National Assembly - 08 September 2009
TUESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2009 __
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:01.
The Speaker took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col 000.
NOTICES OF MOTION
Dr W G JAMES: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move the following motion:
That the House debates the status of the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe.
Dr P J RABIE: Mr Speaker, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the House I shall move the following motion:
That the House debates the increasing number of jobs lost due to the present economic recession and comes up with possible solutions.
I thank you, Mr Speaker.
SAPS COMMEMORATION DAY
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Mr Speaker, hon Deputy President, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) notes that on Sunday, 6 September 2009, the South African Police
Service, led by the Minister of Police, held a memorial service for
its fallen comrades;
2) recalls that in the past year a total of 105 police officers were
murdered, 41 of those while on duty;
3) remembers that the SAPS commemorated the day with grieving families
and friends of their former colleagues by laying wreaths at the
Union Buildings;
4) recognises that the SAPS commemoration day is a tribute to our
women and men in blue uniform who sacrifice their lives so that we
can live a better life; and
5) conveys its condolences to the families who lost their loved ones
in the battle against crime.
Agreed to.
CELEBRATION OF INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Speaker, hon Deputy President, I move without notice:
That the House -
1) notes that today, Tuesday, 8 September, is International Literacy
Day;
2) recalls that literacy is a cause for celebration since there are
now close to four billion literate people in the world;
3) remembers that basic education is crucial to nation-building and
that literacy for all is at the heart of creating literate
environments and societies and is essential for achieving the goals
of eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, achieving gender
equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy;
4) recognises that literacy is crucial to the acquisition by every
child, youth and adult of the essential life skills that enable
them to address the challenges they will be facing later in life;
and
5) urges all governments of the world to mobilise adequate national
resources, develop more inclusive policy-making environments and
devise strategies for reaching the poorest and most marginalised
sections of the population in an effort to achieve the goals of the
decade.
Agreed to.
2009 NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION’S
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Speaker, I move without notice:
That the House - (1) notes that Professor Njabulo Ndebele has been honoured with the 2009 National Research Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and Professor Thokozani Majozi of the University of Pretoria and Professor Tebello Nyokong of Rhodes University have been presented with the National Research Foundation’s President’s Awards for their contribution to the transformation and development of science in South Africa;
(2) further notes that these academics have all received wide acclaim across the globe, including numerous awards and honorary doctorates;
(3) congratulates them on receiving these well-deserved awards; and
(4) thanks them for their invaluable contribution to the development of our young scientists and academics, and to the world of literature.
Agreed to.
EARTHQUAKE IN INDONESIA
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Speaker, I move without notice: That the House -
(1) notes with sadness that last week Indonesia was hit by a devastating earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, resulting in considerable destruction and loss of life;
(2) further notes that the city of Bandung, home of the historic first Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1955, was particularly hard-hit;
(3) conveys its sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy to the families of victims and all those affected by this calamity;
(4) expresses solidarity with the people of Indonesia; and
(5) trusts that they will be able to overcome this disaster and rebuild their lives.
Agreed to.
NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING
(Statement)
The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY - NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Mr Speaker, hon Deputy President, Ministers, Deputy Ministers and hon members, today we table in this House the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning and a policy paper on performance monitoring and evaluation.
On 5 June 2009, and again on 24 June 2009, in the debate on the Budget Vote of the Presidency, both Minister Chabane and I provided a detailed introduction to the work of our Ministries. We set out the rationale for the establishment of our functional areas, noting that the key reason for the establishment of these two Ministries in the Presidency is to improve the overall effectiveness of government in achieving our short-, medium- and long-term objectives.
Today, admittedly slightly later than we had envisaged, we return to this House to present more details on what we envisage and how we plan to proceed. This time, we table papers that have been extensively canvassed in the executive, including discussions with provincial premiers, metro mayors, the leadership of Salga and the leaders of all political parties in this House.
The Green Paper on National Strategic Planning is a discussion document that sets out the rationale for planning and the institutional structures, processes and outputs of the national planning process. The Green Paper is not a plan for the country. It must be seen as the nuts and bolts – the “how” part of developing a plan or plans.
Also critical is to understand that the outputs of the planning function are not just a single document in the form of a national plan, but a variety of products ranging from annual programmes of action and a medium- term strategic framework to research papers on strategic issues and matters to do with the spatial dynamics of our development path.
We should also emphasise at the outset that the planning function is not conceptualised as a bookish and pedantic process with bespectacled men and women poring over tomes and computer screens in their offices to emerge, abracadabra, with eureka moments about solutions to the problems our country faces.
Strategic planning is a dynamic process of engagement with society, government departments, provinces, municipalities and a myriad of stakeholders in our country. To the extent that the vision for our country should inspire and inform the actions of all citizens, so should its development, derived from active citizen participation.
Even though we dealt in some detail previously with why South Africa needs a plan, today’s input would be amiss if I didn’t repeat some of the key reasons for why we are setting up the capacity in the Presidency to drive national strategic planning. After 15 years of democracy, we take comfort in the successes that we have achieved. Not only have we set up important institutions of democracy and governance, but we have also improved the lives of millions of people through a growing economy and improving access to basic services.
We are keenly aware, however, of the overwhelming evidence that we have not yet achieved our key objectives for transforming our society, economy, space and communities. Poverty, inequality and hardship remain stark realities across the length and breadth of our country.
We have made progress, yes, but we still have a long way to go in eradicating the effects of apartheid on the lives of all of our people. And so, we have to do more and better. Improved national strategic planning would provide a basis for increased policy coherence, better co-ordination from the centre of government and clear priorities upon which we can act as one in budgeting, implementing programmes and policies and monitoring the outcomes of our work.
Furthermore, a national plan will help focus our collective mind on long- term challenges facing our country and provide clear frameworks to take the tough decisions today that will enable us to realise a better country tomorrow.
Over time, all governments develop institutional rigidities that need to be shaken from time to time. The development of a coherent strategic plan at national level is also about breaking through the walls that we erect between departments, spheres, agencies and institutions.
Our Constitution implores us to work together in pursuit of the ideals it so eloquently articulates. The Green Paper on planning describes an institutional framework that aims to get us away from the perspective of where we each work alone, striving to achieve what is otherwise an outcome also dependent on the input of others in government and, indeed, society at large.
We need to elevate the discussion and the style of work to what needs to be done collectively and variously to get our country working. This approach has been welcomed by all metro mayors, provincial premiers, Salga and government Ministers.
The question regarding what we are planning for has arisen frequently in discussions leading to the finalisation of the Green Paper. Our Constitution sets out the raison d’être of our government and the South African state per se. It is to build a prosperous, nonracial and nonsexist democracy, where the opportunities available to each South African are free from the shadow of history.
When we attempt to describe the South Africa we desire in 20 years’ time, it is remarkable how similar the aspirations of all South Africans are. A long-term vision can serve as a unifying tool to get us to confront the more difficult challenges we face in the immediacy of current pursuits.
A long-term vision and plan for the country is the first output described in the Green Paper. The National Planning Commission, NPC, chaired by the Minister in the Presidency - National Planning Commission and consisting of commissioners from outside of government, is proposed to develop the national plan.
The Green Paper emphasises that Cabinet is the seat of policy in the executive and hence the National Planning Commission’s role is advisory. The NPC, unencumbered by the constraints of individual Ministries and not beholden to short-term interests, can help develop a national plan that is genuinely long-term in nature, technically consistent and reflective of the broader aspirations of society.
The national plan will then go through a process within government before it is adopted by Cabinet in session with representatives of the other two spheres of government. A ministerial committee on planning is proposed to provide collective political support to the Minister for planning and to help process the outputs of the commission before they are tabled in Cabinet. It is envisaged that the President and Deputy President will be ex officio members of both the commission and the ministerial committee.
The Green Paper recognises that the five-yearly Medium-Term Strategic Framework is a document of the executive, drawing on the electoral mandate of the ruling party. Similarly, the annual programmes of action are processed and adopted by the executive. It is proposed in the Green Paper that the process whereby these two important documents are put together is co-ordinated by the Minister in the Presidency responsible for planning.
Again, the ministerial committee on planning will provide political input into this process, drawing on the work of clusters, departments, state- owned enterprises, provinces and municipalities.
Planning is a dynamic function that requires constant updating, taking on board new data, research and perspectives to nudge policy to achieve better longer-term outcomes. There will be a need for continuous research on cross- cutting topics that affect our medium- and long-term development plans, such as demographic change, climate change, energy sources, water security, food security and long-term defence capabilities.
The Minister for planning will work with that commission and relevant clusters, and departments will draw on the excellent research capacity that exists in the country to produce a series of baseline studies and research papers on these types of cross-cutting topics that would help shift policy to take account of long-term trends and objectives. Apartheid planning was effective at distorting the country’s spatial geography, with major economic and social consequences. The creation of dormitory townships far from places of work and the Bantustan system is a legacy that will not go away on its own. It requires a concerted plan informed by a spatial planning framework. One of the functions of the planning process is to develop high-level spatial perspectives to guide infrastructure investment and other socioeconomic programmes.
A small, professional secretariat to be called the national planning secretariat is to be established in the Presidency to support the work of this entire cluster of activities. The secretariat will serve at the institutional centre for strategic planning in government and will work closely with technical experts in institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the CSIR, Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC, universities and other think tanks.
We do not envisage a top-down planning process through which the Planning Ministry employs thousands of people who review every plan by every department, province or municipality. We envisage a dynamic and iterative process of strategic engagement that shapes the plans and resource allocations of government departments, spheres, state-owned enterprises and agencies through the provision of clear, coherent priorities.
The planning function would not, on its own, be responsible for co- ordinating the implementation of the national plan. Cabinet would collectively be responsible for implementation. The Minister, the commission and the planning secretariat, working closely with the Minister in the Presidency - Performance Monitoring and Evaluation and Administration, would from time to time report on progress in implementing government plans and strategic frameworks and advise government on gaps in implementing key priorities.
A long-term plan for this country is only implementable if it is technically sound, coherent and has a broad societal buy-in. It has to avoid the risk of being, like motherhood and apple pie, full of broad niceties that everyone agrees to. It has to go beyond that by tackling the key challenges and confronting the difficult trade-offs we face as a society. For this to work, a national plan has to find resonance beyond party-political structures and even beyond government.
The institution best placed to facilitate such a broad societal input into a planning process is Parliament. It is for this reason that robust engagement, taking into account the views of broader stakeholders, should be led by Parliament. For a start, this Green Paper, while not a national plan, should also be subjected to broad consultation and scrutiny.
We have a unique opportunity under the leadership of President Zuma to change the way in which we work, to raise our game in terms of planning and performance and to achieve better results as a people. Within government we have an opportunity to break the institutional rigidities that seem to have cemented over the past 15 years.
Such change is critical if we are to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives in this five-year term, given the economic uncertainties we face and the resource constraints confronting us. Above all, we will need to do so informed by who and where we are as a nation, and who and where we want to be in more than a decade.
The development of a long-term national plan and better strategic planning in general would help align government’s efforts towards achieving the type of society that we all desire in the future. This Green Paper is an attempt to open up the discussion on the institutional arrangements – the “how” and “what” of national strategic planning. We urge all South Africans to become part of the process of debate and engagement on this important initiative. We look forward to Parliament’s leadership role in structuring such an engagement.
We remain fervently of the view that working together towards a clear set of goals we can do more to raise the quality of life of all of our people. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
The LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION: Hon Speaker, the DA appreciates this initiative and the manner of its introduction to political parties, and also that it amounts to an unfamiliar admission of failure. The duration of this debate, however, detracts from the value and importance of this very important initiative.
The debate around the national planning strategy is currently essentially abstract and esoteric as the appointment of the national planning commission and the development of a 2025 vision will be key to its success. Recent presidential appointments and the manner in which they have been made hardly bode well for the appointment of an appropriately diverse group of people with the appropriate experience and expertise.
The appointments of the SABC interim board, the Judicial Services Commission and the Chief Justice are instructive in this regard. Furthermore, the status of this Ministry currently has a veneer of credibility due to the image of the incumbent Minister. Will this hold in the future under the leadership of someone like Julius Malema, for example?
The determination of a national vision must be inclusive and transparent. If it is to be a vision for “our people” and not “all the people”, it will be stillborn. Eventually, this means that what we need is a national vision, and not a nationalist vision. Therefore, the vision and planning model must be based on the outcome of a national debate on what kind of country we want our children and their children to live in, in 2025. This we must base on the nation’s needs and aspirations, recognising that 6,3 million South Africans voted for opposition parties. This vision cannot simply reflect that of the ANC’s Polokwane conference.
Minister, you would do well also to recognise that the road to hell is paved with good and bad intentions, and that national, international and economic realities determine what can realistically be achieved.
The current lack of cohesive nationhood is caused by the cognitive dissonance brought about by the perceptions and experiences of citizens regarding the current state of governance and service delivery in our country, despite perennial ANC electoral promises.
For example, the political and administrative meltdown in the North West province has been ascribed to the ANC provincial executive’s factional deployment of incompetent cadres, nepotism, corruption and secret looting. I assume and trust that this was not planned.
Dié stand van sake kan net toegeskryf word aan power politieke leierskap, swak dissipline en onverantwoordelikheid in die Staatsdiens.
Minister Chabane het onlangs gesê dat die nodige strukture en maatreëls om sulke mense vas te vat, reeds bestaan – ons stem saam – en dat sy ministerie uiterste gevalle na sulke strukture sal verwys. Die vraag is: En dan wat?
Julle twee kan beplan en monitor so veel as wat julle wil; indien julle nie die inkoop, ondersteuning en vertroue van die President, the Kabinet, die Parlement, die provinsies, en die munisipaliteite kry nie, sal die hele inisiatief in duie stort. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[This state of affairs can only be ascribed to poor political leadership, bad discipline and irresponsible actions within the Public Service.
Minister Chabane recently said that the necessary structures and measures to clamp down on such people already exist – we agree with him – and that his Ministry will refer extreme cases to such structures. The question remains: And what then?
The two of you can plan and monitor all you want; unless you get the President, Cabinet, Parliament, the provinces, and the municipalities to buy into, support and have confidence in it, the whole initiative will collapse.]
Planning priorities will require trade-offs, and careful arbitration will be required, both within the tripartite alliance, as well as between the public and private sectors.
This will be complicated by the widening division between government, trade unions and the private sector. It is imperative that trade unions understand the often unpalatable realities and also take the private sector on board with them by creating transparency and developing trust.
Both sectors need to understand the role of the developmental state; it is essentially a helping hand, and not an iron fist. For example, government promised 500 000 new jobs by the end of the year, on the one hand. This is just not materialising, while on the other hand a war of words has developed between government and the DA on the matter of banning labour broking.
This R23 billion sector is actually creating jobs, of which, though initially casual, 30% become converted into decent jobs after an average of eight months. Surely in this economic climate and considering the unacceptably high rate of unemployment, you should be planning on how to improve and regulate this industry rather than shutting it down.
My recent visits to sites of poor service delivery confirm that poor planning and performance monitoring result in poor governance and service delivery.
This state of affairs will compromise the R5 billion capital infrastructure investment in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality, which is intended to address the collapse of the infrastructure network and should not only ensure proper service delivery, but should also assist in attracting economic investment to an extremely depressed area.
In conclusion, the DA supports this initiative in principle and appeals to all concerned to support it honestly and to commit to ensuring its success. For example, the newly appointed chief operations officer in the Presidency, the spinning Jessie Duarte, will have to confine herself to reality and not become a reincarnation of Aesop’s Fables.
This initiative will mean that the ANC government will have to be prepared to take tough decisions and address the issue of constraining legislation to make a difference. Are you prepared to do so, hon Minister?
In conclusion, we appreciate the recognition that this House needs to be informed. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Rev H M DANDALA: Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Minister and members, when we reflect on the past 15 years, with all the progress that has been made, we agree that we have not lived up to our full potential as a country.
Our governments, in their successes, failed to reach the many goals that they had set for themselves. This was not because there were no resources, as most government departments would each year return funds to the fiscus, but mainly due to incoherent planning and a lack of co-ordination.
Cope welcomes the much anticipated clarity that the national planning Ministry has provided in its Green Paper regarding its mandate and how it will function. In seeking to right the wrongs of the past – as in those of apartheid – it is indeed heartening that government also recognises the injustice of punishing the people of South Africa for mistakes made by recent governments and their institutions, such as the recent electricity price hikes by Eskom and that to rectify these, long-term planning has to be embraced that will guide not only the government, but also the South Africans, in the challenge of rebuilding their country.
The wisdom of defining where one is going and how one will get there can never be overstated. The operative word that the Minister uses in this process is inclusivity. It will require a conscious paradigm shift for all South Africans to move from partisanship to a sense of national consciousness that seeks to design a process that will take all to such a common destiny and a sense of common good.
The Ministry in the Presidency is the custodian of this collective desire of the people of South Africa. The ideas outlined in the Green Paper have to be examined in an open spirit and through transparent processes that in the end will legitimise them in the eyes of all South Africans.
We urge the Minister to ensure that this commitment is not compromised. The people of South Africa must be assured that this process will not be used to stifle innovation and that all efforts will be made to ensure authentic inclusivity and that, indeed, the process will not be used merely as a tool for co-option. I thank you, Speaker. [Applause.]
Mr P F SMITH: Speaker, hon colleagues, in the last century, the concept of state planning was often very contentious, especially with the Soviet Union, its satellites and fellow travellers giving the concept a very bad name.
Planning, however, is of course an intrinsic part of government. As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you are actually planning to fail.” The issue then is not whether you engage in planning, but rather the “when”, “how” and “what” of planning.
The IFP believes there is much to agree with in the proposed National Planning Commission. We endorse the inclusivity and nonpartisanship the Minister spoke of. We support the eschewal of “commandism”; we agree on the need to avoid institutionalising bureaucracy. But really, in the end, success or failure will depend in a large part on the composition of the commission and government’s response to what it has to say.
In respect of appointments, we are pleased that government is seemingly intending to desist from employing party hacks or rewarding narrow sectoral interests. But equally, of course, it is critical that government listens to what the commission has to say. If the intention is that government avoids being trapped by its own institutional perceptions, then it has to be open to new ideas.
So, colleagues, this is an important initiative, and it is one that we support in principle. We wish the Minister well. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mr L W GREYLING: The ID certainly welcomes the creation of this Ministry as we believe it is vital that we adopt a long-term approach towards South Africa’s development. As recent events have shown, the world around us is changing fast and we need to be alive to the challenges and opportunities that this change will bring.
The ID implores you, Minister, to give due cognisance to the fact that our model of development needs to be radically restructured to deal with an impending natural resource crunch that the global economy will be subjected to over the next few decades.
It is, therefore, vital that the National Strategy for Sustainable Development is driven by your Ministry and that, as Thomas Friedman states in his recent book, “our ability to outgreen other countries ultimately leads to us outcompeting them.”
The ID will enjoy exploring this and other issues with you as we develop a truly comprehensive national plan. I thank you.
Mr N M KGANYAGO: Mr Speaker, Deputy President and hon members, the UDM welcomes the new-found commitment by government to pursue a more holistic and integrated policy and service delivery. This is a longstanding concern of the UDM. As we have argued on countless occasions, the country’s most pressing challenges - from unemployment to crime and poverty - require multipronged and innovative solutions. Even among related government departments, for example the economic cluster, there are countless discrepancies in objectives and approaches.
Our concern with the national planning strategy is twofold. Firstly, there is an issue of accountability. Existing structures and elected officials cannot simply become the mindless pawns of a central state bureaucracy. The autonomy and accountability of existing structures as enshrined in the Constitution must be protected. It would be a sad day if elected institutions at local and provincial levels became mere cogs in the national government machine. That was never the intention of our Constitution.
Secondly, there is the question of consultation. Any plan that claims to be a national strategy must have the broad and informed support of the whole nation, which means it will need to be widely debated.
South Africans have grown tired of a distant style of governance that decides for them what they need and how they will get it. A national strategy that takes a one-size-fits-all approach would be disastrous. The rural village in Limpopo that receives unnecessary housing when they are in the midst of a water crisis is an example.
The UDM supports the initiative. Thank you. [Applause.]
Mnr P J GROENEWALD: Agb Speaker, die VF Plus verwelkom natuurlik, soos enige ander politieke party, die inisiatiewe geneem deur die agb Minister. Dit is ’n positiewe stap in die regte rigting. Daar is ongelukkig ’n negatiewe aspek daarby, en ons moet sê dat dit eintlik ’n erkenning is van die regering dat daar nie eintlik beplanning in die verlede was nie.
Selfs na 15 jaar van regeer, neem die ANC nou eers ’n besluit en besef nou dat daar behoorlike beplanning moet wees.
Ons het nie twyfel aan die bevoegdhede van die agb Minister nie; ons sal egter moet kyk hoe dit in die praktyk gaan eindig. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Hon Speaker, the FF Plus, like any other party, naturally welcomes the initiatives taken by the hon Minister. It is a positive step in the right direction. There is unfortunately also a negative aspect attached to it, and that, we must add, is an acknowledgement from the government that there was in fact no planning in the past.
Even after 15 years of governance, the ANC is only deciding and realising now that there should be proper planning.
We do not doubt the capabilities of the hon Minister; however, we will have to see how it will end in practice.]
As the former Minister of Finance, I think the Minister will understand when I say, “Talk is cheap but money buys the whiskey”. We will check it. Thanks.
Mr S N SWART: Speaker, hon Minister, there can be no doubt that challenges such as climate change, energy supply, food security and structural inequalities such as systemic poverty require longer-term planning. The absence of a coherent and clearly articulated long-term strategic plan has negatively impacted upon government’s ability to provide clear and consistent plans across all sectors.
The ACDP trusts that this Green Paper will start to address this matter and put an end to short-term planning and lack of co-ordination that has seen many good policies flounder due to defective implementation. It is also necessary to involve independent experts, strategic thinkers and think tanks to determine the country’s long-term planning priorities and to draw up a national strategic plan.
The ACDP appreciates that this document is intended to elicit a national discussion and that wide consultation will be held before mapping out a long-term vision for the country. We support this initiative, Minister, and we will participate in its process. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr T A MUFAMADI: Mr Speaker, I realise that on the speakers’ list I’m supposed to speak Afrikaans. For the record I just want to say that Tshivenda is not Afrikaans.
Let me first express our appreciation as the ANC for the visionary leadership of President Jacob Zuma and his administration. Not only did they show political leadership, but, most importantly, commitment and decisiveness, impressive planning, co-ordination and monitoring at the centre of a developmental state as priority number 1. This is in line with our objectives of realising the goals as set out in the national democratic revolution.
Secondly, we highly appreciate the consultative process by the Office of the President on soliciting views and advice from structures on how best government can improve its delivery systems and therefore build the required capacity. This process has allowed the broader South African society to come forward and participate in the making of a new South Africa and its administration. This is a position that we, as the ANC, have always believed in - that it is the people’s wisdom and their collective intellectual capacity that a better South Africa can be founded upon. This is a South Africa where nonracialism, nonsexism, democracy and prosperity can be cherished.
Let me respond to some of the issues that have been raised. It was said that the National Planning Commission’s vision should not be based only on a collective or a collection of a few individuals. But the document itself, the Green Paper, does envisage a process through which we seek to mobilise all the people of our country, and I believe opposition parties should be part and parcel of the people of this country. They are, therefore, invited to participate in making an input and enriching this document that is tabled before us. There is an issue around service delivery matters that we also hear about in terms of some provinces and the country as a whole. This document begins by admitting that in the past 15 years, whilst we have made serious inroads in reducing poverty and creating job opportunities in the country, there remain glaring disparities between the rich and the poor. As the leading and governing party, we did not need anybody to tell us about this.
We came out, and this document does speak to these issues. Therefore, the issue of long-term planning is not something we are thinking about today; it is but part and parcel of strengthening the capacity of government in order to respond to the challenges that we need to respond to as of now.
This document also says what it is that we need to do. We need a coherent plan to achieve the ideals enshrined in our Constitution. Experience has proven to us that the legacy of apartheid cannot and will not self-correct because it requires fundamental changes that not only the market forces can respond to. The state must lead in developmental initiatives. The state must provide leadership. We agree with the proposal in the document that the Presidency cannot shirk its responsibilities of leadership.
In terms of the ownership and leadership of the programmes of government, we also agree that Parliament must ensure that society as a whole participates in ensuring that we have the necessary capacity to respond to the challenges that we are confronted with, especially now under the current global circumstances. Under these circumstances, we are expected to achieve more with the little resources we have; and indeed we must achieve more.
The hon member from the DA also raised the issue about North West, saying that some of the failures in the provincial government and local municipalities are as a result of corrupt activities of ANC councillors. I must put it on record in this House that wherever the ANC acts it acts in the interests of the people. It is the ANC that discovers and exposes corrupt activities and acts accordingly. [Applause.]
In terms of the 500 000 job opportunities which the President has directed that we should have created by the end of December, I must say to those who want to say that labour broking has actually created job opportunities, it cannot be that casualisation of jobs can be regarded as a safety network for our people. [Applause.] It cannot be that exploitation in a new form of modern slavery can be regarded as job opportunities for our people. Labour broking is nothing but a new form of exploitation, and it must be known as such. [Applause.] Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Debate concluded.
ESTABLISHMENT OF AD HOC COMMITTEE TO CONSIDER AND REPORT ON THE GREEN
PAPER ON NATIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING
(Draft Resolution)
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President, with leave, I move without notice:
That the House establishes an ad hoc committee to consider and report on the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning - September 2009 (Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports, 4 September 2009, p 705), the Committee to -
(1) consist of 14 members in the following proportions: ANC 8; DA 8; … DA 2 …
[Laughter.] [Interjections.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Mr Speaker, I think that the DA would far prefer the first suggestion by the hon Chief Whip.
The SPEAKER: Continue, hon Chief Whip.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: We are generous. Let me continue:
... ANC 8; DA 2; Cope 1; IFP 1; and other parties 2;
2) exercise those powers in Rule 138 that may assist it in carrying
out its task; and
3) report to the House by no later than 22 October 2009.
Agreed to.
IMPROVING GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
(Statement)
The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY - PERFORMANCE MONITORING, EVALUATION AND ADMINISTRATION: Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members, earlier this year, on the occasion of the tabling of our Budget Vote before this House, we committed ourselves to returning and providing details of our approach to improving government performance.
We had committed ourselves to returning in this month of September. Today I am pleased and honoured to address this House having kept our promise, honoured our commitment and met our deadline. This, in our view, is a demonstration of government’s commitment to ensuring that we improve and monitor our performance and simplify government’s work and processes. I present to you our approach as contained in the Green Paper, which we have released for public comment and discussion, entitled Improving Government Performance: Our Approach. The paper outlines, we believe, the mandate of the Ministry for performance monitoring and evaluation and how we will carry out our function.
The paper describes the process we have developed to ensure that we translate our mandate into a clear set of outcomes and crucial output measures that will help us to keep track of our commitment to deliver better services to our people.
In a conscious effort to address interactions and a continuum between planning and performance monitoring, the two Ministries within the Presidency are both tabling these papers that lay out our views and approaches. Members will note that we are committed to our joint challenge to improve the effectiveness of government. As we know, monitoring starts where planning ends, and planning starts where monitoring ends.
Our government takes the task of planning for our future and improving our current performance very seriously. The Green Paper on improving government performance paves the way for our single and focused desire to deliver on our mandate to the people of South Africa. Government is committed to ensuring that we have a performance that makes a meaningful impact on the lives of our people. Since 1994 we have made very serious and numerous advances. We have also improved the lives of our people. But we recognise that in some areas our outcomes have been below standard. Budget increases and expenditure on services have not always brought the results we wanted or which our people expected.
We need to understand and accept why we have sometimes not met our objectives for delivering quality services. Reasons vary from, amongst other things, a lack of political will, inadequate leadership, management weaknesses, inappropriate institutional design and misaligned decision- making. The absence of a strong performance culture with effective rewards and sanctions has also played a part.
While building on work already done, we need to focus more on positive outcomes as we use our time, money and management. Our approach is to now have a single-minded focus on driving outcomes. We also need to understand the key steps in the delivery chain that will allow us to deliver on these outcomes. Then we will develop a set of simple measures to assess on a regular basis that we are on track in delivering the outcomes. This sounds straightforward. But it takes great policy insight and expertise to identify those crucial steps that bring about the improvements we are seeking.
Based on the already approved Medium-Term Strategic Framework, we will identify 20 to 25 outcomes which will be the focus of our work to assist government to achieve its objectives. The question then arises: How are we going to assess progress and success? For each sector, an individual Minister, group of Ministers or cluster of Ministers or MECs will be receiving a letter from the President outlining expected and agreed outcomes and the measures we will be using to assess success. There will be focus meetings between the President and the political leadership sector to assess progress on a six-monthly basis.
In each sector, political principals will call together a service delivery forum of key people who are involved in delivery in the sector. Each forum will negotiate a delivery agreement between all role players that will outline the roles and contributions that each will make to the achievement of the outcomes. We see these forums as enormously important in mobilising the wider South African society to work together in achieving our developmental goals. We are especially concerned with what we have identified as priority areas - education, health, safety, economic growth with the creation of decent jobs and rural development. We believe that if we deliver and achieve desirable outcomes on these priorities in a focused manner, we will make a meaningful impact.
To illustrate our point, we are now going to describe in more detail the approach we envisage taking in the health sector, for example. We should provide the type of health services that support our citizens to lead longer, healthier lives. It is borne out by statistics that life expectancy has dropped significantly in the past few years. While we recognise that there are many approaches to improving our health system, we will be selecting outcomes that can provide an adequate focus to drive change in behaviour within the overall system.
We need to turn our hospitals into functional institutions and increase the number of hospitals and clinics that get a positive audit based on a national set of norms. These audit norms will include health outcomes as well as operational measures.
We will also ensure that our hospital managers have the right to make decisions that will enable them to manage their institutions effectively. Hospital managers need to be able to buy the appropriate medicine, fix equipment, hire the right staff and fire staff, if there is a need.
To assist us to achieve our goals, we recommend the creation of a delivery unit to respond to a few carefully selected areas of blockages in delivery. It will partner with appropriate delivery institutions in working towards a turnaround strategy. More importantly, its interventions will create models for improving delivery that can be followed by others.
The delivery unit will consist of a small team of experienced officials who can facilitate change at a national, provincial or local level. The unit will analyse failures in delivery and lessons from successes.
In partnership with all relevant role-players, it will identify, at most, five areas where it will partner with political heads and officials to drive change that brings significant and sustained improvements in delivery.
We would like to emphasise that our approach is not to police anyone but to work together to find solutions and identify problems on time without waiting for the Auditor-General’s reports. We will collectively introduce an agreed-upon set of interventions to assist in areas that have been collectively identified. It should be clear that this measure will not mean the unit has to assume responsibility for what needs to be done but rather it has to facilitate delivery.
We recognise that this approach will require a principled and firm leadership, making tough choices and holding people accountable for delivery. We remain resolute in our commitment to improve the quality of life for all the people of our country, especially the poor.
In conclusion, let me take this opportunity and make an appeal to the hon members to engage with the Green Paper and make comments and submissions that will help us consolidate our mandate. Similarly, we invite the people of South Africa to make submissions and engage with the public process this institution will embark on.
We would also like to thank colleagues and the people who participated in assisting us to put together the assessment of the work we are supposed to do and bringing together the Green Paper. This includes institutions and individuals. We would also like to thank the people from departments – almost all departments have been central to putting together these proposals. I thank you. [Applause.]
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE OPPOSITION: Mr Chairman, the DA welcomes the new, more focused desire of government to deliver on its mandate, as well as its candid assessment that it must become more effective in its actions, and that it must expand access to services and improve the quality of services.
Government’s candour in understanding and accepting why it has, in the past, not met its objectives in delivering quality services is also welcomed, albeit an indictment of itself.
The document acknowledges that the reasons include lack of political will, inadequate leadership, weak management, inappropriate institutional design, misaligned decision-making and, importantly, the absence of a strong performance culture with effective rewards and sanctions. The last point is important as a performance management system works only if there is a mechanism to hold responsible persons to account.
The Minister states upfront that the government’s performance has to be guided by a few non-negotiable principles: leadership making tough decisions, co-operation across the three levels of government, a partnership between government and civil society, transparency which demands truthfulness, dealing with limited funding and resources, and a skilled and motivated workforce. We endorse these principles.
There has often been, however, a disjuncture between these guiding principles and government’s past behaviour. First is the acknowledged need for co-operation across the three levels of government. Co-operation is not co-option.
In respect to the performance management system, government’s role is to indicate the required outcome and framework, but government needs to respect provinces’ ability to mould policy according to a province’s political mandate to achieve the outcome. Here, mechanisms need to be developed to enhance co-operation.
In respect of accountability throughout the service chain, we welcome the shift to focus on outcome, but we must walk the talk. Eskom’s agreed outcome, surely, is a sustainable supply of electricity, yet when the lights went out across South Africa, no one was suspended, sanctioned or fired - from the Minister downward.
In exercising accountability, we welcome the agreed need for increased measurement and management instruments internal and external to government. Enhanced external citizen oversight can only be achieved, as the model suggests, by increased publication of outcome data. Critical, also, is improved data architecture. We endorse the statement that the proposed management system can only function if there is credible, validated, timely information on outcomes and other elements of the results chain.
We endorse also the statement that there should be a free flow of data rather than the current situation in which data is not adequately shared. Ironically, this means that crime statistics, a key police department outcome, have to be credible, validated - and, importantly - released timeously.
Ironically, also, we are still waiting for the Presidency to release a report on the 2009 development indicators mid-term review - key data to enable us to measure government’s performance in a number of important areas. Yet the report is long overdue, and questions submitted to the Presidency remain unanswered. In any change management, monitoring and evaluation presents challenges, none more so than achieving compliance with regard to people, leadership and a shift in Public Service management culture that must take place. Tough, principled leadership is required that walks the talk, that requires accountability and sanction. This is difficult, even more so when the current predominant culture is one of cadre deployment, cronyism and nepotism.
In one of the examples in the document illustrating how the system works, the Department of Basic Education is cited. One of the key activities to achieve an outcome is teachers in class, on time, for seven hours a day. Here’s the rub: Will government challenge Sadtu on this and will inspectors be allowed once again to re-enter schools and do their monitoring work?
Finally, let me comment on the link with the intergovernmental budgeting agenda. We welcome the Minister of Finance’s signalled need for a comprehensive expenditure review. The point made in this section is that strategic and long-term development plans create incentives for organs of state to create plans they may not be able to afford in their budget.
This is particularly apt at present when government is struggling to maintain fiscal prudence in the face of declining tax revenues and burgeoning expenditure pressures. Debates around topics like the national retirement fund and, more recently, the national health insurance are particularly apt at this point in time.
Monitoring and evaluation is about promoting excellence. The essential precepts to achieve this are set out in the Minister’s document, but the Minister in government must realise that these precepts can’t be treated like a smorgasbord. To be successful, there has to be a commitment to all the principles enunciated. Government has to walk the talk. Thank you. [Applause.]
Rev H M DANDALA: Hon Chairman and all the hon members, Cope once again acknowledges that the steps outlined in the monitoring and evaluation Ministry’s paper are steps in the right direction. South Africans need to be assured that all public servants are held accountable, including Ministers, in their implementation of Vision 2025.
Our failures as a country, often characterised by high levels of corruption and failure to meet set targets, have to be eliminated. With the President’s promise that his administration will not tolerate mediocrity and corruption, it is critical and essential that this department works swiftly to increase a sense of accountability in the Public Service while, at the same time, engendering an acceptable work ethic.
While the Green Paper on National Strategic Planning provides South Africans with adequate content to discuss and deliberate on, there is a greater need to pitch our standards higher when it comes to implementation. We cannot just be satisfied with the mantras and slogans which have purported to put people first and yet have not done much to put people first in actual service delivery.
We affirm the approach that we will seek to measure delivery, not only in quantitative terms but also in quality of output and its impact on envisaged outcomes. For instance, the quality of the RDP houses will forever remain an indictment of how we South Africans scale and measure the worth and dignity of our people. We would, therefore, wish to suggest from the outset that not only will the envisaged commission do the planning, but also that a similarly independent structure involving major stakeholders from civil society assists in monitoring the implementation of these performance principles.
It is imperative that this process involves our people at all levels of society so that we will have not only an all-embracing buy-in, but also meaningful monitoring of this process by the people of South Africa. It is imperative that even at local government level ways are found to make our people feel that they are monitoring that which is being done in their name and for them. I thank you, Chairperson. [Applause.]
Ms S P LEBENYA-NTANZI: Hon Chairperson, though government has indeed achieved much over the past 15 years, its performance in many areas has been unsatisfactory. Many departments and institutions have failed in their attempts to deliver to ordinary South Africans and to fulfil the duties that they have been mandated to fulfil.
The service delivery protests which have been experienced in many parts of the country are evidence that the people are fed up with this unacceptably bad service they are receiving. Overspending and underspending, as well as mismanagement, are just some of the crises which need to be solved if government is to improve its performance. For this to happen, the oversight and monitoring mechanisms must be improved, and managers and staff who do not perform their duties properly must be dealt with accordingly. They must not be allowed to continue in their positions if they are not performing, and they must be held accountable for their failures.
A good starting point in this regard would be to improve and strengthen the mechanisms tasked with monitoring and evaluating performance. The IFP supports this initiative. It is critical to the success of government. I thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Mr L W GREYLING: Chair, the ID welcomes the new Cabinet structure and believes that if it can function effectively, it will hold the promise of delivering on the aspirations of our people. This new structure, however, also brings with it the threat that there could be a duplication of roles, turf battles and institutional confusion around who is responsible for what.
The ID, therefore, hopes that this new Ministry will take as one of its tasks the monitoring of how effectively all the Ministries work together and consider institutional changes wherever necessary.
The ID also welcomes the emphasis this Ministry has put on the outcomes of policies as opposed to simply outputs, particularly in the areas of education and health. We therefore look forward to a productive relationship with the Minister, and we hope that he will be open to the idea of us as MPs being the eyes and ears of his department by bringing some of our constituents’ problems with government departments to his door. I thank you.
Mr N M KGANYAGO: Chairperson, hon Deputy President and hon members, the UDM cannot fault the intention to improve government performance. South Africans have become deeply frustrated with poor service delivery. Communities have been wracked by violent protests.
We have also witnessed the personal tragedies of individuals, such as that of the young man in KwaZulu-Natal, who recently committed suicide because government repeatedly and maliciously failed to perform its duty of issuing him with an identity document.
The UDM welcomes the Minister’s willingness to enter into a debate about the roles and functions of this new portfolio. We would like to caution against certain dangers. Firstly, monitoring performance should not mean that we set minimum standards and then tolerate mediocrity, as long as it meets these minimum standards.
A culture of excellence and continual improvement must become the hallmark of governance. The track record of Sars over the past decade serves as a shining example of what can be achieved.
Secondly, the existence of such a monitoring mechanism within the executive should not dilute the role of Parliament to exercise oversight over government. We hope that the Minister will foster a fruitful … [Interjections.] [Time expired.]
Mnr P J GROENEWALD: Voorsitter, ek wil vir die Minister sê dat ek dink as daar een ding is wat die mense van Suid-Afrika verwelkom, is dit dat daar behoorlike monitering en evaluering gaan wees van dienslewering.
Ek wil vir die agb Minister sê dat hy eintlik ’n verrassing gaan kry, want hy gaan by party plekke wil evaluering doen en dan gaan hy agterkom dat daar niks is om te evalueer of te monitor nie, want daar is nie dienslewering nie.
Ek wil ook vir die agb Minister sê dat ons daadwerklik sal moet kyk dat hierdie inisiatief tande het. Dit help nie die agb President Zuma, bring ’n verrassingsbesoek aan ’n munisipaliteit van die burgemeester wat vroeg geloop het, en dan kom die agb Minister op televisie en sê daar is nie opgetree teen die burgemeester nie, want niemand het ’n klag gelê nie. Minister, u moet nie wag dat daar ’n klag gelê word nie, u moet optree. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mr P J GROENEWALD: Chairperson, I want to say to the Minister that if there is one thing that the people of South Africa would welcome, it would be the proper monitoring and evaluation of service delivery.
I want to say to the hon Minister that he will really be surprised when he does evaluation at some places and will then realise that there is nothing to evaluate or to monitor because service delivery is nonexistent.
I also want to say to the Minister that we will really have to see to it that this initiative has the teeth. It doesn’t help if the hon President Zuma pays a surprise visit to a municipality where the mayor has left early, after which the hon Minister announces on television that no steps were taken against this mayor because nobody has lodged a complaint. Minister, you should not wait for a complaint to be lodged, you should act.]
To ensure success, you have to be proactive not only reactive. I thank you.
Rev K R J MESHOE: Hon Chairperson, the ACDP welcomes hon Minister Chabane’s reported admission that the billions of rands directed at service delivery since 1994 have not always resulted in better service delivery for citizens.
The Minister has to know that we appreciate the challenges that he will be facing when he will be required to demand acceptable outcomes, efficiency, productivity and value for money from all stakeholders.
The Minister will need courage and great determination to act against or remove popular nonperforming individuals and replace them, sometimes, with the not-so-popular but better qualified and able professionals.
The Minister will have to set an example for Public Service supervisors who have been reluctant to act against their subordinates, who either have contravened policies or were incompetent.
People out there are demanding service. Hon Minister, we are wishing you well as you demand quality service delivery for our people. Thank you.
Mr T W NXESI: Hon Chairperson, hon Deputy President, Ministers and members, in the recent past, our country has been engulfed with service delivery protests, and the serious challenges we still face as government were laid bare from the remotest villages to the urban centres. What was critical to note during these manifestations of our people’s anger was the absence of councillors and provincial and national government officials to account to the people.
Invariably, those that the fingers were pointed at are some of the ANC cadres whom the ANC assumed would, of necessity, implement ANC policies. Alas, it was left to the ANC officials to engage directly with our communities to get to the bottom of their unbridled frustrations.
What these protests have demonstrated in no uncertain terms is the fact that accountability with regard to nondelivery of services spans across the three spheres of government, and that no sphere is more or less important than the other, as provided for in the Constitution. It has brought to the fore the reality of the serious disjuncture between our spheres of government.
This brings me to the fledgling Ministry for performance monitoring and evaluation. As the ANC, we have obviously followed the reams of media space that have already been spent on this Ministry. Its location in the Presidency is no mistake - just to remind most of you in this House. Its centrality, mandate and scope require that location in the Presidency.
It is appropriate that we provide a historical perspective in relation to the evolution of this critical service delivery-driven instrument. I want to emphasise, this is an instrument! Firstly, the ANC is a movement with a proud tradition steeped in evaluation, monitoring and consultation. A seminal moment in this regard was the congress of the people in Kliptown in 1955, which gave birth to the Freedom Charter. As the late giant of the revolution and the former president of the ANC, Oliver Tambo, then spelt it out, and I quote:
… because it comes from the people, it remains still a people’s Charter, the one basic political statement of our goals to which all genuinely democratic and patriotic forces of South Africa adhere.
This vision was reaffirmed in Polokwane where specific and deliberate evaluation took place over five days. After that exhaustive evaluation, monitoring and consultation of the ANC policies and governance over the last 15 years, the ANC was given an overwhelming mandate by the people of our country in April 2009 to deepen this process.
This evaluation is reflected upon in detail in our election manifesto: the ANC’s summary policy position. In our view this Ministry is evidence of an organic evaluation, always consultative and inclusive.
Monitoring, evaluation and performance management are not alien concepts to the ANC. On the contrary, if in the pursuit of the objectives of the national democratic revolution we abandon these, the people shall judge us harshly. This is, therefore, being imbued with the revolutionary morality. It is our duty to ensure that this fledgling Ministry is given the teeth to execute this government’s mandate without fear or favour.
The broad objectives are obviously spelt out in the executive summary of the Green Paper together with the basic steps relating to the outcomes of performance management. And of particular interest to me - allow me to be subjective - is the fact that basic education is chosen as an example, which is where I am coming from.
Informed by these broad objectives, we would like to know from the hon Minister how he aims to engender a renewed value system and behavioural changes throughout our Public Service. Currently, as we all know, the Public Service is being crippled by a lack of work ethic and discipline, the cancer of corruption and the pervasive culture of entitlement. The ANC admits that, and that is why it has come up with this particular instrument.
These human pathologies have had an eroding impact on service delivery. Furthermore, we need to check whether an audit has been done in relation to the impact of this major lack of service. Having said that, we appreciate the critical underpinnings of interventions as provided for in the Green Paper to be transparent, but more importantly, that interventions will be corrective rather than punitive. But if necessary, we will have to be hard on everyone, even on ourselves here in Parliament. If necessary we will have to impose sanctions because we say this must happen across all spheres of government. Everyone must be accountable.
Moreover, we are optimistic that the emphasis of a revised paradigm of service delivery will clearly engender a spirit of dynamism in our civil society. Certainly, hon Rev Dandala, this will enhance creativity, not stifle it. This in turn will trickle down to our communities who have invested their faith in all of us.
The current scenario of oversight and monitoring of portfolio committees surely emboldens us to raise evidence of deviation from their mandates by departments and state entities, without encroaching on your turf. We are raising this as a question, not necessarily as a contestation of space.
As Parliament, we are expected to play our role constructively, not only to tabulate departments’ achievements and underachievements, but more critically to assess their impact where our people live. I want to challenge the opposition, let’s stop continuing like a scratched CD, talking about cronyism and nepotism. All we have to do is give evidence and use the law to challenge whatever we are having. We appreciate the support - not just lamentations – that you, as opposition, are giving on this one; but we want inputs to improve the document where there are gaps. We are open to you making inputs and not lamenting.
There is certainly no intention from the ANC to co-opt anybody, but we are talking about co-operation. It is in the Constitution and that is the spirit which this Green Paper is following. We are not going to co-opt you, but the national policy is there to be implemented by all spheres of government. You can’t click and choose. [Applause.]
Please do not start talking about sanctions, this and that, and what is going to be done. Don’t jump the gun. Make inputs so that you put all those in the document, which we are all going to follow. Thank you. Debate concluded.
IBSA CO-ORDINATION WITH REGARD TO INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ISSUES
(Member’s Statement)
Mr N B FIHLA (ANC): Madam Deputy Speaker, on Monday and Tuesday, 31 August and 1 September 2009, India-Brazil-South Africa, Ibsa, foreign Ministers, meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, affirmed that Ibsa, as a forum of developing democracies from three different continents, has become an important mechanism for strengthening co-ordination with regard to international and regional issues. This forum fosters South-South co-operation to amplify the collective voice of the South.
Furthermore, the Minister noted that challenges such as the international financial and economic crises require a co-ordinated approach and partnership response that involves both developed and developing countries.
The ANC, therefore, will continue to work with other countries to promote the transformation of the global order away from unilateralism and conflict. We will indeed continue to seek a path of hope and human solidarity. I thank you. [Applause.]
CALL FOR EXTENSION OF DEADLINE FOR MANUAL TAX RETURNS BECAUSE OF STRIKE
(Member’s Statement)
Dr D T GEORGE (DA): Deputy Speaker, yesterday, employees of the SA Revenue Service, Sars, embarked on industrial action in pursuit of a wage increase, which is continuing today. The DA supports the right of employees to take appropriate industrial action. This right, however, must not interfere with the rights of others.
Our economy is in its deepest recession in living memory and Sars performs a crucial function in its collection of the income that is required by government to function effectively, and in its activities at border posts to ensure that our tariff regime is properly implemented. This function is to the benefit of all South Africans, especially given that we will experience a significant revenue shortfall this year.
The deadline for individual taxpayers to submit their manual tax returns is next Friday, 18 September 2009. Many taxpayers must make use of tax offices across the country to assist them with completing their documentation, and take leave to do this. Reports indicate that service at Sars offices across the country has virtually ground to a halt.
The rights of hardworking taxpayers must not be ignored in this dispute. The DA calls on Sars to extend the manual submission date by at least one day for each day of the strike. This will demonstrate that Sars is sensitive to the needs of its customers, many of whom simply cannot afford to sit and wait for a service to which they are entitled. Thank you.
SUPPORT FOR ENDEAVOURS TO OBLIGE JSC TO PROBE CHARGES OF POSSIBLE
MISCONDUCT AGAINST JUSTICE HLOPHE
(Member’s Statement)
Mr M S SHILOWA (Cope): Deputy Speaker, very small wrong turns can have disastrous consequences for a nascent and still very fragile democracy.
Our country, our Constitution, our democracy and our judiciary have not come out smelling of roses after the odd ruling by the Judicial Service Commission, JSC, that it will refuse to continue to probe the charges of misconduct against Justice Hlophe.
In fact, by not fully resolving the issue, the point raised by both Justices Jafta and Nkabinde remains unanswered, while the credence of what Justice Hlophe said appears to have been accepted. This is juristically untenable.
At a more fundamental level, the question of whether Justice Hlophe had indeed been given a political mandate to approach the two justices privately and, as was alleged, to intimidate them, remains unanswered.
Cope, therefore, supports the endeavour by Freedom Under Law to approach the courts to assess objectively whether or not the JSC fulfilled its mandate to look at the issues as raised by them. The law has to take its course.
We, therefore, commend Freedom Under Law for raising these issues of great legal importance. When there are two versions of an event, there is a duty to determine where the truth lies. There cannot be a correct version by Justice Hlophe and another correct version by Justices Nkabinde and Jafta; only one has to emerge. Thank you. [Applause.]
IMPLEMENTATION OF IMMUNISATION AND MEDICATION PROGRAMME DURING NATIONAL CHILD HEALTH WEEK
(Member’s Statement)
Mrs P TSHWETE (ANC): Madam Speaker, in order to reduce infant mortality in our country, the ANC-led government is implementing an immunisation programme during National Child Health Week. The ANC-led council in the City of Johannesburg is to offer deworming medication and catch-up immunisation, and administer vitamin A to children under the age of 12 during National Child Health Week.
The city’s health department also indicated that each child’s road-to- health chart or clinic card will be checked at each campaign post to ensure that the child is up to date with the immunisations. If any immunisation was missed, then it will be administered at the post and be recorded on the card.
Vitamin A will be given to children from the age of one to five, as this is essential for eye health and the proper functioning of the immune system, thus reducing the severity of childhood illnesses.
The ANC-led government will continue to ensure that free medical care is given to all, with special care for mothers and young children. I thank you. [Applause.]
SAPS IMAGE TARNISHED BY HIGH NUMBER OF MEMBERS INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL
ACTIVITY
(Member’s Statement)
Prof C T MSIMANG (IFP): Hon Madam Deputy Speaker, the fact that out of the 6 699 police officers who came before disciplinary hearings between 2008 and 2009, 538 were found guilty of the charges against them, including serious crimes such as murder and rape, is not a good sign and casts serious doubts on the integrity and reputation of the SAPS.
The public must know that the police officers are not above the law and that the criminal activities of police officers will not be tolerated. The SAPS must lead by example, if their integrity and reputation and the public’s confidence in our police officers are to be restored.
The IFP believes that the Minister must make the effort to determine exactly how many of the officers who were found guilty were charged and convicted. The public has the right to know. I thank you.
CALL FOR REVIEW OF ESKOM’S CURRENT BOARD PROGRAMME
(Member’s Statement)
Mr L W GREYLING (ID): Madam Deputy Speaker, the choice of South Africa’s future energy path is one of the biggest determinants of our country’s economic success or failure, with investments in the new generation plant locking us in for the next 30 to 40 years. It is, therefore, vital that all factors are considered when making these decisions, including such priorities as job creation, industrial policy, environmental concerns, effects on our balance of payments and energy affordability.
The ID, therefore, calls for a review of Eskom’s current board programme as we don’t believe that Eskom should be allowed to solely determine our country’s future on this issue.
At the moment the public is being held to ransom by Eskom, with its demand for a blank cheque for its expansion plans. As a country, we need to decide on both what these expansion plans should include and the manner in which they should be funded.
Once again, Eskom has shown no commitment to renewable energy by using the present financial crisis as an excuse to cancel its solar and wind energy projects. Its concentrated solar power project has, however, been on the drawing board for over 10 years and the board has never chosen to allocate the funds to it.
Its record on energy efficiency is equally dismal, as evidenced by the poor performance of its solar water heater project. It is now time for the government and the nation as a whole to thoroughly debate our energy future and ensure that Eskom is not given free rein to make choices that will affect all of us for decades to come. I thank you.
INCREASE IN ACCESS TO INTEGRATED EDUCATION AND TRAINING SYSTEM
(Member’s Statement)
Ms A C MASHISHI (ANC): The ANC-led government is working for the realisation of an integrated system of education and training that provides equal opportunities to all children irrespective of race, colour, sex, class, creed, language, age, religion and geographical location.
Last week Wednesday, Statistics SA released a survey that indicated an increase in children attending school between the ages nought and nine years. The percentage of children between nought and four years has increased from 7,4% in 2002 to 16,9% to date; while for the same period, for the ages between five and nine years it has increased from 79,9% to 88,6%. This survey indicates that our efforts to provide universal access to education are making good progress and we are on course to realising one of the Millennium Development. Ke a leboga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]
POOR MANAGEMENT OF N2 GATEWAY PROJECT
(Member’s Statement)
Mr A M FIGLAN (DA): The DA is concerned about the manner in which the N2 Gateway Housing Project is being managed. The quality of its houses is in a shambles and it undermines human dignity. The project is riddled with poor workmanship, nonpayment of monthly rental fees by tenants, the collapse of infrastructure, subletting, and so the list goes on. My request to the Minister is that these deficiencies must be addressed with immediate effect.
Ndithunywa ngabantu baseJoe Slovo, phaya kwiifleti ezisecaleni ko-N2. Bathi mandikuxelele ukuba badiniwe kukuphathwa gadalala ngurhulumente kwaye ukuba uMphathiswa woBonelelo ngeeNdawo zokuHlala akenzi nto ngale nyewe, sakuqabuka sekophulwe. UMphathiswa ebekhe watyelela kwi-N2 Gateway, ngoko ke sifuna ukuqonda ukuba undawoni na malunga notyelelo lwakhe. Enkosi kakhulu. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [I have been asked by the residents of Joe Slovo, in the flats along the N2, to tell you that they are sick and tired of being ill-treated by the government and if the Minister of Human Settlements does not intervene, the worst might happen. We would like to know what progress has been made, as the Minister has visited the N2 Gateway. Thank you very much.]
EXCESSIVE EXPENDITURE ON LUXURY VEHICLES FOR MINISTERS AND SENIOR
POLITICIANS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr S Z NTAPANE (UDM): Deputy Speaker, the continuing revelations about ministerial cars is an embarrassing situation for the ruling party who campaigned on a pro-poor ticket.
The countless individual reasons that have been advanced for buying expensive vehicles demonstrate that the system of ministerial perks and packages is flawed. For instance, it simply doesn’t make sense when people claim they are spending R1 million on a car for security reasons when the car has not been built to be bulletproof. It is clear that these vehicles are simply bought at the whim of individuals.
As the UDM we call on government to standardise the packages of Ministers, premiers and MECs. The system that is used by responsible countries is to require a pool of state vehicles that are standardised. It also means that the state can make a bulk acquisition, which in turn would enable it to get the vehicles at a discounted rate.
The vehicles must have a standardised colour scheme and bear the ministerial logo as well as the South African flag, like official vehicles in other responsible countries. No elected official member of the state should be shy about being seen in a car … [Time expired.]
IEC CHARITABLE ACTS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr Z L MADASA (ANC): Sekela-Somlomo, umbutho wesizwe i-ANC uliqhwabela izandla … [Deputy Speaker, the people’s organisation, the ANC, applauds …]
… sorry, Deputy Speaker, somebody just stood in front of me.
Ngulaa mntu weemoto. Umbutho wesizwe i-ANC uliqhwabela izandla iphulo labasebenzi beKomishoni yoNyulo eZimeleyo kwiphondo laseMpuma Koloni, lokundwendwela kwanokunikezela ngezinto kubantu abangathathi ntweni kwiveki ephelileyo, kwingingqi yaseMonti. Aba basebenzi beKomishoni yoNyulo eZimeleyo banikezele ngeengubo, ukutya kwakunye neempahla kubantu baseMonti abangenazo iindawo zokuhlala.
Eli phulo laqalwa ngabasebenzi bale komishoni kwixesha leminyaka emithandathu egqithileyo, kwiindawo ezahlukeneyo ezifana neengingqi zaseMonti, eMoltino, eMthatha naseQumrha, nabecandelo labantwana kwisibhedlele saseCecilia Makiwane eMonti. Eli phulo liqhutywa minyaka le ngabasebenzi ngemali abayidibanisayo ephuma kwiipokotho zabo. Kulo nyaka, bagqibe ekubeni bandwendwele yaye bolule isandla kwabo bahlala ezitalatweni eMonti.
I-ANC ilothulela umnqwazi eli phulo kuba iinkonzo ezisiwa ngurhulumente ebantwini ziya kukhawuleza xa abantu ngokwabo bethabatha inxaxheba. Enkosi. [Kwaqhwatywa.] (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[It is that person connected to the story of cars. The people’s organisation, the ANC, applauds the initiative taken by the employees of the Independent Electoral Commission in the Eastern Cape province of visiting and handing over goods to the people in the East London region. These employees handed out blankets, food and clothes to homeless people in East London.
This initiative was started six years ago by the employees of this commission in different areas such as East London, Molteno, Mthatha and Qumrha, as well as the paediatric ward of Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in East London. This is done annually by these employees and is funded by money from their own pockets. This year they have decided to visit and assist homeless people.
The ANC applauds this initiative because the rolling out of services by the government to the people will be accelerated if people participate. Thank you. [Applause.]]
DISTRIBUTION OF ALLOCATED LOTTO MONEY
(Member’s Statement)
Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK (DA): Agb Adjunkspeaker, die onvermoë van die Nasionale Loteryraad om geld beskikbaar te stel vir goedgekeurde projekte lei tot groot ellende en lyding in veral die platteland.
Dit staan in direkte teenstelling met die beeld wat die regering by arm mense wil skep, naamlik dat die armstes van die armes voorkeur geniet as dit by opheffing en versorging kom. Die ekonomiese resessie lei tot groot werkloosheid en veroorsaak ook dat private instansies minder tot liefdadigheid bydra. In Calvinia in die Noord-Kaap voorsien die Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging, ACVV, wat ’n nieregeringsorganisasie is, aan 380 leerders hul enigste bord kos per dag. Die versuim om goedgekeurde Lotto-geld aan die ACVV uit te betaal beteken dat hierdie kinders, die armstes van die armes, honger ly. Dit gee noodwendig aanleiding tot groot maatskaplike probleme soos diefstal. Hierdie kinders word dan groot in ’n milieu waar misdaad aanvaarbaar is, want dit help om hulle elke dag te laat oorleef.
Die standaard antwoord wat die Nasionale Loteryraad by navraag gee, is dat iemand nog die tjek moet teken en dat die ACVV “net geduldig moet wees”. Kinders wat honger ly, weet nie wat dit beteken om geduldig te wees nie, veral nie as dit bekend is nie dat daar R8,5 miljard beskikbaar is vir uitbetaling en slegs R2,3 miljard in die drie jaar van 2007 tot 2009 uitbetaal is. Die ses raadslede se salarisse wat in hierdie tydperk gesamentlik R7,5 miljoen beloop het, word egter gereeld maandeliks betaal.
Dit is tyd dat die Minister van Handel en Nywerheid ’n ondersoek gelas na die onvermoë van die raadslede om die voordeel wat die Lotto-geld vir arm kinders behoort in te hou te laat realiseer. [Tyd verstreke.] (Translation of Afrikaans member’s statement follows.)
[Dr H C VAN SCHALKWYK (DA): Hon Deputy Speaker, the inability of the National Lotteries Board to make money available to approved projects leads to great misery and suffering, especially in the rural areas.
This is in direct contrast to the image the government wants to create among poor people, namely that the poorest of the poor enjoy priority with regard to upliftment and care. The economic recession is causing huge unemployment and is also the reason that private institutions are contributing less to charity.
In Calvinia in the Northern Cape the Afrikaanse Christlike Vrouevereniging, ACVV, which is a nongovernmental organisation, provides 380 learners with their only meal of the day. The failure to pay out approved Lotto money to the ACVV means that these children, the poorest of the poor, are starving. Inevitably this contributes to big social problems, such as theft. These children then grow up in an environment where crime is acceptable, as it helps them to survive each day.
Upon enquiry the National Lotteries Board gives the standard response that someone must still sign the cheque and that the ACVV must “just be patient”. Children who are starving do not understand what it means to be patient, especially not if it is known that R8,5 billion is available for payouts, and yet only R2,3 billion has been paid out over the three years from 2007 to 2009. However, the salaries of the six board members that collectively amounted to R7,5 million during this period, was regularly paid each month.
The time has come for the Minister of Trade and Industry to investigate the inability of the board members to realise the intended benefits of the Lotto money for poor children. [Time expired.]]
COPE’S GAINS IN BY-ELECTIONS
(Member’s Statement)
Mr T BOTHA (Cope): Following a fierce democratic contest last week, Cope wrested power from the ANC yesterday in the municipal by-election at Ekurhuleni. The 2006 ANC majority of 87,2% was slashed to 45% in Ekurhuleni.
The people are beginning to realise where the future lies by showing the growing support that is demonstrated by a victory of over 50% in this ward. [Applause.]
The party also contested three by-elections, which showed growing strength with substantive gains. It achieved 21,1% in Lephalale, 21,3% in Upington and 20% in Westonaria, Gauteng. All these results show a remarkable growth when compared to less than 8% attained during the national elections.
They confirm the inherent strength and the potential of Cope as a viable alternative. [Applause.] We wish to thank our people for strengthening and resolving to strengthen democracy in this country. [Applause.]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ADVOCATES ADDITIONAL MEASLES VACCINATION
(Member’s Statement) Mrs T E KENYE (ANC): Madam Speaker, the ANC believes that mental, physical and social health should improve for its own sake and as a major contribution to increasing prosperity and the quality of life for all our people.
In the past few weeks, there have been 131 cases of a highly infectious and notifiable viral disease that have been confirmed through laboratory tests. Most of these cases were people between the ages of four months and 38 years, with the median age being 13 years.
The Department of Health has urged parents to immunise their children after a number of measles cases were reported in the country. They are urged to bring their children for immunisation even if they have received all their measles vaccines. School children will be immunised at schools, and parents are asked to complete and return consent forms obtained from the schools.
The ANC will accelerate campaigns on health promotion and disease prevention by changing social values and norms through common community action. Furthermore, communities are encouraged to adopt healthy diets, exercise and take part in campaigns against drugs, substance abuse and obesity. I thank you. [Applause.]
SOCIAL SECURITY FOR HIV/AIDS SUFFERERS
(Member’s Statement)
Ms H N MAKHUBA (IFP): Madam Deputy Speaker, few crises in sub-Saharan Africa have affected human health and threatened national, social and economic progress in quite the way that HIV/Aids has.
The Bill of Rights says that everyone has the right to have access to social security. If people are unable to support themselves and their dependants, they have the right to get social assistance from government.
In South Africa, once people are diagnosed with HIV and their CD4 count is below 200, they are able to obtain special grants to assist them with accessing food and other basic necessities. Each year, however, HIV- positive South Africans undergo a re-examination of their HIV status and general health. If it is found that their CD4 count has stabilised, they lose their special grants. This has a devastating effect on all South Africans who are currently living with HIV. Meeting immediate food, nutrition and other basic needs is essential if HIV/Aids-affected households are to live with dignity and security.
The IFP believes that providing nutritional care and support for people living with HIV is an important part of the treatment of this disease. The IFP would, therefore, like to call on government to look at a dedicated social support grant to assist people living with HIV and Aids, especially those whose grants have been stopped due to their CD4 counts stabilising. They too still need to have access to food and other basic needs. I thank you. [Applause.]
SUPPORT FOR ENDEAVOURS TO OBLIGE JSC TO PROBE CHARGES OF POSSIBLE
MISCONDUCT AGAINST JUSTICE HLOPHE
(Minister’s Response)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: Thank you very much, Deputy Speaker. I would like to respond to the statement made by the hon Shilowa regarding the complaint laid with the Judicial Service Commission, JSC, by the judges of the Constitutional Court against Judge Hlophe.
I would just like to remind the hon Shilowa that the JSC is an independent body created by the Constitution. It has deliberated extensively on this matter and decided on a process and a mechanism to deal with the matter, and we appeal to everyone, including members of this House, to respect the independence of the JSC and to allow it to fulfil the mandate that it has been given by the Constitution and by the law. I thank you. [Applause.]
DISTRIBUTION OF ALLOCATED LOTTO MONEY
IBSA CO-ORDINATION WITH REGARD TO INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL ISSUES
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY: Madam Deputy Speaker, first of all I would like to respond to the question about the Afrikaanse Christelike Vrouevereniging, ACVV, and the lottery. To begin with, I would just like to say that, judging by the volume of questions I’ve received on the lottery, you’d think I was the minister of lottery affairs!
I have to say, however, that I am not happy with the performance of the lottery distribution, and have taken a number of steps since my appointment to try and address the situation.
We’ve had a couple of round table discussions with all the relevant players and we are in the process of working on three fronts, the first of which will be basic administrative reforms.
Secondly, we will be changing the regulations and bringing these proposed changes for public consultation. This will include a change so that there will be no particular time of the year when applications have to be made and they will be able to be made as and when the applicants want them.
Thirdly, we are going to drop the two-year audited financial statements requirement for first-time applicants, and we are also considering the possibility of changes to the legislation and the Act as such.
Simultaneously, the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry will be conducting hearings in the very near future for a new chair of the lotteries board, as its term has come to an end.
So, we are trying to address these issues; whether or not any particular charity will benefit from that is not something that I can say at this point, but we are definitely trying to work to improve the performance with regard to the distribution of lottery funds, which, as I said, I do not believe is satisfactory.
With regard to hon “Magama”’s question on the India-Brazil-South Africa, Ibsa, forum, I would just like to indicate that I’m very pleased with the interest that he’s taken.
In addition to the fact that the Ibsa countries are a group of countries that face similar challenges in the G20, in the World Trade Organisation, WTO, in UN forums and in the climate change negotiations, they also have a real potential for expanding trade and co-operation between themselves.
It will be a major objective of the Department of Trade and Industry to deepen trade and co-operation relations between that group of countries, as well as other leading developing countries. The Ibsa summit will be taking place in India later this month, and you can rest assured that pushing that relationship forward will be a very high priority for government. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
CALL FOR EXTENSION OF DEADLINE FOR MANUAL TAX RETURNS BECAUSE OF STRIKE COPE’S GAINS IN BY-ELECTIONS
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER IN THE PRESIDENCY - NATIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION: Deputy Speaker, with regard to the question raised by Dr George in respect of Sars, I’ve raised the matter and they are quite confident that the number of staff members on strike today was substantially lower than yesterday, and they will be able to catch up. So at this stage, I’m not considering extending the deadline for submissions.
I stand to be advised; the hon member from the UDM raised a question and then walked out. I don’t think that we should actually respect him by responding to something when he showed such a lack of discipline, and I trust that you will support that.
In respect of the hon Botha on Cope’s remarkable growth, I just don’t know if that is hyperbole, exaggeration or just a plain “Dexterism”, but it’s far from the truth. Thank you. [Laughter.] [Applause.]
SOCIAL SECURITY FOR HIV/AIDS SUFFERERS
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Deputy Speaker, the hon member from the IFP referred to a need for a special grant dedicated to people living with HIV and Aids.
I just want to start by reminding this august House that the Social Security Act of South Africa provides for social assistance support to four categories of people: older persons; children; people with disabilities, and the former military veterans.
We do, however, note the fact that it is, indeed, necessary to assist those of our people who are suffering from either HIV/Aids or any other chronic illness. We have, in South Africa, currently, 14 chronic illnesses that require some level of support for all the people who suffer from these chronic illnesses and who require food and support of some sort.
What I’m trying to say is that we are not only looking at people living with HIV and Aids, but also at people living with these other chronic illnesses. It’s a national debate that we have not yet concluded, but in the meantime Cabinet has adopted a working definition, which we are working on now, to provide for people living with HIV and Aids. The grant that we are providing at the moment is dependent on the individual’s CD4 count, and as I said earlier on, this matter is still a national debate, because we can’t necessarily classify those who are suffering from HIV and Aids as being disabled, as the Act provides, neither can we find a definition for them anywhere in the Act.
We are also discussing this with the people with disabilities, because they also have views around that, so it’s a national debate that we are engaging in. We will come up with a plausible and workable outcome at the end of this discussion, we believe, because indeed we also do care about those people who suffer from HIV and Aids and other chronic illnesses. Thank you very much.
POOR MANAGEMENT OF N2 GATEWAY PROJECT
(Minister’s Response)
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS: Deputy Speaker, I just want to respond to the member of the DA as a messenger from N2 Gateway. I want to remind this august House that the visit to the N2 Gateway by the Department of Human Settlements, the Minister and I, was due to the need to resolve the challenges of the N2 Gateway project.
As soon as we are ready with the report we will come to the House and give that report. I want to assure all of you, particularly the DA, that we are continually in touch with the N2 Gateway people; even last week we engaged with them in the process of resolving the challenges that had been raised.
What I want to remind you about, and what you must go back and report to them, is that it’s important for the tenants of the N2 Gateway to pay their rent. If they do not pay rent, it will be difficult to maintain the flats, because they must co-operate, as the government is providing for those people. At the same time, we need that side of the House to ensure that they also do their part in paying the rent.
With regard to the structural defects, we are in touch with the Housing Development Agency, which is managing the flats from Thubelisha, to ensure that those structural defects are being addressed.
As I said, as soon as the report is ready we will come back and give it to you, but the tenants must please pay their rent, because at the end of the day it’s about partnerships. The government delivers, so please respond as the people who have been given that, so that at the end of the day we are also able to say that we have delivered and our people are co-operating with us. I thank you. [Applause.]
SAPS IMAGE TARNISHED BY HIGH NUMBER OF MEMBERS INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL
ACTIVITY
(Minister’s Response)
The MINISTER OF POLICE: Deputy Speaker, thank you for recognising me at last. The hon member from the IFP has raised the really important matter of members of the SAPS who are involved in criminal activities. What he forgot to tell this House is that this shows the government’s intolerance of any criminal act by anybody or any South African, whether police officer or not, who finds himself or herself on the wrong side of the law. They will be arrested.
These members of the police have been arrested precisely because of that. We should take this opportunity to thank members of the SAPS who have dedicated themselves to the fight against crime, including arresting their colleagues. Thank you very much.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, there were six responses, which is the maximum number of responses. I’m terribly sorry. [Interjections.]
Mr M J ELLIS: On a point of order, Deputy Speaker, I’m just dreadfully concerned that Minister Pandor never had anything to say today. It’s most unusual and I hope she’s OK. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you’re really out of order. [Interjections.]
Mr M J ELLIS: Is she well? I would like to wish her well.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon Ellis, you are not chairing this meeting! [Laughter.]
CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR APPROVAL BY PARLIAMENT OF CONVENTION ON
REGISTRATION OF OBJECTS LAUNCHED INTO OUTER SPACE IN TERMS OF SECTION
231(2) OF CONSTITUTION
CONSIDERATION OF REQUEST FOR APPROVAL BY PARLIAMENT OF CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY SPACE OBJECTS IN TERMS OF
SECTION 231(2) OF CONSTITUTION
Ms J L FUBBS: Madam Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon members of the House, comrades and colleagues.
Indeed, the ratification of the two conventions, namely the registration convention and the liability for damage by space objects convention, enables the launch of South Africa’s first national satellite known as Sumbandila, a Tshivenda name meaning “Lead the way”. It is, indeed, a pathfinder that will pioneer a new trajectory into space which is the result of the collective participation of 40 local companies, including Sunspace. We may ask, outside this Parliament, what the motivation for the ratification of the space-related conventions and the developments in space science and technology is. How do they benefit us, the unemployed? However South Africa recognises the need to have independent access to space. This would have incurred a large investment and infrastructural support, if we had to do the launches in our country. So we have saved billions of rand by requesting Russia to launch our first national satellite, which is from a CosmoRom called Bica Nore in Russia that will take place next week Tuesday, 15 September 2009.
It also recognises – I think it is something that we are all proud of because it’s been a joint effort – that policy, people, space and poverty are purposely linked. Our access to space enables us to get into partnership with the private sector in technology. This will assist us in addressing the challenges of poverty; disasters; urban planning; human settlements; transport; the environment; safety and security; agriculture; effective utilisation of land; the development of human potential, both in its origination and the development of space technology; and also the development of human potential through the eradication of poverty.
Of course, we already know that space satellites are used for the weather and some of us have motorcars with GPS. However, as we know in our country, rights come with responsibilities and in this case that obligation is to register all space objects and information about them; and also to take the responsibility for damage that may occur from accidents caused by our space objects.
A key element of space policy goes beyond the purely technical and enters the arena of international co-operation and strengthening relations in this regard, particularly with India. India – perhaps some of us know this – has already developed a number of socioeconomic programmes consequent upon information gained from outer space.
We also are developing co-operation agreements with other countries in Africa. Indeed, our space policy works within the African agenda and the South-South co-operation for internationally strengthening our relations with other countries. It was in this light – and having applied their minds during two or three dedicated meetings in over two months of studying the material – that the Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry took a unanimous decision to support these conventions. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
Convention on Registration of Objects Launched into Outer Space approved.
Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects approved. CONSIDERATION OF REPORT OF PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WATER AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS ON WATER TARIFF INCREASES OF BULK WATER RESOURCES 2009-10
Mr P M MATHEBE: Thank you, Deputy Speaker, hon Deputy President, hon Ministers and hon members.
Madam Deputy Speaker, section 42 of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2000 requires water boards to submit proposed tariff increases for each financial year. The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs must table the prices structure in Parliament or the relevant legislature on or before 15 March, yearly, for the tariffs to be effective on 1 July, yearly. Whilst the portfolio committee can only make certain recommendations and cannot amend or change the proposed tariffs, it is critical for the committee to be briefed on the proposed tariffs as they have an impact on the end user through the value chain process.
To this end, the committee received briefings from the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs, the South African Local Government Association, SALGA, National Treasury and 13 water boards on 30 June 2009 and 01 July
- The water tariff increases of bulk water resources for 2009-10 were tabled to Parliament on 13 March 2009. Due to the global economic recession, the previous Minister of Water Affairs issued the directive to water boards to decrease their tariffs by 5%. This directive was implemented by all water boards.
The tariff reduction impacted on a number of water boards. It noted the following implications of the reduced tariffs, namely that it would have a negative impact on board cash flows and would therefore, require a reduction in the operating expenditure. The viability of water boards and a delay in capital expenditure programmes were further issues raised.
The committee, as part of the future project, recommended that a new funding model for water be explored, and that boards be penalised for not spending their capital expenditure, capex. Good co-operative governance and the building of partnerships in long-term planning was a necessity between the water boards. I thank you. [Applause.]
There was no debate.
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Madam Deputy Speaker and hon Deputy President, I move:
That the Report be adopted.
Motion agreed to.
Report accordingly adopted.
The House adjourned at 16:04. ____
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
THURSDAY, 3 SEPTEMBER 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
The Speaker and the Chairperson
- Classification of Bills by Joint Tagging Mechanism (JTM)
(1) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following
Bill as a money Bill:
a) Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2009] (National Assembly
– sec 77).
(2) The JTM in terms of Joint Rule 160(6) classified the following
Bill as a section 75 Bill:
a) Taxation Laws Second Amendment Bill [B 11 – 2009] (National
Assembly – sec 75).
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister of Trade and Industry
a) Report and Financial Statements of Khula Enterprise Finance Limited
for 2009-2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on
the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009
[RP 128-2009].
(b) Report and Financial Statements of the National Empowerment
Fund for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent
Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information
for 2008-2009 [RP 205-2009].
-
The Minister of Higher Education and Training
a) Report and Financial Statements of the South African Qualifications Authority for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor- General on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009 [RP 66-2009].
-
The Minister of Public Enterprises (a) Report and Financial Statements of Eskom Holdings Limited for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
-
The Minister of Communications
(a) Report and Financial Statements of Sentech Limited for 2008-
2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the
Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
- The Minister of Science and Technology
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the Tshumisano Trust for
2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the
Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
National Assembly
- The Speaker
(a) Report of the Public Service Commission (PSC) on Financial
Misconduct for 2007-2008 Financial Year [RP 21-2009].
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
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FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER 2009
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister in The Presidency (Mr T A Manuel)
(a) Green Paper on National Strategic Planning – September 2009.
- The Minister of Trade and Industry
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Competition Tribunal for 2008-
2009, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial
Statements and Performance information for 2008-2009 [RP 196-2009].
b) Report and Financial Statements of the National Metrology Institute
of South Africa for 2008-2009, including the Report of the
Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance
Information for 2008-2009 [RP 144-2009].
(c) Report and Financial Statements of the Small Enterprise
Development Agency for 2008-2009, including the Report of the
Auditor-General on the Financial Statements and Performance
Information for 2008-2009.
(d) Report and Financial Statements of the Estate Agency Affairs
Board for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent
Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for
2008-2009.
(e) Report and Financial Statements of the International Trade
Administration Commission of South Africa for 2008-2009, including
the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements and
Performance Information for 2008-2009 [RP 213-2009].
(f) Report and Financial Statements of the South African Micro-
finance Apex Fund for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor-
General on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for
2008-2009 [RP 113-2009].
COMMITTEE REPORTS National Assembly
- Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Taxation Laws Second Amendment Bill [B11-2009] (National Assembly- section 75), dated 03 September 2009.
The Standing Committee on Finance, having considered and examined the Taxation Laws Second Amendment Bill [B 11– 2009] (National Assembly – section 75), referred to it, and classified by the JTM as a section 75 Bill, reports the Bill without amendments.
Report to be considered
- Report of the Standing Committee on Finance on the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B10-2009] (National Assembly- section 77), dated 03 September 2009.
The Standing Committee on Finance, having considered and examined the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill [B 10– 2009] (National Assembly – section 77), referred to it, and classified by the JTM as a Money Bill, reports that it has agreed to the Bill.
Report to be considered
MONDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER 2009
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- The Minister of Higher Education and Training
a) Report and Financial Statements of the Department of Education -
Vote 13 for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor-General
on the Financial Statements and Performance Information of Vote 13
for 2008-2009 [RP 191-2009]
Please note: The above report was also tabled by The Minister of
Basic Education on 2 September 2009.
- The Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs (a) Report and Financial Statements of the South African Weather Service for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008- 2009 [RP 107-2009].
(b) Report and Financial Statements of the iSimangaliso Wetland
Park for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor-General on
the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
TUESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
- Membership of Committees Ms H C Magabedeli was elected as chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on 2 September 2009.
TABLINGS
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
-
The Minister in The Presidency: Performance Monitoring and Evaluation
(a) Paper on Improving Government Performance [RP 223-2009].
-
The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development
(a) Report and Financial Statements of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Auditor- General on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009 [RP 116-2009].
(b) Report and Financial Statements of the Council for Debt Collectors for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008-2009.
(c) Register of Debt Collectors in terms of section 12(1) of the Debt Collectors Act, 1998 (Act No 114 of 1998).
-
The Minister of Public Enterprises (a) Report and Financial Statements of Denel (Proprietary) Limited for 2008-2009, including the Report of the Independent Auditors on the Financial Statements and Performance Information for 2008- 2009.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
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