch the house of a neighbour who is away, they are helping to prevent crime, and helping the police to combat crime.

If I look at transformation in the world and look at crime from a world and international perspective, I must join the President of South Africa in saying that crime in this country is not out of control. We must thank the SA Police Service for their dedicated service under extremely difficult circumstances. To the policemen and women watching over our streets, we wish to express our sincere gratitude for the work you do daily in protecting us. To this end, our crime-combating strategy must be designed to do this over time through visibility and mobility. I thank you. [Applause.]

        ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF VISITORS FROM DENMARK AND AMERICA

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Order! I would like to acknowledge our visitors in the gallery - the Danish and American visitors. You are welcome in our House today. [Applause.]

The PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE (Ms B Marshoff): Hon Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP, members of the House, distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen and our visitors that are walking out, you are very welcome - as the Deputy Chairperson has said.

The tabling of the report on Taking Parliament to the People in the Free State in this distinguished House, demonstrates to our people the seriousness we attach to our community outreach campaigns. It means that the NCOP does indeed carry out its oversight role in a visible and transparent manner.

All the issues raised by our people from 6 to 10 November last year are now tabled in this highest platform, which represents our people. This is a perfect demonstration of participatory democracy, which our people have voted for. And I want to thank all the hon members who have participated in this debate.

During the visit of the NCOP to our province, we emphasised the strategic role of the NCOP as the only institution which straddles all three spheres of the co-operative governance construct and therefore placing it at an advantageous position of keeping an eye on the process that must integrate legislative and executive decisions at all levels of government.

It would also allow the NCOP to oversee the effectiveness of government programmes towards improving the basic conditions of our people, and to make recommendations on how improvements can be made towards our collective effort of creating a better life for all our people.

The theme of the visit, “All shall have equal rights”, adequately captured the collective dreams of our people as represented through the Freedom Charter.

Our people came in their numbers to interact with their representatives located at various levels of government.

For us, in the provincial government and the legislature, this was the continuation of the work we are already doing - of taking both the executive council as well as the legislature to the people.

We have, through a similar campaign, covered the length and breadth of our province and in the process interacted with communities in each and every single municipality in the Free State.

Reports of such interactions are thoroughly discussed in the executive council and get tabled in the legislature, and we always endeavour to embark on follow-up and report-back sessions, in the same way that the NCOP did last Monday, where a delegation, together with members from the legislature and the executive councils and the communities that raised specific issues, met again in Parys to discuss a way forward on addressing their concerns. [Applause.]

Such a practice is consistent with our developmental communications approach where, at all times, our interaction with our communities must encourage an approach which is responsive, where we give feedback, and where community participation is always emphasised.

Through the various sessions of the NCOP visits organised along different themes, our people raised a number of issues which ranged from socioeconomic to community development issues. The identified themes ensured that we covered as diverse and as broad a spectrum of issues as possible, which in essence define the broad mandate of our developmental state.

Our communities in the agricultural sector drew our attention to problems such as evictions and the poor working conditions of farmworkers, lack of support for emerging farmers and lack of appropriate access to roads.

Our youth raised concerns regarding access to information, jobs and skills development. Our overall social security system was interrogated and shortcomings were raised such as inadequate ambulances, access to ARVs, accessibility of government buildings for people with disabilities, facilities for special schools, social grants and the overall problem of access to Home Affairs to apply for identity documents. The issue around the provision of basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation, as well as the issue about capacity within municipalities, the alleged nepotism and corruption, as well as poor communication were also raised.

It is by no coincidence that, when we delivered the state of the province address on the February this year, hon Smith, we sought to respond in more practical ways to these and other concerns of our communities.

More detailed and specific responses shall emerge as well during the tabling of our departmental budget votes, which commences on the 13th, and my own budget vote that will also be tabled on that day.

We also just want to respond to the issues that were raised with regard to the concerns that members had. On the issue of roads, I am sure that – members, you have not been back to the province since 10 November - if you were to come to the province now, you would see a hive of activity around road construction. Just this past week, I travelled throughout the province, not because of the preparations for your visit, but because of my normal duties.

At one stage, I was asking myself if these were really the Free State roads that we were building and where the money suddenly came from. I can assure you, the money is from our normal budget. What we have done was even to bring forward some of the programmes that were budgeted for this financial year, and we started with them in the last financial year, especially in the Fezile Dabi region where there’s a lot of activity around road EPWP.

We have also agreed that the co-ordination, monitoring and impact assessment of the EPWP will be co-ordinated in the Office of the Premier.

We have allocated enough money to Public Works regarding roads and transport. The budget for this year is almost R900 million, and in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period we will reach a R2 billion allocation to catch up with some of the backlogs.

Concerning the issues around water and electricity, and the Heilbron farm specifically, an additional amount of R500 000 has been allocated and we are also ensuring that there is someone – an extension officer - that would give continuous support to those young people there. [Applause.]

We also have the Seda operating in the province now and from the Office of the Premier we have a business support programme, and we will ensure that they also benefit from the training through that programme.

On co-ordination and co-operative governance, we are devolving our cluster system to the municipalities. I can just say that on Monday, we had a Premier’s Co-ordinating Forum meeting where we met with the municipalities and most of these issues were discussed. Our programme devolving the cluster programme to the municipalities is well on track. So, our people will benefit from them. We are also addressing the issue of the farmworkers, evictions, conditions of farmworkers as well as the issue of stock theft. Even last year and at the beginning of this year, we had quite a number of programmes rolling out through the province.

We’ve had a discussion with Agri-Free State and agreed on a programme where, together with agriculture we will go into those districts and to the farms to run education programmes for the farmworkers and also to address the issues around crime such as the killings of farmers, stock theft, and so on. So, this is a joint effort between the provincial government, the SA Police Service as well as Agri-Free State.

I think because of a dialogue that has always been there, we would be able to address the concerns of members. We have also given the names of those people that the farmworkers mentioned to Agri-Free State. We will get feedback from Agri-Free State, because they have assured us that if these people are members of Agri-Free State they will definitely have punitive measures. I don’t know what measures they will employ. But if they are not members of Agri-Free State, they will also go into consultation with them to improve the relationship between the farmers and farmworkers.

There are a number of issues. I wish I had more time just to respond to most of the concerns that have been raised. I think there is quite a lot of work that we are doing through the provincial government as well as the municipalities and the different departments that go into these areas and others.

We will not just concentrate on Fezile Dabi. We will also ensure that the programme gets rolled out through the province, because this has been quite a learning experience and a high curve for us. And we will ensure that, through our multipurpose community centres that are now known as Thusong Centres, we address some of the issues, give the necessary support and also ensure that budget allocations go to where they are much needed. We will also give support to municipalities.

Hon Setona, I would love to respond to the issues around the alleged nepotism and corruption in municipalities. But I think we need a different debate for that because there are a number of dynamics that are involved. At times it is merely allegations and we sometimes follow up on such allegations. At times it’s easy just to raise the alarm about nepotism and corruption, and yet when there is an investigation you can’t get to the bottom of it. There would be no names because people want to remain anonymous. People don’t want to come forward and give you sufficient information, and sometimes we just cannot follow up on some of these issues.

But in cases where we find there are definite grounds for these allegations, we do follow them up. We then ensure that the relevant government structures that we have established also do that through the special investigations unit, the asset forfeiture unit, and all these other structures that government has established for us. We address these issues where we become aware of them.

I just want to say that as we embark on our new programme of action for this year and the rest of the term, we will ensure that we expand and strengthen the areas around education and social development and also enhance support with regard to sports and cultural activities and the housing delivery programme.

Our total allocation in this financial year in respect of the above areas represents almost 80% of our total budget over the MTEF period.

In conclusion, we just want to say thank you very much for the visit of the NCOP and for giving us the opportunity to respond to this report. We have distributed a copy of the report to all our MECs and also the recommendations and implementation plan that we would work on so that it becomes part and parcel of the performance management system of our Heads of Department - HoDs - so that we can monitor and do oversight.

Also, regarding the mentioning of the Human Sciences Research Council’s – HSRC - report and the public survey, yes, Bloemfontein definitely is the best city to live in. The Free State is, and we can attest to that, the number one province when it comes to service delivery and we will continue to work very hard. The Northern Cape has a lot of catching up to do and we will work very hard to ensure that we stay the province of choice for everybody. Thank you very much. [Applause.]

Mr J M SIBIYA: Hon Chairperson , hon Premier, hon councillors, my sister from my province, Comrade Sheila Sithole, N’wa-Shope, Comrade Acting Premier … [Laughter.] … comrades, ladies and gentlemen, in historical terms, the ANC has not only been a liberation movement but has also been a people’s parliament. Before 1994, the majority in this country had no platform whatsoever to contribute towards the administrative affairs of the land that affected them.

When the ANC came into power in 1994, a broader Parliament was created and that in part was in pursuit of the first clause of our Freedom Charter adopted in 1955 by our people which says: The people shall govern.

Vanhu va ta fuma. [The people shall govern.]

In an explanatory note, the second paragraph of that clause says in part: All people shall be entitled to take part in the administration of the country.

Vanhu va ni mfanelo ya ku nghenelela eka mafumele ya tiko. [People have a right to have a say in how they are governed.]

We don’t want a situation anymore where laws are made somewhere, including hell if it exists, and they only come to us for implementation. We do no longer want that. Today the ANC has created a broader Parliament with a constitutional mandate that includes the involvement of the people in the affairs of the country.

Taking Parliament to the people is a tested strategy to give people access to the inner workings of Parliament and give parliamentarians access to interact with the masses. Our visit to the Free State last year, by way of taking Parliament to the people, served a good and an important purpose.

Many of the residents of Parys and its outskirts came in large numbers. The occasion was a fulfilment of a constitutional requirement. In the same vein the opportunity was thereby provided for the government, both provincial and local, to provide information to the electorate directly and for the electorate in turn to have a chance to criticise the government where they think things are not going well or to ask questions.

When the government answered those questions, they were actually manifesting what one can call an interim accountability which is a requirement for us to remain rooted among our masses and be with them all the time.

When the government answers questions as such, it constitutes the hallmark of what we call transparency. The time in South Africa is long gone, and will never return, when decisions were taken in boardrooms, laws made behind closed doors and the rest of the people of the country were called upon and coerced into implementing and obeying them. You won’t see that again.

Comrades, let me drop you a hint about something that you know but you did not recognise. The philosophy of the ANC is very interesting. It says in part that a human being is of the highest value in the whole universe. That is the philosophy of the ANC and not mine. [Laughter.] It says in part again, there are specific aspects of this human being which must never be violated unless there are highly compelling reasons. It goes on to say these aspects are as follows: firstly, dignity; secondly, human rights; thirdly, honour; fourthly, free thought; and fifthly, self-realisation of own capabilities.

It is partly due to this that we are an organisation that believes in equality in everything; equality in all human endeavours. And it is for this reason that we uphold the Freedom Charter as adopted by our people in 1955 and I want to quote three clauses - which are the second, the fifth and the sixth clause. The second one says: “All national groups shall have equal rights”. I am interested in the word “equal” there. The fifth clause says: “All shall be equal before the law”. I am interested in the word equal there. The sixth one says: “All shall enjoy equal rights”. [Laughter]. The word “equal” is very important.

When we took Parliament to the Free State, we were honouring the nonviolability of the human rights of our people residing in the Free State as the philosophy of our own organisation says. We were also fulfilling a constitutional mandate which says that in all the activities of Parliament there should be involvement by the people -what we mean is participation, if we want to speak big English. If we had not done that - I am definitely convinced and I know all of you would agree with me, except those who choose to think the opposite - not all our masses who were present there would have managed to come to this Chamber to listen to us had we stayed here. As a result, if there is anyone who complains about taking Parliament to the people for whatever reason, let him or her be informed here and now … [Laughter.] … that as long as the ANC is in power in this land, taking Parliament to the people will remain one of the most important backbones of involving our people in running the affairs of the country. Thank you.

Debate concluded.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): That concludes the debate. I shall now put the question. The question is that the report be agreed to. As the decision is dealt with in terms of section 65 of the Constitution, I shall now first ascertain whether all delegation heads are present in the Chamber to cast their provinces’ votes. Are all the delegation heads present? In accordance with Rule 71, I shall allow provinces the opportunity to make their declaration of votes if they so wish. We shall now proceed to the voting on the question. I shall do this in alphabetical order per province. Delegation heads must please indicate to the Chair whether they vote in favour or against or abstain from voting. Eastern Cape?

Ms B N DLULANE: Steun. [Supports.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Free State?

The PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE: Vrystaat steun ook. [The Free State also supports.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Gauteng?

Ms N M MADLALA-MAGUBANE: Gauteng accepts.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): KwaZulu-Natal?

Mr D D GAMEDE: Iyavuma. [Supports.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Limpopo?

Ms S SITHOLE: Limpopo iya seketela. [Limpopo supports.] The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Mpumalanga?

Ms M P THEMBA: Mpumalanga supports.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Northern Cape?

Mr M C GOEIEMAN: Kapa Bokone e e ema nokeng go menagane. [Northern Cape supports.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): North West?

Rev J TSELAPEDI: Bokone Bophirima le yona e e ema nokeng go menagane. [North West supports.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Western Cape?

Ms N PHENDUKA: The Western Cape supports.

Report accordingly adopted to in terms of section 65 of the Constitution.

 CONSIDERATION OF FIRST REPORT OF THE RULES COMMITTEE OF THE COUNCIL

Order disposed of without debate.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Hon members, since there is no speakers’ list I shall now put the question. The question is that the report be agreed to. As the decision is dealt with in term of section 65 of the Constitution, I shall now first ascertain whether all delegation heads are present in the Chamber to cast their provinces’ votes. Are all the delegation heads present? In accordance with Rule 71, I shall allow provinces the opportunity to make their declarations of vote if they so wish. We shall now proceed to the voting on the question. I shall do this in alphabetical order per province. Delegation heads must please indicate to the Chair whether they vote in favour or against or abstain from voting. Eastern Cape?

Ms B N DLULANE: Iyaxhasa. [Supports.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Free State?

The PREMIER OF THE FREE STATE (Mrs B Marshoff): Vrystaat steun. [The Free State supports.]

Business suspended owing to a technical problem and resumed.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Gauteng?

Ms N M MADLALA-MAGUBANE: Gauteng supports.

The CHIEF WHIP OF THE COUNCIL: What is happening is a disservice to this House. It’s actually affecting the decorum of this House. We have raised this more than several times. I will propose that a report be submitted to the office of the presiding officers about the disservice which is taking place here. We welcome it if there are new people who are taking employment, but they must practise before we come to the Chamber. They should not use the session of this House to practise on the members. I will propose that as this is happening, it is allowed that the provincial delegation heads vote by merely standing up and tabling their vote as per the mandate of their province. Thank you.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Hon Chief Whip, hon members, maybe it is important that we firstly ascertain the nature of the problem. Is the nature of the problem operational; operational in the sense that whoever is sitting there operating this thing is not capable or is the problem inherently technical? Is it merely a technical deficiency of the system?

I think the report must entail that, so that we would be able to deal with the problem adequately. I was just adding to the comments of the Chief Whip. I hope the proposal of the Chief Whip is accepted in the light of the conditions that we are facing. We therefore proceed. KwaZulu-Natal?

Mr D D GAMEDE: KwaZulu-Natal agrees.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Limpopo?

Ms S SITHOLE: Limpopo iyavuma. [Limpopo agrees.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Mpumalanga?

Ms M P THEMBA: Mpumalanga seconds.

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Northern Cape?

Mr C M GOEIEMAN: Kapa Bokone e tla bo e sa batle tswelelopele fa e sa e eme nokeng. [Northern Cape supports.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): North West?

Rev J TSELAPEDI: Nyaa, re a dumalana. Re a tlatsa Motlotlegi. [Supports.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Western Cape?

Ms N PHENDUKA: Western Cape iyavumelana. [Western Cape supports.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): All nine provinces voted in favour. I therefore declare the report agreed to in terms of section 65 of the Constitution.

Report accordingly adopted in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.

DEEPENING THE DEBATE ON GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN THE WORK OF PARLIAMENT

                      (Subject for Discussion)

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Ms P M Hollander): Hon Chairperson and hon members of Parliament, on Tuesday this week, Ghana, one of the first countries in Africa to gain independence from colonial rule, celebrated 50 years of independence from Britain. This important milestone in the history of Ghana coincided with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.

Through the leadership of Nkwame Nkrumah, Ghana blazed the trail in accelerating the African movement towards freedom, which, in 1994, saw the last of the nations of Africa under oppressive rule, South Africa, attain freedom.

As Ghanaians took to the streets of Accra this week in celebration of this epoch-marking event, it is with a deep sense of pride that, 13 years from 1994, we too are proud to have attained freedom. We are proud to have attained freedom to be able to define for ourselves the future we want.

In 1945, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference of International Organisations in San Francisco, the Charter of the United Nations was signed. In this charter, the united people of the world expressed their determination to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small.

At that time, Ghana was still under British colonial rule, and only attained its freedom in 1957. In South Africa, the policy of segregation was still in force. And not to be outdone, two years later, in 1948, apartheid was to be institutionalised.

I am saying this in order to locate the context under which we must celebrate International Women’s Day 13 years into our democracy, following a history of perverse politics devoid of any semblance of human dignity and worth. I am saying this again fully aware that 13 years is a very short time in the history of a nation. Examples abound in this area.

If we look at the United States, which is one of the world’s longest- established democracies, the public debate occasioned by the presidential candidacy of Barack Hussein Obama is clear testimony that only fundamental transformation is required to engender the kind of national psyche needed to heal a nation and enable it to resist racial or other forms of prejudice.

Matsatsi ale a gore batho ba tlhaolwe go ya ka mmala wa letlalo la bona a ile. [Gone are those days when people were discriminated against based on the colour of their skin.]

Without a doubt, I am highly honoured to be able to participate in this debate as we celebrate International Women’s Day which took place yesterday. History has it that this date was chosen because a Prussian King who had promised, in about 1848, to grant women the right to vote had failed to live up to his word.

On 19 March 1911, over one million people marked, for the first time, International Women’s Day by attending massive rallies to demand women’s rights – the right to vote and to hold public office; the right to work; the right to vocational training; and an end to discrimination on the job.

Our democracy might be young, but International Women’s Day on 8 March is a day on which we should join the nations of the world in celebrating because we have got something to celebrate.

I would like to briefly highlight some of the achievements of our young democracy towards advancing equality amongst the people. As a nation we have made strides towards redressing the imbalances that visited our society, and in improving the quality of life of all citizens and freeing the potential of each person. We have sought to promote the achievements of equality, where nobody is discriminated against on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, or ethnic or social origin. We have sought to build a society where gender imbalances that are a result of the kind of the past we come from are deliberately corrected.

Our foresighted Constitution makes provision for the Commission for Gender Equality, the CGE, whose function is to promote respect for gender equality, and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality. The CGE has the power to perform its functions, including to monitor, investigate, research, educate, lobby, and to advise and report on issues concerning gender equality.

This serves as an important mechanism for ensuring that we are constantly seized with the task of transforming our society in its entirety, with deliberate bias towards sections of our society that were discriminated against, not only on the basis of their skin colour, but also on the basis of gender. The CGE is clearly under a duty to monitor women’s access to rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Our Parliament has the Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women, whose duty is to monitor and oversee progress with regard to the improvement of the quality of life and status of women in South Africa. It also aims to be an effective gender equity vehicle with specific reference to the government’s commitments such as those made in terms of the Beijing Platform of Action.

We also have the annual Women’s Parliament which involves a number of civil organisations and ordinary civilians. In deepening the debate this morning, we must look at the challenge of gender mainstreaming in the work of our Parliament as being one of ensuring that decisions we take on behalf of our people are reflective of the perspectives that women share.

It is understood that women and men have different approaches to problems and priorities. Women’s perspective would be added to policy-making and implementation by equal representation. However, we must acknowledge that a focus on support and training for women politicians is extremely important in order for them to make an impact and sustain that impact. If groups are to share in policy outcomes, they must be part of the decision-making process of that policy. So, women’s representation in the public sphere is critical in placing women’s needs and interests on the policy agenda.

In the UN document Women in the UN of 2000, former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, wrote, and I quote:

I cannot think of one single issue we deal with in the UN that is not a women’s issue. Women are every bit as much affected as any man by peace and security, by human security and human rights. It is, therefore, right and indeed necessary that women should be there to work towards these goals, with equal strength and in equal number.

We have moved to ensure that in our Parliament women occupy positions that enable them to be part of the decision-making. We have ensured that we increase the numbers of women we bring to Parliament so that we could realise gender equity as an integral element in the transformation of our society. Parliament occupies a central role in our democracy and in directing the future of the country; hence, it is extremely important that women occupy space in this important institution.

Earlier on, I said that we may be a young democracy, but we have advanced in terms of ensuring that our democracy is an inclusive one at all levels. We have a Parliament that, in 1994, saw it fit to put a woman at the helm of the National Assembly. We have the current Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Deputy Chairperson of the NCOP – all of them women. Surely, we can teach a thing or two to many of the parliaments of the world, including the centuries - old US Congress which celebrated the election of the first-ever female Speaker of the House of Representatives earlier this year. We celebrated International Women’s Day knowing that, as the voice of the people, we have worked tirelessly and continue to do so to ensure that through maintaining a gender mainstreaming perspective, we involve women in all aspects of our institution. To ensure that they participate as leaders and beneficiaries of development …

… asijiki, siya phambili [… we are not turning back, we are going forward].

Ons onderskryf die waardes waarop die totstandkoming van ons demokrasie gevorm is. [We subscribe to the values which gave rise to the realisation of our democracy.]

Thank you. Ke a leboga. Baie dankie. Enkosi. [Applause.]

The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr T S Setona): Hon members, I must bring to your attention that we have ascertained precisely what the problem is with our sound system. The person who is up there is new and is not sleeping. It is an overstatement. He is an official and he deserves respect. He is new and he has just been left in that situation without guidance. It is not a political issue. The admin will take note of that. It is important that I must express it on record on behalf of the House.

Hone members, we are having a very important debate in the history of our country; an important debate which is constituting one of the fundamental aspects of our transformation – gender mainstreaming in the work of Parliament. But the hon members of this august House will note that whilst we are talking about gender mainstreaming the speakers’ list is not gender sensitive. It is something we may have to look into in future, because gender transformation is about the transformation of power relationships. It is not about putting one gender up against the other. I call upon hon D Robinson.

Ms D ROBINSON: Chairperson, hon members, molweni nonke [good morning to you all]. Today we celebrate International Women’s Day and also recognise the progress that has been made in the lives of women in South Africa. However, we also acknowledge that much remains to be done, and that many prejudices that negatively impact on the lives of women need to be changed.

Now, what exactly is gender mainstreaming? It is defined as the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes in all areas and at all levels of public sector planning processes.

It entails developing strategies to ensure that both women and men’s concerns and experiences constitute an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres so that women and men benefit equally and that inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality, not only in the law but also in the home, at work and in this House. It’s not just about the number of men versus women.

We need to examine all the organisational policies and practices of Parliament closely, to see how they impact on men and women so that we can really determine whether the policies are equitable and nondiscriminatory. There should be monitoring and evaluation, particularly of something like the Domestic Violence Act as gender-based violence is very common, considering the latest official statistics which record an average of more than 150 reported rapes per day. In addition to rape, there are other forms of gender-based violence, including domestic violence and the more subtle threats of psychological violence and intimidation.

There are, however, a couple more questions to ponder. Should Parliament not have a sexual harassment policy? Are the working hours of parliamentarians family-friendly? As legislators, we need to consider to what extent the budgets that we pass allocate sufficient resources to achieve gender equality and empowerment of women.

Let me focus for a moment on the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development as it is of particular importance in enforcing the maintenance system and also in addressing gender-based violence. Can we claim, hon Sibiya, that the country is truly free; that human rights and dignity of all are respected when women and children suffer daily because of the nonpayment of maintenance, because of the failure of the court system to implement the laws and protect women and children from neglectful and uncaring fathers?

We need to question why there are staff shortages; why the court system is in shambles; why magistrates and prosecutors are overworked and demotivated, thus not able to provide the kind of services that we should expect in a proud democracy.

A desperate mother who had not received any maintenance payment for two years wrote to me asking where are the additional court investigators who are essential to maintenance cases. What has happened to the specialised magistrates and trained prosecutors? And yet we read in the newspapers yesterday that the justice department had underspent their budget by R600 million.

The 2004 annual report of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development stated that the Child Maintenance Act was one of their flagship projects. The annual report of 2005-06 reported the launch of Operation Isondlo and its substantial success in raising awareness, and in tracing maintenance defaulters. It records the appointment of maintenance clerks, officers, interns, and so on, and yet chaos still continues.

Now, despite this flagship status and all the supposed activity, there is no mention of maintenance in the 2007-08 Estimates of National Expenditure, ENE. Why is there no mention of allocations or initiatives to address the problems investigated by the task team? The ENE of 2006-07 states that the Legal Aid Board sees women involved in divorces, maintenance and domestic violence as a priority group, yet the reports give no statistics.

Government budgets are the technical instruments through which commitments should translate into monetary terms. As legislators we need to question whether our budgets are gender sensitive, gender neutral or perhaps gender blind! Are we ensuring that government has allocated enough money and people to implement gender-sensitive policies? Is our court system functioning effectively?

Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding no, and women are the victims in this day of freedom.

Do you know that there is a backlog of one year in the office of the family advocate? That means that if there is a dispute about the custody of children, there is no chance of a settlement for more than a year, as a starting point. I know of a woman who has waited for five years for a resolution, and still there is no payment. There is no food on that table.

Most men would pay if dealt with firmly and quickly, but the lax and tardy approach of the courts teaches them the tricks of getting away without paying. Maintenance is often withheld to punish women, it’s used as a tool to exert power over them, but it is also the children who suffer and struggle to survive.

There is a need for us to deepen the debate on democracy and on gender mainstreaming as legislators and, as members of the NCOP, we are particularly tasked with the job of oversight. We need to look at our budgets. Do they take account of the special needs of women and children? Do they ensure that there is indeed equality between women and men?

Let us look again at the implementation of our laws so that we do not fail the mothers and children of this country. International Women’s Day must be marked by determined initiatives on our part to make sure that we sort out some of these problems that mean that people are not able to enjoy the fruits of the true democracy. I thank you.

Mrs E S MABE: Hon House Chair, firstly, I would like to respond to whatever Mrs Robinson was trying to say in terms of the emancipation of women and seeing women being bettered. This is not a new norm; it is an old school of thought.

Allow me to take you through the thoughts of a young black woman who once wrote in a magazine, the 24th issue of Agenda. She said:

In the old South Africa, there were two forms of separate development operating simultaneously. At the top of the power pyramid were white males. [You were not there.] At the bottom of the pyramid were black females and somewhere in-between were black males and white females.

You were somewhere in-between.

She went on to say that it is perhaps arguable as to which of these two middle groups was relatively more discriminated against. Therefore, you cannot come here and point fingers at other women instead of - at least - joining hands with them in trying to make sure that women are emancipated. [Interjections.]

Allow me to continue. As a black South African woman, let me begin by appraising our Constitution, especially Chapter 9, the equality clause under the Bill of Rights, without the implementation of which some of us as women wouldn’t be afforded this opportunity. The core of our Constitution, which is the equality clause, opens channels for us as women to participate equally with men in decision-making originating from the Freedom Charter.

Since 1994, we have been honoured with a Constitution that is globally recognised for its strong promotion of democracy and equality. The battle of addressing gender imbalances became manageable through the role played by our Chapter 9 Institutions, which became the custodians of our democracy and equality.

Allow me to allude to our late Comrade O R Tambo when he said: “South Africa will never be free as long as women are not free”. International Women’s Day was declared in 1977 by the United Nations General Assembly and it has been marked since then. It is a day for women’s rights and international peace.

The principle of gender equality, as framed within the principle of nonsexism, is central to the ANC’s programme of the National Democratic Revolution. In fact, many activists have acknowledged that the basis on which to judge the liberation of a country is to note the extent to which women are free.

The concept of gender mainstreaming was designed to change structures of gender discrimination. It was popularised at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, after democracy.

Democracy became a fundamental principle to achieve equality and requires that all citizens, women and men alike, participate and be represented equally in the economy, decision-making, socially, culturally and in civil life. The European Union, EU, worked throughout the conference to have gender mainstreaming given a prominent position in the conference’s final focal point.

Believing that there is lack of emancipation if women are not represented equally, the notion of gender mainstreaming became an established concept in EU ever since.

During the early 1950s, the ANC developed new initiatives to assert women’s rights as human rights. The Women’s Charter of 1954 was a landmark in the process of asserting the rights of women and demanding freedom from discrimination on the basis of gender.

Comrade Charlotte Maxeke, at a conference in Fort Hare in 1930, described movingly and vividly what became known subsequently as the triple oppression of a black woman. Women were discriminated against on the basis of gender, race and also as labourers. As the ANC, when we talk about the liberation struggle, we mean the fight against all three kinds of oppression.

During the past two decades, we witnessed a renewed engagement by women in political parties and the state. It is leading to an increase of women in business, political representation and decision-making.

Internationally, today Rwanda is an extraordinary country where women who were targeted for rape and infected with HIV during the genocide are uplifting themselves and contributing towards the development of their country. Rwanda became committed in the fight against gender discrimination to such an extent that they have the highest percentage of women lawmakers in the world today.

Liberia became the first African country to have a woman as President: Ms Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. We have a woman as President of the Pan-African Parliament, Gertrude Mongella. Our Deputy President in South Africa is a woman, Mrs Pumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. We have remarkable women who head Ministries, and even some of the Premiers in our provinces are women.

In the National Assembly both positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker are filled by women. We have a Deputy Chairperson in the NCOP who is also a woman. Lastly, but not least, the NCOP Secretary is also a woman.

The ANC Constitution underpins the notion of gender equality; that women should be represented equally with men at all levels of government.

The South African government committed itself both in the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, and the Beijing Platform for Action with the objective of improving the quality of life and status of women.

Parliament’s Joint Monitoring Committee on Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Women has made remarkable interventions in terms of improving the status of women. It has participated in legislation and policy drafting. It has the powers to review the passed legislations and analyse issues that are gender sensitive.

The Joint Monitoring Committee had a mandate to monitor the use of applied language of legislation to determine if it is gender sensitive. Thank you.

Ms B L MATLHOAHELA: Chairperson, hon Premier of the Free State, hon Members of Parliament and all protocol observed. Through democracy, power relations are transformed. Praxis has led to this popular agenda. However, we continuously, with constructive critical observance, view into the three dimensions of identity. They are social, organisational and political in relation to this popular agenda.

Our debate today concerns gender mainstreaming in the work of Parliament. Yet, there is a need to reach out constantly to include women beyond our own social and organisational network. It is essential that we broaden our sense of potential groups of women who share our interests and can enrich our vision.

We are here for identifying a generative theme. By assessing the forces, a clear view is required of the dominant agendas and synthesis of popular agendas. A sequence is being anticipated and explored in more depth, bringing us to the question: How many traditional hierarchies have changed? The ID assumes that today’s topic in this House includes multiculturalism which refers to promoting harmony.

We applaud and commend what has been done so far in relation to gender issues, but the percentage of rape cases that are being investigated, prosecuted, trialled and convicted is not satisfactory.

A paper presented at the national workshop on Enhancing the Participation of Women in the Lawmaking Process held at the Old Assembly Chamber in Parliament from 25 to 26 July 2001, reported that in other countries where women play a bigger role in decision-making a serious constructive impact is observed.

To translate these policies and declarations to become a reality in women’s lives, is still a challenge.

With regard to violence against women, can we in Parliament play a positive part by increasing our oversight role on this sphere in women’s lives? The budget for the Commission for Gender Equality is to be looked at in a critical way.

Before I say thank you, on a much lighter note for International Women’s Day, the census says that there are more women in the country; so, why doesn’t majority rule? Thank you. [Applause.]

Ms M P THEMBA: Hon Chairperson, hon Premier of the Free State, hon Acting Premier of the North West, hon special delegates and hon members of this House, let us deepen the debate. Hon Robinson, if we were all interested in the welfare of our people and not engaging in political gimmicks, we would all be in the know that maintenance is, firstly, a constitutional issue and defaulters are pursued through magistrates’ courts. Most importantly, those who defraud the government in this respect are pursued, arrested, charged, prosecuted and sentenced. For further information, if you are interested, please get in touch with me or the Department of Social Development. After this sitting I can offer you the contact details. [Laughter.]

Let us deepen the debate. Today, we are celebrating International Women’s Day throughout the world. We are celebrating the victories of ordinary women as makers of our history.

We also note the first observation of a national women’s day in 1909 as per declaration of the Socialist Party of America at the time. We honour all further declarations brought about by various international gatherings and formations in the movement for women’s rights and to assist in achieving universal freedom for women. We, at this time, realise the new dimensions of the gender debate within our global dispensation. As we develop as a people, and as a globe, new issues keep on emerging within the gender arena. These issues require responses - responses aimed at normalising a society along gender roles. These responses can only be helpful if they are thought through thoroughly, debated properly and operationalised effectively.

South Africa can proudly proclaim to the world that we have made concrete strides in empowering women and girls, making sure that 30% of black economic empowerment funding is allocated to women; that the Expanded Public Works Programme and community-based public works dedicate 50% of their projects to women, for example, Women in Construction; passing progressive legislation, for example, the Constitution and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act as the foundation of our legislative framework; and establishing meaningful gender representation within decision-making structures, especially within government and legislatures. Hon Mabe has already alluded to that.

Today, we have achieved more than we ever had on the women’s front. Yet, despite all this, we still feel a void when it comes to issues affecting women in South Africa and the globe in general.

When we apply our minds to literature and relevant reports, it is evident that women still bear the brunt of the social ills of our society. The only way to ensure that we liberate half of our populace from the shackles of gender oppression is to talk about it. Talk about it at our dinner tables, in church gatherings, at social clubs, in our executive boardrooms and bedrooms, and yes, even on those luscious green golf courses.

Let us deepen the debate on crime. Violence against women is in the worse way possible. Yes, masijule ngengxoxo [let’s deepen the debate]. Violent crime and rape are the thorns in the beautiful flowerbed of South African women. We emphasise the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence at the end of each year. I congratulate the Deputy President as yesterday they were launching the 365 Days of Action to End Violence Against Women and Children.

We emphasise the 16 days by launching the campaigns through awareness programmes, but what do we do during the other 300-odd days? Are we allowing the thorns to rip through the flesh of our daughters and mothers, painfully raping them of all dignity and worth?

The effects of crime are placing a silent, though urgent call on every one of us to reach out and actively become part of the fight. Let us not wait until it is on our doorsteps before we join the community policing forums and other similar structures. Let us be proactive and start today.

Let us deepen the debate on patriarchy. The South African society is characterised as a divided society along many lines: gender, race, income, etc. We have been socialised in a male-dominated society with patriarchy as the driving force in all spheres of our existence. We need to unlock the effects of patriarchy on our societal system, and invent and create new ways of conversing with the gender debate.

Let us deepen the debate on poverty. Rural women, prejudiced by geographical location, find themselves as the most isolated group in our society - isolated from basic services, information and debate. Together we need to find the solutions to these difficult questions. As business, government, gender machinery, the NGO sector and community-based organisations we must unite to alleviate the plight of South African rural women.

The South African gender reality should boldly be reflected within the strategic plans of our government, departments and state-owned enterprises; within the growth and development strategies of our provinces; within the integrated plans of our municipalities; and within corporate boardroom discussions and agreements. It should be supported by meaningful budget allocations and implemented and monitored by ourselves. Let us deepen the debate on slavery. [Time expired.]

Debate concluded. The House adjourned at 11:31. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

                       WEDNESDAY, 7 MARCH 2007

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

1. Assent by President in respect of Bill

(a)    Postal Services Amendment Bill [B 22B – 2006] – Act No 22 of
     2006 (assented to and signed by President on 25 February 2007).

National Council of Provinces

The Chairperson

1. Referral to Committees of papers tabled

(1)     The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on
    Finance:

    (a)      Government Notice No R.146 published in Government Gazette
         No 29644 dated 20 February 2007: Amendment of Treasury
         Regulations in terms of section 76 of the Public Finance
         Management Act, 1999 (Act No 1 of 1999).

(2)     The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on
    Security and Constitutional Affairs for consideration:

    (a)      Draft Rules submitted by the Rules Board for Courts of
         Law, in terms of section 7(2)(c) of the Criminal Procedure
         Amendment Act, 2003 (Act No 42 of 2003).


    (b)      Draft Rules submitted by the Rules Board for Courts of
         Law, in terms of section 79(3) of the Promotion of Access to
         Information Act, 2000 (Act No 2 of 2000).

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister for Public Enterprises

(a)     Amendment to Eskom’s pricing structure, tabled in terms of
    section 42(4) of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management
    Act, 2003 (Act No 56 of 2003) and supporting documents required in
    terms of section 42(3) of the same Act.

1. The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development

a) Report on withholding of remuneration of Magistrate K Suliman, in
   terms of section 13(4A)(b) of the Magistrates Act, 1993 (Act No 90
   of 1993).

COMMITTEE REPORTS

National Council of Provinces

1. Report of the Select Committee on Social Services on the Immigration Amendment Bill [B 28 – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 75), dated 6 March 2007:

The Select Committee on Social Services, having considered the subject of the Immigration Amendment Bill [B 28 – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports that it has agreed to the Bill.

1. Report of the Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises on the South African Airways Amendment Bill [B 35B – 2006] (National Assembly – sec 75), dated 7 March 2007:

The Select Committee on Labour and Public Enterprises, having considered the subject of the South African Airways Bill [B 35B- 2006] (National Assembly – sec 75), referred to it and classified by the Joint Tagging Mechanism as a section 75 Bill, reports that it has agreed to the Bill.

                       THURSDAY, 8 MARCH 2007

ANNOUNCEMENTS National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

The Speaker and the Chairperson

1. Classification of Bill by Joint Tagging Mechanism

 (1)    The Joint Tagging Mechanism, on 6 March 2007 in terms of Joint
     Rule 160(6)(c), classified the following Bill as a section 77
     Bill:


     (a)     Finance Bill [B 5 – 2007] (National Assembly – sec 77).

National Council of Provinces

The Chairperson

1. Referral to Committees of papers tabled

(1)     The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on
    Social Services for consideration:

    (a)      Strategic Plan of the Department of Social Development for
         2007 to 2010 [RP 23-2007].

    (b)      Strategic Plan of the National Development Agency (NDA)
         for 2006/07 to 2010/11 [RP 15-2007].
    (c)      Strategic Plan of the South African Social Security Agency
         for 2007 to 2010   [RP 16-2007].

(2)     The following papers are referred to the Select Committee on
    Security and Constitutional Affairs:

    (a)      Report of the National Commissioner of the South African
         Police Service (SAPS) for the period of July 2006 to December
         2006, in terms of section 18(5)(d) of the Domestic Violence
         Act, 1998 (Act No 116 of 1998).

    (b)      Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
         of the President’s Fund for 2004-2005 [RP 25-2006].

    (c)      Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements
         of the President’s Fund for 2005-2006 [RP 252-2006].

(3)     The following paper is referred to the Select Committee on Land
    and Environmental Affairs for consideration:

    (a)      Strategic Plan of the Department of Land Affairs for 2007
         to 2010.

                        FRIDAY, 9 MARCH 2007

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Council of Provinces

The Chairperson

1. Appointment of members to Standing Committee

(a)     The following members have been appointed to serve on the
    Standing Committee established by NCOP Rule 256:


    Ms P M Hollander
    Kgoshi M L Mokoena
    Ms N Ntwanambi
    Mr A Watson
    Dr F van Heerden

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. The Minister in The Presidency

(a)     Strategic Plan of the International Marketing Council (IMC) for
    2007 to 2009.

1. The Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry

(a)     Report and Financial Statements of Sedibeng Water for the year
    ended June 2006, including the Report of the Independent Auditors
    on the Financial Statements for the year ended June 2006.


(b)     Report and Financial Statements of Bushbuckridge Water for the
    year ended June 2006, including the Report of the Independent
    Auditors on the Financial Statements for the year ended June 2006.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces

1. Report of the Joint Budget Committee on 2007/8 National Budget, dated 09 March 2007:

2. INTRODUCTION

The Minister of Finance tabled the Budget for 2007/8, including the MTEF for the 2008/9 and 2009/10, on 22 February 2007.The Committee’s mandate regarding the Appropriation Bill requires it to consider the allocation of available financial resources against government policy. This mandate is distinct from that of the Portfolio and Select Committees on Finance, which deliberate on the macro-economic, fiscal and intergovernmental dimensions of the Appropriation Bill respectively.

The Committee has interpreted its mandate to mean that it should consider the following: • The expected impact of expenditure allocations on the effectiveness and efficiency with which departments can respond to government’s stated policy priorities; and • Whether departments are making the tough choices required, tailoring their planned expenditures to priorities, choosing effective strategies and seeking efficiency in implementation.

After studying tabled documents and conducting hearings the Committee also reviewed earlier processes on the Budget, including the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement during it’s deliberations on the Appropriation Bill.

1. THE PROCESS

The Joint Budget Committee, the Portfolio and Select Finance Committees held joint hearings on the budget that started with the briefing by the Minister, the Director General and the Commissioner of Revenue Services (SARS). Between 27 February and 5 March 2007 the Committee received further submissions from National Treasury and SARS, economists and a tax specialist, organised labour and business as well as the Department of Transport and Department of Health. Due to changes in parliament’s programme the Departments of Sport and Recreation and Public Service and Administration were unfortunately unable to attend. These submissions dealt with the full range of issues raised in the Appropriation Bill 2007/8, as well as other related issues. Specific emphasis was given to issues of expenditure, infrastructure, capacity/skills and human resources as these have been identified as the major focus areas for governmental spending.

• The capital expenditure budget in government has seen a sharp increase
  over the  recent  period.  Capital  expenditure,  which  is  currently
  directed  towards   massive   infrastructure   development,   provides
  government with the opportunity to grow the economy at a higher  scale
  to reduce poverty and  create  jobs.  As  such,  the  2010  World  Cup
  provides  government  with  a  valuable  opportunity  to   invest   in
  development, to address the priority of poverty alleviation.

Having applied the mandate to the Appropriation Bill and after applying its mind, the Committee has made several recommendations.

1. MACRO-ECONOMIC ISSUES

Although macro-economic issues do not fall within the mandate of the Joint Budget Committee, their impact on financial management and expenditure requires the JBC’s consideration. Increasing efficiency of revenue collection has caught up with the State’s capacity to spend. The present surplus results from revenue collection outstripping projections as reflected in the Budget Review of 2006. This development provides an opportunity for allocating more funds to infrastructure, social services and crime prevention. The committee is of the opinion that the current capacity challenges may constrain the efficient, effective and economical expenditure of these increased funds.

1. SUBMISSIONS TO THE JOINT BUDGET COMMITTEE

Briefing by the National Treasury

The Minister of Finance and the Director-General (DG) of the National Treasury briefed the Committee on the 2007/08 Budget on 22 February 2007.

The minister and his team highlighted the key aspects of the Budget 2007/08. He noted that increased revenues and steadily improving economic growth enabled greater expenditure in key policy areas, which included investment in social and economic infrastructure, improvement in the education and health services, the modernisation of justice and administration services as well as long-term investment in social security. Critical concerns raised by members included the design of the social security reform, methods to improve the current shortage of skills needed for economic growth and the need to improve export performance. Concerns were also raised over the continued inaccessibility and lack of integration of transport services, despite existing and planned improvements in transport infrastructure.

National Treasury stated that government expenditure had grown by 9% in real terms, due to the steady growth in revenue collection. This led to an improved fiscal position and a recorded surplus for the current financial year. The committee welcomes this improved position resulted in a net tax relief of R12.4 billion and the abolition of retirement fund tax. Greater investments in health and education to improve the skills capacity and improved remuneration of teachers and health workers are also welcomed.

The new reforms would need to include unemployment benefits, disability and death benefits, and savings and pension would be based on a standard payment log of 15 to 18% percent of income of all workers in the formal employment sector. A wage subsidy would be introduced for low-income earners to encourage employment creation and the improvement in the working and living conditions of low-income earners. This would offset the social security contribution of this group. The total cost of this system would be around R20 to R30 billion.

The Impact of the Allocations of the Division of Revenue

The recommendations by the FFC, and the responses thereto by the National Treasury, were considered by the JBC in respect to the Division of Revenue 2007 and taken into account as they related to the Appropriation Bill. The Division of Revenue aim to strike two critical balances: one between executive authorities and administration and the other between executive authorities across spheres. The JBC also noted the recommendations that government did not implement. The JBC believes it is critical that the confusion over the concurrent functions and responsibilities of provincial governments and municipalities should be speedily resolved. There is also a need for greater coordination between spheres of government as well as an improvement in the monitoring and spending of conditional grants.

National Treasury briefed the Committee on the DoR and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Stadiums Development Grant, and the Bulk Infrastructure Grant. Clauses were also refined to facilitate the project registration of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.

Efficiency Group Briefing

The Efficiency Group’s submission focussed on taxation, which is being dealt with by the Portfolio Committee on Finance. The Efficiency Group highlighted that the increase in social expenditure in health, social development, education and housing stood at 43% in real terms in 1994 and has increased to 50% in this budget, which represents a significant increase. it further noted that this increase with the significant reduction in debt has increased funds available for public expenditure.

Bureau for Economic Research (BER) briefing

Bureau for Economic Research stated that there were sound fiscal finances and there were generally stable expenditure and tax ratios, implying that there were no dramatic fiscal effects. Attention was being given to the issue of savings and Government’s own savings were positive. There was some evidence of delivery in terms of infrastructure spending, but it needed to be stepped up. On the downside, the combination of a ‘dovish’ monetary policy and a ‘stable’ fiscal policy at this point may not be enough to address macro-economic imbalances reflected in the current account, which implied risk.

Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Briefing

The Industrial Development Corporation stated that domestic demand had been a key driver behind the sector’s recovery in the past three years, mainly due to buoyant consumer spending and manufacturers had increasingly switched to the lucrative domestic market. The remarkable recovery in South Africa’s overall economic performance since 1994 had not translated into significant job creation in the formal non-agricultural sectors of the economy. The economy had become less labour-intensive over the years, although some reversal in this trend had been observed in more recent years.

The Impact of Issues of Taxation

The Portfolio Committee on Finance is dealing with the briefing made by Mallinicks and BUSA due to its focus on macro-economic issues. In the Committee’s opinion the resulting increased revenue arising from economic growth and robust collection will be utilised by government to increase expenditure in prioritised areas.

Department of Transport

The Department stated that the economy is growing and as part of a concerted commitment towards the 2010 World Cup and the expansion of public transport, a sharp increase in capital expenditure has been planned. The department placed an emphasis on the revitalisation, maintenance and expansion of existing and new infrastructure. The committee stressed the importance of ensuring that the infrastructure development creates a lasting legacy beyond 2010. In order to address commodity price concerns, the department has, together with the Department of Trade and Industry put macro-economic processes in place around the acquisition of materials. Other strategies include improving local manufacturing to circumvent some costs; local assembling; as well as securing up-front commitments where bulk purchases are to be made.

On the issue of the alignment between government departments to maximise the utilisation of funds, the department confirmed that interdepartmental coordination and the cluster system is followed. These measures have brought about much closer cooperation between various departments, although this must be done at an accelerated pace. The committee raised its concern around the low integrated approach between departments in service delivery.

Key policy areas of the Department of Transport regarding infrastructure

• World Cup support: public transport infrastructure
• Scaling up of EPWP in the road sector with a budget
• Improvement of strategic secondary road network
• Regional road infrastructure development
• Passenger rail
• South African National Road Agency

The department expressed its satisfaction with the budget, which shows a 54% increase. Furthermore it raised the issue of the lack of the skills needed in order to implement some of its key priorities.

The JBC considered the following:

• In terms of transfer expenditure the department  is  doing  reasonably
  well and outcomes are dependent on the implementing agencies  such  as
  provinces, municipalities among others
• In this regard JBC is concerned about the  lack  of  capacity  of  the
  implementing agencies to spend
• The JBC further observed that the monitoring of implementing  agencies
  by the national departments are minimal
• The pace to meet the deadlines, in particularly  the  2010  deadlines,
  may be hindered by lack of capacity
• The EPWP are indeed labour intensive and  as  such  creates  jobs  and
  develops skills

After considering the above observations the JBC believes it is important to monitor the expenditure challenges monthly, where possible and otherwise quarterly and when necessary obtain departmental briefings to assist in the committee’s oversight in these areas.

The Department of Health

The committee did not share the Department of Health’s optimism in regards to the pattern of accelerated expenditure in the last quarter, which led to a possible problem of fiscal dumping, notwithstanding the department’s point that March transfers have been moved to December.

The department stated that though hospital revitalization has improved in totality, funds allocated to revitalization are only sufficient to spend on projects that have already been awarded tenders. Among the challenges they face, are rollovers that are awarded too late for, as the DG stated, effective expenditure, this includes provincial transfers. Furthermore, the department assumed that the presentation of business plans would lead to the required allocation of funds; given the emphasis placed on providing business plans in previous years. The committee believes that the increase of funds without the capacity to spend effectively and efficiently is not the solution.

The JBC intends scrutinising the processes that led to these problems raised by the department, in a joint engagement with Department of Health and National Treasury, so that corrective measures can be taken to avoid a recurrence of these problems.

The department noted an increase in a conditional grant allocation for HIV/AIDS that led to more than 245 106 patients being treated in 2006/07 compared to the 28 393 treated in December 2004. The committee welcomed this improvement. The department made it clear that this figure is small, relative to the challenge the country is facing and pointed out that the demand for resources is greater than the supply and noted that the time will come when the system will not cope. The current policy requires that the department provide treatment to all those patients who present themselves and the DG noted the impact that the increasing numbers will have on the department’s medium term expenditure projections. However the department did indicate the role poverty plays and the importance of supporting medication with proper nutrition.

GENDER CONSIDERATIONS IN THE BUDGET

The JBC also considered how far women, who are the greater percentage of poor people, are directly taken into account in department’s allocations. In this respect the submission from the Community Agency for Social Enquiry was also considered when deliberating on the budgets. The Committee agrees that there are weaknesses in making linkages between the various steps of the planning, budgeting and monitoring processes.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s budget makes no mention of maintenance in the 2007/08 ENE. The sexual offences courts are not mentioned in the 2007/08 ENE apart from a target conviction rate, as in 2006/07, of 70%. The JBC believes that all departments and the EPWP, which is one of government’s key programmes to address poverty alleviation, should consider increasing their focus on women. The Department of Health vote in the 2007/08 ENE states that 7 795 caregivers were trained in HCBC in 2005/06, but does not state whether this was done as part of the EPWP. The Department of Social Development, which also supports HCBC as part of the social sector EPWP, provides no budget or performance figures on delivery in this area in the ENE.

The JBC identified two aspects of the 2007/08 budget which are particularly supportive from a gender perspective. Firstly, the increased attention to bursaries and increased salaries for teachers, nurses and social workers will benefit women because these areas of work are female-dominated. To date, the salaries paid to these workers have been far lower than for other jobs that require equivalent education and training. Secondly, the above- inflation increases in the social security grants will benefit women because it is they, disproportionately who benefit from the grant system. However the JBC remains concerned at the lack of gender disaggregation of targets and indicators in the Estimates of National Expenditure.

1. RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations focus on infrastructure and capacitation in its broadest sense.

Infrastructure

• The national departments should strengthen their monitoring strategies
  on provinces, municipalities and the agencies
•  Parliament  should  prioritise  oversight  in  all  departments  with
  significant infrastructure allocations which should furnish parliament
  with detailed plans with spending projections that are linked directly
  to timeframes and monitor and evaluate monthly expenditure trends  and
  conduct robust on site oversight function particularly  on  the  major
  projects Capacitation

• DPSA should monitor and  evaluate  the  government’s  current  general
  personnel retention guidelines. It should also identify  the  existing
  limitations  in  addressing  the  current  challenges  that  exist  in
  obtaining and retaining strategic professional scarce skills
• Departments should adopt innovative approaches within  the  parameters
  of the conditions of service
• National Departments must provide  uniform  norms  and  standards  and
  service delivery plans to monitor
• Parliament welcomes increased allocations. The critical responsibility
  is for parliamentary committees to strengthen their oversight  with  a
  focus on value for money, sustainability of  projects  and  impact  on
  communities.

BRIEFINGS & SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED

National Treasury Financial Fiscal Commission Efficiency Group Bureau for Economic Research Industrial Development Corporation Community Agency for Social Enquiry

Report to be considered