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WEDNESDAY, 31 MAY 2006
____
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
____
The House met at 14:02.
The House Chairperson Mr K O Bapela took the Chair and
requested members to observe a moment of silence for
prayers or meditation.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS – see col
000.
UNPARLIAMENTARY LANGUAGE
(Rulings)
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Before we call for
the first order, I just want to make some rulings relating
to matters that were raised last Thursday, 25 May 2006.
During the debate on the Budget Vote of the Department of
Minerals and Energy several points of order were raised
during the speech by hon B G Mosala. Those points of order
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were raised by inter alia hon M J Ellis and hon S K Louw.
I indicated at the time that I would take the matter under
review and report to the House in due course.
Having now had the opportunity to study the Hansard, I
wish to rule as follows. Regarding Mr Ellis’s initial
point of order, he, as a senior Whip, knows very well that
a point of order should not be used in an attempt to
correct statements being made by a member speaking.
Furthermore, it is not for the Chair to determine the
veracity or otherwise of such statements. His point of
order was therefore not a point of order. Consequently, I
instructed Mr Mosala to proceed with his speech.
However, in raising his point of order, Mr Ellis contended
that Mr Mosala was deliberately misleading the House. To
accuse another member of deliberately misleading the House
is unparliamentary as it infers bad faith on the part of
the other member. I must therefore ask Mr Ellis to
withdraw his statement that Mr Mosala was deliberately
misleading the House.
Mr M J ELLIS: Can I address you on that point of order, Mr
Chair?
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): No. I just want a
withdrawal, hon Ellis.
Mr M J ELLIS: I withdraw.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): In the second point
of order, Mr Ellis objected to the following statement by
Mr Mosala, “You know that you are a compromised leader of
the DA.” This remark was clearly directed at an individual
member, the hon W J Seremane, and amounts to an attack on
that member’s integrity. “Compromised” in this context
would mean that the hon member in question had exposed his
good name and reputation to injury and disrepute. I
therefore request hon Mosala to withdraw the remark that
the hon member is compromised.
Mr B G MOSALA: I withdraw, Chairperson.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon
Mosala. Finally, hon Mr Louw raised a point of order in
which he maintained that a member of the DA had said that
Mr Mosala was corrupt. However, he was unable to identify
the specific member. No one admitted to making the remark
and it was not recorded in Hansard either.
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In a case where an unparliamentary remark cannot be
ascribed to any member, the Chair is unable to rule on the
matter. I, however, would like to take this opportunity,
once again, to urge hon members to desist from resorting
to unparliamentary language as it is in breach of the
Rules and does not contribute to the good order in the
House. With those remarks I hope we will then proceed.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 19 - Sport and Recreation South Africa:
The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson, good
afternoon Deputy President, today I want, first of all, to
acknowledge the presence in the gallery of a whole array
of people from the sports fraternity, both from South
Africa and indeed from other parts of the world.
Notable amongst them is Mr Fred Nassiri and a delegation
of nine people from the USA who are here on a very
important mission – a mission which coincides with our
vision. [Applause.] They are on a mission to promote his
song, Love Sees No Colour. And you will understand that it
is a theological position as well as a constitutional
imperative.
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One of our rallying calls during the struggle for the
liberation of our people and our country was that the
struggle for a nonracial sports environment was an
essential part of the struggle for freedom. We argued that
sport in every part of the world reflects the society it
is practised in: a racially divided society or a society
which gives preference to a particular gender or class.
All these things tend to be reflected in the way sport is
practised in a particular country, either subtly or very
sharply.
Sportspeople can be exposed to antisocial traits like
violence, corruption, hooliganism, excessive nationalism
and cheating. Sportspeople can be exposed to the dangers
of child labour, doping, early specialisation, and
exploitative commercialisation and overexertion. These
ills of society invariably affect the health of citizens.
They create a premature separation of juveniles from their
families and a loss of cultural and communal ties. So,
yes, sport is a reflection of society - its miseries and
woes, the socioeconomic challenges as well as society’s
values.
A positive and developmental approach to sport has
potentially positive benefits. In a transforming society
like ours, sport and recreation must necessarily
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contribute to the country’s transformation agenda - an
agenda that seeks to create a nonracial, nonsexist,
prosperous and peaceful South Africa. Sport must
contribute to the redressing of the disparities of the
past: equal opportunities, access to infrastructure,
access to equipment and kit; yes, equal access to skills
and skilled coaches,referees and efficient managers.
Our President in South Africa has persistently highlighted
the potential that sport has to build social cohesion and
national unity. Who can understand that more than us who
experienced how South Africa was bound together in joy
when we won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and when we won
the right to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup in 2004. Of
course, we were also in a national solidarity of misery,
woe and anger as we lamented being knocked out of the list
of nations to participate in the football World Cup in
Germany.
I am reminding most of you about what you already
understand. But success for a sport activist does not rely
on a periodic remembrance of these facts. It does not rely
on merely talking about them or occasionally donning a
cricket hat. What is important for us is the passion in
implementing these ideas. That is the brief and the
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mandate given to our Ministry when the President entrusted
me with sport and recreation for our country.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa affirms
the democratic values of human dignity, equality and
freedom. Participation in sport and recreation is
recognised by the United Nations and progressive countries
as a fundamental human right, which all governments must
give their citizens access to. As such, access to sport
and recreation is a non-derogable right which is
entrenched in our own Constitution.
In line with these constitutional imperatives, our
President assigned us powers and functions to develop and
implement national policies and guidelines for our people
and our country. This way, we contribute to transforming
South Africa into a country that belongs to all who live
in it, united in our diversity. This way, we contribute to
the healing of pain caused by an unfortunate dispensation
in our country.
Our President reminds us all the time that our ideals and
objectives for the South Africa of our dreams cannot be
achieved through spontaneity or mere aspirations. The
transformation agenda cannot be left to the whims of the
market either. For, as the President correctly pointed
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out, and I quote, “market forces are not sympathetic to
the poor”. So we have a responsibility to make sport and
recreation unlock its potential in transforming and
developing the underdeveloped parts and people of our
country. We have to intervene in this respect.
Both Mr Kofi Annan, speaking for the nations of the world,
and our President, speaking as the president of the
African nations at the time, declared that well-designed
sports-based initiatives are practical and cost-effective
tools that could help the nations to achieve the
development goals identified in 2000 by the UN - the wellknown Millennium Development Goals.
I think we should investigate the extent to which, in real
terms, the continued marginalisation of sport and physical
education in a number of countries undermines the success
in delivering the Millennium Development Goals. The
underperformance of sports persons from such countries
tends to attest to the attitude of seeing sport as a mere
luxury, as we saw just recently in Melbourne how the
Australians had invested so much resources in their
athletes to the extent that they had a whitewash of all
other nations during March 2006.
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Our mass participation programme positions our sector well
to make a contribution, not only to mass participation by
the populace of our country but also to make a
contribution to human resource development and poverty
alleviation. We have trained 352 unemployed young people
to run this programme. The little stipend we pay them
contributes in feeding an average family of five people
per trainee. We have trained young volunteers in the
administration of sport and recreation; 1 293 entry-level
coaches have been trained; 655 referees and more than 450
young people have also been trained. This might sound like
a pittance to those who have come to accept this as a
given but to those who had been denied these benefits for
more than 300 years, this makes a difference.
Some sports federations and other institutions have
supported us very admirably in these initiatives because
they understand the meaning of these things. Only two
weeks ago, together with the SA Football Association,
Supersport and the University of Johannesburg, we launched
a senior management training course. The Deputy President
was there to give full stature and support that the
programme deserves. Such acquired skills will benefit a
number of federations in lifting up their management
capacity. So our mass participation programme does not
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only dwell on swelling the ranks of our sports programme,
it also creates jobs and skills.
We consciously support these initiatives because we have
prioritised the good governance of our federations as a
priority. It is true that facilities, physical
conditioning, sponsorship etc are important tools in the
making of world beaters. But if the management of these
tools and of this environment is not up to scratch, it is
highly unlikely to see success on the sports field.
Unhappy athletes do not perform as well as they could.
Good governance could also improve the quality of our
sport, in the same way as it improves the political
administration of our countries. We are, as such, making a
humble but important contribution both to Asgisa and
Jipsa, and the programmes of Nepad.
Our vision is to see the participation in our programmes
lead to community clubs. These will in turn be the basic
sites of sports development and the building blocks of
social cohesion. Together with school sport, community
clubs are also where the catchment of players for skills
development and transformation will come from.
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This is the rationale for us placing such a premium on the
proper organisation and management of our federation and
on the development of skills in areas where they had never
been developed before. Better mores, a new positive value
system that will contribute to a moral regeneration, will
be born in these close-knit clubs and schools and must
contribute to the building of a better nation.
We are not merely putting together human beings who must
just get fit and entertain us. We hope to transform
selfish and money-driven players and managers into people
of great integrity, patriots who want to serve our country
more than they want to be millionaires. A classic example
of this is Roland Schoeman and his mother, who defied the
gold of Qatar and preferred to serve and swim for South
Africa. [Applause.]
The first Minister of Sport and Recreation in our
democratic country, the late Comrade Steve Tshwete, always
emphasised this, and I quote him:
Children do not learn to swim in their cots. They need
a swimming pool.
We fully agree with that great patriot.
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The providing of facilities and amenities to all South
Africans is a sacrosanct imperative for us. As such, we
regard the accessing of sports infrastructure to rural
areas and townships as part and parcel of the
transformation agenda and indeed as part of the
transformation of our society. This is why the
preparations for the Fifa 2010 World Cup are more than
just preparing for a megasport event.
Our preparations for 2010 have to be in synchrony with
government plans for the betterment of the lives of our
people. This is why, for instance, we opted for 10
stadiums instead of just eight. That is why we will also
build and refurbish practise stadiums in smaller areas
like Kimberley. The road infrastructure, technology and
business opportunities must have an impact on the lives of
our people and on the economy of our country.
The mindset of our country must also change. This is why
we are building football stadiums where they had never
been built before, because we want to instil the
understanding in South Africans that South Africa is not
just a rugby and cricket country.
Swimming pools and tennis courts are also needed in the
rural areas. They are not just for the city. All this
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needs money, hon members. We do our bit with what you
allocate to us to assist needy communities, to assist with
equipment and kit, to assist parents and their children
who get selected to top clubs in their communities and
their provinces, but this is not enough.
We hope that our municipalities will also continue to cooperate with us in these plans to make accessible what is
available by way of infrastructure to our people. We hope
that they will stop the bad habit of selling public
facilities or leasing them to monopolies that exclude our
people through exorbitant registration or participation
fees.
Sport must belong to all. It must be accessible to all. We
hope the Municipal Infrastructure Grant will perform much
better this year in delivering the much-needed
infrastructure than it has done. We also believe that, in
co-operation with the Department of Trade and Industry,
the National Lottery Fund designated for sport and
recreation will be focusing on the needs where they are
needed, not just where people know about them.
Hon members of this House could also play a role as
catalysts in the dissemination of the information on how
to access the MIG as well as in assisting in the filling
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in of those forms so that the people who elected us can
benefit from the fiscus, which has made resources
available for these things.
We also firmly believe in collaboration with other
departments as we deliver on our mandate. The Departments
of Housing, Education, and Provincial and Local Government
agree that we should be part of their planning of human
settlements and building of schools, and the Departments
of Safety and Security, Social Development, Health and
Correctional Services also agree that we have a role to
play with them in dealing with the health and anti-social
behavioural patterns of some of our people.
Both the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as the
United Nations agree that sport can contribute in changing
the war psychosis of the children of war. When the guns go
silent in Africa, peace must take root for development to
occur.
Our transformation agenda cannot be complete without
attending to gender imperatives. I believe that the
performance of our Paralympians speaks for itself. Some of
these great athletes draw tears from the hardest of hearts
because of their sheer perseverance. The national question
as well as gender equity is improving. Both swimming and
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tennis have responded positively to our calls for
integration. Cycling is also coming up very nicely.
We saw in Melbourne the first African woman in the history
of our country to do weightlifting and she won a gold
medal. [Applause.] This is progress, but more women must
participate in sport. They must also take charge of their
destinies in the federations. To this end, we are hosting
a national conference in August on the role of women in
sport. I hope some of the hon members here will
participate in that conference. This event will also be
the culmination of our programme for this year to
commemorate the great women of our country and their role
in our struggle.
On the negative side, we have seen an upsurge in doping
cases. We have also seen an upsurge in cases of HIV/Aids
but we are encouraged and inspired by the nongovernmental
organisations and former players’ associations who
continue to associate themselves with our efforts to deal
with these things.
Success in sport cannot be realised without resources. We
appreciate the partnerships that these organisations weave
with us. We also appreciate the seriousness with which
sponsors and federations treat take us. This is real unity
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in action and it must win. The support of a number of
countries overseas and in our neighbouring areas continues
to enhance our successes in making sport a real and
accessible benefit for our communities.
Last, but not least, the team, led by the Deputy Minister
and the director-general, must be acknowledged; they’re a
group of enthusiasts who continue to translate our
political ideals into operational successes. Please
support this budget proposal so that we can help South
Africa remain at the top. Thank you. [Applause.]
The MINISTER OF DEFENCE: Is it parliamentary for members
of the House who have never played cricket or rugby to
pretend to be Springboks, wearing Springbok colours?
[Laughter.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): That is not a point
of order, hon Minister.
Mr B M KOMPHELA: Chair, hon Deputy President, comrades and
visitors who have come here to listen to the budget tabled
in this House by the hon Minister of Sport and Recreation,
I want, firstly, to say that, as the ANC, we want to
express great appreciation for the multiparty committee
that has taken us this far.
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At times, we used to have a very turbulent situation, but
I can tell you that we are now on the same wavelength. At
times there were issues that, as the ANC, we felt we could
not get round, but I think things have been going very
well lately. I want to express my appreciation for that
first.
Minister, we want to say, as a committee, that it has been
a very exciting time but also a difficult one. It has been
exciting because we were doing all the things that
Parliament requires of us. However, the difficulty was
that the man who had been tasked with steering this ship,
umqhubi [the driver], would also be requested to ask on
behalf of the committee: “Minister, why, when you are such
a library of information and an asset did you stop giving
figures in your budget speech and instead told the people
of South Africa about where they come from and where they
are going with sport?”
This has been a challenge because, with regard to some of
the things we were doing, we were not sure whether we were
doing those things in the right way or not, and only you
could tell us because you understood them better. The
difficulty was that we were not sure what you were going
to say when we did things in a different way.
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Our Department of Sport and Recreation is a component of
the government of the Republic of South Africa. The
department works under the guidance of the Constitution
and the existing laws of the country. Consequently, we
reaffirm our declaration that South Africa belongs to all
who live in it, united in diversity.
One of the central messages and tasks is to use sport to
heal the divisions of the past, to unite our people and to
establish a society based on democratic values, social
justice and fundamental rights. That is what sport can do.
All of us are witnesses to that.
When we visited Egypt for the African Cup of Nations, Côte
d’Ivoire, which was in the same group as Bafana Bafana,
proceeded to the finals. They said that if Côte d’Ivoire
could win the African Cup of Nations that would unite the
people of that country who have been involved in civil
strife for many years. I think sport is central to uniting
people. [Applause.]
We are also faced with the task of improving the quality
of life of citizens and freeing the potential of each
person. Our people hope that, as stated in the
Constitution, human dignity and nonracialism will be
achieved. These aspirations are in line with the
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declarations of the UN and the AU, both of which believe
that sport and recreation can make a big difference and
contribute to sustainable development and peace. These
bodies believe that sport and recreation can and do play a
significant role in the attainment of the millennium goals
facing us. Our programmes are designed to deliver on the
above-mentioned goals.
Our people are responding very well to the mass
participation drive. This positive response is a challenge
to government and the private sector to put resources into
sport and recreation. Government alone will not be able to
realise the levels of excitement that we are achieving
through mass participation. Therefore business is
challenged to say, “Let us travel together on this road.”
It’s a difficult road, but together we would be able to
make a difference in the lives of our people. The success
of other countries, such as Australia, China, Nigeria,
Cuba, to name a few, did not happen by chance, but as a
result of government allocating proportional resources to
sport.
However, the committee, and we in the ANC, have a
different view. Time and again people come and tell us
about the small budget for sport in Australia, Britain and
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all the other countries. Deputy President, we acknowledge
that our budget is not enough, but which country in Africa
has a bigger budget than ours? That is where the biggest
problem lies. Compared with Australia, yes, we are likely
to come second. But compared with our counterparts in
Africa we are, even in the face of the little resources
that are allocated to sport, a step ahead.
The other challenge is that our sport has not been doing
well when it comes to issues of governance, which is
something that is very close to the heart of the
committee. Governance in the federations is key. An
institution with shaky governance will not be able to
produce the desired results. Therefore we are requesting
that federations must begin to create stability so that we
are able to assist them and walk with them on this long
road.
The President of the country said that freedom has been
good to business. But the challenge is: Has business been
good to this freedom and the people that need help most?
That is the challenge.
Minister, we appreciate the partnership of Supersport and
Wits University regarding life skills development and the
acquisition of skills that the Deputy President is leading
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in this country. That partnership is very important. It is
a demonstration of the private sector coming into the
picture and we appreciate it and say to Supersport,
“Nangamso ningadinwa” [Keep it up].
We are looking at other people that are doing something on
their own, for example Shosholoza Meyl which is close to
hon Mlangeni’s heart. It has been doing very well. It is a
private entity that is owned by people but represents
South Africa and hoists her flag. It is feared in the
world, hon Mlangeni; and there is also the Grand Prix. All
those brought together in this country contribute to the
economy.
Therefore, Deputy President, it cannot be true that sport
does not play a role in the GDP of a country. I want to
say to people today that about 33% of that GDP comes from
sports tourism. When you see us going to Absa Stadium in
Durban and filling it up, we go there as tourists to watch
a game and lift up the economy of that place. But, sadly,
that is not recognised as the role that sport is playing
in contributing to the GDP of this country. [Applause.]
Minister, our role in the economy of this country is huge.
It will be demonstrated and will leave a legacy in this
country after the 2010 World Cup. All of us, as members of
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that committee, will walk tall, Minister because even if
we die we shall have left that legacy in this country.
[Applause.]
For the past two years, the Department of Sport and
Recreation has been a department that has not really done
well around the issues of transformation, gender and
disability. This is the second time we are presenting this
matter to you. But there is leverage for us that we can
use to address that aspect.
The restructuring of the department, specifically
regarding the dissolution of the SA Sports Commission, has
created an opportunity for women to be recognised, and
lead that department at management level. That is a matter
that we are closely looking at, because we want to see
that department being transformed and representing the
people of this country, women and disabled people in
particular.
Madam Chair, I would also like to congratulate ...
[Laughter.][Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): I am still the
Chair.
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Mr B M KOMPHELA: I apologise for that, Chair. I also want
to extend a word of congratulations to people who
represent organisations such as the Hall of Fame, Grand
Prix, and Athletics SA. The president of Athletics SA
invited us, Minister, to a function to honour the athletes
who participated in Australia. They said I must give you
this message. Regarding those athletes who went to
Melbourne and arrived back in this country with no
expectation of remuneration, with the little resources
that Athletics SA had, they had about R320 000 to give to
those athletes.
However, one thing that has stuck in our minds is what we
observed when a mother from a certain farm arrived in that
place, and the President of Athletics SA gave her son R20
000. She asked: “Siza kuyenza ntoni imali engaka?” [What
are we going to do with such a lot of money?] It was such
a big thing.
I am saying people such as representatives of Athletics SA
and others have set a challenge. Those are people who
could not put that money aside for themselves but were
able to say: “With the little resources that we have, we
will go and inspire the young people.” [Applause.]
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I have seen a pattern emerging now because others are also
doing what Athletics SA has done. I am proud of them and
we are proud of them. I think they must keep that up.
[Applause.]
Concerning the disasters at our stadiums, the ANC raised
the matter with you a month or two ago, Minister. They
said they are concerned that time and again incidents such
as the Ellis Park disaster are happening, and that we
don’t seem to be worried about such things. On 13 January
1991 40 people died in two minutes at a stadium in Orkney,
Klerksdorp, in North West. What can be done for those
people who lost their loved ones, Minister?
An 11-year-old boy who played in a curtain-raiser match
there and who had woken up very early in the morning on
that day to go and watch his heroes, Orlando Pirates, play
against Kaizer Chiefs, lost his life. There is no plaque
there; there is nothing. We have raised that matter and we
realise that Safa is also beginning to do the same. But it
was a matter of concern to the ANC that we didn’t do
something for those people. And now that something is
happening in that regard, we are happy about it, Minister.
The issues that we want to raise around transformation are
very pertinent. We understand that the new leadership of
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cycling is doing very well. They came before the portfolio
committee to explain their transformation agenda. They
were upbeat, and said that they hadn’t known about those
things that you were talking about but that they were
going to correct them. It will be difficult, because we
are venturing into a terrain where people have a different
mindset. But I think they need to change.
The people from those new and untransformed federations
are serving on very important structures in this country,
such as the SA Sports Confederation and the Olympic
Committee. Our question is: How do you put other people’s
houses in order when your own house is not in order? And
that is a vexing question.
On the basis of democratic practices, these little
federations take over the leadership of sporting
institutions, and they don’t consider some of the very
little things. I do not think that is right. We need to be
sensitive in how we build sport in this country. We need
to be sensitive to hostile takeovers in the name of
democracy. I do not think that the ANC is of the view that
we must hold the democratic process to ransom. No! It
can’t be.
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As the ANC, we appreciate the memorandum of understanding
signed between the Department of Education and the
Department of Sport and Recreation, where the former will
focus on curricula aspects of the schools, including
physical education and human movement. Minister, the
entity that has been created, that is the National Coordinating Committee, Nacoc, operates in a manner similar
to what you opposed regarding the United School Sports
Association of South Africa, Ussasa, when you said
managers of the department cannot serve in the structures
of the United School Sports Association. However, highpowered deputy directors-general of the department are
serving in Nacoc, which defeats the objective of leaving
school sport to teachers.
Teachers are still serving in Nacoc, and this can’t be
correct. We might as well continue with Ussasa, without
Nacoc. We will be interacting with Nacoc to find out exact
details regarding its existence, its shape, its direction
and how it intends to address these matters.
Concerning LoveLife, we as the committee and the ANC are
of the view that we have one of the best comprehensive HIV
and Aids strategies from the Department and Ministry of
Health. The role of LoveLife in those areas is not very
clear. Therefore we must begin discussions so that people
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will start asking in unison: “Is it correct for LoveLife
to be placed in sport or should it be part of the
Minister’s good process concerning a world-renowned
comprehensive HIV and Aids strategy?” That is what we
want.
Boxing SA came up with a disclaimer on the AuditorGeneral’s view. But, we are interacting with Boxing SA and
we have taken a decision as a committee that we are going
to interact with both the department and Boxing SA on a
quarterly basis so that we can assist Boxing SA to get out
of the quagmire of the disclaimer regarding the AuditorGeneral.
We have seen that whilst we were beginning to address that
issue, Boxing SA suspended its manager. We have come to
the conclusion that it’s common practice in the country
that if you are a chief executive officer and black, you
will be sacrificed. We are very serious and worried about
this, because the question of restructuring an entity and
starting with the CEO doesn’t make sense to us. The CEO is
there to assist you to restructure your entity, therefore
you cannot start with him. That is the kind of situation
that you find in Boxing SA, and it is not very good.
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your
time has expired.
Mr B M KOMPHELA: Thank you very much, Chair and hon
members. [Applause.]
Mr T D LEE: Chairperson, hon members, it is as appropriate
for me to wear this shirt as it is for a person to be the
Minister of Defence whilst never having served in the
army. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
I stand before you today in a South African sports shirt
...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: Chairperson, on a
point of order: If the reference is to the hon Minister,
he was a leading member of uMkhonto weSizwe. [Laughter.]
[Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): That’s not a point
of order. Continue, hon Lee.
The MINISTER OF DEFENCE: Chairperson, on a point of order:
I have never been a member of uMkhonto weSizwe, if I may
just ... [Laughter.]
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): There is no point
of order. Let’s continue. Let hon Lee continue with his
speech.
Mr T D LEE: I stand before you today in a South African
national sports shirt. It is a shirt I wear with great
pride, as do all sportsmen and women who represent our
country. It is a shirt in which ordinary South Africans
invest a great deal of emotion.
As a country that has always had a deep and passionate
love for sport, we have shown that there is no field in
which we cannot excel.
Sedert 1994 het ons in gholf, sokker, rugby, atletiek,
swem en nog vele ander sportsoorte groot hoogtes bereik.
Alle professionele sportlui sal egter bevestig dat ’n mens
net so goed is soos jou jongste deelname. Terugskouend
weet ons almal wat hierdie trui verteenwoordig. Ons staan
vandag egter voor die vraag wat dit in die toekoms vir ons
moet verteenwoordig en beteken. Suid-Afrika se grootste
prestasies lê in die verlede; hulle is agter die rug. Ons
staan nou voor uitdagings: kan ons daardie prestasies in
die toekoms herhaal, of selfs beter vaar? Ek glo ons kan.
Maar dan sal dinge moet verander. (Translation of
Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
31 MAY 2006
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[Since 1994 we have reached great heights in golf, soccer,
rugby, athletics, swimming and many other sporting codes.
However, all professional sportspeople will admit that you
are only as good as your last match. Looking back, we all
know what this jersey represents. Today we are, however,
facing the question as to what it must mean and represent
to us in the future. South Africa’s greatest achievements
lie in the past; they are history. We are now facing
challenges: Can we emulate those achievements in future,
or do even better? I believe we can, but things will have
to change.]
I want to come now to South African football. Today I want
to focus on just one of the ways in which we need to deal
with football, concerning the 2010 World Cup which is to
be hosted by our country. I do so not because football is
more important than other sporting codes but because it
goes to the heart of the question I posed. It is an
administrative task of epic proportions – viz the hosting
of the World Cup. Our ability to comply with every
logistical requirement will be a reflection on our
competence. Judging by the way in which this sport is
being administered at the moment, we are a very long way
from achieving that goal.
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If you stop any sports fan on the street and ask them what
they think of South African football, their answer will be
that it is in a crisis and that it is in a mess. I know
this because I have done so and I would really ask the
Minister to do the same.
They may tell you that something as simple as buying a
ticket has become an administrative nightmare. They may
tell you that our stadiums are unsafe and badly
maintained. They may tell you that we have problems with
our referees; that the attendance at games is falling;
that fixtures are often cancelled because of
administrative problems or that, quite simply, we are no
longer producing the sort of talent we once did.
They may tell you any of these things; they may tell you
all of these things. They are all true. They are the
result of a poorly run sport, and an administration that
treats both players and fans with contempt. If we are to
host the World Cup, these things will have to change.
Die DA het dit nog altyd bepleit dat die regering geen
plek in sport het nie, maar die Sokkerwêreldbeker is iets
anders, want die toernooi word deur die Suid-Afrikaanse
regering aangebied. Wat die administrasie en uitvoering
daarvan betref, is dit deur en deur die regering se saak,
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en dit is hoog tyd dat die regering optree asof hy in
beheer is.
Maandag het Mnr Danny Jordaan – en ek is bly hy sit hierbo
- die uitvoerende hoof van die plaaslike
organiseringskomitee vir die Sokkerwêreldbeker, gesê die
2010-toernooi is reeds ’n finansiële sukses, en dat die
befondsingsdoelwit van R2 miljard reeds bereik is. “Dit
hang nou van ons af om te sorg dat die organisasie en
administrasie slaag,” het hy gesê.
Ongelukkig versuim ons in dié opsig om aan die vereistes
te voldoen. Die ontwikkeling van ons stadions is in
verskeie gevalle agter; daar is talle onbeantwoorde vrae
oor vervoer en verblyf; en derdens wil dit voorkom of
niemand in beheer is en daar geen duidelike gesags- of
verantwoordelikheidslyne is nie. (Translation of Afrikaans
paragraphs follows.)
[The DA has always argued that government has no place in
sport, but the Soccer World Cup is something different,
because the tournament is being hosted by the South
African government. The administration and the execution
thereof is solely the responsibility of the government,
and it is high time that government acts as if it is in
control.
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On Monday Mr Danny Jordaan - I am glad he is sitting up
there – the executive head of the local organising
committee for the Soccer World Cup, said that the 2010
Soccer World Cup tournament was already a financial
success, and that the funding goal of R2 billion had
already been reached. ”It now depends on us to make sure
that the organising and administration succeed,” he said.
Unfortunately in this regard we are failing to meet these
requirements. The development of our stadiums is behind in
schedule many cases; there are many unanswered questions
regarding transport and accommodation; and, thirdly, it
would appear that nobody is in control and that there are
no clear lines of authority and responsibility.]
By the way, other countries have hosted the World Cup
successfully they have appointed a Minister in charge – a
single dedicated person to oversee the process and with
whom the final responsibility lies. South Africa, however,
has not done this. Instead we have appointed a committee
comprising of people with many other responsibilities.
In response to a question that I put to you yesterday, Mr
Minister, in this House, you intimated that the Deputy
President will be in charge. But the Deputy President is
in charge of so many things already, not least of all
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Asgisa and government business in its entirety. With
respect, Mr Minister, it is simply not feasible to suggest
that the Deputy President can make a sustained and focused
contribution to the World Cup as well. It is asking too
much of her.
South Africa should learn from the precedent set by other
countries in this regard. We should appoint a Minister
responsible for the World Cup; a Minister whose sole focus
will be the successful running and administration of the
2010 World Cup.
Ten slotte wil ek die volgende sê: die 2010-wêreldbeker lê
net vier jaar die toekoms in. Ons het 1 460 dae oor om
seker te maak dat alles reg gedoen word. In plaas van om
’n gevoel van vertroue te hê, voel gewone Suid-Afrikaners
egter onseker.
Hulle is nie seker of ons alles onder beheer het nie, want
wat hulle elke dag sien, is ’n sportsoort wat klaarblyklik
buite beheer is. As die regering dié waarneming wil
verander, het hy sterk leierskap en ’n helder gefokusde en
spertydgedrewe visie vir die 2010-wêreldbeker nodig. Oor
vyf jaar wil Suid-Afrikaners met trots terugkyk, nie net
op ons prestasie in die toernooi nie, maar ook op ons rol
as gasheer en organiseerder.
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Tans is daar ten opsigte van albei dié sake onsekerheid.
Hierdie regering moet dit dringend verander. (Translation
of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[In conclusion, I want to say the following: The 2010
Soccer World Cup will take place four years from now. We
have 1 460 days left to make sure that everything is done
correctly. Instead of having a feeling of confidence,
ordinary South Africans are feeling unsure.
They are not sure if we have everything under control,
because what they see every day is a sporting code that
appears to be out of control. If the government wants to
change this perception, it needs strong leadership and a
clearly focused and deadline-driven vision for the 2010
Soccer World Cup. In five years’ time South Africans want
to look back with pride, not only with regard to our
performance in the tournament, but also with regard to our
role as host and organiser.
At the moment there is uncertainty with regard to both
these aspects. This government must change it as a matter
of urgency.]
Finally, I want to thank the chairperson of the committee,
the hon Mr Komphela, for the very inclusive way in which
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he deals with issues affecting the committee and for his
collegiality. His conduct shows that he understands
multipartyism. He agrees that we have the right to
disagree agreeably. [Applause.]
Mr B W DHLAMINI: Chairperson, Ministers present here and
colleagues, the main aim of Sport and Recreation South
Africa is to improve the quality of life of all South
Africans by promoting participation in sports and
recreational activities. On paper, this main objective
sounds so simple and no one can argue against it. Of
course, we all want our people to be healthy and improve
their lives by participating in some or other form of
sport.
However, the reality suggests that the task of the
department is much more complicated and more difficult to
achieve. For instance, the demands and attractions of the
modern way of life mean that fewer people have the time or
want to make time for exercise and other health-related
activities. The result is a whole range of health problems
that detract from our national state of wellbeing.
Turning to the budget, Sport and Recreation South Africa
receives R352 million for the current financial year.
Actually, this is substantially less than last year’s
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allocation but we note that the budget then was higher
because of the once-off allocation for the 2010 World Cup
planning.
While the IFP supports the budget, I would like to raise a
number of concerns and challenges relating to the sports
arena. The first one is transformation. Almost every day
we hear about the commitment of federations,
administrators and coaches to transforming various sports.
We also have a transformation charter in place which is
supposed to guide all macro bodies, national and
provincial organisations and clubs regarding the need to
transform sport.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Dhlamini, just
a moment please. Hon members, your noise levels are very
high. Please reduce that noise. Thank you. Hon Dhlamini,
continue.
Mr B W DHLAMINI: Thank you, Chair. But commitment is one
thing, implementation and visible results are quite
another. The fact is that this so-called “commitment” does
not translate into fully representative sports but just
lip service and time-buying tactics. Hon Minister, we must
acknowledge this harsh reality - that transformation on
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the basis of volunteerism does not work. Surely, the time
has come to legislate on the matter.
The IFP welcomes the introduction of the sports amendment
Bill. The fact is that if more previously disadvantaged
players are not given a chance to participate in domestic
games or at provincial level, we stand little chance of
preparing these players for the national or international
stage. If this situation continues, South Africa’s teams
will not be fully representative of South Africa.
Previously disadvantaged players must be given
opportunities to gain experience and to perform to the
best of their abilities, otherwise the chances of them
being picked for national teams are, to say the least,
remote. Here is a startling question: How many black
players do hon members think will be in the starting 15 of
the Rugby World Cup next year in France? Is it one and a
half or nothing? This stark reality must be confronted
head-on.
The second concern is that government funding on sport is
inadequate, to say the least. We acknowledge that there
are many competing demands on the national fiscus but we
have to ask why millions and millions of rands lie
undistributed in the National Lottery Fund. This money
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could easily be used for sports development, new
facilities, training programmes, academies, other projects
for sports and development, and access regarding the
previously disadvantaged areas, more especially townships
and rural areas.
We therefore call on the government to allow more of the
Lotto proceeds to be channelled to Sport and Recreation.
No doubt this will help the department to achieve its
objective of promoting participation in sport and
recreation. Why not even shift the National Lottery Fund
from the Department of Trade and Industry to Sport and
Recreation like other countries are doing?
The 2006 Soccer World Cup kicks off in Germany next week.
After the Olympic Games, this is the biggest sporting
event on the global agenda. In 2010 it will be our chance
to host the World Cup. But, hon members, we should be
concerned. We should be concerned about the state of our
preparedness for 2010.
Thus far we have heard a lot about planning, getting
structures into place and so on. The local organising
committee has told us they have been prevented from
releasing more concrete details because of the imminent
start of the German tournament. We certainly hope that by
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the end of the German World Cup we will hear more about
new public transport systems, new stadiums and other
infrastructure requirements for hosting the tournament, as
the Minister has said.
There are only four years left before 2010. That may sound
like a lot of time but it is not, because we should be
vigilant that time does not run out before we are fully
prepared, thus leaving us embarrassed and ridiculed. This
tournament means so much to our country and indeed to
Africa that we cannot afford to fail.
In conclusion, hon Minister, the municipal infrastructure
grant route, in providing basic facilities, is a dismal
failure. The President, early this year when he responded
to my questions, made a commitment that they would relook
at the issue because, through the building for sport
programme, we were able to build 300 facilities in two
years but with the MIG route we have only, as reported,
built four facilities that we still need to see. I
therefore call on the Cabinet to relook at the issue of
removing building for sport from MIG. It does not deliver.
I thank you, Chair.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson,
hon Dhlamini, if you listen to the speech and the
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contribution we make, you will hopefully get the answers
to the questions you posed in your speech.
May I just say, in reaction to a remark by the hon
chairperson of the portfolio committee pertaining to the
implementation, as constituted in line with the agreement
signed between the Minister of Sport and Recreation and
the Department of Education, that the reference to Nacoc,
the co-ordinating body, just points out that in terms of
the agreement, physical education – and we’ll touch on
that in our contribution this afternoon – is the
responsibility of the Department of Education.
However, we have, as the Department of Sport and
Recreation, a direct interest in school sport and school
sporting activities, and the organising thereof. This is
why we are present in that structure to make sure that
that would be funded, and that as Parliament and as
government we have insight in that funding. But,
hopefully, we will have time to look at that matter later
on.
As far as Boxing SA is concerned, we know that they last
had a CEO in 2003 but they are in the process of
appointing a new CEO.
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The 2010 Soccer World Cup raises a lot of issues and
remarks. The hon Lee questioned the ability of our hon
Deputy President and the interministerial committee to
deal sufficiently with the LOC in delivering a very
successful 2010 Soccer World Cup. May I advise the hon Lee
in his mother tongue?
As jy niks het om te sê nie, boet, moet dit nie hier kom
sê nie, asseblief. [Gelag.] [ If you have nothing to say,
brother, please do not say it here! [Laughter.]]
We don’t want a new Minister of sport and recreation for
2010; we have a very competent Minister of Sport and
Recreation, a very sophisticated Deputy President and
highly multi-skilled people. We will deliver the best
Soccer World Cup ever. However, may I just say one thing.
I find it tragic that people are pushing us, uMfundisi
[the Reverend] and myself, to talk about the tournament in
2010 when the kick-off of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in
Berlin has not even taken place. I think we should respect
the protocols and react accordingly.
The White Paper on Sport and Recreation, which is the
department’s primary policy document, identifies the
shortcomings in our sport and recreation system. It also
proposes the strategies to address these shortcomings. The
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challenges identified in the White Paper range from a lack
of appreciation for the role that sport can play in our
society to the lack of participation by the majority of
our country’s people in physical activity. It also
identifies the lack of resources needed for ensuring
involvement in physical activity.
The White Paper, may I say, is as relevant today as it was
when it was first launched in 1997. Despite some progress,
we still have a long road to travel in the sector to
achieve the objectives of the White Paper. Sport is still
being trivialised in our country. It is sometimes regarded
as frivolous and unimportant even though it is a
multibillion rand industry and it does contribute more
than 2% of the gross domestic product in our country. In
fact, daily, sport occupies the time of the majority of
our people and it forms part of the psyche of the majority
of the country’s people.
How much time do we, as citizens of the country, not
spend, on a daily basis, in watching or reading about
sport? Many of us start reading the newspaper from the
back page and may I say, when I listen to some of the
political utterances, it seems to me that this is the only
part of the paper that some of our colleagues read. Well,
government is committed to sport and recreation. We are
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certainly not on a par with the developed world with whom
we compete.
The developed world with whom we compete has identified
and committed itself to exploiting the potential of sport
and recreation for achieving significant socioeconomic and
other outcomes. Even the United Nations gave credence to
the role of sport by declaring 2005 the International Year
of Physical Education and Sport. The United Nations used
the prominence of the sector to promote development and to
foster peace, especially in post-conflict situations
around the globe. Today, the United Nations speaks of
sport for development and peace.
We informed Parliament about the United Nations
International Year of Physical Education and Sport during
the Budget Vote last year. Several initiatives have
emanated from the focus by the United Nations in our
sector. I personally attended four workshops on this topic
over the past year. I have come away though convinced
that, as South Africans, we are disadvantaging ourselves
by continuing to peripheralise the sector as an
unimportant pastime – a luxury as it were.
We are witnessing first hand the impact that the 2010 Fifa
Soccer World Cup is having on our country. Having provided
impetus for heightened levels of activity in virtually
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every sector, we predict that the level of activity will
increase progressively as we approach 2010 when it will
reach, I think, fever pitch. This demonstrates the power
of sport. Within the context of Accelerated Shared Growth
for South Africa, Asgisa, the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup
and sport in general can contribute towards achieving the
target of a 6% growth rate by 2014.
In particular, we must look at the tourism potential of
sport and recreation. In 2003, tourism was recognised as a
major growth sector internationally. It is, in fact, still
the case. In our own country the Standard Bank survey
found that tourism had outstripped gold mining as a
revenue generator. Tourism had grossed R53 billion in 2003
while in the same year gold mining in this country grossed
R35 billion.
It is recognised internationally that sports tourism
comprises 30% of world tourism. If that same model were
applied to South Africa, sports tourism would have netted
R15,9 billion in 2003. Unfortunately, we know that the
sports tourism industry in South Africa does not match the
international norm of 30% of all tourism.
Sports tourism in South Africa is in fact underdeveloped.
There is substantial room for growth in the sector. To
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address this, the Department of Sport and Recreation has
developed a sports tourism promotional product in close
co-operation with the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism. We unveiled this product for the first time
at the Tourism Indaba in the Durban area this month.
In fact, the product itself is a CD. It combines the VeZA
route finder, which was developed by the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR - and thank you
to my colleague and friend, Deputy Minister Hanekom, and
the Minister, who are here from the Department of Science
and Technology.
They used the sports information on that VeZA route
finder. So, if you are a visitor, you can utilise this
instrument not only to plan your attendance of sports
events but you can map your route to the venue, you can
book your accommodation and you can select your
restaurants and other tourist attractions at, in or around
the stadium in any part of our wonderful country, South
Africa.
Tourism is but one aspect of the sport and recreation
sector that can contribute to Asgisa and Jipsa. There are
several others. We are excited about Asgisa and Jipsa,
especially as Jipsa, especially as Jipsa will serve as a
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catalyst to integrate disparate education and training
projects in the sector that will result in mutual benefit
for our department and, obviously, for Jipsa.
While Sport and Recreation South Africa is already
involved in programmes to support Asgisa and Jipsa, it has
always been our contention that government alone cannot
cover all the bases in terms of the delivery of sport and
recreation to the country. The backlog is just simply too
huge.
The origins of the backlog need not be elaborated on here.
In fact, it was the Reconstruction and Development
Programme that described the sports sector as being one of
the worst legacies of apartheid. That is why we need the
involvement of the private and the NGO sectors.
In this regard, mention must be made of the chairperson of
the portfolio committee. I would also like to single out
the contribution of Supersport, in conjunction with the
Wits Business School, which has taken the initiative to
put resources into the education and training of our topflight sports administrators and managers.
The performances of our representative teams
internationally have indicated that there is a void that
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needs to be filled. Enrolment in the above-mentioned
programme will assist in doing so. Shortcomings in
management and administration are bound to be reflected on
the field of play as well. We are witnessing this
currently.
We are of the opinion that the challenges that we
currently see at the top end of our sport, the failure of
Bafana Bafana to qualify for the 2006 Fifa Soccer World
Cup in Germany, the lack of achievement in the African Cup
of Nations as well as the performances of our rugby,
cricket and netball teams, amongst other sports, are
directly attributable to this vacuum.
Supersport have started to put their money where their
mouth is and have invested a small amount of R6 million
towards upskilling 75 managers and administrators over the
next three years. To start with, they have thrown down the
gauntlet and I trust others in the private sector will
follow suit. In fact, I appeal to them to do so because
this is an investment in our national pride.
The Supersport initiative is aligned to the second
priority in our White Paper. Even though their efforts are
aimed primarily at the top end of the continuum, where
they themselves have specific interests, it will serve an
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important purpose. Beyond that, our human resource needs
are enormous.
At the entry level of community mass-based sport and
recreation, we are in need of suitably trained and skilled
people. Eliminating the shortage of qualified people at
this level is important, because the foundation is vital
to ensure quality at the top end.
We also need quality physical education teachers in all
our schools, not only in the more privileged ones that can
afford to have them. We need good community sport and
recreation workers to ensure that the youth from the large
majority of our communities can participate and can
compete on a more level playing field. In short, we have
to promote lifelong participation in physical activity.
To start with, we must restore school sport to the status
it enjoyed in the past; a status that saw the sports
fields of our country flooded with learners, especially on
Wednesday afternoons during interhouse and interschool
matches. The school-going youth enjoyed at least two
periods of physical education per week. They don’t have
that any more.
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The rise in antisocial behaviour amongst our youth,
unfortunately, parallels the demise in school sport and
physical education. We have to look no further than
prioritising the reintroduction of these activities in our
schools. The memorandum of agreement between the
Departments of Sport and Recreation and Education
facilitates precisely this. We are now implementing the
provisions of the agreement.
Sport and Recreation South Africa has introduced
programmes that now see our youth competing on a more
footing. Our teams competing internationally are now a lot
more representative as a result of this. Their success at
the Zone Six schools athletics championships last month,
where they made – and let me say this proudly, sir – a
virtual clean sweep of the medals on offer, bodes well for
the future.
During the course of this year we will see 798 schools
participating in 56 clusters comprising schools in close
proximity to one another, and that will facilitate regular
interaction between them. It will involve more than 200
000 learners, and that’s only to start off with.
The strategy is aimed at obviating crippling transport
costs that tend to inhibit interaction between schools.
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The availability of financial resources currently
constitutes the only impediment to a more expensive
programme. Our aim is in fact to see all 27 000 schools in
our country involved in this project. It has to be fully
funded so that no learner is prevented from participating
because of personal financial constraints.
This programme will require the involvement of large
numbers of teachers, volunteers and even learners. But
more important is the need to reintroduce physical
education or human movement into our schools. This will
truly massify participation in physical activity in our
society and will address the low levels of participation.
Currently that level of participation is estimated to be
restricted to only 25% of our population.
In order to achieve increased levels of participation, we
need qualified teachers who will ensure that our young
people are introduced to sport and recreation properly. We
trust that this will enhance lifelong participation.
If we employ only two qualified physical education
teachers in each of our 27 000 schools in South Africa,
one for boys and one for girls, we would have provided
more than 54 000 job opportunities. We obviously need
physical education teachers in every school, but then we
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need to understand the difference between physical
education and school sport.
Of course, these best-laid plans of “mice and men” will
come to nought if the infrastructure for launching them is
not available. Regarding this, appropriate facilities at
schools are absolutely essential if the memorandum of
agreement between the two departments is going to mean
anything.
We receive hundreds, if not thousands, of requests
annually from schools, clubs and communities for sport and
recreation facilities and other infrastructure. As we all
know, the sports facilities project has been transferred
to the Department of Provincial and Local Government’s
municipal infrastructure grant. Let me say we are not
quite happy with the consequences of that.
Apart from the fact that we are not delivering the same
number of facilities that we used to under the Building
for Sport and Recreation programme – and members alluded
to this - we see that the sport and recreation departments
in the provinces no longer feel that they own the project.
The fact that local authorities are no longer prioritising
sport and recreation facilities compounds the problem.
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We are in discussion with the Department of Provincial and
Local Government about getting the facility development
programme back on track. Without facilities, it is totally
impossible to realise our higher-level objectives of
representivity in our sports teams at all levels, not to
mention social cohesion.
Local authorities must be encouraged to include sport and
recreation facilities in their integrated development
programmes. I appeal to you hon members of this House:
When you go out to work in your constituencies, please
persuade your local authorities to include sport and
recreation facilities in their integrated development
programmes. This may change the current impasse.
In short, the potential of the infrastructure development
programme in our sector to contribute to Asgisa and
representivity in our teams is significant. Our challenge
is to ensure that there is congruency between Sport and
Recreation South Africa, our schools and local authorities
with regard to sport and the provision of recreational
facilities.
We have been in touch with the Department of Housing with
regard to ensuring adequate open spaces and sport and
recreation facilities in their sustainable human
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settlement policy. It has always been our contention that
human settlements could never be complete without adequate
provision for amenities in which people, especially our
youth, could adequately exercise their right to play. We
are happy to see and to say that the Department of Housing
has heeded our call in this regard by rectifying that
shortcoming.
I want to single out a further initiative that emanates
from the United Nations sport for development and peace
programme that we are pursuing. Innumerable references
were and are made to the role of sport and recreation in
peace initiatives in post-conflict situations around the
globe. South Africa is proud to be involved in several
post-conflict peace initiatives on the African continent,
but nowhere have we engaged sport to assist in any of
these projects. Doing so, I’m convinced, will improve our
success rate considerably.
Evidence from many other conflict situations, often much
worse than the ones that we are dealing with, attests to
this potential. We are speaking, and we have spoken, to
the Minister of Defence and the department about the role
that sport can possibly play in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. We had a positive response, and we are following
up on it. Our next step is to engage Foreign Affairs on
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the merits of sport as a diplomatic tool in peacekeeping
and peace-building.
To realise the benefits that can possibly accrue from our
sector we need three things, and all three are related to
resources. Firstly, we need infrastructure. Under
infrastructure we are not only talking about facilities
but also about organisations, programmes, equipment and
kit. Secondly, we are talking about sufficient human
resources of good quality and with an appropriate
disposition. And, lastly, finance, which underpins both
infrastructure and human resources.
We’ve addressed elements of the first two, but I would
like to conclude by referring to the third. As a
department, we have the smallest budget of all national
government departments. We are committing some R10 per
person per year to the participation of our people in
sport and recreation activities.
Now, R10 can never make a substantial contribution to
participation rates in sport and recreation, but
participation can have, and has, an impact on the budgets
of many other sectors in government. Participation can
substantially reduce the health budget. In fact, the
Department of Health has recognised the contribution that
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physical activity can make. They’ve introduced the “Vuka
South Africa, Move for your Health” programme. This is to
highlight the contribution that being physically active
can make to one’s health.
The savings that we can make on the justice budget, as
with many other budgets, can be as, if not more,
significant. We’ve always said that a child in sport is a
child out of court. We saw the start of Child Protection
Week on Monday. I want to contend that sport, if properly
organised, supervised and run, constitutes one of the best
ways to ensure that our children are protected. If our
children are constructively engaged in activities outside
of schools, there is no reason why they will or can become
caught up in the influences of antisocial tendencies.
If we say all these things and agree with them, we have to
be bold and we have to say that we must increase the
budget for sport and recreation to ensure that more young
people become more involved in the mass participation
programme, our school sport programme and our club
development programme.
Further, we believe that the funding that is available
from the lottery can be utilised much better, and we have
approached our colleagues in the Department of Trade and
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Industry to facilitate this. There is, unfortunately, a
perception out there that sport and recreation is awash
with resources. Let me say that this is a totally false
perception; a few sports federations and a few players are
benefiting from the spoils that are on offer. The majority
of our organisations are in fact suffering.
We have a pool of available resources from the lottery
distribution agency for sport and recreation that, in our
opinion, are not being utilised optimally at this point in
time. I’m led to believe that funds are being distributed
to sports structures unbeknown to some of our national
federations. That, surely, cannot continue.
Sport and recreation must be able to play a role with
regard to the distribution of these resources, even if it
means that the laws that regulate the disbursement of
these funds have to be amended. We are presently speaking
with the Department of Trade and Industry about this, and
I trust that we will be able to resolve the matter soon.
It is imperative that the resources available for sport
and recreation are utilised optimally.
In conclusion, Chairperson, the legislative programme of
our department will enjoy the attention of both Houses
very soon. Prominent amongst these are the 2010 Fifa World
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Cup South Africa Special Measures Bill that seeks to amend
all non-money matters that may impede the implementation
of the government guarantees that we provided in the
bidding phase to host the 2010 World Cup.
The second piece of legislation is the Safety at Sport and
Recreation Events Bill, which will be put to Cabinet for
consideration shortly. This significant and substantial
piece of legislation is a sequel to the 2001 Ellis Park
tragedy. It is intended to minimise the risk of such a
disaster occurring again in future. But it also
constitutes an important tool in the security arrangements
for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
We also have two amending Bills: the Sport and Recreation
Amendment Bill and the South African Institute for DrugFree Sport Amendment Bill. Both these Bills have been
passed by Cabinet and will serve in this House very
shortly. The former, the Sport and Recreation Amendment
Bill, is aimed at improving the governance of our sports
federations and the latter, the South African Institute
for Drug-Free Sport Amendment Bill, is aimed at aligning
sport with international best practice.
We trust, Chair, that we will be able to rely on the
support of this hon House and the NCOP for our legislative
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programme. Chair, afford me the opportunity to, lastly,
say to the Minister of Sport and Recreation, uMfundisi:
Thank you so much for your leadership. It’s wonderful to
be your Deputy Minister; it’s great to work with you. And
thank you so much for the many quotes from the Bible and
for other wisdom that you bestow on me. [Applause.] You’re
a true uMfundisi [Reverend] and I thank you for that.
To the department, the director-general, all the
federations, the volunteers, our portfolio committee and
the chairperson, I want to say thank you so much. It’s
wonderful to serve in this capacity. I thank you, Chair.
[Applause.]
Mrs D M MOROBI: Chairperson, hon Minister, Rev Stofile,
hon Deputy Minister, Mr Gert Oosthuizen, hon Members of
Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, sport has been a great
unifying factor in our country’s transition. I’m proud to
say that South Africans are enjoying the gains of their
revolution. We are commemorating important events that
mark the road to freedom. I would like to just mention a
few: the 50th anniversary of the women’s march to the
Union Buildings, the 30th anniversary of the 1976 student
uprising and the 10th anniversary of our Constitution.
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The Freedom Charter states, “The doors of learning and
culture shall be opened.” This simply means that the
colour bar in cultural life, sport and education shall be
abolished. We cannot separate education from sport.
For over 120 years, many South African men and women have
excelled in international world sport and have won
trophies and accolades both at home and abroad. Indeed,
our country has entered the age of hope. Our government,
which is ANC-led, has created conditions to achieve
progress. We are a winning nation.
The people’s contract on service delivery and Sport and
Recreation South Africa are delivering to communities at
grass-roots level. This is evident in the mass
participation programmes. The objective of the programme
is to facilitate participation in sport and recreation
activities for historically disadvantaged communities, and
to focus on rural areas to promote participation of women,
youth, disabled persons and the elderly. A total of 255
facilities, which are spread over the nine provinces, have
been built in a period of three years while 109 facilities
are targeted for completion by 2006.
Mass participation programmes have been successfully
launched in all the provinces. There are about 96 hubs in
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which mass participation-based activities take place.
Statistics clearly show that targets were exceeded during
the first year of the programme, despite the fact that it
was launched in August 2004. This indicates that there’s a
need for such programmes in all communities. To date,
677 784 participants have been enrolled in the programmes
as against the targeted figure of 500 000.
Historically, the first South African championships in
tennis for both men and women were held in 1891, making
the royal ancient game of tennis the first sport to
include women on a competitive basis in South Africa. And
in 1894, cricket was one of the few sports to promote a
recreational outlet for women. In 1897, women’s golf was
played in South Africa.
Presently, women are gradually moving into the traditional
male sports. Women are making waves in what has always
been male-dominated sports. We have women who have
ventured into male sports, but I just have a few names
that I have managed to extract. We have Charmaine Kene,
who at the age of 18 years is the captain of the Gugulethu
under-19 women’s cricket team. There is also Kenosi Mlaba
from Tukkies, who is making strides in boxing. She
believes women must start expanding their spheres of
influence in boxing.
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There are six women’s rugby teams in Gauteng. Tabia Nkuna,
a black woman, plays in one of these teams - a white team.
Phindile Sibiya from Mpumalanga is the first South African
black horsewoman. She can command a horse to trot in
circles, change direction and even jump fences. That’s
what she commands a horse to do. [Applause.] We also have
women golfers. I just want to mention Nokuthula Ngulube
who has just been a champion, and many other women who are
doing the same thing.
Hon Minister, there’s also a negative impact which
emanates from the lack of facilities and resources in
rural areas. Underdevelopment of women in key positions is
contributing to gender stereotyping. Female participants
are far less as compared to their male counterparts. Women
are relatively underresourced in all aspects – I mean all
aspects.
Hon members, I know you’ve got the speakers’ list on your
desks. Just go through that list and you will see how many
women are in the programme. I think there’s only one woman
there and the whole list is male dominated. Women are in
dire need of an inclusive functional agent to provide
guidance and leadership, and to visibly lobby for gender
equality in all aspects under the auspices of the
government body that leads by example.
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There’s a negative impact experienced by historically
disadvantaged communities regarding sport. Poor
communities have no access to proper services, that is
public transport, communications and others. All this
makes it highly unlikely that they will be in a position
to participate in sport. It may be noted that the
department’s budget is not keeping pace with its
responsibilities and has in fact declined by 6%.
On a positive note, the construction of new facilities has
contributed to short-term employment. Some of the
unemployed youth are trained as co-ordinators.
Opportunities that have been opened for talented
individuals who are recruited into the National Sports
Academy system by the Department of Sport and Recreation
and the upgrading and provision of facilities in rural
areas and historically disadvantaged communities have
contributed to the improvement of quality of life, equity
and social transformation.
The government made strides in activities that are
relevant to the sport and recreation sector, such as job
creation, promotion of nonracism, nonsexism, together with
planned increases in resources through Asgisa. The NGOs
and civil society actively take part in and support
development to provide advocacy services. They also
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provide information on valuable lessons learned, expertise
based on field experience and deepen the work of the
national sports strategy because they enjoy close ties
with local communities.
The NGOs such as Sports Coaches’ Outreach – Score - Sports
Without Boundaries and others are committed to improving
the quality of participation in sport by hosting field
visits and trips to promote their work. The intended
results of economic distribution in the sport and
recreation sector are the achievement of a better life for
all; preparedness in all sectors for a successful tour for
the 2010 World Cup; utilising the World Cup as a positive
contribution to the struggle to achieve Africa’s
Renaissance; acceleration of development of sports
facilities; and inclusion of women and people with
disabilities at decision-making levels in the Public
Service.
Although there are some challenges such as lack of grassroots development in sport, lack of good coaches, lack of
conducive environments and facilities in previously
disadvantaged communities and the prevalence of racism,
South Africans are truly enjoying the opportunities that
prevail within the sport and recreation department. These
opportunities enable them to use the existing
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infrastructure and they have knowledge to progress
rapidly. Opportunities also relate to the improvement of
publicity and media relations, taking advantage of the
government’s initiatives in sport, and the increasing
promotion of gender equality and disabled participants.
In closing, the truth of the matter is that today is
better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than
today.
Motswana wa bogologolo are: “Sejo sennye ga se fete
molomo.” Ha Mosotho ena are: “Re tla arolelana hloho ya
tsie.” Jwalo ka ha Freedom Charter e itse: [The old
Motswana say: “Half a loaf is better than no bread”. And
the Mosotho says, “ We will share whatever little we
have”. The Freedom Charter stipulates:]
... “People shall share”. This budget will be shared
accordingly, even if it is 6% less, and it will be able to
reach all aspects of sport and recreation.
The ANC fully supports this budget.
Mr B H HOLOMISA: Chairperson, hon members and honoured
guests ...
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... siyaluxhasa olu hlahlo lwabiwo-mali, nangona
besirhalela ukuba unikwe imali eninzana. Kufuneka
ndikunike iingcebiso malunga nokuba ungambhukuqa njani na
urhulumente ukuze ufumane imali eninzi. [Kwaqhwatywa.]
[... we support the Budget Vote, even though we would have
liked additional funds. I should advise you on how to
organise a coup in order to gain access to lots of money.]
[Applause.]]
With the limited time at my disposal, I would like to
focus on the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. A
word of advice to the Department of Sport and Recreation:
Seeing that billions in taxpayers’ money are going to be
spent on this event, make sure that large amounts aren’t
simply doled out left, right and centre. And it should not
be a question of only Cabinet Ministers serving on the
World Cup management committees. We are talking about
administrators and tender board specialists from
government who must participate in the entire planning
process of the event. Rather have specialists involved
from the beginning and ensure that all the rules are
followed instead of in due course investigating tenders
that were awarded.
Take, for example, the upgrading of stadiums. If the
stadium is privately owned, why should the owners not pay
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for the benefits and investments government is making?
Stadiums like Ellis Park and Newlands cannot simply
receive large-scale investments as a gift from the
taxpayers. To avoid a repetition of the arms deal fiasco,
there must be one department that co-ordinates all the
other state departments involved in these preparations.
Your department, sir, has been mandated by this Parliament
to run and co-ordinate sports activities in this country,
and any attempt to undermine our sport department’s brief
must be resisted at all costs.
Another issue I wish to raise concerns the quality of
players we are producing. It is not going to help us to
target the national coaches only whenever we perform badly
in international tournaments. A good example of this is
football where we failed to reach the Soccer World Cup in
Germany - so, the coach was fired. Then we were elbowed
out of the African Cup of Nations once again the coach was
fired. We played in the Cosafa Cup and we lost under the
stewardship of a caretaker coach.
All of these losses are always blamed, as I’ve said, on
the coaches. But when we look at the performances of the
professional club teams in this country, we notice that
the shining stars in those teams are from the rest of the
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continent. Amongst those foreign players are feared
strikers and midfielders such as Lelo Mbele of Orlando
Pirates. But when the same player was recently called to
play for his country in the recent African Cup of Nations,
he was not even in the starting line-up. Yet, here in
South Africa, he’s one of the most feared strikers. It
just shows how far behind we are in producing players of
both national and international quality.
I think the advice that we in this House should give the
football administrators and club owners is possibly for
our national football institutions to make it compulsory
for each professional side to have reserve sides with
development players such as the under-19 and under-15
teams. If need be, the question of incentives must also be
addressed ...
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member ...
Mr B H HOLOMISA: Mnu Komphela, baqalile ke aba bantu bakho
ukundiqhawula ndisathetha. Thetha, Sisi. [Hon Komphela,
your people have started interrupting me again while I’m
talking. Speak, my sister.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Your time has
expired.
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Mr B H HOLOMISA: You should have said so. [Laughter.]
Mr M M DIKGACWI: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy
Minister, members of Parliament and distinguished guests,
in today’s Cape Times there was a short letter by Mr
Stuart Shepherd of Edgemead, saying that I must keep my
nose out of rugby and that I must deal with soccer because
Bafana Bafana is a disaster. [Laughter.]
Edgemead is the area, if hon members can remember, where
this African girl was beaten up by a white girl, her
boyfriend and her mother. They did not only beat her up,
bamchamela [they urinated on her.] I am therefore not
astonished by this letter of Mr Shepherd.
During the liberation struggle sport played a significant
role and we could never be ignorant of that. Now the time
has come for us to harness sport again in this new phase
of our struggle aimed at building the ideal society we all
envisage.
As we transform this country, I would like to present
sport bodies with the challenge of ensuring that the
demographic profile of their federations reflects the
country’s population in the shortest time possible.
However, this seems to be a challenge for other
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federations, especially South African rugby. Black players
seem to disappear after they have represented the country
in the under-19, under-21 and under-23 teams of South
Africa. They disappear into thin air.
The Craven Week sides represent the demographics. However,
the world-level representative teams which come out of the
Craven Week seem to disappear without Saru caring or
concerning themselves about the disappearance and
retention of these teams.
In a meeting that we had with Stuart Baxter, the former
coach of Bafana Bafana, he indicated to us that they don’t
have any data of the under-19 or under-16 players. I don’t
know how one can prepare if one doesn’t have that data.
Strangely, other countries have the database of their
players, even the data about the injured players. We
insist that the people within these structures, who don’t
care, must seriously be removed. It’s a pity I can’t
mention names, but they know themselves. They are fat cats
who have lost the plot of why they were there from the
onset.
Enye ingxaki yile nto yokungakhululwa kwabadlali ngamaqela
abo ukuba badlalele ilizwe labo. Yingxubakaxa ke le.
Indenza ndibe namanyumnyezi le nto. Buphi ubuzwe kula
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maqela kunye nabadlali? Le ngxaki ifuna ingqwalasela yaye
mhlawumbi ithetha ukuba kufuneka sibe nomgaqo-nkqubo kuba
sifuna ukulungiselela iqela eliza kugqwesa ngo-2010.
(Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[Another problem is the one experienced by players who are
not released by their clubs in order that they can report
for national duty in their respective countries. This is a
serious problem. It makes me shiver. Whatever happened to
patriotism? This may require us to draft a policy that
will address these shortcomings, because we want a team
that is going to succeed in 2010.]
We must go beyond the first round during the 2010 World
Cup, and the spadework must start now. Safa is pathetic
and unprofessional.
Abathembekanga. Bathetha iilwimi ngeelwimi ngathi
ngabafundi bakaYesu ngokuya wayenyuka. [Uwelewele.] [You
can never trust them. They speak in different tongues,
like Jesus’ disciples on the day of the Ascension.
[Interjections.]]
We must support the Safa leadership that is trustworthy,
its coaching staff and players, as we try to put together
a winning team for the World Cup that’s coming to our
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shores. We, as the ANC, will close ranks and intensify the
manner and approach in which we deal with the challenges
in responding to the federations, which continue to vilify
our government, and the successes of our democratic state
are used as a pawn by the minority groups to disqualify
what’s just and fair.
Federations need to transform. Thus, every conscious
effort of our sportsmen and women to excel in various
sporting codes, and in helping others grow, contributes in
countless ways to the building of our nation and the
nurturing of a caring and people-centred society. It is in
this context of transformation and the attainment of our
freedom that we must understand the role of sport in the
development of our nation.
In devising our tactics we shall have to display
flexibility without succumbing to opportunism. But it can
be done, because we have the organisation, the leadership
and the cadres capable of seeing the web of ramifications
and relationships that make our struggle so complex and
capable of executing the revolution by drawing on the
extensive armoury of methods and forms of struggle.
There is an abundance of talent throughout the length and
breadth of this country, in our villages and in our
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cities, and it needs to be unearthed and developed. I
often think about how much more successful we could be as
a nation in the international sporting arena if we were
able to draw our athletes from 100% of our population,
rather than 20% or 30%.
A bigger resource pool must surely mean a more united
South African front, keener competition and, therefore,
higher levels of performance. I am sure that several
national federations have signed a performance agreement
with the Ministry of Sport and Recreation regarding
representivity in their teams.
Recently, Saru endorsed a transformation charter. I am
keen to find out whether they have lived up to those
contracts, whether the new charter adopted will indeed be
a guideline in addressing the challenge of transformation
and, indeed, what new targets they have set for themselves
in the year ahead. Clearly the road ahead towards a normal
society remains the key challenge and the sports barometer
against which we measure our progress.
Strangely, sponsors are withdrawing moneys when codes are
being run by black people. For example, if one looks at
boxing, netball and athletics, the moment the African is
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there, they say “we can’t support”. They find all kinds of
excuses to withdraw their support.
In France, we learned that in each federation there is a
government official within each structure to ensure that
policies are implemented to the letter of the word and are
monitored continuously. Perhaps, hon Komphela, we must
implement the same model, in order to ensure that these
federations do comply.
The people we deployed to these structures ended up being
imidlwembe [unruly individuals], so we can’t rely on them.
Instead, we need government officials that are not paid by
the federations but are paid by government, so that they
can continuously do the monitoring and evaluation of the
implementation of the policy and legislation that we pass
in this Parliament. I think the hon Lee will agree with
me, as he was part of that delegation to France. This is
not something new. [Laughter.]
The Minister needs to be praised for the bold steps which
he has taken in terms of the insurance legislation, which
has been introduced as a cover for boxers against injuries
and death; and for the assistance that he has given to the
women’s national rugby team, which will be playing in the
World Cup in Canada this year.
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Nantsi ke ngoku into eza kundibethisa. [For what I am
going to say now, I know that I am going to receive a
tongue-lashing.]
The overlooking of players who perform well during the
Super 14 is unacceptable. Instead, Jake White chooses to
call up players who are supposed to retire. I, however,
understand that the selection of players also has to do
with money, because if the African kids are selected, they
are taking away the money of the white kids.
Yinto ebenza bavale iminyango ke leyo. Siza kuwavula noba
iqanyangelwe ngooqomoyi bamaqhaga, siza kuwavula.
Avulekile amasango. Bafuna ukutya bodwa oontamolukhuni.
[Kwahlekwa.] [That then causes them to shut the doors ever
so tight. We are going to ensure that all doors are open,
no matter what. The doors are open. These arrogant people
want to benefit alone. [Laughter.]]
There is a perception here that rugby is a white sport.
This is wrong. That is why this gentleman wrote me a
letter saying that I must deal with soccer. I am dealing
with all sporting codes, and I was also a rugby player for
that matter. [Applause.] He must therefore understand that
it is not a white sport. [Time expired.]
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Mr E (Cassim) SALOOJEE: Chairperson, those of us who
fought the good fight for representative national sports
teams have taken pride in the meteoric rise of Bryan
Habana, in rugby, and Makhaya Ntini’s sustained
performance at the forefront of the Proteas. With
performances like these, it is tempting to believe that
transformation in sport has come full circle. If we give
in to that temptation we will be betraying our dream of
building a sporting nation that will provide the
opportunity for participation of all, across the wide
spectrum of sporting codes.
While we have made good progress in relation to
transforming our most popular sporting codes, we must
realise that the challenges are a whole lot bigger and
more complex than this. Many of the smaller sporting codes
are stagnating in a mindset of exclusiveness and social
isolation. The development challenges are profound, as
they still lack any meaningful base among the historically
disadvantaged from whom these codes need to draw elite
sportsmen and women.
In some of these sports, the economic barriers to entry,
even at the recreational level, are quite high. Where
sporting codes are highly commercialised and require
substantial investment in equipment, or where they demand
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very special training facilities, they have tended to
remain the preserve of the wealthy.
Socioeconomic exclusion is so profound that it seriously
challenges the possibility of selecting truly national
teams. I would like to illustrate what I mean through
referring to one sport first, that is cycling. In South
Africa cycling is fast gaining ground in terms of
participants, sponsors and supporters. The big cycle tours
have become major events in the South African sporting
calendar. We have international competitors participating
in increasing numbers. Even people who have never felt a
saddle under their rear feel obliged to pretend that they
have an interest in the Argus/Pick ‘n Pay tour.
The growth in cycling has only emphasised its status as an
exclusive sport. Cycling at almost any level requires the
kind of investment that poor people cannot dream of
making. At competitive level, the bikes and other
essential items such as kits are prohibitively expensive.
Added to this fact is that the training facilities are
often inaccessible, and that competing requires transport
for bike and rider. You can begin to understand why there
are so few working class heroes on wheels.
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Given that cycling has exceptionally tough barriers to
entry, one would have expected the relevant national
sporting body to take on transformation in a robust way.
However, this has not been the case. The fact that Cycling
SA was only formed in 2004 has, no doubt, hampered
progress. But the problems don’t stem purely from
structural weaknesses.
The portfolio committee’s interaction with Cycling SA
suggests that we are dealing with an organisational
culture that is out of step with the times and is
generally unreceptive to change. There is, however, some
sense that the requirement of transformation is beginning
to dawn upon Cycling SA. We are told that the
transformation programme is under review and, certainly,
some immediate steps have been taken to expand the
training capacity. For example, four black coaches have
recently completed the first level of an Australian
accredited coaching course. A Khayelitsha-based rider,
Luthando Kaku, will be undertaking a three-month training
course in Switzerland.
The portfolio committee will hold Cycling SA to its
responsibility to develop a transformation programme that
will have an impact at every level. From the individual
clubs, through to local and provincial structures, and
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right up to national and international competition, we
will be watching to see that this programme addresses the
development of sustainable training and coaching
programmes to promote cycling among historically
disadvantaged communities, and the mobilisation of
additional resources to underpin the expansion of the
sport.
However, the responsibility does not end there. Cycling
SA’s exclusion in sports will not be ended by narrow
interventions. It is necessary to move along a number of
fronts simultaneously if you want to make progress.
Major sports sponsors have both the power and the
resources to make a positive impact when it comes to
tackling the economic barriers to participation. Pick ‘n
Pay’s name is synonymous with South African cycling. This
is a company associated with humanitarian projects, and
with good conditions of employment. It would be a shame if
Pick ’n Pay failed to bring a progressive influence to
bear in the realm of cycling.
The challenge must be made even more broadly. To produce
top-flight sportsmen or sportswomen in any particular
code, that sport needs to be embedded in a nation’s
culture. It must be practised at school, at recreational
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level or woven into the everyday lives of people. In these
circumstances, talented children from modest homes can be
spotted, and their talents developed. In some countries,
particularly in Europe, cycling has this tradition.
Unfortunately, among disadvantaged communities in South
Africa, this has not been the case. Furthermore, when
someone like Sifiso Nhlapo, world junior BMX champion
actually beats the odds and makes it to the top, he
doesn’t get the kind of hero status he deserves on home
turf. This is simply because cycling fans are few where
people don’t actually do cycling. We must therefore find
ways to expand cycling opportunities within the daily
lives of disadvantaged communities as a cost-effective
form of transport and as a form of recreation.
Health departments and nongovernmental organisations are
exploring ways of providing cycles free of charge or at
low cost to our people in rural and urban areas, mainly as
an affordable form of transport. These initiatives include
projects such as Afribike and the Bicycle Empowerment
Network, as well as the Department of Transport’s Shova
Lula campaign. We should be doing more than just
applauding these efforts. We should be shouting for more
and facilitating their expansion.
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To make cycling affordable for the majority of South
Africans, we must be able to bypass the exorbitant
commercial market for cycles and cycling paraphernalia,
which is driven ever upwards by the bottomless pockets of
the elite.
I would like to pursue the topic of unchecked
commercialism in sport, and the adverse effect that this
may have on the broader community. A case in point is
golf, and more particularly the proliferation of golfing
estates. Golf quite obviously suffers from many of the
same barriers that plague cycling. It is no accident that
South African stars of the sport have surnames like Els,
Goosen, Immelman, Clarke, Sabbatini. This country has not
produced a major black golfing champion since Papwa lifted
the South African title in Durban decades ago, and was
awarded his trophy by Gary Player outside the clubhouse in
the pouring rain.
The commercialisation of golf is an obvious barrier to its
internal transformation. But it also poses a much wider
threat: the mania to establish super-luxury golf estates
on every spare inch of the Cape coast is a madness that
must not go unchecked. The Cape coast is a glorious
national treasure that we should preserve intact for
generations to come. Instead, we are allowing it to be
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excavated and re-engineered to the unnatural contours
needed for golf. We are privatising access to beaches of
incredible beauty, and we are closing off breathtaking
views to all eyes except those of super-rich golfers.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with golf estates. On
the contrary, they have the potential to create employment
and to contribute to local economic development while the
fortunate users enjoy their sport. The problem stems from
the sheer number of these estates that are in development.
It also stems from the siting of these estates in places
of natural beauty, where public access should be
guaranteed in perpetuity.
The fact is that the natural environment is being
irreversibly changed with little appreciation of the
consequences, and the reality is that the rights of the
public are being infringed for the sporting pleasure of a
privileged few. All of this suggests that we have to look
long and hard at the regulatory processes to understand
why they are failing to offer adequate protection.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member, your
time has expired.
Mr E (Cassim) SALOOJEE: I thank you. [Applause.]
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Mr M T LIKOTSI: Deputy Chairperson, this Budget Vote is
dedicated to Patrick Pule Ace “Mabhekaphansi” Ntsoelengoe,
one of the finest footballers this country ever produced.
He passed away on 8 May 2006. Our country has not been
doing very well in sport of late, let alone recreation.
There can be no enjoyable leisure when your national teams
are losers, instead stress and high blood pressure will
prevail.
The PAC of Azania observes, with dismay, how our sport is
being run and developed nationally. There are not enough
breeding grounds for sportsmen and women in the form of
sports academies to nurture the youth at their early
stages of life. This trend must stop somewhere, and a new
way of sports development must be put in place now or
later.
We underachieve in cricket, rugby and football. We failed
to qualify for the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany. We
were unceremoniously bundled out of the African Cup of
Nations in Egypt; kicked out of the quarter finals of the
Cosafa Cup in Botswana by the lowly Zebras of Botswana ranked 50 places below South Africa. We have to pride
ourselves on a handful of our athletes and sportsmen and
women who excelled in their sporting codes. To them we
say: “Keep up the good work.”
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What our country needs is sport academies and places of
high performance at all levels, that is schools,
universities, provinces and at national level. Sport has
made what Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya are to the
world today. We have the ability to produce athletes and
sportsmen and women of quality, the likes of Eto’o of
Cameroon; Ronaldinho of Brazil; Tiger Woods of USA;
Martina Hingis - the 25-year old of Switzerland; Venus and
Serena Williams of USA; Paul Tergat of Kenya; Marion Jones
of USA; and Mayoyo Aloryi of Ghana.
The government must intervene and invest billions of rands
in sports development. Facilities must be created and
highly skilled sportspersons, administrators and technical
persons must take the lead.
In netball, we congratulate Western Cape Tornadoes on
winning the National Netball League this year. In soccer
we congratulate Mamelodi Sundowns “The Sky is the Limit”
for winning the league. [Applause.]
We further
congratulate Kaizer Chiefs “Amakhosi Amahle” for winning
the ABSA Cup - the cup of dreams.
The PAC supports this Budget Vote. I thank you.
[Applause.]
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Mr R B BHOOLA: Chairperson, Minister, in view of the
department’s performance, the MF refers the House to the
objection we lodged last year to the department
transferring funds to municipalities via the municipal
infrastructure grant to provide sports facilities, amongst
its six priorities.
As predicted, this was a major disaster. Out of R1,3
billion allocated to MIG in KwaZulu-Natal, only R1,3
million was used for sports infrastructure ...
[Interjections.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Order, hon members!
Mr R B BHOOLA: As noted, the department is facing a major
backlog in infrastructural development throughout the
country. In view of this, we hope the Minister’s
undertaking at the sports investment conference held in
London recently to make infrastructure more accessible
will be fulfilled. We assume the department has realised
its error in this regard and will revert to funding the
provinces. This should prove far more productive as
regards delivery.
The MF, however, expresses its confidence in the
department’s objectives. We are pleased with initiatives
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regarding youth development projects, as introduced at
schools. We believe that it’s during these early stages of
their lives that our youth are easily influenced and
sports are a great means to deter them from a life of
crime and violence. It is also at this young age that our
sporting heroes may be discovered.
In the light of this, the MF is concerned as to whether
schools have the necessary funding and resources to
implement a sustainable school sports programme. The
benefits of the department’s mass participation
initiatives are recognised. We, however, would like to
ask: How is the department progressing in establishing 210
hubs, and ensuring one hub in each municipal ward?
Another major aspect on the department’s agenda is the
2010 Soccer World Cup. It is noted that while all the
necessary objectives exist in this regard, a major backlog
exists in delivering on those objectives before 2010. In
the light of this, the MF would like to ask this question:
How effective is the co-ordination, organisation and
monitoring of the preparations for 2010 between the
department, the Department of Environmental Affairs and
management?
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Further, we are pleased at the department’s continued
efforts to balance the sports arena through addressing
gender shortfalls and ensuring the representation of
disabled persons in various sports.
The MF supports the Budget Vote. [Time expired.]
Mr L R R REID: Chairperson, Minister and Deputy Minister,
invited guests, hon members, amidst all the doom and gloom
expressed here today about the poor performance of Bafana
Bafana, allow me, first of all, to congratulate two South
African sports teams that have performed exceptionally
well this past weekend: the KwaZulu-Natal under-15 soccer
team that won an international soccer tournament in
Germany beating Poland in the finals, and the South
African national sevens team that won the International
Rugby Board’s sevens tournament in France by beating,
amongst others, New Zealand and Samoa. [Applause.]
Today I want to focus on school sports. On 17 March 2005 a
memorandum of understanding was signed by the Minister of
Sport and Recreation and the Minister of Education. In
terms of that particular memorandum of understanding, all
selected competitive and representative school sports at
provincial, national and international level have become
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the responsibility of the Department of Education. This
has far-reaching implications.
Previously, under the Department of Education, when a
learner from a disadvantaged background was elected to
play a national tour or go overseas, they had to withdraw
from that team because of a lack of money. Members of the
committee would know how they would phone around asking
members for donations. Now, for the first time in this
country, the Department of Sport will pay for both the
travelling expenses and the accommodation of such
learners. [Applause.]
What is also alarming, in terms of transformation of
school sport, is an attempt by certain white schools to
have competitions during school holidays involving white
teams only. Here we refer to the “jong” or “klein Bokkies”
[junior Springboks] who held a tournament outside Upington
at some stage.
If we thought that this practice was stillborn, it is,
however, still happening in the Southern Cape. It takes
place in my hometown, Riversdale, on the fields of the
agriculture school there. That is why it is important that
we should soon be passing an amendment to the sport and
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recreation Act. We have to use that particular Act to put
an end to this particular practice. [Applause.]
You know why I am raising this issue. The school level is
the first entry point where transformation should take
place. Those kids need to learn how to live and play
together and later represent South Africa. [Applause.]
While school sport was still under the Department of
Education it was administered by Ussasa. I think we must
also thank Ussasa for the role they have played in
advancing school sports since unification. They were just
teachers at the time and some of them did not even know
how to coach but all the same they did a good job.
When school sport left the Department of Education and was
transferred to the Department of Sport and Recreation,
Ussasa was dissolved and that has left a vacuum in terms
of the administration of school sport. Fortunately, during
our public hearings on the budget we heard several
entities that made presentations. First of all, we heard
Sports without Boundaries – a section 21 entity that was
founded by a group of sportspersons, education leaders,
community sports activists and sports volunteers. They
made a very good impression on the committee. As a
committee, we recommended a meeting between themselves and
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the department because I think they are well equipped to
fill that particular vacuum.
We talked here today in terms of the skills levels.
Another entity that met with us was the one which
specialises in rugby, led by the former KwaZakhele Rugby
Union and Saru player, Themba Ledwaba. If you have watched
the Super 14 rugby this year, you would have seen that our
national players in these Super 14 teams passed the ball
as if they had never played rugby before. A player who
will be captaining South Africa, Jean de Villiers, passed
the ball behind his wing most of the time.
So it’s about time we charge these former players, like
Themba Ledwaba, with the task of teaching our kids the
necessary skills. If we don’t teach them at that
particular level they will never learn those skills.
[Applause.]
Some of the national sports federations also run
competitions for learners. Athletics SA has a crosscountry programme for learners and Saru has some junior
rugby competitions. Regarding cycling, individual members
of cycling coach some of our kids. But, I must say that
these happen on an ad hoc basis. As regards Cycling SA,
what we must know about them is that their management
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committee is still lily-white. They have no idea about
transformation.
I think the biggest challenge for the department will be
the provision of sports facilities. There are many schools
in the previously disadvantaged areas that have no sports
facilities at all. While others do have some facilities,
those are not suitable for sport. This is the apartheid
legacy of the provision of skewed facilities along racial
lines.
Another challenge is the provision of sports facilities to
farm schools. Here the problem is the ownership of these
schools and the scarcity of land, because all the land
belongs to the farmer. I propose that the department
should interact with the MECs of education to hold
discussions with farmers to provide land for basic sports
facilities, because we cannot leave those farm children on
their own. They, too, need to enjoy a better life.
The state of the nation address raised the issue of
acceleration regarding the provision of sports facilities.
This is no longer the responsibility of the Department of
Sport but the department is nonetheless expected to play a
leading role in the co-ordination and planning of new
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facilities through the municipal infrastructure grant and
the Expanded Public Works Programme.
However, once again, I want to echo what the Deputy
Minister said, namely that right throughout the country we
met with many councils and to them sport is not a
priority. So, we need to revert to the building for sport
and recreation programme.
Another issue raised in the state of the nation address
was around poverty and unemployment. [Interjections.] Will
you please keep quiet while I am talking? [Laughter.]
Through the upgrading and provision of sports facilities,
short-term employment will be created and that will
contribute to the improvement of quality of life.
Boxing SA was established in terms of the South African
Boxing Act of 2001. They have started their baby champions
league, that is tournaments for boxers in the lower weight
divisions. These tournaments have become so popular that
they are attracting large numbers of spectators.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON: (Ms C-S Botha) Hon member, your
time has expired.
Mr L R R REID: I thank you. [Applause.]
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Mr S SIMMONS: Chair, I rise in support of the Budget Vote.
Kwotas moet versigtig hanteer word ten einde werklike
gelyke geleenthede in sport te bewerkstellig. So moet die
integriteit en gehalte van die onderskeie sportkodes ook
gehandhaaf word. [Quotas have to be handled with care to
ensure that real equal opportunities in sport are
achieved. That is how the integrity and quality of the
various sporting codes should also be maintained.]
The UPSA does not believe that transformation in sport is
merely a matter of numbers but rather the creation of
circumstances and opportunities that will allow every
participant to play his or her particular sport at the
highest level that their talents allow them.
This is an objective that cannot be expected to be
achieved instantaneously, for it is not only about the
improvement of sports facilities, but the improvement of
the level of our sports management too. We must improve
the quality of our coaching abilities and depth. We must
improve the quality and numbers of our sport scientists,
and we must improve the quality and numbers of our sport
physicians and physiotherapists, amongst others. The
Australians have proved that this approach is working
well.
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The UPSA believes that transformation goals and objectives
will be achieved if we follow a bottom-up approach instead
of what currently seems to be a top-down approach. This,
in practice, would mean that schools would be the first
point of departure in achieving transformation, not only
in terms of numbers but rather in terms of the coaching
and exposure to facilities that our youngsters need to
reach their true potential.
We therefore believe that, in conjunction with the
national and provincial education departments, the
Department of Sport and Recreation should intensify its
efforts to address the still lacking presence of quality
sports professionals at schools.
The UPSA supports the programmes that the Deputy Minister
... [Time expired.]
Mr S J MASANGO: Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy
Minister, and fellow members, the ultimate goal of the
Department of Sport and Recreation should be to create the
opportunity for every child to choose in which sporting
code he or she wants to participate. Failure to properly
administer sport, to provide adequate facilities or to
focus on talent rather than race has meant that a lot of
South Africans are simply unable to make that choice.
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UMnyango wezeMidlalo nokuzithabisa uqalene neselela
yokwakha iindawo zemidlalo, lapho zifuneka khona khulu.
Lokhu kungenzeka ngokobana uRhulumende akhe iindawo
ezaneleko zemidlalo emadorobheni nemalokitjhini wesitjhaba
sethu. [The Department of Sport and Recreation is faced
with the challenge of developing much needed sports
facilities. This will only happen if the government
develops adequate sports facilities in the towns and
locations of our nation.]
The enormously high rate of unemployment in South Africa
is well documented. Because of this, many young men and
women dream of escaping from this poverty and unemployment
through sport. But how can they realise their dreams if
there are no sports facilities in their areas?
Ngqongqotjhe, abantu abatlhaga khulu abanganamali yokuya
endaweni lapho bangadlala khona imidlalo abakghoni ukuya
ngombana abanamali. Kodwana wena njengoNgqongqotjhe,
unemali yokwakha iinsetjenziswa lapho kuhlala khona
abantu. Ngakho-ke Ngqongqotjhe nawungabakheliko eendaweni
zabo kufana nokuthi uyababandlulula. (Translation of
isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Minister, extremely poor people are unable to go to
places where they can play sports, because they don’t have
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money. You, as the Minister, have the money to build the
infrastructure where people live. Therefore, Minister, if
you don’t develop sports facilities for them in their own
places, it is like you are discriminating against them.]
One should also congratulate those sporting codes which,
with limited resources, try their best to assist in
building sports facilities. Sadly, there are
municipalities that have sports facilities within their
borders but do not have funds to properly maintain those
facilities.
Many councils also do not consider sport to be a priority.
This, Mr Minister, is where your responsibility comes in
again. You should educate municipalities on the importance
of spending money on sports facilities. I am not saying
they should cut spending on service delivery to
communities. What I am saying is that we need
municipalities to spend money on sport and less on lavish
inauguration parties and buffets. [Interjections.]
Mr Minister, since the municipal infrastructure grant was
introduced the rate at which sports facilities have been
built has dropped drastically. The Minister must seriously
consider the ring-fencing of the money allocated for sport
in order to ensure that the funds intended for sports
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facilities are actually spent on sports facilities. We
will keep saying this until you have done that.
In sport, if you want to see a representative South
Africa, we need to start developing at junior level while
children are at school.
This is not happening in our
townships and rural areas because of lack of available
facilities. Potential Bafana Bafana players are forced to
play sports in which they have no interest or skill. What
happened to the children’s freedom to choose? At the end
of the day, South Africa loses out.
The memorandum of understanding signed between the
Minister of Sport and Recreation and the Minister of
Education is not worth the paper it’s written on. Very
little, if anything, is being done by the Department of
Sport to ensure that development takes places from the
school level, and not only at senior level.
Another alarming issue concerns Boxing SA, Mr Minister.
Boxing SA is a state institute funded by the taxpayer but
it is still flouting laws and regulations. Every year
Boxing SA makes excuses and promises to get its house in
order but nothing has come of these promises.
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Last year the Minister explained that non-compliance with
financial regulations was due to different accounts held
by provinces. These accounts no longer exist yet
compliance has become an even worse problem. The Minister
cannot escape the blame. He failed for two years to
appoint a CEO for Boxing SA. [Interjections.] That is
something which also contributed to non-compliance.
[Interjections.]
Lastly, there are two issues where the department must
seriously ask itself if it is fulfilling the department’s
vision. The first one is the mass participation programme.
What is the use of the department parachuting into a
community with a huge fanfare without ensuring the
sustainability of the programme in that particular area?
If there is no way to measure it’s success, then it is
only a once-off photo opportunity and a waste of one’s
time and money.
The second issue is the provincial sports academies. Not
all these academies serve any clear purpose. Some, in
fact, are just buildings standing empty. Some at least
have an administration clerk twiddling his thumbs. But how
does that develop sport? The simple answer is that it does
not. The purpose behind these academies is not to have a
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clerk doing administration work only; they should be used
to promote sport in those provinces.
We can only change in this country if we build enough
facilities all over the country; if we develop sport from
primary school level; and if we make sure that the
talented children and those who show potential are
mentored all the way up to the provincial level.
Ngiyabonga, Sihlalo. [Thank you, Chairperson.]
Mr C T FROLICK: Chairperson and hon members, the annual
Budget Vote of Sport and Recreation grants us the
opportunity to assess the impact of the programmes of the
department and these of national federations to improve
the quality of life of all South Africans.
The leadership role in the department and in this
committee is taken up by the ANC, and it is underpinned by
the resolutions of the 51st conference of the ANC, which
state that:
The ANC must give the lead in sport and recreation
transformation to promote community development.
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Another key resolution of this conference urges government
to play a central and, where necessary, interventionist
role in the transformation of sport and recreation in
South Africa.
We are thus eagerly awaiting the tabling in Parliament of
the Bill that will deal with transformation in sport. We
could have heard today from the contributions of various
speakers that some of our federations simply have not
bought into the idea of transformation. For some time now,
the portfolio committee has called for a blueprint for
sport to guide these federations to achieve our national
objectives.
Once again, during the debate, speakers have highlighted
the chaotic state of affairs in certain federations and
the lack of co-ordination of programmes. This has led to a
situation where the centrality of transformation ended up
as a side issue on the agenda of sports bodies and is
often used as an excuse to justify the poor performance of
national teams. It is thus expected that this legislation
will not find favour with those political parties who
believe that the development and wellbeing of our people
should be left to market forces.
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The tabling of this Bill will also coincide with a
significant epoch in our history. Twenty-five years ago,
when the anti-apartheid sports movement took the fight
against racial discrimination onto the international stage
by effectively disrupting the 1981 Springbok Tour to New
Zealand, the Minister of Sport, Comrade Stofile, played an
instrumental role in forging international resistance
against the participation of the Springboks and South
African teams in other countries while apartheid was still
in place.
It is thus also significant that the adoption of the
transformation charter by the SA Rugby Union last Friday
coincides with this epoch. Whilst we do agree that
transformation is a process, and we commend Saru on the
adoption of this transformation charter, we need to remind
rugby administrators that the unity process in rugby
started way back in 1990.
As a result, we are growing radically impatient with the
slow and lacklustre approach of certain provincial
entities towards transformation. The charter should
harness and accelerate the pace of transformation in
rugby, instead of starting from the beginning again. The
question is: How different will this charter be from
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previous transformation initiatives? Hopefully, it will
not be a case of old wine in new bottles.
The ANC thus rejects comments attributed to certain rugby
bosses who stated, after this transformation charter was
accepted, that in future it might be acceptable – if there
are good enough reasons – for a white-only Springbok team
to be fielded. We cannot accept that. While it is not our
job to select the national teams, we need to keep
federations accountable to ensure that their selection
policies are aligned to the transformation commitments
they make and the developmental agenda of government.
Allow me, Chairperson, for a few moments, to turn my
attention to the issues affecting sport in the Eastern
Cape. The refusal of Saru to allow the Spears to
participate in the Super 14 franchise competition is an
illustration of the serious challenges faced by rugby in
the Eastern and Southern Cape. The inability of parties to
agree and commit themselves to a shared vision in
preparing the team for Super 14 competitions ultimately
betrayed the hopes and ambitions of supporters in the
region.
We therefore need to reiterate our position that, in
principle, we support a franchise in the South Eastern
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Cape and maintain that no political argument can be made
for the region not to be part of a Super 14 competition in
future. We call on Saru to accept full responsibility for
the future of the Spears and to put a competent board of
directors in place to manage and prepare the team for
participation within the next two to three years.
However, this will necessitate a change in the way rugby
players are contracted in the country. At the moment,
provincial unions are primarily responsible for
contracting these players and thus it gives them absolute
control over the players. The result is that the
provincial interests of the wealthy unions prevail at the
expense of the national interest.
The prevailing norm of leading rugby nations such as New
Zealand is to accept full responsibility for the
contracting of its top players by the mother body itself.
The board of Saru must seriously consider assuming this
responsibility and not relegate it any longer to the
unions. Such a system will fundamentally change rugby and
ensure a more equitable distribution of financial and
human resources amongst the rich union and the poor
unions.
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At the same time, Saru will play a more meaningful role in
managing the players to prevent player fatigue and the
alarming incidence of injuries to their top players.
National teams are national assets and must be managed as
such.
The trouble in which rugby in the South Eastern Cape finds
itself is not a situation peculiar to rugby only. We are
aware and we engage federations in that part of the
country on sporadic incidents of conflict amongst
administrators, whether it be soccer – cricket is a little
bit quiet now and we welcome that – or athletics, and it
is an indication for us of the turmoil in which sport very
often finds itself.
The inability of administrators in the region to get their
house in order impacts negatively on potential
sponsorships, without which sports bodies cannot survive.
Failure to comply with the principles of good corporate
governance and transparency effectively nullifies any
prospects for the region, which historically is the home
of black sportsmen and women.
The question thus arises: What is at the root of the
problem? If we want to be cynical, we can say that there
are racial dimensions involved. That is not the case. The
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funny thing is that on both sides, in all groups, you find
a very representative group of South Africans – from all
races.
The problem is that once these federations go for their
annual general meetings, they don’t accept the outcome and
the result of those AGMs. They thus forever stay in
election mode. They start preparing for the next election
to take place and those who lost out in being elected into
positions either marginalise the other group, or they form
a pressure group which refuses to co-operate. As a result,
there is no unity and agreement on how to advance the
game.
Elected officials execute their duties alongside parallel
structures and splinter groups to pursue their own
interests. Divisions ultimately become institutionalised
where you have two sports councils operating in one area,
and they are also operating along the lines of the divide.
Generally, there is a lack of commitment of leaders in
these sports councils to unite and form one unitary body.
Notwithstanding this state of affairs - it is strange and
it can be explained because the people of that part of the
country love sport – school and club sport remain vibrant.
Recently we experienced a sharp increase in participation
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levels in various communities. The problem is the
leadership of the sports bodies.
To address this matter, members of the portfolio committee
met on three occasions with opposing groups. At the last
meeting, in April, the parties agreed to work towards
unity and have one sports council in place by the
beginning of August 2006. To our disappointment, however,
we learned that one of the groups, after agreeing to this
process, on their own took a flight to Pretoria where they
met with certain government officials and gave a
completely different picture of what is happening there.
We are continuing to engage with them.
Very often, a lot of attention is paid to the bigger
federations such as rugby, cricket, soccer and athletics.
The reality is that there are numerous other federations
where transformation challenges exist. Comrade Saloojee
referred to cycling and there are a lot of smaller ones
that we do not pay the necessary attention to.
Despite these problems and challenges that they have, we
are aware, Deputy Minister, that Cycling SA approached the
Department of Trade and Industry, and they successfully
applied to have the 2006 Argus Cycle Tour declared a
protected event. When we engaged with the officials from
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the Department of Sport we found out that they were not
aware of this development, and one would like that in
future there should be closer co-operation between DTI on
the one hand and the Department of Sport and Recreation on
the other hand to ensure that the benefits of protected
events will also go to disadvantaged people.
In the coming financial year, we will also look at closer
co-operation with the SA Sports Confederation and Olympic
Committee. We have only met them once since their
inception and we are aware that there are various
challenges. We cannot allow a situation to develop where
there is an increasing divide between the portfolio
committee on the one hand and Sascoc on the other. One
instance is where the CEO was fired. We heard about the
sacking of the CEO in the media. That is not acceptable.
We cannot continue like that. We are looking for closer
co-operation.
In the limited time at my disposal, I want to deal with
some of the comments made, the last one being by the hon
Masango on Boxing SA. Yes, Boxing SA does have its
challenges. We have met with them. Whilst all the problems
have not been resolved, it must be stated that the current
administrators have made bold plans and taken steps to
rectify the shortcomings. One is the firing or suspension
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of the managing director. An audit committee has been put
in place and the supporting documents have been given to
the Office of the Auditor-General to deal with the
qualified opinion. We hope that matters will come to a
conclusion very soon.
We also heard certain comments being made about the school
sports programme. I don’t know to which school sports
programme the hon Masango was referring, but the one we
witness when we go out is a vibrant school sports culture
that is developing. There is integration from different
groups taking place and this bodes well for the future.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Ms C-S Botha): Hon member, your
time has expired.
Mr C T FROLICK: The ANC supports this Budget Vote.
[Applause.]
The MINISTER OF SPORT AND RECREATION: Chairperson, I just
want to pick up where the hon Cedric Frolick left off
regarding school sport. You see, the difference between
the hon Masango, Mr Cedric Frolick and Mr Reid, is that Mr
Masango is talking to Parliament about something he has
absolutely no clue about whereas the others are talking
from experience of what is happening.
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Mr Masango was just making a speech whilst they were reevaluating what is going on. He only needs to accompany me
one of these days and I will introduce him to these
programmes. And, as a matter of fact, he will see the
difference between two and three years ago and what is
going on today, including the perpetuation of those
whites-only school competitions.
I intervened in one not so long ago. They do take place.
But, notwithstanding that, the overwhelming majority of
our schools, teachers and communities are involved in the
resuscitation of school sport. I want to inform Mr Reid
that I spoke to them directly in March this year. I spoke
to Mr Ledwaba and his colleagues, including Skhumbuzo
Oliphant and Bomza Nkohla - all of them. I instructed them
to go to their schools and begin to do coaching for their
school children. I am talking about something that is
happening.
I am talking about Sugar Ray Xulu whom we have now
entrusted with the responsibility of coaching football in
KwaZulu-Natal and galvanising his mates into a team of
masters. We were in Giyani to see other masters in
football who are participating in the training of school
kids in the art of playing sport.
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I am not theorising here. In the gallery I know there is
Mr Xandila Mannie who was my captain when I played my last
game last month. [Applause.] I am not just talking about
sport here in Parliament but I am actually doing sport
with the children and our communities. You should have
seen us coaching the under-15 players at Bethalsdorp – how
to pass the ball, Mr Reid, how to tackle and how to drive
and how to organise a ruck. I am not talking about Mr
Masango and his ilk who are just making political speeches
in this House, I am talking about the serious matter of
playing sport.
I am not talking about Mr Lee who wears a cricket jersey
once in a while. [Laughter.] He was not at Adcock when I
was there last month. He should have seen what was
happening on the sports field. He was not at the Gemsa
grounds when I was there in his own ... [Interjections.]
That’s in the past, I am talking about the present. He is
talking about the past. Who started the Gemsa grounds? I
am talking about 2006. I am talking about what is going on
at the Gemsa grounds in respect of sport activism.
Now, this is the difference between us and politicians and
professional parliamentarians who just talk about these
things. One common thing amongst us is that we need money
to get these things done, whether it is incentives, the
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building of facilities or making kits available. We agree
on that.
We need money to make sure that more of our children who
get selected do travel and benefit from the sweat of our
brows. Many of those who are talking here were playing
with the cat when we were sweating for these benefits to
be accessible to our own children. We are still there and
we are still fighting for the accessibility of these
benefits to all our children.
Comrade Gomomo, I was talking to some activists in
Uitenhage, and we are working at reviving boxing in that
great town. We are also working at reviving boxing in this
great city of Cape Town so that the spirit of “Phantom
Killer” - remember the people of Kroonstad used to shout
“Phantom Killer” when Rakgajane entered the ring - the
spirit of “Kid Dynamite” Konzi, Qashe Sithole and other
great boxers, can be resuscitated. That spirit is being
resuscitated in what Mr Reid was talking about regarding
the tournaments that took place last year until the
beginning of this year.
Boxing SA is in the process of appointing a CEO. They have
not had one since 2003. They made interim arrangements by
appointing a managing director who has now been relieved
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of this post because it is unconstitutional to have an MD
in the first place. And, as custodians of that parastatal,
hon members should note that there is nowhere in the
boxing Act where it is said that boxing must be run by an
MD. It is specific that it must be headed by a CEO and we
reported here last year that, to correct all these
administrative lacunas, we will insist that this new board
appoints a CEO. We cannot quarrel with them when they do
that.
I would also like to report that I agree with the speakers
who say that we are looking in only one direction – in the
direction of the big federations. We forget that our
Basetsana team are doing a wonderful job on the football
field. Those junior girls are doing very well. The same
goes for their elder sisters, Banyana Banyana. They are
doing very well.
Our under-23s, Amaglug-glug - if you were watching them
over this past week - are beginning to lay the foundation
of how sport should be played in this country. [Applause.]
And, of course, the SA Rugby Union will be sending their
under-21 representative side to France next week. We must
watch very closely how they perform.
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But, what I want to say to all these federations is - and
I agree with hon Holomisa – we are not going to make a
difference if we simply go for the coaches in terms of
dismissing them and hiring them. I do not think that is a
priority. Whether it is the gymnasts you saw tumbling
outside, football, cricket or athletics, the priority and
the first step for all sport is talent identification. The
second step is the preparation of the athlete – physical
preparation, biokinetics and vascular performance. The
psyche of the athlete is important. We must correct their
mindset and make them ready to literally die for their
country.
When the coach comes, regarding 2010, that coach must find
this ready raw material. I have raised this with Safa. It
does not help to bring in a coach in 2006 and expect this
poor soul to win in 2010 when there is no material. As a
matter of fact, if I were recruited to coach Bafana
Bafana, the first thing I would say is: Show me your
preparation plan. I would then ask: Where did you take
them? How fit are they? How fast are they? How ready are
they psychologically?
I hope, Mr Lee, that when you discuss that amending Bill
you will not only endorse it but also strengthen it to
deliver those things.
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Praatjies maak is niks, maar dis die doen wat belangrik
is. [Talking achieves nothing, it is actions that are very
important.]
Get there and have these things done. The “getjank en
gehuil” [weeping and wailing] cannot deliver the goods. It
is those who carry the burden that must do so.
Lastly, I want to say to Mr Lee that no Minister of the
World Cup has ever been appointed by any country in the
world over the past 100 years. There is nothing like that.
In Germany, the Minister who accounts to Cabinet regarding
the 2006 World Cup is the Minister of housing - in the
same way as the Minister of Sport and Recreation in this
country accounts to Cabinet. There is no add-on. He is
simply deluding himself and misleading this House.
Mr Franz Beckenbauer is the custodian of the success of
the World Cup in Germany. The Minister is the custodian of
the delivery of the government guarantees. That member is
deluding himself and has stated the untruth in this House,
and that is not correct.
I want to thank everybody who has participated. They have
not disagreed with anything we have put forward here. They
have added some twists here and there. I want to agree
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that success on the sports field is directly proportional
to the resources allocated to sport. Please, support this
budget. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
APPROPRIATION BILL
Debate on Vote No 10 – Public Service and Administration;
Vote No 11 - Public Service Commission; and Vote No 12 SA Management Development Institute:
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Madam Chairperson, hon members of this august House,
members of the public in the gallery, representatives from
various interest groups associated with this portfolio including five of our hard-working community development
workers, kids from school, our young citizens in the
making - whose lives are affected and their futures shaped
by what happens in this portfolio, and everyone present
here, I would like to welcome you all here today.
I would like to start out with a quote:
We are on course. Steadily, the dark clouds of despair
are lifting, giving way to our season of hope. Our
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country which, for centuries, has bled from a thousand
wounds is progressing towards its healing.
With these words, President Mbeki began his first state of
the nation address in June 1999.
You will recall that earlier this year the President
returned to the imagery of hope. In February he emphasised
the centrality of the work of this portfolio, referring to
the legitimate expectation our people have – that
government will discharge its responsibilities effectively
and efficiently while honouring the precepts of Batho
Pele.
Time is not on my side. For more detail, I will refer you
to the written Budget Vote document which has been handed
out. I prefer to use this time available to highlight some
of the most strategic issues that concern this portfolio
and also to focus on all those institutions and components
within this portfolio.
As you will see from the programme against which we report
today, this team has a very wide remit, and it is
constituted by the Department of the Public Service and
Administration, the SA Management Development Institute,
the Centre for Public Service Innovation, the State
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Information and Technology Agency, the Public Service
Education and Training Authority and the Public Service
Commission - that merely deals with its budget through
this portfolio.
It is a team that has gained tremendous experience and has
improved greatly on its own performance. However, this
team is not immune against the same challenges and
capacity constraints that bedevil the work of the Public
Service elsewhere. This fact, once again, became evident
during the Public Service imbizo held at Chris HaniBaragwanath Hospital in Soweto on Monday.
As much as public service transformation is about ensuring
the implementation of the government’s agenda in the
different line functions such as health, education, public
works, policing, even sport and so on, transformation of
the Public Service is also about implementation. The
typical challenges it faces include resource availability,
goal unity and commitment, organisation systems and
processes and the complexity of ensuring joint activity,
to mention a few.
We have to ensure that commitments are implemented. For
example, we need to ensure that we can support our
specialist clinicians and nurses to be exemplary
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professionals rather than obliging them to become
managers. We need to ensure that the talk about technology
as a means to support service delivery improvement does
not remain at the level of talk only. We need to ensure
that, indeed, we put in place the means to secure
appropriate training of future generations of public
servants.
We need to ensure that if we talk about complex schemes
regarding co-ordination and integration we can, at the
very least, get the basics right by having messages shared
and passed on to the relevant people in the day-to-day
settings of public administration.
If we are unsuccessful in translating big talk into real
change, our words will ring hollow. I therefore remind my
team, whose business is public service transformation,
that our work is not done once we have prepared a document
for Cabinet decision on a new initiative, no matter how
intense a work process it was to get to that stage. And I
don’t want anyone to misunderstand me. I am not dismissive
of the importance of that part of the process to get to a
good decision.
However, in reality, our work only begins at that stage.
If Cabinet passes our decisions we have only received the
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green light to actually go out and implement. We have to
work at getting the balance right in the allocation of our
efforts between coming up with innovative ideas and
nursing them through to fruition.
We need to develop the stomach to astutely navigate our
own initiatives through difficult terrains of
organisational politics or entrenched interests that go
against some of our transformation initiatives. I am happy
today to assure hon members that I am seeing a difference
in the programmes of action that the directors-general
have committed to and the performance agreements we are
signing.
We are taking heed of the problem in terms of noncompliance with many of our initiatives highlighted by the
Public Service Commission. You will see in the printed
text a number of initiatives that have been taken to
address this matter. Tool kits and guidelines are
developed, introduced to departments and active support
given with their implementation.
The monitoring and evaluation of all our initiatives is
being strengthened, spreading it between a range of
organisations, each with their own peculiar and particular
focus, and their own purpose. Where necessary, we are
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prepared to relook at the assignment of responsibilities
and the issue of devolution of tasks and functions.
We will not shy away from asking some of the difficult
questions and shaping some of the most controversial
debates when we think it makes a lot of sense, from an
organisational structure point of view, to pursue certain
lines which have become politically unpalatable or
contested.
We are also putting in place proverbial teeth to deal with
situations where giving the necessary support is simply
not enough and non-compliance is a persistent issue. We
will propose a rewriting of legislation and regulation
where we deem it necessary to ensure better
implementation.
In this respect, we foresee at least three legislative
initiatives in the foreseeable future. These initiatives
will be the amendments to the current Public Service Act,
the introduction of a legislations framework regarding the
creation of a single Public Service or at least
regulations regarding the governance of public entities.
The past year saw issues of public administration - an
area many a person has confessed to thinking is dry and
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boring, utterly abstract and incomprehensible - come to
life in real drama that would put prime time television
drama to shame. If we were to analyse the headlines as
well as many of the current affairs programmes that have
caught the interest of the public, the principles,
policies and abstractions the members of this portfolio
engage with daily, I am sure each one of us in this House
would be able to cite examples in these categories without
much difficulty, though I have referred to issues without
naming them.
These were examples that have shown the aberrations in our
system, because we have different systems of public
administration for national and provincial administration
on the one hand, and local administration on the other. We
saw examples demonstrating how complex the relationship
that is often referred to as the political administrative
interface can become. It demonstrated the need for a
system that allows for due processes, in the event of such
relationships souring.
We had real life drama that demonstrated the dangers of
senior public servants abusing their office and the
resources they control in the interest of pursuing their
own agendas. This demonstrated the importance of ethical
behaviour and integrity and the damage that corrupt
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behaviour does to the views the population holds regarding
all things official.
We have seen examples demonstrating the importance of
having guidelines that standardise decisions and protect
those who make them when these decisions are being
questioned. There have been examples which demonstrated
the fact that centralisation or decentralisation is not a
matter of either/or but a very intricate balance of forces
and counter-forces.
Some of the examples illustrated the need for proper coordination, since many of the policy issues we deal with
involve a range of organisations. They demonstrated to us
the very different effect that right and wrong
appointments can have in terms of how the public
experiences bureaucracy. In our overall system, the
experiences demonstrate the importance of governance
regarding the principle of separation of powers but also
the imperfections and the limitations of this doctrine in
reality.
If you permit me, I could quite enthusiastically continue
to point out all these public administration day-to-day
dramas to demonstrate to you that the work of this
portfolio is anything but boring or abstract.
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One of the central areas of this portfolio is the macroorganisation of the state. A wide range of issues fall
under this title and some of them have assumed great
currency and political relevance.
As Minister for the Public Service and Administration, I
would be remiss to remain silent when centralisation and
decentralisation or the great centralisation tendencies –
as some refer to it – and the management culture of the
centre of government are discussed by all and sundry in
the way they choose. My position is informed and supported
by the prevailing thinking on organisational theory.
In addition, this portfolio looks at organisational
structures that are desirable in order to effect
redistribution of resources as well as organisational
structures that are supportive of strong economic growth
in the developmental context. I have spoken on this issue
before, both here in Parliament and elsewhere. So there is
nothing new in me advocating this position.
The relationship between the centre and the periphery is a
carefully balanced system. In a highly decentralised
system such as South Africa’s – and this is not the word
according to Comrade Geraldine but an assessment by
analysts that look comparatively at these issues in such a
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decentralised system – it is fundamentally important to
have a strong pulling force at the centre of government
which can hold relatively autonomous units together
through imbuing a shared strategic vision and maintaining
high-level oversight.
This is not a pathological desire to dominate and control
but to maintain necessary functional coherence within a
bigger system. After all, we opted to choose the unitary
state in our Constitution as the form which we adopted. We
have allowed for an executive President in our
Constitution. This form obviously has some accompanying
ways of working and systems that are typical, the world
over.
The desire for a strong strategic and oversight role at
the centre should not be confused with old-style ideas of
micromanaging, hierarchy, inflexibility and command and
control modi operandi. Further to providing coherent
strategic direction and undertaking performance
management, having an interventionist capability at the
centre is a desire that builds on the idea that sometimes
it is necessary to redeploy some from within the core to
ensure active involvement of the core in the more
operational units, or in public administration speak “the
line department and executive agencies”. Of course, the
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challenge always remains for the core to add value to the
way in which these operational units perform.
This way of working and organising can clearly be
distinguished from the models that rely on the command and
control culture. The organisational models that resemble
our thinking regarding the role of the centre of
government in a modern democratic developmental state
resemble some of the most cutting-edge thinking in
organisational design.
In regard to the organisational form required to pursue
our redistribution agenda, I can say the following: it is
a well-known fact that redistributive policy is the most
difficult type of policy to implement. It needs the
strongest internal goal and organisational coherence in
order to pull it off and overcome resistance.
Last year, in an address to the National Council of
Provinces, I cautioned members that they should not be
uncritical in the debate on decentralisation. Although
much can be said for decentralisation, in terms of local
empowerment and direct participation, we cannot ignore the
fundamental inequities in South African society when we
discuss decentralisation. We cannot allow empowerment to
be seen in an entirely localised fashion. It will result
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in the perpetuation into infinity of prevailing
inequities.
For the disadvantaged part, localisation without access to
the larger resource base will give rise to ever-growing
gaps between the haves and the have-nots, the empowered
and the disempowered, thus effectively bringing our ideals
for transforming this country of ours to nought.
We also cannot ignore the fact that the discussion on
decentralisation can very easily play into an agenda
that’s actively seeking to weaken the state in the
interest of a society where the behaviour of the strong
and powerful is unchecked and unregulated, and the citizen
and the individual are at the mercy of market interest.
Regarding this issue, again, I’d want to share the
position. The tide has turned in the international
discussion on public administration. The dominant paradigm
is no longer one that argues for minimising state power in
the interest of an all-powerful market. The current
thinking says a strong state is a sine qua non, without
which neither the market nor the third sector nor the
community sector can flourish. Minimising state power,
therefore, should be an undesirable option for all.
[Applause.]
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I invite those whose mental maps are shaped by extreme
positions, either the Stalinist notions of absolutist
central control or, on the other end, liberalism that
cannot stomach any state control, to broaden the
perspectives with which they are engaging this discussion.
Other configurations of organisation are possible. And to
focus the discussion on the extreme options, as if other
alternatives do not exist, is mischievous and unhelpful.
Given that I firmly believe in the necessity for a strong
state with a particular configuration of roles and
functions between the centre and the operational
structure, we will continue to steer this portfolio in a
direction that will contribute to the building of a kind
of state machinery which is based on ANC policies drawn
from the Freedom Charter, which is necessary at this point
in time. [Applause.]
As part of our ongoing efforts to constantly do better,
we’ve been looking at the governance arrangements internal
to the Public Service and Administration portfolio. From
April 2005 we brought the Centre for Public Service
Innovation temporarily back into the Department of the
Public Service and Administration. This will enhance
accountability and improve co-ordination.
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The SA Management Development Institute, Samdi, is in the
process of reconsidering its institutional form and
strategic direction. In order to assist us with this
important task, I’ve constituted a ministerial committee
under the chairpersonship of Prof Vincent Maphai. I think
he and his team are in the gallery somewhere - could you
stand up so that everyone can see you since you are
accountable. I am looking forward to receiving their
recommendations within the next month.
During its formative years, the State Information and
Technology Agency, Sita, was beset with crippling start-up
challenges. But, in the past couple of years, the
organisation has achieved a remarkable turnaround. And I
would like to express my gratitude for the expert guidance
that was provided by that Sita board under the
chairpersonship of Ms Thenjiwe Chikane, who is sitting in
the space allocated to officials on my right hand side.
She took office in August 2005. [Applause.]
Some of the highlights are that, as a result of
restructured procurement services, the average turnaround
time on tenders has been reduced from 240 to 75 days. The
black economic empowerment component of the Sita-awarded
tenders has increased to over 16%. Revenue has increased
by over 12% and according to unaudited financial
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statements, the debtors’ days decreased from over 80 days
in 2004 to 54 days in 2005.
The Public Service Education and Training Authority is at
last emerging from a history of troubled performance.
During the past year, great strides were made by the
interim board, the Department of the Public Service and
Administration and the Department of Labour in finalising
the institutional arrangements of the PSETA.
What is it that it has done well? It successfully
eliminated all 55 non-compliances reported to the SA
Qualifications Authority and the Education and Training
Quality Assurance audit, and SAQA has granted the PSETA
full accreditation until 2008. It approved accreditation
for 12 qualifications and 12 unit standards that support
general public administration and a further four
qualification standards are in the pipeline.
The year 2005-06 saw the implementation of eight
learnerships for which 3 196 learners were enrolled. I
want to take this opportunity to congratulate those
successful learners who are scheduled to graduate at the
end of July.
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We are in the fortunate position of being able to benefit
from powerful and well-considered feedback from the
broader population through government’s programme of
izimbizo, surveys, Public Service Week and other
mechanisms. In addition, we receive regular and insightful
feedback from the democratic oversight institutions
created in terms of our Constitution, as well as from
parliamentary structures that are related to this
particular portfolio.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the
chairperson, the hon John Gomomo and his committee for the
outstanding work they have done in playing their oversight
role. Amongst the oversight bodies, allow me to thank Prof
Stan Sangweni and his team of commissioners – those who
are with us here today - for the diligence with which they
fulfil their role.
We are firmly in the era of implementation. Much of the
attention of the executive is focused on capacity
constraints. We have already embarked on interventions to
strengthen capacity in the Departments of Housing, Health,
Education, Justice and Constitutional Development, and
Trade and Industry.
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Our contribution has now also extended to include capacity
assessments for the implementation of Asgisa, through the
Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition, Jipsa.
Asgisa includes a strong emphasis on skills development.
This portfolio is closely involved with Jipsa and Samdi
plays the leading role in the project management
initiative sponsored by Old Mutual South Africa.
The people aspect will always remain the most important
factor in the discussion on capacity; and the Public
Service Commission’s view is that notwithstanding the
strides that the Public Service has made in the area of
human resource management, there still remains room for
improvement. Areas such as recruitment and selection,
performance management, human resource planning, the
challenge of HIV/Aids and employment equity need more
attention if the Public Service is to maximise human
potential, as envisaged in Chapter 10 of the Constitution.
We, accordingly, put the programme of action for 2006-07
before you that we believe will begin to address many of
these prevailing shortcomings.
We’ve noted with concern the paucity of long-term human
resource planning in the Public Service. Accordingly, a
project to improve the quality of human resource planning
at the departmental level in the Public Service commenced
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in December 2005. We will request assistance from the
Indian government regarding the development of training
and skills transfer programmes in this area.
Building on the 1999 personnel expenditure review and the
2000 remuneration policy, the Department of the Public
Service and Administration has commenced with a new Public
Service expenditure review that will be released later
this year. A key focus area of this revised remuneration
policy will be the remuneration of professionals and other
scarce occupations.
Medical aid is one of the standard conditions of service
employees expect from an employer of choice. In order to
address some of the problems we have identified in this
regard, we’ve proceeded to register a medical scheme
exclusively for government employees. It is popularly
known as Gems. This scheme became fully operational on 1
January 2006. Membership has grown rapidly and is
currently in excess of 8 500 principal members covering 28
000 dependants.
The new context for Public Service delivery requires a
significant investment in skills development to enhance
performance, productivity, quality and cost-effectiveness.
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The demands of a complex and changing economy require
higher levels of skills and competence.
Public servants will need skills to support people-centred
service delivery and that’s dependent on working with
others, within and outside of government. In this respect,
it is now five years since the launch of our first Public
Service human resource development strategy. A review of
this strategy is planned to inform the development of a
second decision for 2007-10 in the Public Service.
I also need to say that, given the prominence of
information in modern management, we are required to put
in place improved information and feedback systems. While
statistical systems overall have been significantly
improved during the past decade, we are particularly proud
that we’ve moved into the realm of information systems
that can support policy and programmatic interventions.
There is much to be said about service delivery. In this
year of the 50th commemoration of the women’s march, I
would like to focus quickly on the situation of women in
the Public Service.
Statistics continue to show that, whilst the Public
Service has made progress in achieving numeric targets for
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employment equity in terms of race, women still need to be
better represented at leadership levels. At the end of the
2005-06 financial year, the senior management service had
6 727 members, and out of that number, 2 017 were women –
that’s 30%.
We now have taken this commitment forward and Cabinet has
approved that 50% gender representation must be achieved
at all levels of the senior management service by 31 March
2009. [Applause.] We need to ensure that we make that
happen.
People with disabilities remain seriously
underrepresented. In response to this, Cabinet approved
the 2006-10 job access strategy for the recruitment and
retention of people with disabilities.
In the gallery today we have, and I would like to welcome,
Laurentia Mnguni and Zukeya Mohamed, who are the
respective youth Ministers for public service and
administration in Mpumalanga and Gauteng. I would like the
two of them to stand up. I don’t know where they are.
Could they stand up to be seen, please. They have been
part of my day-to-day activities and they have been making
comments on the work in this particular portfolio. They
are sitting far back in the House. [Applause.]
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There is much to be said about community development
workers, learning networks, the Expanded Public Works
Programme learning network, our service delivery review
journal, the national anti-corruption thrust and much else
but time is running out and the clock is ticking.
As I draw this speech to a close, I would like to reflect
on the fact that, in our commitment to the African agenda,
this portfolio is also involved in an extensive
international programme. The African Peer Review Mechanism
is one of the key initiatives that the African Union has
adopted. As a country, we are bringing our scheduled
review to a close.
We have finalised the country self-assessment report that
will be considered by the national governing council on
Friday. We are looking forward to the APRM country review
team coming to South Africa as from 12 July to do the
review of our report. There is also much to be said about
the celebration of Africa and United Nations Public
Service Day on 23 June, but, again, time does not permit.
It would be an omission from my side if I did not talk
about our work in the DRC. I want the team from this
portfolio that has been working in the DRC to stand up the whole team. Some of them are in the gallery and some
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are seated on the right-hand side. [Applause.] This is
part of a team that is taking forward our work in ensuring
that we assist the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s
transitional government in their work around the public
service census. This project remains a priority in the
run-up to elections set for 30 July this year.
This particular portfolio, as part of South Africa’s
commitment, will assist in ensuring long-term
sustainability of the work through the establishment of a
permanent census unit in the DRC Ministry by providing
technical support, and ensuring the implementation of an
integrated human resource management and development
system. We are also involved in the anticorruption and
skills development front as well as the capacity-building
programme, where we are assisting them to strengthen their
school of public service. There is much else to be said
and the clock is still ticking.
At this point, I would like to say that the changes that
were required to make the administration an appropriate
and suitable mechanism to drive nonracial democracy and
development were, and are, massive. Sometimes, when
reflecting on the period that I have been steering this
portfolio, I am grateful that the enormity of the task and
the challenge of the DRC terrain did not reveal themselves
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simultaneously. We detect them incrementally. With
perseverance, the task becomes less overwhelming and more
manageable.
I believe that the initiatives we have embarked upon will
make a huge difference in bringing about the public
administration that this country requires, if we are to
fulfil our hopes. I rededicate myself and my entire team
to working tirelessly to turn all these initiatives into a
success story for South Africa and Africa.
My task is immensely more manageable, thanks to the
extremely generous support that I enjoy from those who are
in the personal and professional domains of my life. I
would like to single out my immediate family: Jabu; my
children, Thando, Themba and Solomzi; my mother who, as
usual, is sitting in the gallery; my mother-in-law; and my
siblings who think that I am an incredible burden at
times.
When I become enamoured with a project, you listen,
encourage and share in the excitement. When I occasionally
get exasperated or tired, you listen, support and
sacrifice your own needs by making less demands on me, and
increasing the share of the responsibility that you carry.
When I debate and argue a point, you stand your ground. To
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you, there is no moral dilemma in speaking the truth to
power. All of you share my love of and commitment to South
Africa, and you know that the personal sacrifice is just
part of what is demanded in the reconstruction of our
country. Words are insignificant in the gratitude I feel
towards all of you.
I want to thank the staff and advisory team that work in
close proximity to me. This category of the team plays a
very specific role in the political and administrative
machinery, and they are often underappreciated for the
contribution they make to allow the overall system to
function. The chairperson of the portfolio committee and
the committee members maintain constructive relations with
me, as the executive head of the portfolio. I would like
to thank them for their role.
I would also like to thank the serving and acting heads of
units within this portfolio and all members of the
respective teams – Richard Levin, Stephen Hendricks,
Odette Ramsingh, Mavuso Msimang and various others. The
nation is looking to to proceed rapidly and diligently
with your work. Our era of hope must translate into
tangible progress and development for our people, lest
hope runs out and pessimism sets in. So I won’t give any
slack and I won’t demand any less. South Africans out
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there demand the best and are entitled to the best. I
thank you. [Applause.]
Mr P J GOMOMO: Chairperson, hon Minister for the Public
Service and Administration, other Ministers who are
present here, members of Parliament, representatives of
organised labour and the public gallery, ladies and
gentlemen, directors-general, Prof Sangweni and all
commissioners, I rise to support the Budget Vote of the
Department of the Public Service and Administration, the
State Information and Technology Agency, the Public
Service Commission and the SA Management Development
Institute.
I further welcome the debate on this Budget Vote, for it
is this debate that gives us an opportunity to share with
this august House and the public how our Public Service
performs against the expectations of the masses of our
people and the objective mandate of our constitutional
democracy.
There is no doubt that this country is much better off
than it was before. There is no doubt that the future
holds much promise for this country, her provinces and her
people, and there should be no doubt in our minds that all
this is because of the once-hated liberation movement, and
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now the ruling political party of the Republic of South
Africa, the ANC.
It is because of this state of affairs that we proclaim
without the slightest doubt that today is better than
yesterday, and tomorrow will be far better than today.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that would promote and maintain a
high standard of professional ethics. We are proud today
to realise that we have since rebuilt our Public Service
from the ashes of apartheid decay into one that has a
culture of morality and ethical conduct, and that we have
put policies in place to manage and guide the conduct of
our officials to be accountable in their call of duty.
For the first time in the history of this country we have
officials who are required by policy and legislation to
declare their interests for public scrutiny. For the first
time in the history of this country we have an instrument
for fighting corruption in the Public Service, in terms of
which the actions of officials are regulated to ensure
compliance with the ethical requirements dictated by the
order of the day.
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Through these instruments to fight corruption we are
succeeding to sustain a culture of ethical conduct,
because more often than not we manage to catch the
culprits, and we will continue to do that, despite the
fact that some opportunists such as the media and the socalled neutral research formations would, from time to
time, scavenge our endeavours and claim the victory of
being the source of exposing acts of corruption in the
country.
We want to state that there should be no doubt in our
minds that all these things are at the level where they
are because of the once-hated liberation movement, and now
the ruling political party of a liberated South Africa,
the ANC.
Of course, in that foundation that we laid, we knew that a
public administration in a democracy is a public
administration firmly rooted in delivery and subjected to
public accountability through the process of parliamentary
oversight, in a clear separation of powers between
Parliament, the executive and the judiciary.
Accordingly, the Portfolio Committee on the Public Service
and Administration held a strategic planning session at
the beginning of this calendar year, where we took a
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decision to entrench and defend the centrality of the
committee in accelerating transformation and service
delivery in the second decade of democracy, while
observing the functioning of other portfolio committees in
the line devolution of responsibilities according to
sectors.
In doing so, we will rise above mere simplistic
complacency and turf silos, and we will insist on
compliance with the ethical standards that we set
ourselves. It is for that reason that we will soon dig
deep into the recent report of the Auditor-General that
found that, among other things, there are some public
servants who did not acquit themselves very well through
nondisclosure of interests and moonlighting.
We are going to engage with that report, and get to the
bottom of the matter, and we will do so because that is
exactly what Parliament has to do, to work very hard to
support our chapter 9 institutions, by ensuring that the
reports they submit to Parliament find their way to
implementation and execution.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that would promote efficient,
economic and effective use of resources. Of course,
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Chairperson, it is an untenable economic reality that,
whereas the needs of the people are not limited, the means
through which to address those needs are perishable and
limited. We can therefore not afford to be wasteful, and
this is what marks a difference between our new
dispensation and the extravagant and wasteful apartheid
system, which would squander the limited resources to
sustain the evil system.
They would build so-called administrative headquarters to
appease their puppets and fool them into believing that
they were being serviced. They would duplicate costly
service delivery and sporting facilities, only divided
through a thin line of ethnicity, tribalism and racialism.
Some of these poorly planned developments of apartheid
convenience are becoming white elephants for us today, as
we may not find any justification for their continued
existence but we also do not want to be seen to be on a
drive to simply destroy them.
Today we are here to do an introspection of our
performance against this objective of being efficient,
economic and effective, and it comes out clearly that the
budget process enshrined in our policies and legislation
is meant to achieve this, as, through this process, we
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have departments communicating their service delivery
plans, and committing themselves to spending the money on
those plans, either over a fixed-year plan or over the
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period.
As can be seen even in the current budget we are debating
today, we have different programmes on which the
commitment of resources is based. The same departments
have a duty to come back to this Parliament six months
after each financial year, through their annual reports,
to account as to whether they spent the money efficiently,
economically and effectively against tangible service
delivery programmes, as contained in their strategic plans
and budgets. We have no hesitation in stating that there
is general compliance with this accountability
requirement, but we have noted that there is room for
improvement.
As a portfolio committee, and in line with our resolution
to put ourselves at the centre of insisting that our
public administration complies with the foundation we
laid, we are going to call on departments to appear before
us and account for qualified audit reports on their annual
reports, and we have already scheduled the first such
appearances, which include the following departments:
Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Department of
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Housing, Department of Health, Department of Social
Development, and Department of Transport. Be ready, we
want to see you.
Some will wonder why it should be so important to insist
that there should be underspending against budgets,
because there are those individuals who adhere to the
school of thought that one should not be worried about
that, and should only be worried if there is
overexpenditure. That is not how we do things in this
current dispensation. We say that underspending against a
budget is just as bad as overspending, and we call for
accountability in both instances.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that must be development-oriented.
It is against this commitment that today we see a public
administration with a corporate culture and with
programmes clearly meant to fast-track development and to
eradicate poverty in order to ensure a better life for
all.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that must provide services
impartially, fairly, equitably and without bias. We did so
because of the understanding that a public administration
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of a democratic South Africa should be a public
administration for the people.
In order to achieve this objective, we have introduced a
service delivery culture and standards, commonly known as
Batho Pele, which is rooted in the desire to put people
first in the service delivery provision by our public
administration.
As we debate this Budget Vote today, we are proud to
realise that this culture of putting people first is an
instrument that has become commonly known in our system of
public administration, and is helping to drive the process
of making sure that we have an accountable administration
based on the expectations of the people.
It is also through this development that we have taken
democracy to the service delivery points and empowered the
people to take charge of their own destiny in terms of the
extent to which they want to be receivers of services
rendered by the state.
Of course, it may sound unfair if I did not mention the
demonstrations we have seen in recent times, demanding the
delivery of services, that caused some in this House to
jump to the conclusion that such demonstrations signalled
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a general dissatisfaction with our record of service
delivery, and they began counting their chickens before
they were hatched to pronounce themselves victors, only to
be shocked at the end when the people turned out in large
numbers to vote for the ANC. Even where spoilers got
involved and the situation got out of hand, we still
maintain that such acts are common manifestations of
democracy.
But I would be failing in my duty if I did not reflect on
the failure of some public servants to comply with the
Batho Pele principles. There are those people who will
sing Batho Pele like a strange song for convenience, while
they do the opposite of the provisions of the Batho Pele
principles, particularly those public servants that
entered our system through the sunset clauses of the
Codesa negotiations and those inherited from the previous
administrations of the apartheid structures.
Some of these people are just square pegs in round holes.
They do not match the challenges. What is frustrating is
to note that in the majority of cases these individuals
are doing these things deliberately. They resist change,
yet they remain in their positions. We must make it clear
that they will not be allowed to obstruct us forever and
that their days in our administration are actually
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numbered. [Applause.] It is high time that they begin to
pack their bags and in fact leave before we push them out.
[Interjections.]
It would be wrong of me only to point a finger at those
public servants we inherited and turn a blind eye to some
rotten apples from the post-apartheid era of recruitment.
The people talk to us as we do constituency work and tell
us that there are some new recruits who will subordinate
the Batho Pele principles to what they believe to be their
contribution in the liberation struggle.
It is time we made it clear that we will stop at nothing
to insist on compliance with the Batho Pele principles,
and that we will give no quarter to detractors who are
hell-bent on seeing us compromised in our drive for a
clean administration. People must simply comply, comply
and comply, or they must go.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that must respond to the people’s
needs and that must encourage the people to participate in
decision-making, because we knew that the public
administration of a democratic South Africa would be a
public administration for the people and by the people.
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Through izimbizo, citizens forums and the integrated
development planning processes, the people are taken on
board in terms of joining their government to determine
their own destinies and service delivery priorities.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that must be accountable. Within our
system of public administration there is a Public Service
which, among other things, must be loyal in the execution
of the lawful policies of the government. Our Public
Service is the delivery arm which at all times executes
that mandate as determined.
The effectiveness of any public service is seen through
the actions of individual public servants deployed to the
various departments of our government.
The ten-year review of our public administration suggests
that we have gone far as a government in terms of policymaking and that our challenge is to ensure the
implementation of those policies. We, as Parliament,
should therefore intensify our oversight role to ensure
that this implementation takes place as expected.
An important component of our public administration is the
fact that we created an independent Public Service
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Commission so that we may have effective professional and
technical oversight to monitor the implementation of
policies, to ensure that there is effective service
delivery for improving the lives of the people.
A quick glance at the operation of this important organ of
the public administration family suggests that we need to
do an assessment of how independent this independent
Public Service Commission is and whether it is not somehow
psychologically compromised in terms of budgetary business
and the fact that it does not have enforcing powers in
terms of its oversight.
The portfolio committee has resolved to lead a discussion
on this matter and we believe that we will benefit from
the experience, as will all those concerned in this
matter.
As we laid the foundation, we committed ourselves to a
public administration that must foster transparency. I
think we will all agree here that this is one area where
we are doing well. Gone are the days when things would be
swept under the carpet and only the bright side of things
was exposed.
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The people are entitled to information about issues of
governance. They know the budgets and the plans on which
such budgets are based. In terms of the Access to
Information Act, the people are even entitled to
information held by the state under conditions contained
in the said piece of legislation.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr G Q M Doidge): Order! Hon
member, your time has expired.
Mr P J GOMOMO: I thank you, Chairperson. I must thank all
the committee members, the portfolio committees, and the
Whip who is really on his toes trying to ensure that the
committee is doing the correct thing. I thank you,
Minister, for all the good work that you are doing for us.
Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Mnr K J MINNIE: Agb Voorsitter, agb Minister, kollegas,
gaste, ons het tot dusver geluister na ʼn klomp bekende
retoriek in die rigting van sentralisasie. Eerstens is
daar my gunsteling onderwerp vandag van die afgelope twee
jaar, naamlik die vestiging van ʼn enkele Staatsdiens.
Die afgelope vier of vyf jaar het die ANC baie oor ʼn
voorgestelde enkele Staatsdiens te sê gehad. In wese,
dames en here, wil die Departement van Staatsdiens en
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Administrasie ʼn uniforme Staatsdiens onder sy eie gesag
skep. Die departement sal alle aanstellings in alle
munisipaliteite, sowel as in alle provinsiale en nasionale
staatsdepartemente, beheer. Die departement sal ook die
bevoegdheid hê om staatsdiensamptenare vertikaal te
ontplooi, met ander woorde van een regeringsfeer na ʼn
ander, asook horisontaal, met ander woorde van een
munisipaliteit na ʼn ander.
Die Minister sal dan die mag hê om byvoorbeeld – en
luister mooi – ʼn DA-beheerde stad soos Kaapstad lam te lê,
deur amptenare hot en haar te verplaas en ANC-amptenare
strategies te plaas om weer die politieke mag te bekom.
Die Minister moet vir ons sê of dit die bedoeling is dat
artikel 57-aanstellings ingevolge die Wet op Munisipale
Stelsels ook hierdeur geraak sal word.
Die President en die Minister is op rekord dat daar aan
die einde van die jaar wetgewing ter tafel gelê gaan word
om aan ʼn enkele Staatsdiens beslag te gee. Dit blyk uit
beplanning dat daar teen die middel van die jaar tegniese
wysigings aan die Staatsdienswet aangebring gaan word, wat
na my mening die weg gaan voorberei vir wetgewing oor ʼn
enkele Staatsdiens. Dit is onverstaanbaar hoe die Minister
en die departement dit gaan regkry om oorkoepelende
wetgewing daar te stel wat beheer gaan uitoefen oor
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staatsdiens-, provinsiale- en plaaslike
owerheidswetgewing.
Miskien moet die Minister vandag vir ons by dié
geleentheid verduidelik hoe die proses gaan verloop en
watter wet oor watter ander wet gaan baasspeel. Die DA is
daarvan oortuig dat ʼn enkele Staatsdiens ʼn onhanteerbare
mega-burokrasie sal skep en ʼn verdere daling in personeel
se moraal sal meebring. Albei dié gevolge sal die vermoë
om dienste te lewer ʼn gevoelige slag toedien.
Tweedens, agb Voorsitter, kan ek nie nalaat om die
Minister geluk te wens met haar twyfelagtige prestasie om
in beheer te wees van die departement met die grootste
besteding op die jaarlikse begrotingspos-partytjie nie.
Minister, R489 681 mag miskien nie vir u baie geld wees
nie, maar dit is baie geld vir die mense daarbuite wat aan
swak dienslewering blootgestel is. Ons sien met
belangstelling uit na die Minister se verduideliking
waaraan sy dié enorme bedrag verlede jaar bestee het. Ek
vertrou dat vanjaar se “gala dinner” baie meer
bekostigbaar sal wees. (Translation of Afrikaans
paragraphs follows.)
[Mr K J MINNIE: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, colleagues,
guests, up to now we have listened to a lot of well-known
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rhetoric about centralisation. Firstly, today there is my
favourite subject of the past two years, namely the
establishment of a single Public Service.
Over the past four or five years the ANC has had a lot to
say about a proposed single Public Service. Essentially,
ladies and gentlemen, the Department of the Public Service
and Administration wants to create a uniform Public
Service under its own authority. The department will
control all appointments in all municipalities, as well as
in all provincial and national state departments. The
department will also have the power to deploy public
servants vertically, in other words from one sphere of
government to another, as well as horizontally, in other
words from one municipality to another.
The Minister will then have the power, for example – and
listen closely now – to paralyse a DA-controlled city such
as Cape Town, by transferring officials left and right and
placing ANC officials strategically in order to regain
political power. The Minister must tell us whether it is
the intention that section 57 appointments in terms of the
Municipal Systems Act will also be affected by this.
The President and the Minister are on record as having
said that legislation will be tabled by the end of the
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year to establish a single Public Service. Planning
indicates that technical amendments will be made to the
Public Service Act by the middle of the year, which in my
opinion will pave the way for legislation regarding a
single Public Service. I cannot understand how the
Minister and the department are going to succeed in
drafting all-encompassing legislation that is going to
exercise control over Public Service, provincial and local
authority legislation.
Perhaps the Minister should explain to us on this occasion
today how the process will be followed and what Act is
going to take precedence over what other Act. The DA is
convinced that a single Public Service will create an
unmanageable mega-bureaucracy and will result in a further
lowering of staff morale. Both these consequences will
have a detrimental effect on the ability to deliver
services.
Secondly, hon Chairperson, I cannot neglect to
congratulate the Minister on her dubious achievement of
being in control of the department with the highest
spending on the annual Budget Vote party. Minister, R489
681 may not seem like a lot of money to you, but it is a
lot of money for the people out there who are exposed to
poor service delivery. We look forward with interest to
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the Minister’s explanation as to what this enormous amount
was spent on last year. I trust that this year’s “gala
dinner” will be a lot more affordable.]
This year the Minister has shown precious little
leadership in tackling her department’s failure to ensure
service delivery. During its oversight visits at the end
of last year, the portfolio committee found the Public
Service to be in a shocking state.
Verder, agb Voorsitter, hoef ons nie vandag met mekaar te
twis oor Suid-Afrika se groot gebrek en tekort aan mense
met die nodige vaardighede nie. Dit is ʼn gegewe, dit is ʼn
feit wat oral kommer wek. Dit is ʼn realiteit wat ons
vinnig inhaal. Dit is ʼn ernstige saak wat onmiddellik
toegespitste aandag nodig het. Menige positiewe
beleidsrigtings, goed bedoelde inisiatiewe en uitvoerbare
programme is besig om ineen te stort weens die tekort aan
goed opgeleide mense.
ʼn Driejaar-studie deur die RGN het laat in 2003 aan die
lig gebring dat Suid-Afrika ʼn kritiese tekort aan
spesifieke tegniese vaardighede gaan hê. Tussen 1986 en
1998 was daar reeds ʼn afname van 13 249 vakleerlinge wat
per jaar in die totale arbeidsmark opgelei is. Op ʼn vraag
aan die Minister of die Staatsdiens sedert Januarie 2000
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verklein of vergroot is, was haar antwoord soos volg:
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Furthermore, hon Chairperson, we do not have to argue
with each other today about South Africa’s great lack and
shortage of people with the necessary skills. It is a
given fact, a cause for concern everywhere. It is a
reality that is rapidly catching up with us. It is a
serious matter which needs immediate focused attention.
Many positive policies, well-intended initiatives and
feasible programmes are failing because of the shortage of
well-trained people.
A three-year study by the HSRC indicated late in 2003 that
South Africa was going to have a critical shortage of
specific technical skills. Between 1986 and 1998 there was
already a decrease of 13 249 apprentices who were trained
in the total labour market annually. When the Minister was
asked whether the Public Service had become smaller or
larger since January 2000, her reply was as follows:]
The size of the Public Service is determined by the
service delivery imperatives and priorities of government,
in order to fulfil the constitutional requirements of a
developmental Public Service. The number of employees is
currently larger than in January 2000.
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In Desember 2000 was daar 1,041 miljoen staatsamptenare en
in Desember 2005 was daar 1,077 miljoen staatsamptenare.
Agb lede, ʼn vermeerdering van 34 232 siele. Die realiteit
is ʼn vergrote Staatsdiens met minder opgeleide mense en
swakker dienslewering by die dag.
Op ʼn parlementêre vraag oor hoeveel amptenare pakkette of
vervroegde aftrede sedert 2001 geneem het, het die
Minister soos volg geantwoord: (Translation of Afrikaans
paragraphs follows.)
[In December 2000 there were 1,041 million public servants
and in December 2005 there were 1,077 million public
servants. Hon members, that is an increase of 34 232
people. In reality there is a larger Public Service with
fewer trained people and service delivery that is
worsening by the day.
In response to a parliamentary question on how many
officials had taken severance packages or early retirement
since 2001, the Minister replied as follows:]
Since 1 January 2000 no employer-initiated severance
packages were granted to employees in the Public Service.
A total of 9 295 employees, however, opted for employeeinitiated severance packages. A total of 68 121 employees
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retired from the Public Service during this period, which
includes employees who took early retirement.
An HON MEMBER: Why?
Mnr K J MINNIE: Die vraag ontstaan: hoeveel van die mense
wat vroeg afgetree het, was goed opgeleide en vaardige
mense? Dít is deel van ons probleem. Ons sit hier met ʼn
veelkoppige draak wie se bedreiging van die hoogste,
professionele vlak tot op die werkersvlak sigbaar is en
ervaar word. Dit geld vanaf patoloë tot
vragmotorbestuurders.
Op die boonste vlak is die mense fisies net nie meer daar
nie. Dit is onder andere die gevolg van die Regering se
beleid van regstellende optrede wat daartoe gelei het dat
baie kundiges eenvoudig landuit is. Op die onderste vlak
is die mense fisies teenwoordig, maar dit is mense sonder
vaardighede.
Die ergste is dat die kundigheid wat daar nog is, só
uitgestoot word, dat hulle later ook die hasepad kies.
Swak dienslewering op alle vlakke waaroor klagtes by die
dag meer word, kan basies toegeskryf word aan die gebrek
aan kundiges.
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Op ʼn vraag aan die President oor die Regering se standpunt
oor of swart kandidate bo bruines aangestel moet word, was
die President se antwoord dat die Regering eerder gelyke
behandeling voorstaan. En ons stem daarmee saam.
In Beeld se hoofberig van 22 Mei 2006 skryf die redakteur
dat gelyke behandeling ʼn welkome stap in die regte rigting
van nie-rassigheid is. Nou moet die President nog net die
ander groepe in die land – onder meer die wittes, Indiërs
en Sjinese – ook gelykstel. Indien dit gebeur, sal daar
reeds ʼn groot sprong na die oplossing vir die gebrek aan
kundigheid gegee word. Die resultaat van alles wat ek nou
gesê het, is dat die onderste en armste deel van die
bevolking die swaarste ly, weens swak dienslewering.
AGB LEDE: Hoor, hoor!
Mnr K J MINNIE: Korrupsie is die een aspek van die
samelewing wat saam met swak dienslewering en ʼn gebrek aan
kundigheid hierdie land kan lamlê. Die hoof van die
Skerpioene het onlangs aan die Portefeuljekomitee oor
Justisie bevestig dat korrupsie tans die tweede grootste
misdaad in die land is. As voorsitter van die antikorrupsieforum, agb Minister, het u ʼn verantwoordelikheid
om die totale samelewing te betrek en nie net sekeres nie.
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Die DA het ʼn bydrae om te lewer en wil dit graag lewer,
soos reeds uiteengesit in ʼn skrywe van die voorsitter van
die kommissie. Die Minister het verder na al die jare nog
nie daarin geslaag om beheer te neem oor die verklaring
van amptenare se belange nie. Die agb voorsitter van die
portefeuljekomitee het netnou daarna verwys. Die gesloer
hiermee moet nou eindig en dit is tyd dat dit na die tafel
gebring word.
Dames en here, ter afsluiting, ʼn Staatsdiens waar daar ʼn
gebrek aan etiek en waardes, toewyding, stiptheid,
dissipline, getrouheid, eerlikheid en oorgawe vir jou
roeping is, is gedoem. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation
of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Mnr K J MINNIE: The question arises: how many of the
people who took early retirement were well-trained and
skilled people? That is part of our problem. We are
dealing here with a multi-headed dragon whose threat is
visible and is being experienced from the highest,
professional level to the workers’ level. This applies to
workers as divergent as pathologists and truck drivers.
At the highest level the people are no longer there
physically. This is, inter alia, the result of the
government’s policy of affirmative action which caused
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many experts simply to leave the country. At the lowest
level the people are present physically, but these are
people without skills.
Worst of all the experts who still exist are being pushed
out to such an extent that they eventually also flee the
country. Poor service delivery at all levels, which is
causing more complaints by the day, can basically be
ascribed to the lack of experts.
In reply to a question to the President regarding the
government’s standpoint as to whether black candidates
should be appointed in preference to coloureds, the
President said that the government was rather in favour of
equal treatment. And we agree with that.
In the leading article in Beeld on 22 May 2006 the editor
states that equal treatment is a welcome step in the right
direction towards nonracism. Now all the President still
has to do is to equalise the other groups in the country –
inter alia the whites, Indians and Chinese. If that
happens, great strides will have to be taken in the
direction of a solution to the lack of skills. The result
of everything that I have just said is that the lowest and
poorest part of the population is suffering the most,
because of poor service delivery.
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HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!
Mr K J MINNIE: Corruption is the one aspect of society,
together with poor service delivery and a lack of skills,
which can paralyse this country. The chief of the
Scorpions recently confirmed to the Portfolio Committee on
Justice that corruption is at present the second-biggest
crime in the country. As chairperson of the anticorruption forum, hon Minister, you have a responsibility
to involve society as a whole and not only certain people.
The DA has a contribution to make and would like to make
it, as was set out in a letter from the chairperson of the
commission. Furthermore, after all these years the
Minister has still not succeeded in taking control of the
declaration of officials’ interests. The hon chairperson
of the portfolio committee referred to this a while ago.
This procrastination must now come to an end and it is
time this matter is brought to the table.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, a Public Service
lacking in ethics and values, dedication, punctuality,
discipline, loyalty, honesty and commitment to one’s
vocation is doomed. I thank you. [Applause.]]
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Prof E S CHANG: Chairperson, Minister, chairperson of the
committee, hon members, the IFP would like to acknowledge
the importance of this debate, which focuses on four
important arms of the government: the Department of the
Public Service and Administration, the SA Management
Development Institute, the State Information and
Technology Agency and the Public Service Commission, that
are primarily responsible for service delivery.
My colleague Usha Roopnarain was supposed to present this
speech. She is away on maternity leave. The following is
essentially her thoughts on the debate.
Despite the successes of the Department of the Public
Service and Administration, enormous challenges remain,
the main one being the exodus of skilled workers from
much-needed professions. My speech is premised on the loss
of scarce skills. In KwaZulu-Natal there are more than
26 000 vacancies for medical specialists and emergency
workers.
Some scholars feel that the brain drain may fuel the
vicious cycle of underdevelopment and cost poor countries
the very people who are able to resist corruption and bad
governance. Devesh Kapur and John McHale argue in their
book Give Us Your Best and Brightest that the loss of
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institution builders, hospital managers, university
department heads and political reformers could trap
countries in poverty.
Developing a coherent and targeted strategy to meet skills
gaps is tied to the fact that South Africa is a
continental leader in the provision of high-quality
tertiary education relevant to the demands of a rapidly
globalising, competitive, information-driven world. These
skills are readily transferable and in high demand in
industrialised countries.
South Africa is the number one host country for
international students in Africa and compares favourably
with the rest of the world. But South Africa has not
developed a coherent policy to welcome international
students as potential job-seekers, as other countries are
doing. South Africa must be part of the race to attract
the best brains.
In developing the ability to attract skills quickly, South
Africa needs to take into consideration that
industrialised countries are also experiencing a brain
drain. What can South Africa do?
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In managing the need to import skills, the task team put
together by the Deputy President will need to develop a
coherent human-resource database quantifying specialist
skills required in government sectors and business. The
task team will need to map out a comprehensive recruitment
strategy to compete globally for people with high-level
skills.
The recruitment drive must go beyond individual Ministers’
initiatives in seeking to identify skills needs in their
particular departments. The recruitment strategy should
take into account the fact that South Africa can attract
skilled people in the health care profession precisely
because of experiences that only the South African
environment can provide. The drive should tap into the
skills pool that exists in other countries, whose citizens
wish to make South Africa their home.
Press reports of late show the South African government is
on a “shopping spree” for skilled people, as one
journalist put it. There has to be a “skills revolution”,
as proclaimed by the Deputy President recently.
Professional skills are desperately needed as the country
“moves into higher economic gear”, she declared.
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The IFP believes that the skills shortage needs to be
dealt with as a top government priority. There are far too
many graduates that are unemployed. There is too much
dependency on foreign skills, dear hon Minister. The
question I ask is: What about retraining our own people?
Here, the SA Management Development Institute can move
away from the same curriculum and begin training where
skills are needed. Government has to be serious about this
and put people first. The unemployment figures are
soaring; and HIV/Aids is decimating our most productive
force.
In one advertisement, a Saudi Arabian food company
advertised for a series of highly specialised jobs in
which the ad declared unambiguously, “highly competitive
financial packages will be tailored to attract the best
talent available”. It is significant that these
international companies now advertise aggressively in
South African newspapers.
One weekly employment supplement consisted of 40 pages
packed with government, municipal and parastatal jobs.
Week after week, newspapers carry more and more job ads,
and week after week they are not filled. Looking at the
qualifications needed to meet the requirements of most of
the posts, it’s no wonder. Given the paucity of skills
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within South Africa’s black sector, the government will
continue its jobs merry-go-round until the whole public
sector implodes upon itself.
It is no wonder that the cream of our people are being
poached overseas. And why not? Why bother to apply when
your chances of getting the job are virtually nil?
During our oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal hospitals,
namely the Northdale Hospital and Grey’s Hospital, we
found that the ratio of doctor to patient is one to 300.
How does one define quality of service? How much time is
spent on interacting with the actual patient? Very little.
South Africa’s IT performance is slipping. The World
Economic Forum Global Information Technology Report for
2005-06 ranked South Africa 90th on a list of 115
countries with regard to the availability of scientists
and engineers. There is a huge shortage of air traffic
controllers in South Africa. They are being lured
overseas, and not enough people are undergoing training to
replace them, according to the trade union Solidarity. The
biggest psychiatric hospital in the country has only one
psychiatrist and one psychologist on its staff. There is
also a shortage of between 1 200 and 2 000 engineers in
South Africa at present.
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What is to be done? The IFP believes that it is time for
government to relook at the exodus of skills, to better
incentivise jobs and to halve unemployment. In terms of
the PSC, the commission has produced some excellent
reports. The calibre of research is of an exemplary
quality, but very often they fall short of carrying out
the recommendations. They need to be more accountable.
This is where our portfolio committee can come in.
Here, I would like to thank our chairperson, the hon John
Gomomo, and all the members of this portfolio committee
who have managed to steer the ship through some turbulent
water. The IFP supports the budget. Thank you. [Applause.]
Ms M J J MATSOMELA: Chairperson, hon Minister and other
Ministers present, hon members, distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen, the responsibility of the SA
Management Development Institute, Samdi, is capacitybuilding, as a specialised part of the present wider
emphasis on building the capability of the state.
Samdi’s programme makes a vital contribution to a strong,
efficient and effective Public Service, which can meet the
professional development needs of public servants.
However, its role must not be underestimated; it plays a
vital role. It relates to the ANC’s emphasis on ensuring
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an appropriately capacitated and well-skilled public
servant who delivers services to the people. Such a public
servant places people first, as emphasised in the
principles of Batho Pele.
It is important to reflect on what is meant by
“appropriately capacitated public servants”. Samdi has a
very important role regarding what this means. The
Department of Public Service and Administration and the
Public Service Commission have done work on this topic.
However, it is important for Samdi to take it further.
In this regard, the difficulties noted in the Public
Service report of 2006 concerning the implementation of
the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act must be taken
account of. It is not only in courts but also in many
Public Service institutions, especially at local
government level, that the administration of justice has
to take place.
We must be truthful about the history on which the present
is built. It is an absolute truth that people, especially
in remote areas, were not recognised by the apartheid
bureaucracy. The result is that, under apartheid, the
Public Service and Administration system did not provide
basic services such as clean running water, proper
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sanitation, safe and secure social service paypoints,
properly serviced roads, schools, clinics and hospitals
for the masses of poor black people in rural areas.
[Applause.]
Because the ANC has a contract with the people, and
because it is a responsible and accountable government of
the people, it aims to put in place a different
bureaucracy; different from the apartheid bureaucracy
where public servants were rubberstamping separate and
unequal service delivery.
This developmental state needs a bureaucracy in which
public servants administer services on a much more equal
basis than ever before. In order to do so, we require a
public servant who is committed to equalising service
delivery through every Act of the Public Service and
Administration, whether it is in a court of justice, a
rural clinic or a primary school.
As mentioned earlier by other speakers, the budget is a
developmental tool. It is a tool through which we believe
that the Public Service and Administration system must be
enabled to roll out programmes that will improve the lives
of the people.
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In this regard, we note the 23,1% increase from the 200203 to 2004-05 financial years to strengthen Public Service
along the principles of Batho Pele. This allocation is
certainly welcome as it is in line with the aim of the
liberation movement to ensure a government that is focused
on the needs of the people.
As our President mentioned in the state of the nation
address earlier this year, this is a period of hope during
which the ANC-led government is stressing the need to
accelerate change. It stresses the need to accelerate
delivery among all sections of the population. It stresses
the need to unify and integrate service delivery across
the three spheres of government.
To do so, we need a management development institute that
ensures the development of courses that capacitate public
servants to deliver services that are people-centred.
These courses would ensure that public servants are more
committed to their tasks and that they would carry out
their duties proudly to improve the lives of the people
while continuing to deepen their knowledge and skills
base.
This training of public servants should be thought of as
the backbone of the developmental state. It is a
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developmental attitude that would ensure the acceleration
of service delivery to the people in all areas, more
especially in the rural areas where so many people need
assistance to live better.
The 2004-05 financial year has been characterised by some
significant milestones towards improving our public
servants by Samdi. It saw the introduction of various
internal structures and systems to improve Samdi’s
operations and service delivery. These include, among
others, firstly, a redesigned quality development and
assurance system; secondly, a streamlined monitoring and
evaluation function through an electronic statistics
system; and thirdly, a blueprint to establish Samdi’s elearning capacity.
A further noteworthy achievement has been the successful
implementation of Samdi’s new training model, which
involves strategic partnerships with key departments to
strengthen their capacity to deliver on their core
functions.
Samdi continues to develop quality standards, guidelines
and norms for courses aimed at capacitating public
servants. These courses will ensure the development of key
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skills that public servants in all three spheres of
government need to deepen service delivery.
Samdi is also working towards ensuring that all curricula
will meet the National Qualifications Framework
principles. Samdi is now able to make sure that its
curricula can meet the needs of individual departments and
government structures by including case studies and
incorporating learning-by-doing research processes so that
public servants apply what they learn in their areas of
service delivery.
Samdi’s expenditure trend over the 2005-06 financial year
is testimony to the increased demand for its training
programmes. Expenditure increased marginally at an average
annual rate of 5,8% from R30,7 million in 2002-03 to R34,4
million in 2004-05. It is expected to increase over the
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period to reach R57
million by 2008-09, since it was decided that the trading
account should become more self-sustainable.
In researching some of the skills needs in Public Service
institutions in all spheres of government, the niche areas
of project and financial management have been found to be
crucial. It is believed that training in these areas would
greatly assist in accelerating service delivery to the
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people. In recognition of this, it must be noted that the
National Treasury’s Vote for this financial year has
included funds for capacity-building programmes in project
and financial management for public servants.
In conclusion, allow me to state a fact. The ANC has won
every single national and local government election in
this country. That translates into a consistent mandate
from the masses, that we are doing some things right. It
also means that we are being entrusted with the duty to
transform this country and its institutions in the best
ways possible to accelerate and deepen transformation.
The SA Management Development Institute is one such
institution. As the ANC we will continue, through our
deliberations, to assist the institute by arranging and
restructuring it to play a key role in capacitating public
servants.
Before concluding, allow me to raise just two issues that
may require attention. The first one relates to Samdi’s
development of appropriate curricula for public servants
through a learning-by-doing process. It may have to
investigate induction programmes through which new public
servants who enter the service are able to learn in more
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practical ways how to discharge their duties the Batho
Pele way.
Secondly, Samdi, together with the Department of the
Public Service and Administration and the Public Service
Commission, may also have to investigate the unintended
consequences of decentralisation of the Public Service.
We have the Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act, but
there are things happening that are pulling us apart at
key places where we should do better.
Finally, as the ANC, we support the budget allocations to
Samdi as part of the recognition that it plays a crucial
developmental and training role in the Public Service of
this developmental state. However, we look forward to
keeping an eye on how these are used to improve the lives
of our people through appropriately developed courses for
our public servants. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mnr H B CUPIDO: Voorsitter, agb Minister, ek kan nie
noodwendig met alles wat u, Minister, vandag hier gesê het
saamstem nie, maar ek wil u komplimenteer met die wyse
waarop u, u begroting hier vir ons kom voordra het.
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Net gister het ons van hierdie podium moes luister na die
haglike toestand van die Departement van Binnelandse Sake.
Dit wil vir die ACDP voorkom dat, na aanleiding van die
onlangse verslag van die staatsdienskommissie, daar ook
rooiligte vir die staatsdiens self flikker. Ons is seker
dat die agb Minister en haar departement alles in hul
vermoë doen om die uitdagings wat die menslike element in
die staatsdiens bied te oorkom.
As oud-staatsamptenaar, wel nou baie jare gelede, is dit
my ondervinding dat amptenary op vele vlakke nie meer die
trots van dienslewering aan die publiek dra nie. Op sekere
gebiede is daar pragtige en bewonderenswaardige vordering
gemaak waarvoor waardering uitspreek moet word. Daar is
egter kommer dat korrupsie - en uself het daarna verwys,
agb Minister - en ander wanpraktyke wat nie voldoende
aangespreek word nie, en dat “whistle-blowers” veral, nie
genoeg beskerming ontvang nie.
Tydens ’n onlangse inbelprogram op Radio Sonder Grense,
asook in die briewekolomme van die koerante, kon afgelei
word dat baie mense as gevolg van vrees en intimidasie, en
vrees vir vervolging veral, nie die fluitjie wil blaas
nie. Dit vind plaas in beide die staatsdiens en die
privaatsektor. Goeie amptenare en lede van die publiek
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verlang ’n skoon administrasie en daarom wil hulle
korrupsie met alle mag uitgeroei hê.
Die ACDP wil die departement en die ministerie aanmoedig
om die klagtes van die publiek as dringend te hanteer. Ons
wil die vertroue uitspreek dat dringend aandag geskenk
word aan amptenare wat direkte kontak met die publiek het
en dat veral gewerk word aan die gesindheid van amptenare.
’n Vriendelike gesindheid van ’n amptenaar los baie keer
’n probleem makliker op vir ’n persoon van die publiek.
Omdat die ACDP dan ook ’n gesonde en doeltreffende
staatsdiens verlang, sal ons hierdie begroting ondersteun.
(Translation of Afrikaans speech follows.)
[Mr H B CUPIDO: Chairperson, hon Minister, I do not
necessarily agree with everything that you, Minister, said
here today, but I would like to congratulate you on the
manner in which you delivered your budget to us.
Just yesterday we had to listen to what was said from this
podium about the critical situation in the Department of
Home Affairs. It seems to the ACDP as if, with reference
to the recent report of the Public Service Commission, the
Public Service itself is also in danger. We are sure that
the hon Minister and her department are doing everything
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they can to meet the challenges presented by the human
element in the Public Service.
As a former public servant, although many years ago now,
in my experience officials at many levels no longer take
pride in service delivery to the public. In certain areas
wonderful and admirable progress has been made, for which
we express our appreciation. However, there are concerns
about corruption – and you yourself referred to that, hon
Minister – and other malpractices that are not being
properly addressed, and the fact that whistle-blowers,
especially, do not have enough protection.
With reference to a recent phone-in programme on Radio
Sonder Grense, as well as the letters columns of
newspapers, it can be deduced that a lot of people do not
want to blow the whistle due to fear and intimidation and
fear of persecution. This is happening in the Public
Service as well as in the private sector. Good officials
and members of the public are longing for a clean
administration and hence they want corruption to be
eradicated at all costs.
The ACDP wants to encourage the department and the
Ministry to address the complaints from the public as a
matter of urgency. We want to express the hope that urgent
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attention will be given to officials who have direct
contact with the public and that, in particular the
attitude of officials will be addressed. A friendly
attitude on the part of an official often makes it easier
to solve a problem for a member of the public.
As the ACDP also longs for a sound and efficient Public
Service, we will support this budget.]
Mr M R SIKAKANE: Chairperson, hon Minister, as a budding
economist, I went into town this morning and read the
Business Times, particularly the item with the headline:
“Expansion Crisis Break”. I felt so good because that
meant that the CPIX, the consumer price index minus
mortgage costs, has remained steadfast, ceteris paribas.
I’m saying this because I’m going to talk about the State
Information Technology Agency, Sita. Perhaps, for the
benefit of those who were not here in the past, I should
mention that this is a business concern, with government
as a shareholder and the Minister representing the
government.
Sita is a business concern that was established by an Act
of Parliament. It was established in 1999 to consolidate
and co-ordinate the state’s information technology
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resources in order to achieve cost-saving through scale,
increased delivery capabilities and enhanced
interoperability.
Sita is committed to leveraging information technology as
a strategic resource for government to manage IT
procurement and the delivery process; ensuring that
government gets value for money; and using IT to support
the delivery of e-government services to the citizens of
South Africa.
We have to assess whether Sita has served the purpose it
was established for. It was established to recruit,
develop and retain skilled IT personnel; to use IT to
support transformation and service delivery; to
effectively utilise expensive IT resources; and to
integrate IT initiatives.
Sita is currently in the process of undergoing significant
restructuring, based on the need to radically improve the
quality and levels of service that it delivers to
government departments. Without Sita, government
departments wouldn’t be able to function properly. A
business operating model designed to facilitate the
achievement of the set objectives has been developed and
is being implemented.
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Financially, Sita closed the year with 100% growth in
revenue and decreased its debtor days to 54, compared to
90 debtor days of the previous year. Client satisfaction
has improved from 40% to 64%. As a result, there is better
engagement with clients.
Sita’s procurement cycle has decreased the average tender
days from over 240 days in 2004 to less than 75 days in
2005, and I am directing this to those who are interested
in tenders and have been complaining about the lengthy
process.
Local economic development is also being addressed, with
the tender process ensuring that revenue is retained
within the provinces by allowing provincial governments to
procure locally from local vendors.
The manager training programme saw 20 middle managers,
mainly women, undergo training through the Gordon
Institute of Business Science and practical training in
London. The programme is continuing, and 20 managers will
graduate in a month’s time after attending a practical
course in Singapore.
May I pause here and specifically address the issue of our
suffering in the past, when employees were not judged on
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their ability to do work but on how much the boss liked
them. I am referring to transformation here.
Minister, you know that change causes pain and brings
about victimisation in some cases. This should not happen
within a government parastatal such as Sita.
There shouldn’t be bosses who are allowed not to follow
procedures. There are cases of grave concern within Sita,
which need to be investigated by top management.
Transformation must not bring about victimisation, where
cases are trumped up so as to frustrate employees’ chances
of progressing.
The Minister responsible for the Public Service has stated
that the aim is to establish one Public Service combining
all three spheres of government. Sita has pre-empted that
and it has already entered the terrain of municipalities
to equip those areas that need e-government. This concerns
the identification of the current system and its
application within municipalities.
I now come to human capital. Profitability per employee
has increased to 19%. As many as 63% of employees are
black; 38% are female - the aim is to reach 45%.
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I’ve noticed that Sita has jumped threefold from where it
was in the past two years. Our staunch clients are SAPS
and health departments. Sita reported that the workload of
the IBM main framework technology platform operated at the
Bisho and Ulundi data centres, in Eastern Cape and
KwaZulu-Natal respectively, was consolidated into the
Pietermaritzburg data centre, resulting in a significant
reduction in operational costs. The operational costs of
the previous administration were very high.
The disaster recovery capability was developed to
accommodate the justice department’s accounting system,
the State Attorney system and the court policy system.
This is processed for the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development at various courts to ensure
system recovery within a 4-hour timeframe.
Sita has established a command centre. Hon members, you
must take note of this because sometimes you get stranded
in Pretoria and you don’t know what to do, when you could
go to this centre to access information, which you could
pass on to your constituencies. This, indeed, is an
achievement.
It provides information technology support to government
organisations through the utilisation of fault-logging and
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routing services. The cableway call centre, which services
both citizens and business, was created to provide
seamless access to information and services provided by
the government, and is operational 24 hours a day.
The new regional operating model attempts to accommodate
structural imperatives. Firstly, it mirrors the corporate
operating model in terms of structure and process.
Secondly, it addresses client processes at both national
and provincial level.
The integration of provincial information and
communication operations into the Sita infrastructure has
been under way for a while. This has resulted in
significant savings by provincial authorities.
Minister, I am concerned about this: very soon we will be
lazy to do things for ourselves because technology from
Sita will be there to do things for us. We must introduce
technology gradually, because we may end up not having to
move from our seats since Sita will be doing everything.
The big question is: What more do we want, as Sita is
there for us and it is there for the people?
I would like to urge members to visit the Sita offices in
Pretoria. It is a wonderful establishment. You can’t
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believe that whilst Sita is based in Pretoria, it can
cause the functioning of this House to collapse. It is
therefore important for you members to go to Pretoria one
day and look at the establishment called Sita, otherwise
you might find yourself sitting under the ground.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon
member. That was a bit scary. Hon members, I now call upon
the hon W D Spies.
Mr W D SPIES: Chairperson, it’s “Spies”. It’s the
Afrikaans word for “assegaai”, not the English word for
izimpimpi [spies]. [Laughter.]
Sedert 1998 is meer as 60 000 skeidingspakkette in die
Staatsdiens aangebied. In daardie stadium was die
Staatsdiens oorvol en daar was algemene konsensus dat die
Staatsdiens kleiner gemaak moet word. Sedertdien het sake
aansienlik verander. Onlangse berigte dui daarop dat meer
as 20 000 kundige staatsamptenare tans in die Staatsdiens
benodig word. Verskeie inisiatiewe is onlangs deur die
regering aangekondig om hierdie tekort aan te spreek, en
daarmee kan die VF Plus nie fout vind nie.
In antwoord op ’n vraag aan die agb Minister verlede jaar
het dit geblyk dat daar, gebaseer op die riglyne gestel in
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die Wet op Billike Indiensneming, tans in die Staatsdiens
oor die algemeen ’n onderverteenwoordiging van wit sowel
as bruin werkers is. Indien die persentasies omskep word
in syfers, kom dit neer op ongeveer 20 000 wit werkers en
10 000 bruin werkers minder as wat nodig is.
Die agb Minister het destyds in haar antwoord aangevoer
dat die onderverteenwoordiging regverdigbaar is omdat die
topbestuur van die Staatsdiens nog nie ten volle
verteenwoordigend van die bevolking is nie. Maar, agb
Minister, is dit billik om 30 000 mense uit laer posvlakke
te hou terwyl slegs die boonste 5% van die poste nie
verteenwoordigend is nie? Ons kan mos nie toelaat dat 5%
van die Staatsdiens die res gyselaar hou nie.
Wat betref pakkette wat reeds aangebied is, kan die VF
Plus u daarop wys dat daar ’n geweldige groot hoeveelheid
kundige oud-amptenare daar buite is wat jare gelede
pakkette geneem het, en nou gereed, gewillig en selfs
desperaat is om weer in die Staatsdiens te begin werk.
Daar is al openbare uitsprake gemaak dat die beperkings op
die herindiensneming uitgewerk gaan word, maar op die
oomblik word dit slegs op ’n ad hoc-basis gedoen.
Agb Minister, die VF Plus sal graag met u in gesprek wil
tree oor maniere en algemene amnesties wat toegestaan kan
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word, sodat ons seker is dat hierdie mense sonder
hindernisse weer terug kan kom na die Staatsdiens toe. Ons
praat graag met u daaroor. Baie dankie. (Translation of
Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[Since 1998 more than 60 000 severance packages have been
granted in the Public Service. At that stage the Public
Service was too congested and the general consensus was
that the Public Service should be scaled down. Since then
matters have changed significantly. Recent reports suggest
that more than 20 000 experienced public servants are
currently needed in the Public Service. The government has
recently announced many initiatives to address this
shortage, and the FF Plus cannot find fault with that.
In answer to a question put to the hon Minister last year
it transpired that, based on guidelines set out in the
Employment Equity Act, in general there is currently an
underrepresentation of both white and coloured workers in
the Public Service. If the percentages were to be
converted into figures, this would amount to approximately
20 000 white workers and 10 000 coloured workers fewer
than required.
At that stage the hon Minister argued in her response that
the underrepresentation was justified, as the top
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management of the Public Service was not yet fully
representative of the population. But, hon Minister, is it
fair to keep 30 000 people out of lower job levels whilst
only the top 5% of posts are not representative? Surely we
cannot allow 5% of the Public Service to hold the rest
hostage.
With regard to the packages that have already been
granted, the FF Plus wants to point out that an enormous
number of experienced ex-officials who accepted packages
years ago, are out there and are now ready, willing and
even desperate to start working in the Public Service
again. Public statements have been made that the
restrictions on re-employment will be worked out, but at
the moment this is only being done on an ad-hoc basis.
Hon Minister, the FF Plus would like to talk to you about
general amnesties and ways in which they can be granted,
so that we can be sure that these people are able to
return to the Public Service without any hindrance. We
will gladly talk to you about it. Thank you very much.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Thank you, hon
Spies. I have corrected myself now.
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Mr K K KHUMALO: Hon Chairperson, Ministers and Deputy
Ministers, hon members, guests in the gallery, I rise on
behalf of the ANC in support of the Budget Vote on the
Public Service and Administration. In particular, I hope
the budget will help us realise our vision of a single
Public Service.
The barometer for measuring the strengths and weaknesses
of our government resides within the ambit of the
capacity, organisation, vision and commitment on the part
of its Public Service to deliver. It is this arm of
government that is charged with the responsibility of
delivering on the strategic objectives of government, in
the context of understanding and advancing the key
ingredients for deepening democracy in our developmental
state.
It, therefore, becomes absolutely imperative that the
Public Service is resourceful so as to be able to identify
and recognise institutional challenges and turn them
around. This will bring about a sustainable and
comprehensive service delivery network that is pro-poor
and, in fact, deliberately directed at benefiting the
poorest of the poor at grass-roots level.
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In the state of the nation address, on 3 February 2006,
the hon President, Comrade Thabo Mbeki, called upon the
nation to celebrate this age of hope. He also reminded us
that this age is accompanied by high expectations, and
called upon us to do whatever is possible to meet them.
But the question arises as to how we should do this. It is
our view that this can be done within the context of
recognising the contention of the ANC, as captured in our
national conference resolutions at Stellenbosch, and I
quote:
The fundamental transformation of local government into
a democratic, developmental and accountable component of
the state is not yet complete, and the system contains
dysfunctionalities.
These dysfunctionalities in service delivery at local
level, as alluded to by the ANC, are rooted in the
fragmentation of service delivery between municipalities,
departments and service delivery agencies. They are
further exacerbated by tensions resulting from
jurisdictional arrogance and red tape between departments
and within municipalities.
Although the multipurpose community centres and community
development workers provide a focused service, it is
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difficult to measure their collective impact on broader
substantive service delivery. These multipurpose community
centres are few, and one wonders why it is that we have so
few of these in the rural areas and some urban areas
whereas there is a budget for this service to be rendered.
This causes a further breach in the service delivery
chain.
The above scenario, coupled with the lack of capacity at
local government level as exposed through Project
Consolidate, clearly is a call for institutional
interventions by national government to align state
institutions in such a way as to complement one another.
This would synergise the provision of services, resulting
in integrated service delivery through co-operative
governance.
Chapter 3, section 41, of the Constitution provides that
all spheres of government and all organs of state within
each sphere must co-operate with one another in mutual
trust and in good faith, by fostering relations, assisting
and supporting one another on matters of common interest,
co-ordinating their actions and legislative processes.
Section 41(2) provides that an Act of Parliament must be
established to provide for structures and institutions to
facilitate governmental relations.
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In order for institutional arrangements such as cooperative governance to be realised in the single Public
Service, it must be sustainable for the purpose of
effective service delivery. As established by the
Department of the Public Service and Administration, this
can only manifest if there is mobility between
institutions of service delivery. Mobility in this context
refers to the transfer of functions between spheres of
government in order to allow for service to be delivered
where appropriately needed and also to enable managers to
be deployed where they are needed in government.
Ngamanye amazwi, injongo yethu apha kuhanjiso lweenkonzo
zoluntu kukuba sidibanise iinkonzo ukuze izinto esifuna
zenzeke, zenzeke ngokukhawuleza. Ukuba siyajonga phaya
kweli linge lokwakhiwa kwezindlu le-Gateway, siya
kufumanisa ukuba kuye kwadibana iphondo, umasipala kunye
nozwelonke ukuze kugqitywe ela linge. Sithetha loo nto ke
xa sithetha ngohanjiso lweenkonzo oluhlangeneyo
kwaneenkonzo zikarhulumente ezihlangeneyo.
Kwakhona, enye injongo yethu kukuba siseke iqela
labasebenzi abaza kuthi basebenzele urhulumente ukusuka
phezulu kuzwelonke ukuya kutsho kumaphondo, ukuhla,
sisenzela ukuba wonke umntu akwazi ukuphendula
kurhulumente, ukuze singabi nabantu abaza kuthi xa
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kufuneka benze izinto ezithile bathi, hayi bona baphendula
kumasipala kuphela. Kufuneka ukuba baphendule kurhulumente
ngokupheleyo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs
follows.)
[Our objective is to synergise services, resulting in an
integrated service delivery process that renders them
faster and in a more easily accessible manner. The Gateway
project is an example of co-operative governance between
the province, the municipality and the national housing
offices. That is our idea of co-operative and integrated
service delivery.
It is also one of our intentions to establish a flexible,
cohesive workforce that can be transferred easily between
the different spheres of government and can be deployed
anywhere and everywhere they are needed in government in
such a way that no one can say they are accountable to the
municipality and not to other institutions. They should be
accountable to government as a whole.]
This will, therefore, create a cohesive workforce through
all the spheres of government. [Interjections.]
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Ek weet nie wat praat julle daarso nie. [Tussenwerpsels.]
[I do not know what you are talking about over there.
[Interjections.]]
An HON MEMBER: We are talking about top down.
Mr K K KHUMALO: What top down?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Just continue with
your speech, hon member.
Mr K K KHUMALO: It’s correct that we are in government. We
are going to determine how the Public Service functions,
and that is it. We are going to do that. What you are
doing here in Cape Town, sabotaging the national interest
of this government will come to an end. [Applause.] It’s
going to come to an end when we introduce a single Public
Service that will account to the ethics of the ANC.
[Interjections.]
Julle raas! [You are making a noise!]
I must also come back to the age of hope referred to by
our President during his state of the nation address.
Indeed, as the President said, there is hope because our
people went out in their numbers to vote for the ANC and
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for a better tomorrow. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us
that we look into the expectations of the people, as
alluded to by the President. I thank you. [Applause.]
Mr S SIMMONS: Chair, the UPSA supports Budget Votes 11 and
12. I consider the Department of the Public Service and
Administration to be one of the most important roleplayers in ensuring effective service delivery out all
levels of government. This responsibility requires the
implementation of a human resource policy and strategy
that complements the objective of effective and efficient
service delivery.
South Africa has very specific guidelines for human
resource practices aimed at ensuring that remedial action
is taken regarding employment practices of the past. I
specifically wish to refer to the Employment Equity Act,
with its primary aim of providing for employment equity.
There appears to be a grave misunderstanding as to the
practical implementation of employment equity, which now
seems to create a new set of disparities, especially in
the Public Service sector. This deduction is based on the
hon Minister’s reply to a written question from hon Spies
towards the end of last year.
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The statistics given then by the Minister clearly
illustrated that there was a clearly misconstrued
interpretation of the definition of “black people” by
human resource practitioners in the public sector as they
considered this legislation as intended to set out a
hierarchy. This practice has serious negative effects on
our much-needed human relations and nation-building, as
well as solidarity amongst all our people.
Die agb President het op die 18de Mei vanjaar erkenning
gegee aan die erns van hierdie aangeleentheid deur die
korrekte interpretasies te bevestig dat daar geen
onderskeid getref behoort te word tussen die komponente
van hierdie generiese term nie. Ek wil ’n dringende en
ernstige beroep doen op die agb Minister ... (Translation
of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
[On 18 May this year the hon President acknowledged the
seriousness of this matter by confirming the correct
interpretation that no distinction should be made between
the components of this generic term. I want to make an
urgent and serious appeal to the hon Minister ...]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your
time has expired.
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Mr S SIMMONS: ... om leiding te gee in die vorm van
byvoorbeeld ’n direktief wat groter duidelikheid ...
[Tussenwerpsels.] [... to guide us by way of, for
instance, a directive to provide greater clarity ...
[Interjections.]]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon member, your
time has expired! [Interjections.]
Mr S SIMMONS: ... en sekerheid sal bewerkstellig oor die
interpretasie. [... and certainty about the
interpretation.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Simmons, your
time has expired. Thank you!
Hon members, the following member will be making his
maiden speech. [Applause.]
Mr I F JULIES: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, on 26
February this year President Mbeki was quoted in the City
Press as having said he had not been presented with any
information that indicated that public servants ...
[Interjections.]
31 MAY 2006
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The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon members, the
member is making his maiden speech and please give him an
opportunity.
Mr I F JULIES: The City Press quoted the President as
having said he had not been presented with any information
that indicated that public servants in different levels of
government are dying of Aids. “These is no crisis,” said
President Mbeki. He said there were no alarm bells being
sounded in the Presidency that people are dying and that
no one had told him they were losing 10% of government
staff every year because of Aids.
I would like President Mbeki to tell us if he thinks that
the only people affected ... [Interjections.]
Mr D V BLOEM: Chairperson, maybe the member has the wrong
speech. I heard him debating about HIV/Aids. [Laughter.]
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Bloem, can you
sit down. We said this is a maiden speech. Let’s just
respect it for that, unless you want me to read the Rules
to you. Please, let’s just respect that. In a maiden
speech, anything can be said.
31 MAY 2006
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Mr I F JULIES: I thank you, Chairperson. Maybe hon Bloem
doesn’t understand what is going on. Sit still and listen,
hon Bloem. I would like President Mbeki to tell us if he
thinks the only people infected and affected by this
crippling disease are the general electorate and not our
esteemed public servants, colleagues.
If that is what the President thinks, the DA would like to
challenge President Mbeki to take a walk through the
hallowed halls of the Public Service to see just how many
of the staff actually are at work on any given day. We,
however, welcome the fact that in the very same article
President Mbeki said that we need to do research to
establish what levels of deaths there are in the Public
Service as a result of natural and unnatural causes.
The statement was released in February and now it is the
end of May. It is no surprise that there is still no
conclusive study being conducted within the Department of
the Public Service and Administration around the
prevalence of HIV and Aids within the workforce of the
Ministry. Clearly, no alarm bells are being sounded
because the administration seems not to really care
whether or not its own staff are affected by a disease
that killed more than 2,5 million people last year in SubSaharan Africa alone.
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The department does have a very impressive policy on
employee wellness and the hon Fraser-Moleketi always seems
very eager to engage the seriousness of this epidemic, as
witnessed through the Public Service health journal. But,
hon Minister, what we need now is action on this policy to
ensure that service delivery to all the people – a direct
mandate given to this government - will happen without
negative impact.
Hon Minister, you owe it to those who make it possible for
you to manage this department to ensure that you
vigorously work towards ensuring that the department
doesn’t sit without skills by the next election.
The DA challenges the department to put in place key
strategies aimed at assessing the prevalence of HIV and
Aids in the DPSA workforce. The DA also challenges you to
then draw up a risk profile concerning the skills that
could be lost, and that you take into account and project
into the future the cost to the department and the people
of the country if you don’t mitigate the negative impact
of HIV and Aids.
I now want to direct my attention to community development
workers, CDWs. We in the DA challenge the Minister to go
back and take another look at the intended imperatives set
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out for community development workers. These community
development workers are not the private recruiters for the
ANC. They are not a lobbying group which works solely for
the interest of its members and supporters.
Our people are crying out that your CDWs are once again
causing the opportunity to divide and rule at local level
by prioritising the support of the ruling party and
ignoring the basic needs of those with the good sense to
support the opposition parties. The CDWs have a
responsibility to take government to all citizens.
Yes, Minister, they are meant to facilitate access to
services for all our people. The abuse of this publiclyfunded programme is a direct indication to your
electorate, hon Minister, that Batho Pele is indeed for a
select few only. Batho Pele principles are for creating a
people-centred and people-driven Public Service. I thank
you. [Applause.]
Mrs L MALONEY: Chairperson, I think we should respect the
previous speaker because it is Wednesday today. All he was
doing was to pose a follow-up question to the President. I
think we should give credit for that. [Interjections.]
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Since this morning, all the DA speakers have been talking
about the gala dinner, which is not part of what we are
debating. Maybe this gala dinner is their theme of the
year but I don’t think that it’s a gala dinner per se.
They only have one: Parliament is transforming and most
black people are coming to Parliament to experience what
the ANC is doing inside Parliament. That is what their
concern is, as regards the gala dinner. [Applause.]
My take on this Budget Vote on the Public Service and
Administration will be around the Public Service
Commission. This structure was established by the
Constitution with a clear mandate and terms of references.
One of the responsibility enshrined in the Constitution is
for the Public Service Commission to be impartial. It must
exercise its powers and perform its functions without
fear, favour or prejudice and in the interest of
maintaining an effective and efficient public service.
The commission must be regulated by national legislation.
This is a huge responsibility that the Public Service
Commission is faced with. This task cannot be done by the
Public Service Commission alone. This is a shared
responsibility and it needs all structures, organisations
and civil society organisations who are doing work on
monitoring and evaluation to assist the Public Service
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Commission. This is where the portfolio committee
features, through our oversight role to monitor and
evaluate the executive departments and provinces. We can
whip where we see that work has not been done.
Our participation and interaction regarding the Budget
Vote of this department does not only start today, the
portfolio committee engaged with the department during the
strategic planning workshop which took place some two
months back. So we are familiar with the issues and we are
on top of the issues. This is just carry-forward work that
has been done.
At least, we know about the vision and mission of the
department, and we know where it comes from and where it
is going. This shows that portfolio committees are not
rubber-stampers nor are they passive recipients, but they
are active participants in the end product of whatever it
is that departments do.
Through the strategic workshop, the portfolio committee
together with the Public Service Commission have come up
with a toolkit on how to take forward the monitoring and
evaluation programme of the department.
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There are nine principles that govern the Public Service
Commission. I am not going to deal with them one by one as
they are all important components of driving the strategic
plan of the Public Service and Administration. They are
all compulsory to the Public Service sector.
At no stage can we have public servants performing better
as regards certain principles and not doing better as
regards principles that govern the Public Service
Commission. I would suggest that even the evaluation of
the performance of managers should be based on these
principles. It should be a matter of “you break one you
lose everything; you fail the test”.
The ANC supports this Budget Vote, with the hope that the
lives of our people will be better today than yesterday
and their tomorrow will be better than today. According to
the Public Service Commission report, departments are not
complying fully when they report financial misconduct
cases, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act. For
instance, in this area, national departments reported only
30% of cases and provinces reported only 61%. This needs
attention.
Another area of concern is non-compliance of heads of
departments in disclosing financial directorships that
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they hold outside the Public Service. Up until now, 78% of
HODs from national departments have disclosed. We still
need to reach 100% and this is a problem we are faced with
as a monitoring and oversight portfolio committee. North
West province has the highest number and stands at 82%
while the lowest is the Eastern Cape, at 38%. As the
portfolio committee, we take exception to this bad
conduct. All those who are not complying are nothing but
counter-revolutionaries.
Beside these setbacks that I have alluded to, the Public
Service remains focused on its mandate. A number of
initiatives have been set up by the Public Service
Commission regarding how well the Public Service meets its
obligations of impartiality, fairness, equity and nonbias. [Interjections.] I know that it’s after lunch and
the deputy chair is coming from the private room there,
next to the bar. That’s why he is howling like this.
[Interjections.]
The Public Service Commission has introduced mechanisms
such as the Batho Pele audit, the national anticorruption
hotline and citizen survey to test whether citizens do
experience government as meeting those ideals.
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On average the budget of the Public Service Commission has
increased. This does not mean more money in their kitty
but it goes with more demands and more expectations, and
this is going to put pressure on staff members of the
Public Service Commission, who only number 185. Also, the
role that the Public Service Commission plays within the
SADC region, internationally and otherwise, is going to be
increased because of the money that we have put in. So the
demands are going to be more and more.
The capacity considerations concerning the challenges
ahead are well noted. What I always fail to understand is
when you are told that the department has spent all the
money from the Treasury and there are no roll-overs but on
the other hand you are told that the department has no
capacity. I do not get it: How do you spend money but at
the same time you are having a capacity problem concerning
the delivery of services? Maybe the recruitment and
selection strategy of the Public Service will address
this.
The strategy should also look at gender imbalances and
equity in the Public Service. The targets set are
difficult to reach. For instance, while the target of 2%
had been set regarding disabled people in the Public
Service, there were only 0,25% in 2002. Thus far we have
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had 0,16% of disabled people. But I am very glad that the
Minister has addressed this area of concern.
A framework on how to conduct inspections of service
delivery sites will be used by the Public Service,
starting this coming year. This framework will entail
announced and unannounced visits to service delivery
sites, as it was agreed that public servants should be at
the coalface of service delivery points.
Programmes of the Public Service Commission are in line
with government objectives. But what does not go down well
with me is when I read an evaluation of the anticorruption
co-ordination committee concerning the Public Service
anticorruption initiative. I am told that it is subject to
the availability of donors. This also needs to be looked
at, because we cannot keep such a committee idle because
we don’t have donors coming forward.
What is exciting when it comes to labour relations is the
improvement of performance grievance rules which are to be
translated into all official languages. I know there are
new rules. The new rules say that, after 30 days, if there
isn’t anything that is happening in the department, those
rules must be shifted to the Public Service Commission.
That also creates a problem because the department will
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not work or may delay the process and just shift those
grievances to the Public Service Commission, and this will
add more pressure to the Public Service Commission.
Regarding the hotline for handling queries, thus far 1 338
complaints have been received through this system. But the
question of how to control whistleblowers is still a
problem. There is still that old tradition of thinking
that if you report misconduct you are an impimpi
[informer].
Hon Minister, you know yourself that this name has bad
connotations. However, hon Minister, it should be brought
to the attention of those who do not condone corrupt
practices in the Public Service that, if you do not report
misconduct in the Public Service you are as corrupt as the
person who is engaging in corrupt activities in that
department. [Interjections.] [Applause.] You are becoming
sober now.
Local government will remain a strategic area for service
delivery. Regarding this aspect, we should not allow the
DA, which won with only one vote, to spoil the good work
that the ANC has done in that council. There is one good
rule that the DA must learn: “You must not mess up so
badly that nobody can work there again.” We are not going
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to allow a tsunami-style of administration that the DA is
bringing to this council. [Interjections.] The hon Zille
must know that she needs to govern. She must stop being a
TV celebrity. People need service delivery down there.
Community development workers must also be given a course
on Asgisa and Jipsa in order for them to be better able to
explain these new concepts. They are the best people who
are strategically located to interact directly with the
people.
Regarding floor-crossing, I think the DA needs this floorcrossing legislation. You know what is going to happen to
them? Zille is an unstoppable tsumani. So it will be
difficult for them to control her. She is such a bully
they can’t even control her. So the only thing that will
control Zille is floor-crossing. [Interjections.] This is
what we are going to do.
This Public Service Commission does not exist by accident,
it is an integral part of the developmental state and
plays an appropriate role in accelerating transformation
towards better service delivery. Whoever is not complying
should know that he or she is not only undermining the
Public Service Commission but also the Constitution that
established the commission. I thank you very much, Chair.
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The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Thank you, Chairperson and hon members. Many issues have
been raised in this debate today and there have been a
large number of inputs, many of which I welcome.
I’d like to state that the area this portfolio is
responsible for will never be perfect. What we are doing
and what we will do is aspire to a situation where we
continually improve. We will show progress in the
direction that we have set ourselves. In the light of all
the criticisms that have been levelled, we will take them
on board – some of them – and try to improve in order that
by next week, next month and next year we will show
progress.
I believe, fundamentally, that we do not give enough
recognition where recognition is due. Albeit on a small
and symbolic level, I would like to recognise a special
public servant on the gallery today and his name is Mr
Sipho Tiger Ndlovu, the headmaster of Dover Combined
School in KwaZulu-Natal. Mr Ndlovu, would you stand up,
please. [Applause.] I think Mr Ndlovu was here earlier.
I wanted to make this example, because earlier on I heard
various allegations being levelled and flung from the side
of the DA, suggesting that public servants are
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incompetent, unskilled, low-level, and they cannot really
deliver. Let me just tell you a little bit about him.
Through dedication, smart work, innovative problem-solving
and creative application of technology; mobilisation
between the landowners, business and other organisations;
and the use of volunteers, both local and international,
he transformed Dover Combined School from a traditional
farm school on the north coast of KwaZulu-Natal into a
modern public school that excels and has achieved 100%
Matric pass rates for the past five years. [Applause.]
I would like us to honour Mr Ndlovu for his individual
achievements and to celebrate him as a symbol of all our
hard-working public servants who display the
characteristics that make him an exceptional public
servant. May people like this who overcome the challenges
that they face in their service delivery situations
inspire others to go the extra mile.
I also want to commend a group of people who call
themselves Bara people. These are health workers at the
Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital; people who have stayed
there and work under very difficult conditions.
[Applause.] And, in the words of Prof Mativa, a clinician:
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 213 of 291
I am amongst the best when it takes to pulling a person
from the brink of death, resuscitating that person and I
can do that work. I will do it and I do it very well. What
you need in the transformation process is to take away
some of the management issues from me. I don’t want to be
involved in that.
Those are people who are willing to work and make a
difference. There are many other health workers and people
who do not want to be referred to as “low-level,
unskilled, incompetent people and people who shouldn’t be
there”. That is what came from this side of the House. In
the words of hon Minnie, who spoke about the Public
Service ...
... en hy het gedink mense kan hom nie verstaan nie. Hy
het gepraat oor swak dienslewering, van die feit dat ...
[... and he thought that people could not understand him.
He spoke of poor service delivery, the fact that ...]
... at a senior level the senior skills are not there, and
so on. He said that others are being pushed out. Nonsense.
It is very clear that he is not following what is
happening. If I could take the words of my colleague, even
when you listen to Minnie ...
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 214 of 291
... as hy praat van ’n enkele Staatsdiens. Hy sê dieselfde
goed hierdie jaar wat hy verlede jaar gesê. Ek vra myself
af: is dit omdat hy doof is? [...when he speaks of a
single Public Service. He is repeating the same things
this year that he said last year. I ask myself the
question: Is it because he is deaf?]
Must we ensure that we get a hearing aid for him so that
he can actually engage with this? Let me withdraw that. I
don’t want to equate Minnie to anybody who may be
disabled, because it would be unfair to the disabled
sector.
Mr C M LOWE: Chairperson, I wonder if I could address you
on a point of order. I just wondered if it was
parliamentary for the hon Minister to talk about an hon
member of this House simply as “Minnie”. Is that
parliamentary?
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Minister,
address all as hon members.
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Chairperson, hon Minnie is Minnie and he is honourable and
I will ensure that I refer to him as hon Minnie.
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 215 of 291
Mr D V BLOEM: Minister, maybe you must call him Cooper
Minnie. Cooper Minnie. That is better.
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Thank you, Chairperson. I suppose a better reference at
this point, when we are looking back at the issues that
were raised by some, is a quote by Toffler that says:
The illiterate of the future will not be the person who
cannot read. It will be the person who does not know how
to learn.
I am rather saddened by the fact that there seem to be
some members who, even at this stage, seem as if they
don’t know how to learn or are not willing to learn. I
think we should ensure that we do learn and draw on what
is happening within the Public Service, bearing in mind
the complexities that exist.
Hon Matsomela raised the issue of Samdi and one would want
to agree with the issues that were raised. In relation to
the induction programme, I want to indicate that that is
indeed a priority programme that Samdi is unfurling. We do
need to extend the capacity to ensure that it reaches all
public servants.
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 216 of 291
Concerning the issue of the unintended consequences of
decentralisation, I think that is indeed part of what one
had raised earlier. I think, generally speaking, one would
be in agreement with what has come up. I do want to raise
one or two further issues.
The issue that has come up today, both from the chair of
the portfolio committee and other members, has been the
whole issue of the declaration of financial disclosures by
public servants. I do want to say that that particular
work done by the Auditor-General was commissioned by the
Minister for the Public Service and Administration and the
chairperson of the Public Service Commission. We wanted to
have a sense of the levels of compliance.
That particular report indicated that more than 50 000
public servants had not declared or disclosed their
financial interests. What I want to state to this House
today is that 50 223 public servants are non-designated.
They are not required by the regulatory framework to
declare at this particular point in time. However,
regarding the designated public servants that should
declare, as has been stated here, 78% of them have
declared. That is a system that we have put in place since
2000. We have a responsibility as the executive to ensure
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 217 of 291
that we do have 100% disclosure and we will strive towards
this disclosure.
There is indeed the reality that heads of department and
directors-general must take steps against those senior
managers that have not disclosed. I have been in
communication with members of the executive and I am
expecting a report from them on the levels of disclosure
to date, so that we can take action in the instances where
it has not happened.
To hon Spies, the whole issue of the voluntary severance
packages was discussed previously and we indeed need to
systematically look at how we can bring those who have
left the Public Service on voluntary severance packages
back into the service. It is not a matter that can be done
unilaterally because it has been a Public Service coordinating bargaining chamber resolution. We have gone
back to the chamber and requested a review but we need to
do it within the framework.
We also need to ensure that we do not have double dipping,
that is people who have left the Public Service on a
package trying to come back and be employed like everyone
else. We are looking at issues such as tenure that is
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 218 of 291
specific to timeframes and so on. The point that I want to
make is that we are engaging with these issues.
There was an hon member who delivered his maiden speech
today and I think he regrettably disgraced himself and
lost an opportunity to reflect that he was coming in new,
making a new speech and that he had done his homework. He
tried to get me to second-guess the President. I must
respond for what the President thinks about issues and not
what is in our policies or what has been raised.
It is a rather strange thing. Maybe he thinks for the hon
Tony Leon. That may explain some of the crises in policy
within the DA and hence the perception that there is
overcentralisation and centralisation.
One cannot blame him. He is really in the wrong party. We
don’t want him anyway. With that level of thinking, he is
not going to add any value. He then went on and said that
the whole issues of CDWs ...
The CHIEF WHIP OF THE MAJORITY PARTY: On a point of order,
Madam Minister, I want him because I can work on him.
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION:
Our Chief Whip has always been a courageous man. He is
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 219 of 291
reflecting his courage once more. We have had a policy in
the past that said we should win over the enemy as well.
This is part of it.
I should probably pause and focus on hon Julies. I can
probably have some political discussions with him and it
may just have some impact on him. I want to conclude with
a last point about him. He left immediately after speaking
and I thought where I grew up, we had a name for a man who
runs away before an answer is given. He came back into the
House very quickly, so I presume he only went to the
bathroom for a short period and it wasn’t a case of
fleeing, like some of his colleagues have done.
There is a further point that I would like to raise and
that is the point that the hon Minnie raised as well. I
just want to find the note on that particular aspect. He
spoke about ...
... ’n enkele Staatsdiens. Hy het gesê dat ons tog
asseblief moet wegbly van ’n die enkele Staatsdiens, want
hulle wil nie hê dat ons die Kaap moet lamlê nie. Ek wil
sê: Helen Zille het niemand nodig om haar te help om die
Kaap lam te lê nie. Sy doen ’n baie goeie taak daarvoor.
(Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 220 of 291
[... single Public Service. He told us to please stay away
from a single Public Service, as they did not want us to
paralyse the Cape. I want to say: Helen Zille does not
need anybody to help her to paralyse the Cape. She is
making an excellent job of it.]
And a single Public Service is not about disabling
anything. It is about taking issues forward.
On a more serious note and ignoring the kinds of comments
that came from this quarter that were very unhelpful, I
think there is also a need for us to note that there were
positive aspects that were mentioned in the State of the
Public Service Report, 2006. It found that, in general,
the Public Service has sound policies in place to sustain
the consolidation of its transformation and improve
service delivery; and that it has shown the capacity to
promote and implement ethical and normative frameworks,
such as the national anti-corruption forum and Batho Pele.
The HOUSE CHAIRPERSON (Mr K O Bapela): Hon Minister, if
you could conclude.
Mr C M LOWE: Yes, please.
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 221 of 291
The MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION: I
will conclude and say: There are notable improvements in
the capacity of the Public Service and the country as a
whole to address corruption.
I’d like to thank all those who have joined in this debate
and I’d like to use the words of Theodore Roosevelt, who
said:
It behoves every person to remember that the work of the
critic is of altogether secondary importance. In the
end, progress is accomplished by the person who does
things.
Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.
The House adjourned at 19:17.
__________
ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
31 MAY 2006
1.
PAGE 222 of 291
Introduction of Bills
(1)
The Minister of Health
(a)
Health Professions Amendment Bill [B 10 – 2006] (National
Assembly – sec 75) [Explanatory summary of Bill and prior notice
of its introduction published in Government Gazette No 28754 of 28
April 2006.]
Introduction and referral to the Portfolio Committee on Health of the
National Assembly, as well as referral to the Joint Tagging Mechanism
(JTM) for classification in terms of Joint Rule 160, on 31 May 2006.
In terms of Joint Rule 154 written views on the classification of the Bill
may be submitted to the JTM within three parliamentary working days.
2.
Bills passed – to be submitted to President for assent
(1)
Bill passed by National Assembly on 30 May 2006:
(a) Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
Amendment Bill [B 32F - 2005] (National Assembly - art 75).
TABLINGS:
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 223 of 291
National Assembly and National Council of Provinces
1.
The Minister of Finance
(1)
Government Notice No 362 published in Government Gazette No 28740
dated 13 April 2006: Publication of Local Government allocations and
frameworks, in terms of the Division of Revenue Act, 2006 (Act No 2 of
2006).
(2)
Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Learnership Training System Programme, tabled in
terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(3)
Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Learnership Training
System Programme.
(4)
Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Legislative Drafting Programme, tabled in terms of
section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(5)
Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 224 of 291
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Legislative Drafting
Programme.
(6)
Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Mpumalanga Rural Development Programme,
tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(7)
Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Mpumalanga Rural
Development Programme.
(8)
Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the
Government of the Republic of South Africa on Technology-Aided
Distance Self Learning in the South African Police Service, tabled in terms
of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(9)
Explanatory Memorandum on the Agreement between the Government of
the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of South
Africa on Technology-Aided Distance Self Learning in the South African
Police Service.
(10) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 225 of 291
concerning the Project: Technology Diffusion through Technikons, tabled
in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(11) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Technology
Diffusion through Technikons.
(12) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Peace and Development Project, tabled in terms of
section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(13) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Peace and
Development Project.
(14) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Programme to Develop Markets for Business
Development Services, tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the
Constitution, 1996.
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 226 of 291
(15) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Programme to
Develop Markets for Business Development Services.
(16) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning the Project: Skills Development Strategy Initiative (SDSI),
tabled in terms of section 231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(17) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning the Project: Skills Development
Strategy Initiative (SDSI).
(18) Exchange of Letters between the Government of the Republic of South
Africa and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany
concerning Financial Cooperation in 2005, tabled in terms of section
231(3) of the Constitution, 1996.
(19) Explanatory Memorandum on the Exchange of Letters between the
Government of the Republic of South Africa and the Government of the
Federal Republic of Germany concerning Financial Cooperation in 2005.
2.
The Minister for Agriculture and Land Affairs
31 MAY 2006
(1)
PAGE 227 of 291
Report and Financial Statements of the Commission on Restitution of Land
Rights for 2005-2006 [RP 54-2006].
3.
The Minister of Safety and Security
(1)
Report of the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) for January 2005
to December 2005, in terms of section 18(5)(c) of the Domestic Violence
Act, 1998 (Act No 116 of 1998) [RP 56-2006].
COMMITTEE REPORTS
National Assembly
1.
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security on
Proclamations 4, 6, 9, 13, 14, 65 and 66 by the President in accordance
with section 25 of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against
Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No 33 of 2004), dated 24
May 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Safety and Security, having considered the
request for approval by Parliament of the Proclamations by the President
in accordance with section 25 of the Protection of Constitutional
Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, 2004 (Act No
33 of 2004), recommends that the House, approve the said Proclamations.
Request to be considered.
31 MAY 2006
2.
PAGE 228 of 291
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy on the Joint
Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of
Radioactive Waste Management, dated 31 May 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy, having considered
the request for approval by Parliament of the Joint Convention on
the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of
Radioactive Waste Management, referred to it, and having
conferred with the Portfolio Committee on Health, recommends that
the House, in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution, approve the
said Convention.
Request to be considered.
3.
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism
on Joint Strategic Planning Workshop with the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Public Entities and Select Committee
on Land and Environmental Affairs, dated 30 May 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism having
participated in a Joint Strategic Planning Workshop with Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism and its public entities as well with the
Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs, reports as follows:
1.
Legislative background
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 229 of 291
The public service regulations give responsibility for strategic planning to the
executive authority of the Department concerned. The regulations issued in
terms of Public Finance Management Act 1999 provide for further
requirements with respect to strategic plans.
They require strategic plans to cover the Medium Term Expenditure
Framework (MTEF) period to which they relate. These plans are supposed to
be submitted to the Parliament or the relevant legislature at least seven days
before the discussion of the budget vote of the Department.
2.
Joint Strategic Planning Workshop
The Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Select
Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs held a join strategic workshop
on 13-14 March 2006 at Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West (Western Cape)
with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and Public Entities
(i.e. South African Weather Services, South African Tourism, Grading Council,
Tourism Hospitality Sport Education, South African National Parks, Greater
ST Lucia Wetland Park and South African Botanical Institute).
The main objective of the workshop was to present to both Members of the
Portfolio and Select Committees an overview of the Departmental and the
Public Entities’ work as per their strategic plans, with specific focus on main
deliverables in each programme for 2006/07.
31 MAY 2006
3.
PAGE 230 of 291
Ministerial opening
In his opening address, the Minister of the Department of the Environmental
Affairs and Tourism, Hon, Marthinus van Schalkwyk tabled five strategic
priorities of the Department in terms of the resource allocation and overall
coordination. These included:
(a)
The finalisation of new environmental impact assessment regulations
and capacities;
(b)
Keeping climate change and national responses at the centre of the
domestic and international agenda;
(c)
Strengthening compliance and enforcement capacity; unlocking the
potential of the Tran- frontier conservation areas; and
(d)
Building on the major growth achievements in the tourism sector,
especially in preparation for the 2010 soccer world cup.
4.
Presentation on the Strategic Plans of the Department and Public
Entities
Through the Co- Chairing of Mr L Zita, Chairperson of the Portfolio
Committee of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and, Rev P Moatshe,
Chairperson of the Select Committee of Land and Environmental Affairs, the
Director-General and Deputy Director- Generals of the Department and Chief
Executive Officers of Public Entities made presentations on 2006/07 strategic
31 MAY 2006
plans.
PAGE 231 of 291
The presentations focused on the vision, mission, achievements,
challenges, commitments and 2006/-07 strategic priorities.
As the achievements of the Department and the Public Entities were reported in
their 2005 Annual Reports and the Portfolio Committee presented its report to
Parliament on the 15 November 2005, this report will only cover the challenges
and 2006/07 strategic priorities presented to Members of Committees during
the workshop.
The main objective of capturing only the challenges and 2006/07 strategic
priorities, is to provide Members of the Portfolio and Select Committees with a
monitoring and oversight tool that could ensure Departmental and public
entities accountability in terms of the 2006 State of the Nation Address and
programmes allocations in Budget Vote 27 as contained in 2006 Estimates of
National Expenditure.
4.1.
Overview of strategic priorities of the Department
This section provides an overview of the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the six
programmes of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The
main focus of the overview is on programmes such as administration and
support presented by the Director General and environmental quality and
protection, marine and coastal management, tourism, biodiversity and
conservation presented respectively by Deputy Director Generals.
31 MAY 2006
4.1.1.
PAGE 232 of 291
Administration & Support Programme
The Director General, Ms P Yako presented the strategic plan of the
administration programme. The presentation focused on the vision, mission,
2005 achievements, challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic priorities.
According to the Director General, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the
administration programme will include:

Implementation of black economic empowerment scorecard;

Investment in skills development;

Development of staff retention strategy and stakeholder engagement;
and

An increase of the representation of people with disability to at least 2%
and women in Small Medium Enterprise (SME) to 26%.
4.1.2.
Environmental Quality & Protection Programme
The Deputy Director General, Ms J Yawitch, presented 2006/07 strategic plans
of environmental quality and protection programme. According to the Deputy
Director General, the following strategic priorities will be pursued in 2006/07:

Establishment of comprehensive programme to support provincial and
local government in capacity;
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 233 of 291

Impact evaluation of plastic bag legislation;

Strategic enforcement actions directed at major polluters or dangerous
pollutants;

Finalisation of Waste Management Bill and publication public
comment;

Finalisation of tyre and asbestos regulations and ambient air standards;

Delegation of landfill permits to provinces on basis of agreed
implementation plan and capacity building support;

Permits review of major polluting industries and long term scenario
planning on climate change; and

Improvement of air quality management training for provincial and
local government
4.1.3
Biodiversity & Conservation Programme
The Deputy Director General, Mr F Mketeni, made presented 2006/07 strategic
plan of the biodiversity and conservation programme. According to Deputy
Director General, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the biodiversity and
conservation program will include:
31 MAY 2006

PAGE 234 of 291
Finalisation of the management framework for Genetically Modified
Organisms (GMO);

Development of the biodiversity framework;

Listing ecosystem in terms of NEMBA;

Development of the norms and standards for the regulation of hunting
industry and the management of elephant in South African;

Regulations for threatened, protected, aliens and invasive species; and

Declaration of new National Parks in Wild Coast and Blyde River
Canyon.
4.1.4
Marine and Coastal Management Programme
The Deputy Director General, Dr M Mayekiso presented the 2006/07 strategic
plan of the marine and coastal management programme. The presentation
focused on 2004/05 achievement and challenges. In order to address the
compliance, research development, resource management and integrated
management challenges, 2006/07 strategic priorities of Marine Coastal
Management include:

Promulgation of coastal management act;
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 235 of 291

Finalisation of aquaculture policy;

Allocation of shark cage diving and boat based whale rights;

Development of skills development strategy and research output
through collaboration;

Filling of new and vacant positions and Increase number of inspector;

Develop financial and procurement system and cost recovery
framework; and

Development of recreational permit system.
4.1.5
Tourism Programme
The Deputy Director General, Dr P Matlou presented the 2006/07 strategic plan
of the tourism programme. The presentation focused 2005 achievements and
challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic priorities. According to the Deputy
Director General, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the tourism programme
will include:

Addressing tourism skills demands;

Facilitating tourist safety and security and building a tourism friendly
nation;
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 236 of 291

Improving movement of tourist to and within South Africa;

Supporting local government to grow the tourism sector in 9 priority
areas;
5.

Developing and entrenching accurate research instruments; and

Implementing broad based black economic empowerment.
Strategic priorities of public entities
This section provides an overview of the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the public
entities accounting to the Minister of the Department of Environmental Affairs
and Tourism. As indicated in the introduction of this report, this section will focus
only on the 2006/07 strategic priorities presented respectively by the Chief
Executive Officers all public entities.
5.1 South African Grading Council
The Chief Executive Officer, Dr S Siddo presented the 2006/07 strategic plan of
the South African Grading Council. The presentation focused on 2005
achievements and challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic priorities.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the
South African Grading Council will include:
31 MAY 2006

PAGE 237 of 291
Working with Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and
provinces to monitor government procurement of graded establishment;

Accelerating grading of conference venues;

Finalizing and launching grading of tourist transport services; and

Initiating of development of grading schemes for golf n ad endorsement
of star grading by domestic and international operators.
5.2 Tourism Hospitality Sport Education Training Authority
The Chief Executive Officer Dr M Tsotetsi presented the 2006/07 strategic plans
of the Tourism Hospitality Education Training Authority. The presentation
focused on 2005 achievements, challenges and 2006/07 strategic priorities.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, the 2006/07 strategic priorities will
focus on:

Reconstruction of the board;

Submission of new 30 qualifications to South African Qualifications
Authority (SAQA);

Accreditation of training providers;

Research scarce and critical skills in the sectors;
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 238 of 291

Conducting skills audit; and

Streamline processes and procedures to ensure rapid deployment of
resources.
5.3 South African National Parks
The Chief Executive Officer, Dr D Mabunda presented the 2006/07 strategic
plans of the South African National Parks. The presentation focused on 2005
achievements and challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic priorities.
According to the CEO, the 2006/07 strategic priorities of the South African
National Parks will focus on:

Implementation of infrastructure development programme;

Finalization and implementation of tourism model and brand strategy D;

Rolling out park management plan and reporting on the state of the
park;

Mapping of cultural resource in all the parks and Implementation of
balance score card; and

Development of scientific and biodiversity research strategy.
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 239 of 291
5.4 South African National Botanical Institute
The Chief Executive Officer, Professor B Huntley presented the 2006/07 strategic
plans of the South African National Botanical Institute. The presentation focused
on the 2005 achievements and challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic
priorities. According to the Chief Executive Officer, the 2006/07 strategic
priorities of the South African Botanical Gardens will include:

Developing network of national botanical gardens;

Ensuring legislative coherence in relation to genetically modified
organism and bio prospecting, threatened species and ecosystems;

Gap analysis of national capacity in biodiversity;

Collection of taxonomy and future of natural history;

Developing biodiversity knowledge management system; and

Conducting research that focuses on global change and risk assessment,
land degradation and adaptation to climate change, threatened and
ecosystem.
5.5 Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 240 of 291
The Chief Executive Officer, Mr A Zaloumis presented the 2006/07 strategic
plans of the South African National Botanical Institute. The presentation focused
on the 2005 achievements and challenges as well as the 2006/07 strategic
priorities. According to the Chief Executive Officer, the 2006/07 strategic
priorities of the South African Botanical Gardens will include:

Implementation of revised commercial strategy focusing on public
access, refurbishment of existing park facilities and new investment;

Support settlement of land claims and implementation; and

Consolidation of uMkhuze, Ozabeni and Eastern Shores into one open
ecological area.
6.
Evaluation of the Strategic Planning Workshop
On the 24 March 2006, the Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs and
Tourism evaluated the strategic planning workshops in terms of its objectives and
outcomes. The following are the observations made by Members of the Committee
during the meeting:

The workshop had provided a good platform for members and
government officials to discuss departmental and public entities’ past
achievements, challenges and 2006/07 strategic priorities;
31 MAY 2006

PAGE 241 of 291
But due to time constrains the workshop did not provide adequate time to
question the presentations;

The presentations focused more on past achievements and little on what
will be done during the 2006/07 financial periods;

As the result the workshop did not discuss issues related to
implementation of international instruments, climate change and
diversification;

Furthermore, the workshop did not discuss challenges related to
allocation rights in terms of new fishing policies;

More time and duration should be given to future workshops and must be
held in one of the national parks rather than in the hotels;

The Committee further resolved that future strategic planning workshops
should be held in one of the national parks and more time should be
allocated with more focus on strategic priorities and less on past
achievements that can be captured in annual reports.
7.
Recommendations
31 MAY 2006
PAGE 242 of 291
In order to facilitate parliamentary oversight and executive accountability on
Departmental and Public Entities programmes, the Portfolio Committee on
Environmental Affairs and Tourism recommends that:
(a)
The Department and Public Entities must during the 2006 Second Term
of Parliamentary Session come and brief Members of the Committee on
poverty alleviation projects; NEPAD and SADC Tourism Plan;
Greening of the Nation Project; Elephant Management Strategy; 2006
/07 Legislative programmes; Tourism Black Economic Empowerment
Scorecard; Fishing rights policy and breakdown analysis of allocation;
Environmental Impact Assessment; Skills development plans and
retentions strategies of all the public entities and Hunting regulations;
(b)
The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism must during the
2006 third term of parliamentary session provide training to Committee
Members on all the international instruments passed since 1994 and
departmental programmes;
(c)
The Portfolio Committee to undertake oversight visits to Kruger
National Parks and St Lucia Wetland Authority during the 2006 third
term of parliamentary session to assess the progress made in respect of
land
claims,
extended
public
works
programs,
infrastructure
development, eco-tourism and black economic empowerment;
31 MAY 2006
(d)
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During the 2006 third term of parliamentary session, the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism must arrange and coordinate
workshops with Members of the Committee on Accelerated Shared
Growth Initiative in South Africa (ASGISA), and on Genetically
Modified Organism and National Environmental Management Act;
(e)
With effect from 1 April 2006, the Department and Public Entities
should provide quarterly reports to Members of the Committee on all
progress made with regard to their activities.
(f)
The Department and Public Entities must ensure that in future the
strategic planning workshops focus more on strategic priorities and less
on past achievements that can be captured in annual reports as per
requirements of Public Finance Management Act of 1999.
Report to be considered.
4.
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises on Budget Vote 9:
Public Enterprises, dated 31 May 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises, having considered Budget
Vote 9: Public Enterprises, reports as follows:
1.
Introduction
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1.1 The briefings on the budget of the Ministry and Department of
Public Enterprises (DPE) took place on 10 and 11 May 2006.
These briefings followed on the “Annual Workshop of the Public
Enterprises Ministry, Department and Portfolio Committee”, held
on 15 March, and the “Autumn School”, held from 3 to 7 April,
which both served, in different ways, as a background to the
budget briefings and facilitated the expeditious processing of the
briefings.
1.2
The Committee adopted fairly detailed Budget and “Annual
Report” reports in previous years. This year’s report should be
seen against the background of these reports, especially those
adopted in 2005. In this report we seek to avoid repeating issues
covered in previous reports, except where necessary. Moreover,
following the “strategic shift”, organisational restructuring and
appointment of new managers over the past two years, the
Department has become more stable and its programmes more
consistent and easier to follow; and, as a Committee, we also now
have a better grasp of our portfolio. This report should be seen in
this context – and our aim in future is to have reports that are less
elaborate on what the Department says and focus more on the
Committee’s views. The current report is longer than it should
be; but it serves as an important reference for us to play our
oversight role more effectively.
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This report offers a brief summary of the presentations made by
the Department at the briefings on its budget. The presentations,
including the very useful Strategic Plan for 2006-2009, can be
obtained from our Committee Secretary, Mr Chris Thisani.
1.4
Those who appeared before the Committee for the briefings on
the budget included Minister A Erwin; Director-General (DG),
Ms P Molefe; Deputy Directors-General (DDG) Ms S Coetzee,
Mr L Mcwabeni, Mr T Mphuti and Mr J Theledi; JPF Coordinator, Ms K Venier; Chief Financial Officer, Ms S
Hutchings; and Chief Operating Officer, Ms R Issel.
2.
Minister’s Political Overview
2.1
Minister Alec Erwin explained that the Department would
respond in detail to the issues raised in the Committee’s 2005
reports. His brief response to the issues included:
The Department’s new three-year Strategic Plan would provide
greater clarity and precision on the role of the Department and the
state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Defining the contribution of the
SOEs to the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South
Africa (ASGISA) had also enforced the need for this.
There has been progress in defining more clear measurable
objectives for the Department and the SOEs, but this is still
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“work in progress”, especially in respect of the SOEs. Defining
shareholder compacts has proved to be “a very interesting
intellectual and economic challenge”. The process will take “a bit
longer” but the “quality of the compacts will be better – and that
is important”.
There has been “considerable improvement in risk management
both in the Department and across the SOEs, but this is a massive
area, it’s not simple, and we are looking at further ways of
institutionalising these systems”.
Reporting from the SOEs to the Department had also improved in
the past year.
The retention by SOEs of non-core businesses will not assist in
employment; in fact, badly managing them would worsen the
situation. Disposing of non-core businesses could save jobs. It is
by allowing SOEs to focus on their core functions and
contributing to economic growth that they can make a useful
contribution to job creation.
2.2
Minister Erwin said that the new Strategic Plan sought to more
clearly define SOEs and their role. Whereas a private company
sought to maximise profits, an SOE sought to maximise an
economic rate of return. An SOE must achieve certain strategic
economic goals set by government – but it must do this
efficiently. Efficiency is necessary because it has to be financially
successful and be able to raise capital in the domestic and
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international markets. Measuring the cost of capital therefore is
an important criterion to judge the performance of an SOE’s
Board. Many countries are moving towards a “much more precise
classification, categorisation and measurement of SOEs”.
2.3
The Minister said it is important to have clear shareholder
compacts and mandates for the SOEs and appoint “exceptionally
competent and professional Boards” and have good management
teams. “We don’t want to micro-manage SOEs. We want them to
be clear about what they must do and then get on with it.” Criteria
by which SOEs will be measured include:
How efficiently are SOEs utilising capital? This is especially
important in view of the government’s macro-economic strategy.
What are the SOEs investment plans, how strategic are they, and
how effectively are they being implemented?
How are SOEs contributing to the efficiency of the economy?
Are the SOEs “taking this economy to the leading edge of
efficiency of the operations of infrastructure”?
Are SOEs complying with the Public Finance Management Act
(PFMA) and other legislation?
2.4
The greater clarity on the nature and role of SOEs has set the
stage for new legislation. DPE is working with National Treasury
and the Department of Public Service and Administration to
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amend the PFMA and introduce legislation on shareholder
management. The legislation will be tabled next year.
2.5
The Minister said that the power outages had “tested Eskom and
the Department quite considerably and highlighted that we have
underinvested as an economy in infrastructure over the past 10
years. But we are pleased with progress on Eskom’s very big
investment programme, so much so that we’ve asked the Board to
give us a revised plan which would speed up the projects if we
need to. We need to stabilise the REDs (Regional Electricity
Distributors). We need some clarity on the national RED, in
which Eskom could play a facilitating role. Otherwise it’s full
steam ahead for Eskom”.
2.6
Transnet had made progress in reorganizing its divisions, giving
them clarity and beginning the disposal of non-core assets, said
the Minister. Metro Rail had been transferred to the Department
of Transport with effect from 1 May. The separation of SAA
from Transnet was “technically exceptionally challenging
because of the overlapping financial and loan links. There are two
important steps. One is, at what value do we transfer the assets?
And, two is, once separated, what about the capitalization of
SAA?” The Minister explained that rate of growth of container
traffic is higher than it has ever been, and that the ports have to be
expanded.
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2.7
Denel has “embarked on a fundamental and critical reformulation
of the strategy which means it will not be a full systems
manufacturer in the international markets, but will be a systems
integrator for the South African National Defence Force. This has
probably been the most difficult of the turnaround strategies. The
first step was to persuade Treasury that we at least had a
turnaround strategy that was worth financing. Denel received R2
billion. And I’m pleased that we’re on track to sign our first
partnership deal in the aerospace sector with SAAB. There’s
going to be no magic turnaround in the financial fortunes of
Denel. The aim is to stabilise Denel in the next two years or so.”
2.8
The Minister said that a settlement of the Richtersveldt land claim
was “very close. We have an excellent relationship with the
community. I congratulate the community leaders for their
courage and vision.” He said that “the uncertainty on the legal
status of Alexkor is destroying its viability”. With the settlement,
Alexkor would be revitalised commercially. There is “no
strategic reason” why the state should own a diamond mine, and
once Alexkor transfers its current state responsibilities to local
and provincial government and becomes commercially viable, the
state may withdraw from Alexkor.
2.9
The Minister explained that Safcol’s role is being reviewed and a
new strategy being developed.
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2.10
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Arivia.kom will not be disposed of as a whole, but parts of it may
be ring-fenced and sold. A new ICT infrastructure company
(Infraco) may be formed. It will deal with broadband
infrastructure.
2.11
A new SOE to cater for the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor
(PBMR) is to be established by the end of 2006. The aim is to
develop the technology to provide environmentally friendly and
cheap electricity and to develop a leading edge nuclear industry
in South Africa. “This is a scientifically and technologically pathbreaking project. The world is once again looking closely at the
nuclear industry again. We in South Africa are making an
exceptionally big intervention in the nuclear industry and our
partners are some of the world’s top nuclear companies. Many
people say this is not dissimilar to the early days of Sasol.”
2.12
The Minister explained that the major SOEs were trying to revive
their old apprenticeship systems, and Eskom and Transnet will be
playing leading roles in the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills in
South Africa (JIPSA).
2.13
The Minister explained that the Department had a relatively small
budget, but “was changing a bit from being an administrative
department to having a budget that reflects transfer payments for
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capitalisation of SOEs.” The R2 billion allocation to Denel is an
example.
2.14
The Committee feels that the new Strategic Plan is very much
clearer about the role of the Department and its programmes,
measurable objectives, and structures. The Plan also provides
greater clarity on the nature and role of the SOEs and what is
required of each SOE. The Committee welcomes the Minister’s
direct responses to the issues raised in our 2005 reports, and
accepts that there has been meaningful progress in addressing
these issues. Obviously, we will pursue the matter of tabling
shareholder compacts in Parliament once they are finalised – and
will exchange further with the Minister on this. We accept that
job retention cannot necessarily be ensured through the SOEs
retaining their non-core assets; the Committee’s concerns are
about effective negotiations with the trade unions, the
effectiveness of Social Plans, employee share option schemes,
and other issues related to the disposal of non-core assets. The
Committee congratulates the Transnet management and trade
unions on their amicable settlement of the strike. Of course, the
Committee does not understand the full complexities of the
dispute, and hopes that both sides have drawn useful lessons from
it. There may well be some lessons for other SOEs in the
Transnet strike. We find the criteria for assessing the performance
of SOEs set out in section 2.3 above useful – and need to explore
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how we use them, together with any other criteria relevant to a
portfolio committee, to become more rigorous in our oversight
role.
2.15
The Committee welcomes too the Minister’s statement that the
power outages have highlighted the underinvestment in
infrastructure over the past 10 years. The Committee feels that
there should be greater acknowledgement of the consequences of
this. We feel too that the Executive must take its fair share of
responsibility for this underinvestment and draw the necessary
lessons. But Parliament too cannot escape its responsibility for
this – and our and other parliamentary committees need to also
draw lessons and become more effective in fulfilling our
oversight responsibilities.
2.16
The Committee feels that as Denel has been allocated R2 billion
from the national fiscus and is likely to be allocated more money
to meet its R5,1 billion recapitalisation target, we should be more
rigorous in monitoring progress in the implementation of Denel’s
turnaround strategy and its financial recovery. Since the budget
briefings, the Committee received a briefing from Denel, and was
impressed with Denel’s greater clarity of vision, strategy,
programmes and structures, and the progress it has made in the
past six months, notwithstanding the considerable challenges.
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2.17
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The Committee is keen to hear more from SAA about its new
strategy and how it is being implemented.
2.18
The PBMR project is very new for the Committee, and we will
have to develop an understanding of the key issues entailed,
especially in view of the significance and complexities of the
project.
2.19
The Committee welcomes the much-needed legislation proposed
on the new shareholder management model.
2.20
The Committee recognises that the portfolio of the Ministry is
constantly expanding and increasing in significance. Yet the
funding and resources available remain essentially the same. The
progress achieved over the past year and the programmes decided
on for this financial year therefore have added importance.
3.
Overview of Strategic Plan and Budget
3.1
Overall, the DG, Ms Portia Molefe, complemented much that the
Minister said, and gave further details. She stressed that the new
Strategic Plan went a long way to clarifying the role of DPE and
the SOEs. She said that the classification of SOEs, given their
variety, is quite complex, and suggested that the Committee
considers holding a workshop so that the Department can engage
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with us more fully on the new shareholder management model
and broader issues raised in the Strategic Plan.
3.2
But for some refinement, the DPE’s mandate, vision and mission
are essentially similar to last year. The DG said that the
Department was still working on making these more concise and
“refining the language”.
3.3
To ensure a more focused and integrated role in transactions,
DPE has merged the Corporate Finance and Transactions Unit
with the Legal, Governance and Secretariat Unit to form the
Legal, Governance and Transactions Unit. Programme 5 will now
deal with special projects such as Aventura and Alexkor. The
Joint Projects Facility (JPF), reporting to the Minister and the
SOEs Chief Executive Officers Forum, has been established.
3.4
The DG explained that the five priority areas of DPE activities
are to implement an effective shareholder management system,
ensure the implementation of the infrastructure investment
programme, strengthen SOE balance sheets, introduce private
sector partners where optimal, and leverage the SOE’s Capex
programme to “catalyse new economic activities and reestablished industries”.
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3.5
DPE is increasingly focusing on the “medium-term to long-range
economic and developmental goals of the SOEs and the country.
For example, if we are to achieve our target of 10% clean energy,
we need to know where we are going to get our gas supplies 20
years from now.”
3.6
DPE is paying keen attention to the investment programmes of
the SOEs and their contribution to economic growth. Eskom’s
20-year investment programme is being reviewed to take account
of higher economic growth forecasts. Transnet is to soon finalise
its 20-year investment programme. DPE has developed an
investment dashboard to monitor progress. DPE is also giving
attention to investment by the private sector in the SOEs and the
sectors in which the SOEs play a role.
3.7
DPE is also concerned to ensure adequate local content in
procurement by SOEs, especially with the massive Capex
programme underway. A procurement guide is to be finalised by
September 2006. This guide will also be used by government
generally in the overall Capex programme. DPE is also focusing
on the role SOEs can play in fostering call centres in rural areas
as a contribution to job creation.
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3.8
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DPE has also developed its Transaction Guidelines further,
particularly in respect of processing significant and material
transactions in terms of section 54(2) of the PFMA.
3.9
The total number of posts allocated to DPE is 157, of which 127
are filled. The vacancy rate is 19% and the turnover rate is 13%.
The Department of Public Service and Administration benchmark
for turnover rate is 8%. Sixty-three per cent of DPE’s staff
comprises women. Of these 47% are at senior management level.
There are no people with disabilities employed at DPE. The
target is to employ 15 people with disabilities over a two-year
period. The DG said that the Department is much better skilled
this year and is running more efficiently. Internal processes and
procedures and the documentation system have improved and
there is better co-ordination across the entire Department. Cooperation on project management has improved and “we now
have a project management system where we can, at any given
time, check progress on any project”.
3.10
Of the Department’s budget of R683,4 million, R580 million
comprises transfer payments, the largest being to the PBMR. In
effect, the DPE’s budget is R102,3 million, which includes R10
million for the JPF, previously funded by SOEs. The Department
underspent by 0,2%. This rises to 4,77% if the transfer to Denel is
excluded. The reason for this is that the R3, 1 million due to
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Diabo Share Trust was not transferred because its audited
financial statements were not available.
3.11
The Committee welcomes the DG’s commitment to refining and
making even more concrete and clear the Department’s mandate,
vision and mission, even though there have been improvements
since last year. The DG wants these functions to be more concise
and in simpler language. This is surprising, coming from a senior
manager in a government department! MPs have often
complained about the bureaucratic-speak and unnecessarily
technocratic language used by officials of a department, which
often tends to hide or obfuscate (we cannot find a simpler word
that conveys this precise meaning!) issues – and we have had to
really struggle to get anywhere with officials of a department on
this. So the DG’s attitude is a breath of fresh air. Of course, this is
not to deny that the complex technical work of some departments
sometimes requires technical language which is not easy to
simplify – but in general there is certainly room to be more
precise, concise and simple. This too should be a measure of a
department’s progress.
3.12
The Department’s re-organisation referred to in section 3.3 above
seems very reasonable. The Department is again commended for
the high percentage of women it employs. That not a single
person with disabilities is employed is unacceptable. The
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Committee would be interested to see what progress there has
been by next year’s budget briefings in addressing this, especially
as the Department has set a target.
3.13
It seems to the Committee that the Department is very productive
in the use of its budget. The underspending is understandable.
3.14
The Committee welcomes the DPE’s project management
system.
3.15
The Committee is very keen to see progress on the call centres
referred to in section 3.7 above.
3.16
The Committee is keen to engage further with the Department on
its investment dashboard and Transaction Guidelines, and will
arrange briefings on these within six months. The Committee has
arranged for a workshop on the new shareholder management
model and will also deal then with outstanding issues raised in
the Strategic Plan.
4.
Programme 1: Administration
4.1
This programme is responsible for managing the Ministry and
Department and providing administrative support services.
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4.2
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The Chief Operating Officer, Ms Rashida Issel, said that this
programme “ensures an infrastructure geared to respond
effectively and timeously to the needs of core programmes. We
are responsible to ensure adherence to the Department’s mandates
through various units.” These units are:
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation;
Human Resources;
Communication and External Relations;
Information Management;
Corporate Services;
Finance;
Internal Audit and Compliance.
4.3
The programme’s budget of R44,3 million is similar to last year’s
allocation, but there are shifts in allocation between different
items. These are due mainly to internal capacity building needs
and the costs of leases and accommodation.
4.4
Two key concerns of this programme for this financial year are to
upgrade the Department’s ICT system and ensure effective skills
training for the staff.
4.5
From what the Committee can tell, the administration and
technical co-ordination of the Department seems to be improving,
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and the achievements of the outputs for this financial year will
take DPE further in this direction.
5.
Programme 2: Analysis and Risk Management
5.1
This programme has been covered in some detail in previous
reports of the Committee and will be dealt with briefly here.
5.2
DDG Mr James Theledi said that the main purpose of the
programme is to “analyse and monitor the financial, operational
and socio-economic performance of the SOEs to ensure
compliance with corporate plans and shareholder compacts, and
actively mitigate key risks flowing from SOE activities”.
5.3
There are three sub-programmes: Management; Analysis; and
Risk Management.
5.4
The key risks include safety; occupational health and HIV/AIDS;
environment; security of key infrastructure, such as pipelines,
ports, railways and airports; security of supply against demand in
a growing economy; industrial action; skills; solvency of SOEs
and their contribution to national financial stability; governance;
and litigation.
5.5
Among the outputs for this financial year are the following:
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
Progress on specific aspects of the review of SOE
pension and medical aid funds (October);

Approval of financial analysis manual (May);

Standardised Annual Reports (December);

Approved KPIs and benchmarks (November 2006);

Publishing 5-year review of SOE performance (June
2006);

Progress on Risk Register for SOEs (September);

Approved Risk Management Framework (August);

Implementation of the Risk Management System
(November);

Submission of the proposed Crisis Management System
to the CEOs Forum (May).
5.6
Mr Theledi explained that DPE actively engages with the SOEs
on risk management and advises them on section 54 PFMA
applications and materiality frameworks. DPE identifies risks that
it has to monitor, assess their impact and likelihood, and set up
early warning and reporting systems. “The SOE Boards and
management are responsible for enterprise-wide risk
management. The Department is more concerned with the
aggregate risk profile and mitigation plans and the key risks that
have a systemic impact with limited Board responsibility.”
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5.7
Mr Theledi said that the electricity power outages in the Western
Cape highlighted the importance of having a functioning risk
management system. “Some of the reasons for the outages are
beyond anyone’s control, but with an effective risk management
system it would be possible to anticipate some risks and take
measures to avoid them.”
5.8
The programme’s budget more than doubled from R7,09 million
last year to R16,72 million this year. This is partly to fill
vacancies in the financial risk section. An amount of R2,5 million
has been allocated for consultants, contractors and special
services, and R2,8 million for computer services. The increases
for consultants are necessary for capacity building in risk
management, projects in Alexkor’s internal control review and
exploration programme, and SOE risk assessments. The increased
computer services are for setting up the risk management,
benchmarking and integrated financial systems.
5.9
The Committee feels that this programme is making steady
progress and we do not have much to add to what we have said in
previous reports. We feel that the outputs projected for this
financial year and the deadlines provided are good. We would,
however, be interested to better understand how a more effective
risk management system would assist in dealing with electricity
outages – and what precisely is being done to ensure that this
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happens. We look forward to the finalisation of the Risk
Management Framework which is set for August. The Committee
feels that greater emphasis should be placed on measuring
financial risk, including through such measures as “
Value at Risk”. The programme’s budget seems to us to be
appropriate for the activities and outputs intended.
6.
Programme 3: Legal Governance and Transactions
6.1
As explained in section 3.3 above, this programme is the merger
of two previous programmes. It seeks to provide SOE mandates,
and ensure alignment of SOE governance systems, compliance
and performance with government’s policy objectives.
6.2
Its measurable objectives are to “develop effective governance,
transaction and policy frameworks that ensure that all SOE
activities are performed with integrity, honesty and in compliance
with appropriate legislation”.
6.3
Its sub-programmes are Management; Legal and Litigation;
Governance and Secretariat; and Legal Transactions.
6.4
DDG Sandra Coetzee explained that more work is being done on
drafting the new SOE legislation (referred to by the Minister in
section 2.4 above). The precise classification of SOEs is proving
challenging. Consideration is also being given to using categories
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such as state-owned and state-reporting enterprises. How
precisely is government as a shareholder different from
shareholders in private companies? How should the state deal
with SOEs in which government is the sole shareholder compared
to where it shares the shareholding with other partners? These
and many other issues are being addressed in the draft legislation.
6.5
“I find the analogy of a jockey and a racehorse useful“, said Ms
Coetzee, “to communicate the relationship between DPE and the
SOEs. We are the jockey steering the potential winning racehorse
in the right direction. It’s not always easy. Racehorses can have a
mind of their own. But without the jockey, the racehorse is not
worth much, and the same applies in reverse. We are working on
becoming better, more confident jockeys”.
6.6
Among the outputs for this financial year are the following:

Reduction of outstanding litigation by 25-50%;

Establishment of Legal Panel;

Regular reports on impact of draft legislation;

Internal DPE procurement guidelines;

Finalisation of new SOE legislation;

Setting Minimum Requirements for Memoranda and
Articles of Association of SOEs;
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
A generic shareholder compact and key performance
areas and indicators;

More effective Board management: remuneration
guidelines; Board induction toolkit; Board profiling
and Shadow Board Database; improved AGM and
strategic intent general meetings; and better Board
evaluation;

Transaction Good Practice Framework: Transaction
Management Guidelines; Employee Share Option
Schemes and Management Buy-Out guidelines;
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment and
Preferential Procurement guidelines; corporate
structure guidelines; and model shareholders
agreements;

Transaction Execution: Eskom Finance Corporation
securitization; PBMR; SAA; Property Project;
Infraco; and Safcol.
6.7
“This is a heavy-loaded work year”, said Ms Coetzee. “We want
to establish consistency in shareholder management during this
financial year so that in the following years we focus on
implementation and further precisioning. So this is a year of
building, heavy building activity in this programme.”
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6.8
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To ensure that there is effective co-ordination within DPE and
across government and that messages given to the SOEs by
different parties are consistent, DPE is working on a governance
workflow model.
6.9
The budgets for the two separate programmes that have been
merged will be consolidated during the adjustments estimates
process. The significant increase in salaries is due to the original
restructuring of the unit and the need for highly skilled staff. A
portion of the budget allocation for the new Programme 5,
Special Projects, will be retained to accommodate the expenditure
which will be incurred in this programme. This will also be
addressed during the adjustments estimates process. The 30,2%
expected average annual growth in expenditure is mainly to
provide for increases in staff, higher costs of specialists and
refurbishing equipment.
6.10
The Committee feels that this new programme is an advance. It is
coherent and comprehensive. But is it aiming to do too much?
Are there the personnel and resources to effectively achieve the
targets?
6.11
That the new shareholder management model is going to be
encapsulated in legislation is most welcome. Progress in this
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regard seems to be good. The Committee looks forward to the
Bill.
6.12
Co-ordination between DPE and the regulatory and other
departments that impact on SOEs seems to be improving, and is
meant to be consolidated further this year. The Committee is keen
to see this happen. The Committee welcomes the governance
workflow model that is being shaped, and is interested to pursue
this further with the Department.
6.13
The Committee welcomes the Department’s commitment to
speedily addressing outstanding litigation issues.
6.14
The budget of the programme seems very reasonable given the
aims, activities and intended outputs.
7.
Programme 4: Corporate Strategy and Structure
7.1
The aims of this programme are to define and implement industry
structures; and ensure public/private service delivery and SOE
strategies that will optimise overall industry efficiency, service
provision, pricing of services and economic development.
7.2
The overall objective of this programme is to design strategies
and structures for the SOEs and the industries in which they
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operate that ensure delivery on government’s economic growth
objectives. This will be achieved through increased
competitiveness; lowest sustainable input costs; globally
competitive services; sufficient capacity provision; and utilising
SOEs to strengthen key sectors. Other objectives include
improving the quality of infrastructure investment and liaising
with the JPF in development of strategies.
7.3
Its sub-programmes are transport; energy; strategy; Economic
Research Unit; and JPF.
7.4
DDG Mr Litha Mcwabeni set out in detail the work programme
and DPE objectives for each SOE – amplifying the presentations
of the Minister and DG in sections 2 and 3 above. He said a key
concern of this programme is to ensure that SOEs reduce the cost
of business and strengthen key sectors of the economy as part of
ASGISA. “The gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of
the GDP has declined in the past 10 years and the state is
determined to change this.” He also stressed the important role of
the private sector. “For example, we need private sector
participation in the ports, particularly in Coega, Richards Bay and
Saldanha, at the level of operations, not infrastructure ownership
at this stage.”
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7.5
He said that with the separation of SAA from Transnet, DPE will
have to play a more direct monitoring role and develop expertise
in this. “It presents peculiar challenges because SAA is involved
in a fairly volatile environment which is influenced by
fluctuations in both the exchange rate and oil price. So unlike
other SOEs, here we have oversight without any control over two
major variables.”
7.6
Among other issues he dealt with are:

Eskom’s pricing framework, and the financing of its
Capex programme while keeping its balance sheet
positive;

The role of the Capex programme in resuscitating certain
dormant industries and also drawing on “local content” to
encourage job creation;

The need to address the SOE Capex programme being
hampered by the “tedious administrative process” of
securing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs);

A study on the mining sector as it impacts on Alexkor;

The need for state ownership of Safcol for now because
“demand is higher than supply” and also to “encourage
small players in the industry and diversify the market
share”.
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7.7
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Among the outputs for this programme during the current
financial year are the following:

Procurement of Private Sector Partner for Coega container
terminal;

Separation of SAA from Transnet;

Pricing Policy for Electricity Sector (October);

Introduction of Private Sector Participation in electricity
industry;
7.8

Key partnerships for Denel;

Beginning of sale of Denel’s non-core assets (September);

Development of Safcol strategy (September).
JPF Co-ordinator, Ms Katherine Venier, explained that the JPF is
“a financial facility for the development of projects that enhance
the value of an industry or can leverage off the assets and/or
capabilities of the SOEs to benefit SOEs and the economy as a
whole”. Its measurable objective is to facilitate the rapid
development of projects so that an operational company or
financial investor accepts an investment case and/or costed
operational plan.
7.9
The six areas for projects are ICT; property; energy and pipelines;
human resources; continental investment; and investment
optimisation.
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7.10
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Among the outputs for the JPF are:

Efficient SOE infrastructure investment in the Continent;

Pipelines Masterplan;

Training Facilities and opportunities for SOE capital
expansion programme;

Provision of low cost telecommunications infrastructure
and reduction of telecommunication costs by 50%;

Disposal of SOE non-core properties;

Consolidation of SOE procurement for supplier industry
development.
7.11
The Corporate Strategy and Structure budget increased from R8,5
million last year to R600,7 million. This is because of the R580
million that has to be transferred to the PBMR project and the
increases for salaries and goods and services. Excluding the
PBMR, the budget for this programme is expected to rise at an
average annual rate of 38,6% and reach R24,8 million in 2008/9.
The allocation to JPF is expected to increase by R10 million per
year for the next three years.
7.12
The Committee’s views on many of the issues covered in this
programme are expressed in section 2 above and will not be
repeated here. Overall, the programme is clearer this year. The
work that has to be done in each particular sector is more clearly
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defined. Of course, it is not easy to set deadlines for certain
outputs, especially with certain ongoing activities, and it would
not do to impose mechanical deadlines, but consideration should
be given to setting more specific deadlines for aspects of this
programme.
7.13
The Committee is very interested in the Department’s focus on
the role of the SOE Capex programme in revitalising certain
dormant industries and encouraging “local content”, and will
monitor this keenly.
7.14
The Committee agrees that some of the administrative
requirements of the EIAs may be too cumbersome, but the
changes effected should not serve to dilute the need for and goals
of EIAs. The Committee needs to better understand EIAs and
also further develop our views.
7.15
The Committee will follow the progress on Eskom’s pricing
framework.
7.16
The Committee is interested to see what emerges from the
Alexkor and mining sector study.
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7.17
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The Committee feels that, for the reasons referred to in section
7.6 above and others, Safcol should, for now, remain in state
hands.
7.18
The JPC is interesting, exciting and laudable. To the Committee,
the challenges seem more formidable than is made out, and the
Department’s willingness to take them on is impressive. Are there
adequate staff and resources to carry the project through?
7.19
The Committee will obviously be monitoring progress on the
delivery of the overall Capex programme very keenly, and will
focus on this in greater detail during the Department’s first
quarterly briefing on this on 14 June.
8.
Overview of Committee’s Response to the Strategic Plan and
Budget
8.1
The Committee’s specific views on different aspects of the
Department’s programmes and budgets are covered in different
sections of this report, and will not be repeated here except as
necessary.
8.2
Given the scope and complexities of the Department’s portfolio,
we feel DPE has made significant strides since the last budget
briefings, is much clearer about its role and current programmes,
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and has budgeted appropriately for the achievements of its
targeted outputs in this financial year. The new Strategic Plan for
2006-2009 is commendable, as expressed in section 2.14 above,
and there is a much better fit between the Plan and the budget
than in previous years. We will be able to better assess after we
have considered DPE’s Annual Report for the last financial year
when we consider it later this year, but, at this stage, we feel that
DPE has made effective and productive use of last year’s budget.
8.3
Of course, major challenges persist, but the Committee feels, at
this stage, that the Department certainly has the potential to meet
most of these challenges. The Department’s senior managers are
new, young and enthusiastic – and hold a lot of promise. The
skills level of DPE has improved since the last budget sittings,
although challenges remain. It was a more confident Department
we engaged with this year. The Minister and new DG must be
commended for putting together such a potentially good team.
The challenge, of course, is to create a productive harmony of
this new team and most effectively deploy their skills and passion
– and here too the signs are promising. Of course, given the
nature of the interaction between departments and parliamentary
committees, and for a variety of other reasons, there are aspects
of the a department’s role and functioning, usually negative, that
we are unable to see, but with this qualification, we are very
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clear: DPE is doing well, and is poised to do better. Of course,
time will tell!
8.4
There is a fairly high level of synergy between the Minister and
DG’s approach to their portfolio and this is also reflected in the
approach of the senior managers – and this too suggests the
clarity being forged in attending to this portfolio.
8.5
There seems to be increasing co-ordination between DPE and the
policy, regulatory and other relevant departments. Of course, this
co-ordination can be challenging – but the Committee notes the
progress, and hopes to see more.
8.6
As the SOEs stabilise and their new role becomes clearer, DPE is
increasingly focusing on the long-term economic and
developmental needs and goals of the country – and this is to be
welcomed.
8.7
Given the importance of the SOE Capex programme, the
Committee will meet with DPE quarterly to receive progress
reports.
8.8
As explained earlier, the Committee looks forward to the new
SOE legislation.
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8.9
As happened last year, DPE’s presentations at the briefings were
in respects different from what appeared in Vote 9 (Public
Enterprises) of the “Estimates of National Expenditure” (ENE),
including the financial figures. The quality certainly of the
Strategic Plan and the presentations at the briefings was
significantly superior to that found in the ENE. The Committee
feels that the different time cycles are not enough to explain the
differences. While there have been major improvements in the
presentation of National Treasury budget documents over the
years, there is still space for some improvements in the way Vote
9 is presented so that it is clearer and more accessible – and the
Committee feels that DPE should engage with Treasury about
this, especially since it agrees with the Committee on this. The
differences between the ENE and DPE documents presented at
the briefings serves to reinforce the Committee’s concern to
receive DPE budget documentation at least seven days before the
briefings so that the Committee can prepare properly.
9.
Challenges for the Committee
9.1
For the Committee to get a better sense of DPE’s Strategic Plan,
programmes and budget, we need to be able to evaluate how
effectively the Department fulfilled its programmes and used its
budget for the previous financial year. Yet such an evaluation
cannot be properly done until we consider DPE’s Annual Report
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for the 2005-6 financial year – but this report will be tabled in
parliament at the end of September. Of course, there are National
Treasury and DPE documents, including DPE’s Quarterly
Reports, that provide information on progress on programmes
and use of budgets. In the consistency and manner we play our
oversight role, and the way we make use of a variety of
documents, including Quarterly Reports, we need to more
effectively link assessments of a Strategic Plan, proposed
programmes and budgets during a budget briefing with progress
achieved on Strategic Plans, programmes and budgets of the
previous financial year.
9.2
This report has focused more on plans, strategies and
programmes, and not enough on the concrete details of the
budget. We need to address this in the way we manage future
budget briefings and report on them.
9.3
We need to develop our skills in evaluating DPE’s budget and
become more rigorous in our oversight role.
9.4
We need to more actively pursue the possibility of engaging the
services of technical experts in the energy, defence and transport
sectors.
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9.5
The Committee needs to visit more SOE sites as part of our study
tour programme to better understand several aspects of DPE’s
programmes and assess progress.
10.
Appreciation
10.1
The Committee expresses its appreciation to the Minister, DG
and other officials of the Department for their co-operation in
processing the budget briefings.
10.2
The Committee expresses its appreciation to researcher, Ms
Desmoreen Carolus, for the background report on which this
report drew.
5.
Report of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy on Budget
Vote 30 – Minerals and Energy, dated 24 May 2006:
The Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy, having considered Budget
Vote 30 – Minerals and Energy, reports as follows:
A.
Terms of Reference
The Committee resolved to conduct budget briefings on 16 and 17 May
2006. The objectives of the briefings were to:
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
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Establish how allocated funds and transfers to statutory bodies were
to be spent;

Monitor the achievement of targets, and whether funds allocated
meet those targets;

Monitor progress made and establish problems encountered;

Fulfill its mandate of overseeing the Department of Minerals and
Energy and statutory bodies that fall within its portfolio;

Determine whether policy developments take place in accordance
with the key objectives and aims as stated in the Department’s
strategic plan;

Determine whether policy developments take place in accordance
with government’s priorities of poverty alleviation, job creation
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), human resource
development and growing the economy;

Monitor compliance with the Public Finance Management Act
(PFMA).
B.
Introduction
The first day of the two–day session with the Department of Minerals
and Energy was a joint session with the Select Committee of Economic
and Foreign Affairs. The Director-General presented the Department’s
strategic plan for the 2006/7 MTEF period. The focus of the first day
was on programmes 1 to 4, which covered Administration; Mine Health
and Safety; Mineral Regulation; and Mineral Policy and Promotion.
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The focus of the second day was on Hydrocarbons and Energy
Planning, Electricity and Nuclear and Associated Services.
C.
Overview of Departmental Programmes
The Director-General explained that Department’s strategic plan was
informed by a commitment to ensure that its implementation plans,
programmes, time and resources were allocated to activities aimed at
advancing the economy, bridging the gap between the first and second
economies, redressing past imbalances, developing of appropriate skills
needed to grow the economy, facilitating job creation and fighting
poverty. Special attention was also paid to providing access to energy
and ensuring security of energy supply to all South Africans. The
implementation of key legislation, such as the Mineral and Petroleum
Resources Development Act, the Petroleum Products Amendment Act
and the Petroleum Pipelines Act, demanded a shift in focus from policy
making to policy implementation. This also meant that restructuring the
Department would be imminent to effectively improve service delivery.
D.
Key issues emanating from the presentation
1.
Mine Health and Safety Branch
The purpose of this programme is to regulate and promote
health and safety in the mining industry to the highest standards
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in the world, thereby improving the quality of life of those
employed in industry and those affected by industry’s activities.
Its measurable objective is to reduce mining-related death,
injuries and ill health. The Department highlighted “the fatality
rate per million hours worked has decreased from 0.25 in 2004
to 0.21 in 2005 – this corresponds to 246 deaths in 2004 and 202
deaths in 2005.” (These statistics were taken from the DirectorGeneral’s presentation notes). Much more work was needed to
bring it in line with international rates. As it stood, the rate was
at its lowest in South African mining history. Detailed statistics
were made available to the Committee.
2.
Mineral Regulation Branch
The main aim of this programme is to effectively promote,
manage, transform and regulate the mining sector to achieve
transformation and sustainable development. This branch’s
responsibility was to implement the Mineral and Petroleum
Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and other mineral
policies. It would also be incumbent upon the branch to improve
the turn-around time for processing prospecting and mining
licence applications in this sector, with a special focus on
assisting first-time entrants in the industry. Statistics on progress
relating to licences and applications were made available to the
Committee.
31 MAY 2006
3.
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Mineral Policy and Promotion Branch
This branch is effectively responsible for policy formulation and
promotion. Work has already started around amending the
MPRDA, which proved to have some unintended negative
consequences to the spirit of the Act.
4.
Energy
4.1
Electricity
The first Regional Electricity Distributor (RED) was
launched in Cape Town last year in an attempt to
consolidate the country’s electricity distribution industry.
Following a Cabinet directive to establish a seventh
RED, the Department has started to explore the viability
of this National RED, which will cover the areas outside
the six metros already identified. Other highlights
included the launch of the National Energy Regulator of
South Africa (NERSA), a single energy regulator for
electricity, piped-gas and petroleum pipeline industries.
In terms of reaching the targets for universal access by
2012, the Department was behind schedule as a result of
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inadequate financial allocations. The same challenge was
experienced with the Integrated National Electricity
Programme (INEP) which made provision for the
electrification of 500 000 households per annum, but the
funding provided in the 2006/7 budget only allowed for
89 525 connections.
4.2
Nuclear
Investment in nuclear research and development
capabilities will increase during this MTEF period.
Cabinet’s approval of the Radioactive Waste
Management Policy necessitated the establishment of
structures to facilitate the implementation of the policy.
4.3
Renewable Energy
Legislation was being developed to address areas in the
White Paper on Energy (1998), which had not yet been
covered by existing legislation. Special attention will be
given to promoting the uptake of renewable energy,
energy efficiency and climate change.
4.4
Hydrocarbons
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The petroleum industry in South Africa will for the first
time this year be regulated by way of licensing and fuel
quality regulation. The Petroleum Products Amendment
Act and the Petroleum Pipelines Act would be key
regulatory tools. The unsatisfactory results from the fiveyear review of the Liquid Fuels Charter necessitated the
establishment of a supplier development agency,
SASDA, to address issues around procurement.
The Department set out to conclude the paraffin safety
strategy this year, which will ensure the phasing out of
paraffin as a household fuel, while looking at other more
environment-friendly fuels. The provision of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) and other renewable energy
sources to households will be intensified.
E.
Budget
The Committee was given a breakdown of the Department’s budget. Of
the total budget of R2, 548 billion, transfers and subsidies accounted for
R2 billion, of which R1,5 billion was allocated to electricity and the
remainder to the public entities. An amount of R500 million was used in
the department of which R290 million went to employee compensation.
The remainder was allocated for goods and services. Mining
rehabilitation programmes also took up a large portion of the budget.
31 MAY 2006
F.
PAGE 285 of 291
Public Entities
A large portion of the Department’s budget was transferred to the
public entities. The Department plans to improve the monitoring of the
operations of its entities and also to align the entities’ objectives with
those of the Department and Government.
G.
Other Key Focus Areas
Restructuring of the Department to improve service delivery, finalising
its strategy on the support of SMME’s, using the transformation
legislation to ensure effective and efficient BEE and gender
empowerment would receive special attention in all line function
programmes. There would be a commitment towards continuous
capacity–building within the minerals and energy sectors.
H.
Issues raised by the Committee

The Committee expressed concern at the lack of information around
the motivating factors to establish RED 7. The Committee was
taken through an extensive process of understanding and overseeing
work towards the establishment of the other six REDs. The
Committee was not aware of any evaluation of the RED process,
which would inform the viability of a seventh RED, nor had it been
involved in any discussion in relation thereto. The Committee,
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therefore, questioned its establishment at a time when only one of
the six REDs had been launched.

Were there enough mine inspectors to visit the mines?

How would the new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
regulations affect the Department? Would the Department be
bound by the new EIA authorisations and would there be a need to
amend the MPRDA, which also provided for regulation on
Environmental authorisations?

Clarity was sought on the Department’s youth and gender focus.

How would electricity targets be met from the current budget?

Did the Department have a reliable staff retention programme?

What was being done to identify suitable sites for high-level nuclear
waste? What was the Department’s position with regard to the
Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)? How much more money
would be required for the PBMR?

What portion of the budget goes to ESKOM, and why was only
10% allocated to electricity and nuclear? Would such a low
allocation not cause the Department to run into problems in these
areas?

What were the time frames for filling vacant posts in key offices of
delivery?

How was the Department monitoring the mining scorecard and to
what extent were companies complying?

Could legislation be used to address the issue of “fronting”?
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Was progress being made with regard to SMMEs. in the mining
sector, and what statistical information was available in that regard?

If the need arose to urgently assess a mine, would the Department
have the flexibility to attend to it? What was the line of
communication in drawing attention to a particular mine, given that
the presentation made mention of the involvement of the
Departments of Water Affairs and Forestry and Environmental
Affairs and Tourism?

What happened to the Committee that was established and tasked
with overseeing compliance with the Liquid Fuels Charter?

The Department should explore developing policy to encourage
government departments to procure energy-saving appliances in
terms of stand-by time.

The Committee commented on the opportunity for BEE in relation
to biofuels and was looking forward to the strategy on biofuels. It
was suggested that one should look beyond just using agricultural
products for biofuels. Weeds from wetlands might be an option to
consider.

The presentation did not place much emphasis on climate change,
commitments and plans relating to the Kyoto Protocols although
South Africa was a signatory thereto.

Tax and other incentives with regard to renewable energy were not
sufficient.
I.
Responses by Department
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The substance of the Department’s policy was to de-racialise the
South African mining industry and to introduce previously
disadvantaged South Africans into this sector. The shift from policy
formulation to policy implementation exposed a number of
challenges. These challenges related to activities of not only
established companies, but also to the beneficiaries of this process.
Black people allowed themselves to be used to defeat the objectives
of the law. In an attempt to penalise “fronting“, the Department
wanted the documentation submitted in this respect to be in the
form of a declaration, so that a false declaration would constitute
criminal liability according to law.

Compliance with the mining scorecard was being monitored.

Staff retention and vacancies remained a challenge due to the
scarcity of skills and the skills requirements were knowledgeintensive. This also has an effect on the time frames for filling
vacancies.

The evaluation of the business case for RED 1 was not only
confined to the Department, but also involved broader role players.
At the implementation phase of RED 1 and at the time of making
the business case for RED 1, it was felt that some things might have
been overlooked by the Department, which necessitated the
establishment of the National RED. A process of engagement on
this matter between the Committee and the Department should
follow.

There were enough inspectors to visit mines.
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
In terms of mine rehabilitation, the Department was prioritising the
most polluted mines, but these priorities could be shifted. Provisions
under the MPRDA were still being enforced, but there were
consultation processes with the Departments of Water Affairs and
Forestry and of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

There had been a five–year review on the Liquid Fuels Charter.

The Department could not respond to questions on the PBMR as its
governance, operational and shareholding functions were located in
the Department of Public Enterprises. The Department of Minerals
and Energy was the policy department as far as the PBMR was
concerned. The Director-General explained that the same applied
with Koeberg and ESKOM, where the Department of Minerals and
Energy was only responsible for the regulatory environment.

The development of the biofuels strategy would result in enormous
opportunity for rural development and upliftment. The Committee
would be updated as the strategy was being developed.
J.
Conclusion and Way Forward
1. The Committee acknowledged the open manner in which the
Department presented its strategic plan and budget, highlighting
both strengths and challenges. The Committee resolved to follow up
on key issues raised with the Department on an ongoing basis. The
Committee undertook to strengthen its oversight and monitor the
implementation of programmes and projects highlighted in the
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Department’s strategic plan. The Department’s annual report will
have to reflect the extent to which it had delivered on its services
efficiently, effectively and economically, and whether these services
had impacted on or made a difference in terms of the strategic
priorities identified.
2. The Committee was not satisfied with the Department’s lack of
response on PBMR matters. The Committee noted the movement of
this project from the Department of Minerals and Energy to the
Department of Trade and Industry, and questioned the current
location of this project within the Department for Public
Enterprises. In discussing its scope for oversight on nuclear-related
matters, the Committee resolved to seek clarity on the situation of
the PBMR project through a meeting to which both the Ministers of
Minerals and Energy and Public Enterprises will be invited in order
to start a process of discussion on the subject. The Committee was
also concerned about the minimal role the state utility on nuclear
issues, the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA),
had to play in the PBMR process. It recommends that the Executive
be requested to arrange for a much more meaningful role for
NECSA in the PBMR process to be explored. Role clarification was
necessary to ensure accountability.
3. The Committee recommends that the Department strengthen its
leadership initiatives in the profiling and highlighting of key
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departmental programmes and policies. Specific reference was
made to the Minister of Public Enterprises’ recent pronouncement
on the biofuels strategy, once again motivated by the issue of role
clarification between departments/ministries to give effect to
meaningful oversight and accountability.
4. On the issue of electrification and the inability of INEP and the
Department to meet their targets due to insufficient budget
allocation, the Committee has decided to approach National
Treasury to arrange a briefing session for Members of the
Committee to enhance their understanding of how allocations were
made to departments that were tasked with specific goals by the
President, but that lacked the financial resources to implement.
5. The Committee expressed concern over the lack of consultative
processes regarding the establishment of a seventh RED and will
invite all relevant stakeholders to a meeting to discuss, through a
public participatory process, the decision to establish the viability
and role of this seventh RED.
Report to be considered.