Dr Lotriet (DA) to ask the Deputy President:
What mechanisms has he introduced in line with his designated responsibilities as the Leader of Government Business to monitor and ensure that the Members of the Executive introduce proposed legislation in time to prevent a flood of Bills at the end of a Parliamentary term to get legislation passed? NO4566E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker,
In addition to other responsibilities that the President has assigned me, I also serve as the Leader of Government Business, where I am responsible for:
- Monitoring the implementation of the Legislative Programme in Parliament, this includes tracking the procession of Priority Bills.
- Introducing measures to effectively monitor and improve the quality of legislation submitted by the Executive for approval.
In line with these responsibilities, we have introduced the following measures:
- There is a dedicated official in the office of the Deputy President (DP) responsible for tracking legislation as introduced by Cabinet.
- All Bills are tabled before the Cabinet Committee before being submitted to Cabinet for final approval. Bills that do not meet the required standards are not submitted to Cabinet but sent back to the relevant departments for further work.
- All Cabinet meetings have a standing item for the Leader of Government Business to report, especially on Legislation.
- The Deputy President reminds all Ministers in writing to furnish priority legislation on time, and in line with the Parliaments programme.
In this regard, the Deputy President, as a Leader of Government Business in Parliament, convenes regular meetings with the Speaker and other Presiding Officers of Parliament to streamline the Legislative Programme.
Honourable Speaker,
I am pleased to report that the Cabinet approved forty-two (42) Bills on the 2023 Legislative Programme on 29 March 2023. As of 26 October 2023, twenty-two (22) Bills on the 2023 Legislative Programme have already been introduced to Parliament and are broken down as follows:
- 4 Bills pronounced during SONA – 4 introduced
- 17 Mandatory money Bills – 9 introduced
- 9 Legislation with Constitutional Court deadlines – 3 introduced
- 12 Critical (Priority) Bills – 6 Introduced.
Honourable Speaker,
In preparation for the next term, we will ensure that all the policy and legislative reforms introduced in the 6th Parliament are realised.
I thank you.
Mr N F Shivambu (EFF) to ask the Deputy President:
(1) Whether in his capacity as the Chairperson of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster, he has had any extensive engagement with the Minister of Police to understand fully the true extent of the police response to increased lawlessness and the areas of police incapacity to deal with crime in the country; if not, why not; if so,
(2) whether, following the specified engagements, he has found that the police under the leadership of the Minister and the National Commissioner have the capabilities to successfully fight crime in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details? NO4568E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker,
As part of our efforts to assess the progress that the government is making in implementing its programmes, the President and I have been meeting all Ministers, Deputy Ministers, DGs and Heads of Departments.
In this regard, the President and I have had the opportunity to meet with the Minister, Deputy Minister and Commissioner of Police to brief us on the Departmental plans to fight crime in the Republic of South Africa.
The Ministry is implementing Operation Shanyela, a comprehensive plan to combat crime throughout the country. The plan includes clamping down on illegal mining areas.
The SAPS has also established specialised units to work with business, private security and SOEs to tackle illegal mining, the construction mafia, cable theft and the vandalism of economic infrastructure.
The Minister also announced that recruits are being enlisted to increase the capacity of the police. In this regard, 10,000 trainees have already graduated, and over the next financial years, additional trainees will graduate, bringing the total number to 30,000 new police officers.
One thousand (1 000) of the newly recruited personnel have been ring-fenced to increase the capacity of the Public Order Policing (POP), which deals with crowd management issues or threats resulting from that. The POP has, by the end of October this year (2023), received an additional 4,000 members resulting from the recruitment drive.
Honourable Speaker,
I have confidence not only in Minister Cele, Deputy Minister Mathale and Commissioner Masemola but in all men and women in blue right to the lowest-ranking police officers who are committed to fighting and defeating crime in our communities.
The recently launched “Combating Crime through Decisive Police Action and Robust Community Involvement”, and the operationalisation of the increased Crime Prevention and Combating Action Plans through Operation Shanyela are yielding results in the fight against crime in our country.
Honourable Speaker,
We will continue to work jointly with the private sector to invest in efforts to combat crime.
I also urge our communities to continue to be involved in efforts to fight crime. They must work with the police and expose the rotten apples within our police stations. Together we will win this fight. Let’s continue to build safer communities.
I thank you.
Mr T Malatji (ANC) to ask the Deputy President
Whether, as the leader of the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa with the responsibilities of fostering collaboration between government and social partners towards addressing the shortage of skills in critical sectors of the economy, any steps have been taken to enhance the Government’s National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) as a comprehensive student funding model to increase more accessibility for the poor to higher education institutions to address the skills shortage in the Republic considering that the NSFAS has already been expanded to cover the poor by increasing the threshold to R350 000; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what collaborative steps were taken with social partners in this regard? NO4559E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker,
I am pleased to report that together with the leadership of the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) we have completed the 10-year review of the HRDC, and as a result, we are re-focusing the work of the Council.
The work of the HRDC has been successful through strengthened partnerships between government, business, academia, civil society and other sectors, in addressing blockages in the country’s human resource development pipeline.
The HRDC has been critical in contributing to the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, serving as an anchor by ensuring that the Plan is skills-based, innovation-led, entrepreneurship-driven, and advances technology.
Honourable Speaker,
As part of our commitment to addressing the skills shortage in the economy, the Government, through the Department of Higher Education and Training, is committed to ensuring that the doors of education remain open to all, especially to the youth from historically marginalised and poor backgrounds.
The Department of Higher Education and Training is already engaged in preparing NSFAS for the 2024 academic year through various measures which include, the finalisation of a new Comprehensive Student Financial Aid Model for Cabinets approval.
As part of the process to develop this model, the Department has consulted several stakeholders, including, amongst others, the Business Association of South Africa, NEDLAC, and organised labour.
According to the Ministry of Higher Education and Training, clear proposals on the funding model will be submitted to the Cabinet by the end of 2023. The proposed funding model seeks to ensure that in the new academic year (2024) there will be;
- A retention of existing funding for poor students in the income bracket of R0 to R350 000 per household;
- A funding strategy for the missing middle, which includes engaging with the financial sector to support by providing loans to students within this bracket;
- An incorporation of undergraduate and postgraduate students in the funding model.
Regarding the challenges with direct payments, which started around June 2022, the Minister of Higher Education and Training has already met and directed the board to investigate the extent of the problem and further devise a plan to address the identified challenges. To this end, the Board has developed a 7-point plan to speed up direct payments to affected individuals.
The Minister has also directed the Board to investigate the allegations of irregularities involving the appointment process of the four direct payment service providers. There have been notable actions on this matter; however, the board is still to provide a detailed plan on how it will respond to the remaining recommendations of the investigation report.
I thank you
Mr M Hlengwa (IFP) to ask the Deputy President:
Whether, insofar as the implementation of the District Development Model is concerned, he has found that reliance on section 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, has proven to be an effective intervention tool when applied; if not, why not; if so, what is the basis of his finding? NO4567E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker,
Section 154 of the Constitution is important as it serves as a constitutional mechanism that effectively bolsters and fortifies the capacity of municipalities. It enables the National and Provincial governments to support and strengthen Municipalities to fulfil their responsibilities and provide quality services to the people. Whereas Section 139(1) of the Constitution prescribes that When a municipality cannot or does not fulfil an executive obligation in terms of the Constitution or legislation, the relevant provincial executive may intervene by taking any appropriate steps to ensure the fulfilment of that obligation.
We have always believed that we must as directed by section 154 of the constitution continue to support municipalities fulfil their constitutional mandates. In instances where there are serious capacity challenges, we will have to implement section 139 which is the last resort in this instance.
Hence informed by section 154 and the intergovernmental framework in October 2019, His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the metropolitan version of the District Development Model. The President has always emphasised the need for an improved coordination and cooperation system for coherent planning and implementation between all spheres of government.
Enhancing cooperative governance through a district coordination model is to improve coherence and the impact of spatial targeting by all three integrated government spheres. For practicality, this integration is calibrated at a district or metropolitan scale.
In improving coordination, we have established an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) ideally positioned at the national level to facilitate and deliver on the above-mentioned vision, given its composition and recent experiences.
The practical implementation of the District Development Model (DDM) began through District Champions assisting in implementing the COVID-19 Response Strategy at provincial and local government levels. This model of partnerships contributed to a coordinated response, which assisted the country in successfully overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date, District Champions continue to oversee the implementation of the DDM, as facilitated through the Presidential DDM Izimbizo that have been held in all provinces.
In carrying the mandate of overseeing service delivery interventions across the country going forward, I have convened the IMC on District-Based Service Delivery Coordination and Implementation.
The District-Based Service Delivery War Room has;
- Identified service delivery hotspots for intervention
- Identified and is implementing “quick wins” for service delivery programmes in hotspots by sector departments and their entities
- Is ensuring alignment of Infrastructure Development Plans and operations with national, provincial and district plans and intensifying the implementation of pipeline infrastructure projects in the identified priority district and metropolitan municipalities.
- Is ensuring policy coherence and unlocking bottlenecks to fast-track service delivery.
- Is improving the safety and security of communities, by providing early warning and quick response mechanisms in areas with service delivery problems.
Through the Service Delivery War Room, we have been doing outreaches through visits to six provinces (i.e., North-West, Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga), these included interactions with stakeholders that are seized with the implementation of the DDM in their localities, including traditional leaders, government, business and community organisations.
We are convinced that through improved coordination, service delivery interventions across municipalities related to infrastructure backlogs and the provision of access to essential services can be fast-tracked.
Rest assured that we will not rest until we have brought stability across municipalities.
I thank you.
Dr C P Mulder (FF Plus) to ask the Deputy President:
(1) Whether any political parties and/or organisations have signed the proposed National Dialogue on Coalition Governments Declaration that was circulated by his Office to political parties and organisations that attended the conference on 4 and 5 August 2023 at the University of the Western Cape; if not, why not; if so, which political parties and/or organisations;
(2) whether any inputs and/or proposed amendments have been received from parties and/or organisations; if not, what is the current state of affairs of the declaration; if so, what was the nature of the proposed amendments? NO4561E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker,
After the successful convening of the National Dialogue on Coalition Governments at the University of the Western Cape in August 2023, most political parties felt that it would be proper for them to share the outcomes of the dialogue with their members/constituencies.
We have since sent the Declaration to all parties that participated in the National Dialogue, and we are still waiting for more responses to finalise the report that will be presented to Parliament for approval. Once more, we would like to thank the political parties that have submitted their input, including the IFP. I urge all the political parties to submit as agreed.
I thank you.
Ms A Ramolobeng (ANC) to ask the Deputy President:
With reference to the statement of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster on 8 July 2022, which made reflections on the progress that Government is making in implementing what the Expert Panel highlighted as weaknesses within the Justice and Security system, such as the failure of State institutions to conduct timely risk assessments and the inability of the institutions to forewarn the police and government of the impending violence (details furnished), what (a) further progress was made thus far to address the identified challenges and (b) further interventions will be implemented by the Government to strengthen the JCPS cluster to ensure safety and security for the people? NO4560E
Reply:
Honourable Speaker
After the national tragedy in July 2021, which left over 354 people dead, especially in some parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed an Expert Panel led by Professor Sandy Africa, Adv. Mojanku Gumbi, and Mr Silumko Sokupa as additional members.
Honourable Speaker,
On Friday, 4 February 2022, President Cyril Ramaphosa tabled the expert panel's report to the National Security Council. Among other findings, the report of the Panel highlighted the weaknesses of state institutions to conduct timely risk assessments and the inability of these institutions to forewarn police and government of similar impending violence.
One area of concern, as raised by the Panel, was the lack of capacity of the police officers to stop and contain the rioting and looting, as well as the lack of capacity within the SAPS to control the huge crowds.
In this regard, we have already reported to the National Council of Provinces that 10,000 police trainees have already graduated this year, and this recruitment drive will be implemented annually for the next two financial years, bringing a total of 30,000 new police recruits in the medium-term period to increase the capacity of our police officers.
One thousand (1,000) of the newly recruited members have been ring-fenced as increased capacity to Public Order Policing (POP), which deals with crowd management issues or the threat thereof. As of 6 October 2023, POP received an additional 4,000 members from the 2022/2023 recruitment drive.
Furthermore, SAPS has also developed the Increased Crime Prevention and Combating Action Plan, in collaboration with other law enforcement partners and key government departments, to immediately stabilise violent crimes in the country.
Ministers of the JCPS Cluster have since committed to strengthening our criminal justice system and capacitating law enforcement personnel to serve our people better. We are also engaging other countries which have state-of-the-art criminal justice systems to share some of the good practices for us to implement in our country.
I thank you.
