Honourable Chairperson,
Honourable Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honourable Members,
Chairpersons and Board members of our SOC,
The Director General of the department, Mr Tsediso Matona,
CEO and senior managers of our SOC,
All DPE colleagues present,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen.
The sight of visions of trees says to us we are alive as we can see. Passionately we rise daily to water them as we build their strength. As we live we commit to nurture the trees to enjoy watching them grow. Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) adopted a vision in 2011 to “to drive investment, productivity and transformation in the department’s portfolio of State Owned Companies (SOC), their customers and suppliers so as to unlock growth, drive industrialisation, create jobs and develop skills”.
This vision gave birth to Provincial Engagements whose objective is to align planning between provinces and SOCs. At a strategic level, this involves ensuring that the SOC investment plans and the economic development of provinces are aligned. Further, that the implementation of these plans is coordinated so that impact is optimised.
In 2012 four provinces namely, North West, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape and the Free State were visited. This was in response to Minister’s commitment made in 2011. Our SOCs provided updates on issues which were raised per provinces during the Minister’s initial visits in 2011.
(SOCs) were able to make presentations on opportunities available within them to benefit the provinces, and entrepreneurs. Recently we have agreed that these sessions should also address the issues of actual employment, opportunities available within SOCs. We are currently finalising establishment of institutional support mechanisms to process issues raised in provinces. We are working on our vision of trees.
The provincial engagements serve also as a vehicle for our Youth Economic Participation Programme. We are alive to the fact that young people constitute the majority of our society and those who are unemployed.
As such, youth engagements sessions are part of all the provincial engagements. This is done so as to ensure that community stakeholders and youth in particular, receive the required information. This refers to information relating to skills, jobs, business opportunities and corporate social investment programmes.
In collaboration with all SOCs, a plan on priorities for 2013/14 financial year has been developed. Our Youth Economic Participation (YEP) programme, together with our SOCs, has been successful in engaging young people in the above mentioned provinces. This programme has spread its presence to local communities attracting more than 5 000 young people through Career Expo’s done with SOC.
Grade 10 to 12 learners and the unemployed youth of Khayelitsha benefited from the Expos. Learners in Mpumalanga as well as young people of Kwa-Zakhele in PE benefitted from these Expos.
In the month of June 2013 YEP will be hosting a three days Youth Career and Skills Expo jointly with the Ekurhuleni municipality focusing on aviation as a career of choice. This is expected to draw 5000 learners, young entrepreneurs and young people in general.
As a response to a plea made on our visit to the Free State province in December 2012, the DPE-SOC(Denel, Transnet, Eskom and South African express working together with the Free State Dept of Economic Development and the Free State department of education will be hosting a Youth Camp for grade 10-11 including learners with disability. Learners will be drawn from schools in around the province with special focus on rural learners.
These learners will visit all operations of our SOCs. They will fly for the first time in their lives. Thanks to South African express. They will ride a train for the first time in their lives. Thanks to our collaboration with PRASA. Following our provincial engagement in KZN, our YEP is planning an SOC Supplier Forum in KZN.
In June we will be launching State owed companies Youth Forum. From the 1 June will be starting a yearlong programme of distributing maths dictionaries developed by DENEL to schools that performed dismally in maths and Science. These will be donated to their libraries for a start.
From July we plan to replicate competitive supplier development summits to all the provinces. Before the end of October we will host a summit with our SOC Foundations and foundations of our supplier companies.
We are addressing the question on how to use Corporate Social investments programmes to fund youth employment and youth development in general. We will continue to support Eskom’s initiative to support FET colleges through building electrical and mechanical workshops at the tune of R1.9 each. The following provinces have benefited: Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and the Western Cape.
We have established a forum of CEOs and heads of CSI departments of our SOC Foundations to foster collaborations and to learn best Practises from one another. We will be working with SAMSA and Transnet to expose our young people to maritime opportunities.
Our focus for the August month will be on young woman in engineering. Our young woman engineers at Denel, BBI, Eskom and Transnet will be dispatched to schools to popularise engineering to young woman as a career of choice. SOCs will submit plans on how older engineers will be mentoring young woman engineers during this month and how the plan is sustained going forward.
In September Transnet through the NSF will be recruiting 1 000 learners to be trained as artisans. We are collaborating with the department of human settlement to ensure that young people who are in construction are assisted to get the required CIDB certification. We are working with COGTA, Department of Energy (DOE) and MISA to develop a joint program on electrical infrastructure refurbishment using our engineers as part of their employee volunteer scheme.
We are nurturing the tree. We are nurturing the young to watch them grow.
South African Forestry Company (SAFCOL)
Since our last budget vote in 2012, SAFCOL has appointed a permanent CEO. She is the first and the only black and female CEO in the forestry industry in South Africa. Since her appointment the new CEO she has initiated a project that has already created employment to approximately 134 individuals in the community of Sabie.
This is in addition to the 1 681 permanent employees and 2 500 contract workers. SAFCOL has also built a number of infrastructures using timber frame, like Classrooms, administration blocks, kitchens, houses, and computer centres. This is in line with our government rural development strategy.
SAFCOL has been awarded 70 000 hectares in the Sofala province of Mozambique. Through this development, the company is destined to positively contribute to Government’s drive for regional development. DPE, SAFCOL and DRDLR are in the process of finalising the land claim settlement model relating to disputed land on which SAFCOL is operating. The model is not just to ensure that sustainable benefits are transferred, but also to ensure continuity of forestry production with the assistance of SAFCOL.
ALEXKOR
Since the last budget vote the following have happened at Alexkor. To turn around the company the shareholder appointed a new board of directors with a mandate of appointing a CEO within 3 months, this has been done. The board is finalising the appointment of a CFO. A turn- around strategy for the PSJV is ready to be presented to the shareholder. The board has improved relations with communities.
The new board has taken a decision to be firmer in dealing with poor performing contractors whilst rewarding the better performers with more opportunities. As the Shareholder we are behind the board in this regard. This will be underpinned by the monitoring of sea days vs. production, stone size distribution analysis, security upgrade, introduction of middle water mining and the implementation of the deep-sea mining agreement with IMDSA.
Alexkor has successfully completed all necessary upgrades for the township infrastructure that will support handover to the Richtersveld Municipality. The company is currently attending to the rehabilitation backlog and is employing over twenty employees in this regard. An amount of R200m has been given to Alexkor for this project.
The company has to enter an era where it becomes a driver of prosperity in the Richtersveld and Namaqualand regions of our country. The Master of the High Court has appointed an investigator to investigate the affairs of the trusts.
As the DPE we led a delegation consisting of Deputy Ministers from Rural Development and Mineral resources to meet the four communities of Richtersveld. As result of the visit, the following interventions are underway. On the Farm Recap: Grow-Agri has been confirmed as a Strategic Partner to revive farms.
Already there is a person deployed to turn around the farms. On Youth: 60 young people have been captured in their system for the National Service Corps. Spatial development plan have been approved by COGTA. 195km of road to be improved. The Alexkor board has been given a mandate to look for mining opportunities beyond diamonds in line with the relevant enabling legislation.
PBMR
Government decided (in 2010) to place the PBMR into care and maintenance mode until 31 March 2013. This was done so as to protect and preserve its intellectual property and preserve its assets. The packaging of the intellectual property to be preserved has been completed. The Department is in the process of facilitating a consolidated government view on which PBMR’s assets will be preserved, donated or disposed off for cash. This process should be completed this coming year.
AVENTURA
Pursuant to the 2001 Cabinet decision, I am glad to announce that Aventura has been put on liquidation. Its assets will finally be disposed the process to wind it down is currently underway. I want to take this opportunity to thank Minister Gigaba for his leadership, warmth and counsel.
My colleagues at DPE for their support, Boards and management of SOCs for their support. The Portfolio Committee for their support, the study group of the African National Congress for their guidance. And all the guests for their attendance.
I thank you!
