Question 1 – Integrity of the South African National Aids Council
I am assured by the South African National AIDS Council Trust (SANAT) that the organisation has a fraud prevention policy and a code of conduct. These instruments regulate and prevent fraud and malpractice.
The SANAC Trust also has an Audit and Risk Committee which deals with issues of compliance. The Committee has an obligation to report malpractice and fraud allegations to the Trust or they can escalate matters and report to the Master of the High Court. The Trust Deed, supported by the Trust Property Control Act 57 of 1988, holds the Trustees personally responsible for acts of fraud or dishonesty.
Recently, the Trust introduced a system which requires members to sign a declaration of interests. This will further reduce the likelihood of conflicts of interest, and will prevent fraud. In addition, all suppliers and contractors are managed through the Supply Chain Management Policy which requires additional disclosures from SANAC employees involved in the procurement of goods and services.
Suppliers are also required to disclose relationships, if any, with SANAC and other government entities.
We welcome the appointment of Dr Sandile Buthelezi as the Chief Executive of the Trust.
Dr Buthelezi is a seasoned public health practitioner with more than 15 years’ experience in programme development and management in the public and non-profit sectors.
He was instrumental in the establishment of the first-ever Provincial AIDS Council in KwaZulu-Natal where he also played a leading role in the conceptualisation of the renowned Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) programme.
OSS has become a best practice model now replicated by other provinces. With this broad and diverse local and continental experience in HIV and TB management, Dr Buthelezi is expected to drive the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (2017-2022) which was adopted in March this year.
With his appreciation for the strength of the multi-sectoral response, Dr Buthelezi is expected to work closely with civil society and development partners to deepen collaboration whilst continuously building capacity of civil society organisations. I hope that Honourable Members will share our confidence that SANAC is well governed and well placed to successfully drive our national AIDS response in a collaborative way.
Question 2 – Financial position of South African Airways
SAA’s debt of approximately R6, 8 billion which matures on 30 September 2017 will be resolved through a two-pronged approach.
Firstly, any funds being considered must be appropriated through the Special Appropriation Bill which will in part assist with the airline’s working capital and repay some of the maturing debt.
SAA is also negotiating with its lenders to extend maturing debt beyond 30 September 2017. The precise make-up of the quantum of extension of debt and repayment of part of SAA’s maturing debt will be announced by the Minister of Finance and the SAA Board at an appropriate time.
At this stage therefore, there is no need to invoke Section 16 of the PFMA to support SAA.
On the matter of monies owed to SAA by the Angolan government, the position is that the new government in Angola has indicated that it will settle this debt.
Question 3 – Social dialogue on low wages, unemployment, inequality and securing growth
In February this year, Nedlac social partners reached agreement on the following: The introduction of a national minimum wage of R20 per hour which will commence on the 1st of May 2018.
- A Code of Good Practice and an Accord on Collective Bargaining and Industrial Action in which all social partners commit to take all steps necessary to prevent violence, intimidation and damage to property. The Accord also seeks to improve the capacity of the social partners and other agencies to resolve disputes peacefully and quickly.
- Amendments to the Labour Relations Act that aim to further strengthen collective bargaining and dispute resolution.
These agreements have paved the way for the tabling to Parliament of the Labour Relations Amendment Bill, the National Minimum Wage Bill and amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act.
The introduction of a national minimum wage is intended to significantly improve the lives of the lowest paid workers in our country. This is an important intervention aimed at reducing wage poverty.
Well over 4 million workers will see their wages increase to a minimum of R20 an hour, hopefully en route to a living wage.
Combined with strong collective bargaining and agreement on annual adjustments, we are confident that workers in South Africa will have their dignity restored. On the broader question of unemployment and poverty, government is intensifying the implementation of a number of interventions to address these challenges.
The Nine Point Plan, as one of the interventions, seeks to unlock the job creation potential of cooperatives, small and medium enterprises, revitalise rural and township enterprises and to re-energise longstanding and greenfield sectors like the Oceans Economy.
Our interventions in the Oceans Economy have unlocked significant investments that will create jobs. This initiative has attracted up to R24,6 billion in investments, with government contributing R15 billion.
The Department of Trade and Industry is currently providing incentive support to the tune of R428.9 million for investment in ports, marine manufacturing (boat building) and aquaculture.
Working with the private sector we are finalising plans to launch the Youth Employment Service, a scheme that will provide work experience for up to 1 million young people over the next three years. All these actions constitute a basket of interventions to reduce unemployment, poverty and inequality.
The recent news that we are out of the technical recession should tell us that social dialogue is bearing fruit and that if we put people first, we will indeed move South Africa forward.
Question 4 – Ethical governance of State-Owned Enterprises
Government is currently involved in the process of reforming the State Owned Enterprises. This process is led by the Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) which is chaired by the Deputy President. The work of the IMC is informed by the recommendations of the Presidential Review Commission (PRC).
Some of the recommendations that have been adopted include the finalisation of the Private Sector Participation Framework for Infrastructure Delivery; the Framework for the Costing of the Development Mandate, the Remuneration Framework as well as the Guide for the Appointment of Persons to Boards and Chief Executive Officers of the State Owned Companies.
Once these are fully implemented, our SOEs will reclaim their role as drivers of growth and transformation. According to the National Development Plan (NDP), South Africa can double its GDP by 2030 if SOEs work to their full potential.
This cannot be achieved unless we strengthen the governance of our SOEs. To this end, the IMC will be submitting to Cabinet the second draft of the Government Shareholder Oversight Policy (GSP) to clarify mandates and to regulate lines of accountability.
The draft policy outlines the rationale for continued state ownership in the key sectors of the economy and make proposals for alternative ownership models. Implementing a new shareholder oversight model will be a radical change in the governance and operations of SOEs in order to be competitive and regain investors and public confidence.
The message is clear: all SOEs must ultimately be financially sustainable and have a positive impact on the economy. We want the SOEs to have qualified and ethical boards and competent staff. The appointment of Boards must follow a well-planned, formal and transparent procedure that will applied across the different SOEs.
Our target here is to promote transparency in the appointment of boards, and to increase accountability, sound administration and good governance practices in all organs of state.
By providing a conducive environment, SOCs can become drivers of investments and job creation; they can become technology enablers, and they can lead a skills revolution in this country.
Question 5 – Implementation of the Human Resources Development Strategy
In 2010 the Human Resource Development Council (HRD Council) adopted a Five Point Implementation Plan.
The Five Point Plan identified key areas of focus to improve South Africa’s poor skills. The key areas are: Strengthening access and quality of education at TVET colleges;
- Production of artisans;
- Production of a new generation of academics and creating stronger industry partnerships;
- The strengthening of foundational learning; and
- The revitalisation of worker education.
Notable progress has been made towards achieving the objectives of this Five Point Implementation Plan:
On access to TVET Colleges, we have seen a substantial increase in enrolments: this has doubled between 2010 and 2014. There has also been an increased focus on improving quality through addressing issues such as curriculum relevance, staffing and student success.
The role of SETAs in supporting workplace linkages has been substantial. SETAs also support college lecturers through a wide range of sector-specific capacity development programmes.
The number of TVET NSFAS beneficiaries has increased dramatically since 2012 thus enabling access for thousands of our young people.
Government has been hard at work to support the training of artisans. For example, the target for the period 2011 to 2015 was 65 110 but this target was exceeded by more than 5 000.
In an independent study conducted in 2016, it was found that 79% of newly qualified artisans find employment. The study further indicated that 58% find permanent employment, with 23% in less stable contract or temporary jobs. Furthermore, 56.5% find jobs easily of fairly easily.
Production of academics and creating stronger industry partnerships:
The Human Resource Development Council promotes the development of strong partnerships between all university and industry stakeholders. These partnerships directly contribute towards a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive growth path.
In the initial period 2015 to 2016, a total of 125 nGAP lecturing posts were allocated to universities for mentoring, teaching and research development for emerging Masters and PhD researchers.
Through the nGAP, Government is focused on resolving the low number of emerging African researchers due to financial challenges which are largely historic.
The stronger collaboration between DHET, DST and NRF has attracted investment from industry as well as in kind support from institutions of higher learning. Such initiatives confirm our belief that working together as partners through robust social compacts, we can put our country on a positive growth path.
When we as the HRD Council visited the CSIR earlier this year, we saw the fruits of this collaboration. There we met dynamic young scientists who are doing ground-breaking research that will put our country in good stead to participate in the 4th Industrial Revolution.
Foundational learning:
To address the poor performance of learners in basic and higher education, attention has been placed on foundational learning.
While the components of this system are broad, the HRD Council took a decision to focus its energies, through the Maths, Science and Technology Task Team, to work with existing initiatives to maximise impact in our national science and maths revolution.
The task team of specialists and academics initiated the first focused interaction of Maths and Science teacher educators on the implementation of MRTEQ (Minimum Requirements for Teacher Education Qualifications) in South Africa’s Higher Education Institutions.
This will soon lead to the launch of a massive maths and science education initiative that will prepare and capacitate our educators to lead this maths and science revolution.
On worker education:
Upon realising that South Africa does not have an integrated Policy and Legislative Framework to guide and support worker education and training, the HRD Council decided to focus on the National Worker Education and Training Framework and Implementation Plan.
This Framework is based on the following pillars: worker education; employee training; and joint worker/management education. This framework is being discussed by the HRD Council.
Honourable Members,
Our skills revolution is well advanced and we are confident that more will be achieved in the coming years.
Question 6 – Combating corrupt activities in State-Owned Enterprises
As I mentioned earlier, there are 31 recommendations in the report of the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned Entities. These recommendations are being implemented by the IMC through a phased approach as guided by the February 2015 Cabinet Lekgotla.
Recommendation 15 of the PRC report calls for the sanctioning of corrupt activities, including fronting, by among others, developing a register of delinquent individuals and companies that are involved in corruption practices. It further calls for the sharing of this register across the SOEs.
Even though the IMC is yet to implement this recommendation along others as part of the next phase of reforms, there are on-going anti-corruption efforts in our SOEs. In many instances these are bearing fruits, hence the public reports and outrage at all allegations of corruption. Our view is, whoever is suspected of wrongdoing should be brought to book without fear or favour.
Enquiries:
Tyrone Seale: Acting Spokesperson to the Deputy President
Cell: 083 575 7440
