The Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry having considered the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry (Vote 32) for 2005/6 financial year and the forwarded estimates for 2006/7 and 2007/8 included in the Estimates of National Expenditure 2005, as well as the Department’s Medium Term Strategic Plan 2005-2008 presented before the Committee, reports that it accepts them. The Committee further reports as follows:

• The Department is allocated R 3.076, 3 billion for the financial year 2005/6, while forwarded estimates anticipated it receiving R 3.239,7 billion and R 3.381,7 billion in the year 2006/7 and 2007/8 respectively. This compared to the R 3.274,9 billion voted in the Adjusted Appropriation for 2004/5. The Department’s budget for 2005/6 is broadly in line with last year’ s forward estimate, as is the estimate for 2006/7. From 2001/02 to 2004/4 the annual average increase in the budget of the Dti is 13,7% (excluding PBMR(Pebble Bed Modular Reactor) and NEF capitalization). Over the medium term the expenditure has stabilized, increasing at an average annual rate of 1,1 percent. It was reported that as the department becomes more efficient, savings are being made from the operational budget and these are allocated to new programmes such as the Apex fund, the community PPP programmes and the film incentive.

• The 2005/6 budget is divided into seven programmes. These are: Programme 1, Administration (8.1%); Programme 2, International Trade and Economic Development (ITED) (3.3%); Programme 3, Enterprise and Industrial Development Division (EIDD) (38.4%); Programme 4, Consumer and Corporate Regulation Division (CCRD) (3.8%); Programme 5, The Enterprise Organisation Division (TEO) (32.1%); Programme 6, Trade and Investment South Africa Division (TISA) (11.6%); Programme 7, Marketing (2.6%).

• Programme 1 overall expenditure has increased significantly, from R14.8 million in 2001/2 to R278, 5 million in 2007/8, an average annual increase of 12 per cent. Expenditure on Corporate Services has also increased substantially, from R 102,8 million in 2001/2 to 194,1 million in 2007/8. This is for the establishment of the department’s learning centre and payments to the concessionaire for the provision of a new, fully serviced campus.

• The budget activities falling under Programme 2 is relatively stable over the MTEF period, with expenditure increases from R47, 7 million in 2001/2 to 112,2 million in 2007/8 and an average annual increase is estimated at 3,8%. The growth in expenditure between 2001/2 and 2004/5 was a result of the expansion in the trade negotiations agenda, the promotion of trade and investments links with other African countries, and support for NEPAD, as well as the establishment of the International Trade Administration Commission in 2003/4.

• The budget expenditure for Programme 3 is expected to increase at an annual average of 15,1 % over the medium term. Much of this increase goes to the Equity and Empowerment subprogramme, which increases from R182, 2 million in 2004/5 to R440, 0 million in 2007/8, an annual average increase of 34,2%. The increase is also due to the capitalization of the National Empowerment Fund, the strengthening of the community PPP programme, the implementation of the Co-operatives Development Bill and policy, and the development of incentive support measures targeted at women entrepreneurs, as part of the Department of Trade and Industry’s targeted interventions in the second economy. Programme 3 is the Department’s largest programme and includes mostly transfer payments to associated Council of Trade and Industry Institution (COTII). The programme will also host most of the projects driven by EU donor funding.

• Programme 4’s budget has increased from R93, 5 million in 2001/2 to R131, 2 million in 2007/8, an average annual increase of 5,8%. However, transfers and subsidies to departmental agencies and accounts have decreased substantially, from R104, 3 million in 2002.3 to R62, 8 million in 2007/8. The decrease is because the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office became a self-funding entity from June 2002 and thus received significantly smaller transfers from the department from 2003/4.

• Programme 5’s budget has increased significantly, at an annual average of 12,9% between 2001/2 and 2007/8. This increase is due to the demand for incentives available under the small and medium enterprise development programme and the critical infrastructure programme.

• The budget for programme 6 has experienced significant fluctuations in expenditure, driven by uneven payments to the Export credit Insurance Corporation (ECIC) and the foreign mission offices. A major reduction in the allocation to the ECIC in the 2004/5 adjustment estimate process resulted in a decrease in expenditure from R377, 0 million in 2003/4 to R270, 2 million in 2004/5. Expenditure allocations of R19 million and R21 million in 2004/5 and 2005/6 are for South Africa’s participation in the 2005 world exposition in Aichi, Japan.

• Programme 7 was established in 2002/3 with expenditure of R56, 4 million, which then increased rapidly to reach a peak of 121,7 million in 2004/5, in part due to a once-off payment of R25 million to contribute to the 2010 soccer world cup bid. However, expenditure is expected to fall to R81, 3 million in 2005/6, reflecting in the level of marketing campaigns, and is then expected to increase slowly to reach R90, 5 million in 2007/8.

• Economic classification of the Dti budget was set-out as follows:

• Transfer to agencies – 41% (Substantial part of the transfer went to large enterprises)
• Private sector enterprises – 31%
• Personnel – 8.7% (a drop from 9.9% in 2004/5)
• Procurement – 12.1%

• The Department reported that the reallocation of the budget to support the medium-term strategy 2005-2008 was a gradual process, however the following strategic areas received an above average share of the budget:

• Investment – 22%
• Market access and export – 14.5%
• Building a competitive economy – 13.6%
• BEE (mainly on NEF) – 14.2%
• Access to redress – 3.8%
• African economic development – 0.6%

• The Department provided the Committee with a report of highlights of key outputs delivered in the past financial year. These included:
• Increasing the contribution of small enterprises to the economy through establishment of the Small Enterprise Development Agency; establishment of phase 1 of the Apex Fund; finalization of the Co-operatives legislation and development strategy
• Regulatory impact study has been completed
• R250 million rebates to the clothing industry through the Deputy Credit Certificate Scheme
• The approval of the consumer protection policy
• Establishment of the National Liquor Authority

A more comprehensive report on the Department’s performance against the output targets in the 2004/5 budget will be provided in the Department’s Annual Report, which will be a subject of detailed engagement, by Members.

The Committee also received a report on output targets for 2005/6. These include a number of detailed targets aimed at increasing the contribution of small enterprises to the economy, advancing broad based Black Economic Empowerment, raising levels of investment, increasing market access opportunities for South African enterprises, building skills, technology and infrastructure and general improving the performance and capacity of the Dti in all areas. A feature of output targets this year is the identification of "flagship projects", which the Committee was told to be "non-negotiables" that needed to be delivered on as identified before the end of the financial year and these include:

• Implementing the Integrated Small Enterprise Strategy,
• Implementing the cooperatives development agency,
• Rolling-out of SEDA to provincial offices,
• Rolling-out out of phase two of the Apex fund,
• Implementing a women’s economic empowerment strategy,
• Implementing a targeted investment promoting strategy,
• Conducting a review and impact assessment of competition policy,
• Implementing Customized Sector Programmes in priority sectors,
• Complete the consumer protection legislation,
• Implement an African economic development strategy, and
• Setting up an e-commerce system for all dti transactions including incentives

The Committee also had an opportunity to engage on budgetary issues with four of the COTII institutions. Highlights of these discussions include:

The IDC is a self-financing, state owned development institution that provides risks capital to a range of industrial projects in South Africa and other countries in Africa. One of its mission statements is to identify and support "opportunities not yet addressed by the market". The IDC reported the following:

The IDC envisaged the total value of its financing approvals reaching R83, 5 billion by the end of the decade 2000-2010.

• In 2003/4 IDC’s investment approvals amounted to R 4.8 billion involving 259 deals and investments as a percentage of private sector investment activity amounted to 3% in 2003/4.
• It further reported that in the last 10 years IDC approvals created about 164400 new job opportunities and a total export earning potential worth R 41.2 billion.
• In 2003/4 financial year, 64% of the R2.6 billion approvals were BEE deals and more than R2, 6 billion was invested in poorer regions such as the Eastern Cape, the Northern Cape and Limpopo.
• IDC’s estimated targets for the next financial year and beyond amounted to R4.6 billion to R5.4 billion worth of approvals. Strategies to achieve such targets include:
• Active identification and development of investment opportunities in targeted areas
• Sectoral development strategies
• Focused service delivery
• Expanding IDC’s reach and/or presence, and
• Supporting expansionary and broad-based Black Economic Empowerment

The National Empowerment Fund Act of 1998 established the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) for the purposes of promoting and facilitating economic equality and transformation. The NEF reported AS follows:

• Disbursements on transaction approved, following launch of new products have commenced since November 2004.
• Further disbursements in the IT, wine making and transport business sectors took place between November 2004 and January 2005.
• R150 million has been earmarked for investment capital to the NEF for the current financial year, which has partly been received following the successful signing of the Shareholder Performance Agreement.
• The Acting CEO reported that as of to date NEF has cash reserves to the amount R152 million to fund its operations and investment activities and will be essentially fully invested through its current funding work in progress which currently stands at R 129 million.
• The first tranche of the R2 billion allocated is expected in the first quarter of the next financial year.
• Chief among the transaction highlights provided with 5 year medium loans from the previous financial year include:
• MUKS Business Enterprise CC,
• Kula Tissue Products CC,
• Benra Furniture Manufactures CC, and
• Wax Works (Pty) Ltd

• Transfer payments to Khula increased from R25, 0 million in 2003/4 to R29, 5 million 2007/8.
• Khula reported that its annual disbursement of funds to SMMEs has remained constant for the past three years.
• At least 60% of loan/equity facilities were directed to the following underserved provinces: Free State, Eastern Cape, Northwest, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape & Limpopo.
• Khula has made a significant progress in meeting key deliverables presented last year such as the start-up fund.
• Credit guarantee scheme has been revised to increase access to underserved markets.
• As such Khula’s operational performance in the current financial year are on track to exceed last period’s achievements.

The National Gambling Board fulfils its mandate by promoting uniform norms and standards generally throughout South Africa, and bringing about uniformity in the legislation relating to gambling in force in the various provinces.

In the current budget year the National Gambling Board projected the following cost component changes:

• Staff employment – 39%
• Subsistence & Travel – 14.57%
• Maintenance – -8.06%
• Professional fees – 27.51%
• Communication – 54.54%
• Board members’ fees – 6.99%
• Miscellaneous – -1%
• Administration – 24.78%

The Committee acknowledged that gambling regulatory system was extremely complex and a challenge, as such the Committee requested the National Gambling Board to furnish the Committee with its report on how it was regulating provinces.

The Committee is pleased to report continued progress in the presentation and reporting on the Dti’s budget. A Department once known for its significant underspending and large roll-overs, is now a Department that spends almost all of the funds allocated to it by Parliament. The Department’s programmes are also closely aligned to its major activities and financial control and reporting systems seem to be functioning effectively. In addition, the Committee has received reports indicating that the Department had delivered on a number of key output targets identified in the 2003/4 budget. However, as indicated above, the Committee did not receive a full, comprehensive report on its performance against last year’s output targets. The Committee was told that such a report will only be provided later in the year. Monitoring this is one of the key oversight activities, which have been flagged by the Committee for later this year for a detailed engagement.

While the Committee found that in general there was improved delivery in 2004/5 on the output targets identified, a few matters of concerns were identified. These include:

• The Dti’s Medium Strategic Plan was silent on the Department’s intentions to address economic development at local government level.
• Duplication of functions between NEF, IDC and Khula and the separate existence of the NEF.

The Committee further notes that Khula's indicators are positive.

The challenge of responding to the needs of persons in the "second economy" by creating new opportunities of high quality sustainable livehoods, has been identified by the President and Government as priorities. Many of the structures the Committee interrogated have at least acknowledged that many of their existing products and services are poised to respond to the challenges of transforming the "second economy". As such, the Committee notes that identifying options to improve service delivery to persons in the "second economy" is one of the "flagships", non-negotiable output targets for the 2004/5 financial year. The Committee welcomes these new focuses, as well as the commitment to begin to implement the broad based BEE strategy, and believes that engaging with these issues will need to guide much of the work of Parliamentary oversight in the years ahead.

The Committee acknowledges the contribution made by Dr. A. Ruiters during his term as Director General for the Department of Trade and Industry.

Report to be considered.

1. NAME OF COMMITTEE:

Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs

Chairperson: Mr D J Sithole

2. MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE:

The mission of the Committee is:

To contribute to the effective implementation of foreign policy.

1. List of Entities reporting to the Committee:

1. Legislation:

The Committee does not normally deal with legislation and none was dealt with during the current business year:

4.1.1 Matters other than mandated legislation:

The Committee, together with the South African Human Rights Commission, held Public Hearings on Xenophobia in Johannesburg, from the 02^nd to the 04^th November 2004.

4.1.1.1 International Agreements and Protocols: None.

2. Oversight:

1. OTHER COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES:

1. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS:

• Symposium on the review and assessment of the South African Foreign Policy in the last 10 years.
• Conference on Women and Nepad.
• Oversight visit to the Department of Foreign Affairs
• International visits to Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and Sudan

1. OUTSTANDING MATTERS:

• Consideration of the transformation of the SADC Parliamentary Forum into the SADC Parliament.
• Adoption of the 2004 Annual Report and minutes.
• Consideration of the Report of the Public Service Commission on the Investigation into the Appointment of Professional Cubans in the South African Public Service.

…………………………………….. ……………………..

……………………………… ………………………

Control Committee Secretary: Mr. N Lala

Period: from May 2003 to date.

Committee Secretary: Mr. E Kgopa

Period: from August 2004 to date.

Committee Assistant: Ms N Mahlanyana

Period: from Jan 2001 to date.

Secretary to Chairperson (Mr. D J Sithole): Ms V Williams

Period: from September 2004 to date.

Secretary to Chairperson (Ms F Hajaig): Ms J Merckel

Period: from November 2004 to date.

Researcher (Research Unit): Mr. M Parks

Period: from Jan 2002 to date.

The Committee has examined the Budget Vote of the Department of Correctional Services (Vote 20) for the 2005/06 financial year and the forward estimates for 2006/07 and 2007/08 included in the Estimates of National Expenditure (ENE) 2005, as well as the Department’s Strategic Plan 2005/06 - 2009/10, and reports as follows:

The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services received the following inputs on the Budget and Strategic Plan of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for 2005/06:

• Presentations by the DCS on the 2005/06 budget allocation and on the Strategic Plan (2005/06 – 2009/10) on 10 March 2005 and on 4 April 2005.

• The following role-players presented comments on the Budget during public hearings held on 5 April 2005:

• Public Service Administration (PSA)
• South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights (SAPOHR)
• National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO) and Civil Society Prison Reform Initiative (CSPRI)
• Judicial Inspectorate
• South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC)
• Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU)
• Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
• South African Council of Churches (SACC)

• Written submissions were received from:

• Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)

Key policy developments guiding strategy for the medium term:

• White Paper on Corrections: The focus of the White Paper on Corrections on rehabilitation guides the strategy of the Department over the medium to long term. A total of 36 Centres of Excellence have been identified countrywide to pilot implementation of the White Paper in 2005/06.
• Seven-day working week: The replacement of the overtime system with a seven-day working week will be phased in, and will commence in April 2005/06.
• Correctional supervision and parole boards: The sections of the Correctional Services Act, No 111 of 1998 related to these boards were promulgated in October 2004. Fifty-two boards have been established thus far, and another 9 will be established over the next three years. Posts for chairpersons of the boards should be filled by March 2005.
• Overcrowding: Overcrowding continues to hamper the ability of the Department to provide adequate infrastructure, development and care to offenders. In August 2004, there were 49 798 awaiting trial detainees (ATDs) and 136 841 sentenced offenders in DCS prisons. The ATD population decreased slightly due to interdepartmental justice sector cluster efforts. Four new correctional centres will be built in the medium term and are due to be completed by April 2007. These will provide an additional 12 000 bed spaces and decrease overcrowding in 2007/08.
• HIV and AIDS: The DCS has begun implementing its HIV and AIDS policies, and it’s programmes have been boosted by donor funding. Approval has been granted for a survey to determine HIV prevalence amongst offenders and personnel which will guide future planning initiatives.
• Nutritional Services: The Correctional Services Act requires that the DCS provide 3 nutritionally balanced meals a day to offenders at stipulated intervals. This must be done notwithstanding infrastructural and personnel constraints.
• Programmes: DCS is currently auditing and accrediting existing and new programmes which must be in line with the requirements of the White Paper and consistent with legislation.

According to the State of the Nation Address the following priorities have been identified for 2005/06 and the medium term:

• To rapidly reduce the number of children both in police cells and in prisons. The focus will be on cells and prisons in Kwazulu-Natal, the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces.
• To complete 4 new prisons by April 2007.
• To introduce rehabilitation as ‘a new ethos in the treatment of offenders in order to reduce recidivism’ (reoffending).

The Government’s total commitment to improving the Justice and Protection cluster is reflected in the large allocation to this cluster. In 2005/06, this cluster receives a total of R65, 272 billion which reflects 15.6% of the total Budget.

The 2005 Vote, with measurable objectives, is divided as follows:

• Administration: No stated measurable objective.
• Security: Prevent incarcerated persons from participating in criminal activities and escapes, by providing an environment that ensures the safety of all persons under the Department’s care as well as the safety of the public.
• Corrections: Address the specific rehabilitation needs of all persons who have been sentenced to community correctional supervision or remanded in a correctional centre or paroled, through regular assessment and the provision of needs-based correctional programmes that contribute to a reduction in the recidivism (re-offending) rate.
• Care: Ensure the personal well-being of incarcerated persons by providing various needs-based services, aligned with internationally accepted conventions.
• Development: Develop employable and productive citizens, through providing incarcerated offenders with needs-based educational, skills and other development related programmes in order to facilitate social reintegration back into communities.
• After-Care: Facilitate the social acceptance and effective reintegration of offenders, to assist them to adhere to correctional and parole supervision conditions.
• Facilities: Support the Department in its core functions of security and corrections development and care, by providing well-maintained facilities in line with internationally accepted standards.

Broad Expenditure Trends

The following table illustrates that the budget for the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for 2005/06 has increased by 9% in nominal terms and by 4.68% in real terms in comparison to 2004/05.

Additional allocations of R200 million for 2005/06, R333 million for 2006/07 and R866 million for 2007/08 are made available to the DCS for:

• The appointment of approximately 7 000 additional personnel.
• Implementation of aspects of the White Paper on Corrections.
• Additional infrastructure requirements, including the start up and operational costs of the four new correctional centres in 2006/07 which will increase bed spaces by 12 000 by the end of March 2007.
• Implementation of a 7-day working week to be phased in by 2007/08.
• Meet the costs of providing three meals a day to offenders.

This programme decreased by 8% in comparison to 2004/05. The main reason for the decrease is due to the fact that the medical aid scheme is now contributory, which was previously wholly subsidised by the Department.

This programme gets the most substantial increase of all programmes in 2005/06. This 19% increase is due to:

• An increase in the projected number of offenders incarcerated in prisons for 2005/06 in comparison to the previous year.
• The appointment of more personnel to implement the 7-day working week and phase out the current overtime system. The number of personnel in this programme will increase from 19 090 in 2004/05 to 21 167 in 2005/06.
• In 2007/08 an additional allocation of R255 million has been allocated to DCS to hire additional personnel for transition to the 7-day week.

• Implementation of the White Paper on Corrections (including risk assessment and profiling of offenders).
• Start up costs for the four new prisons are catered for in an allocation of R140 million for 2007/08.

This programme increases by 16% for 2005/06. The main reasons for the increase are due to:

• Introduction of the three meals per day for offenders to ensure compliance with the Correctional Services Act. An additional allocation of R40 million, R50 million and R70 million has been provided over the MTEF to appoint additional personnel and finance the introduction of three meals. The number of personnel in the Care programme will increase from 1 626 in 2004/05 to 2 026 in 2005/06.

• Additional allocations to health care for the treatment of HIV and AIDS and health services previously provided freely by the Provincial Health Department.

The allocation for Development increases slightly from the revised estimate for 2004/05. According to the ENE, this programme increased in earlier years to implement programmes focusing on offender development including education and training, sports and recreation, but will slow down over the MTEF.

The programme increases by 12% for this financial year and by 7.2% over the medium term. The increases are to deal with the rising number of probationers and parolees, which is projected to increase from 77 900 in 2004 to 93 400 in 2007/08. The ENE states that the number of correctional officials in the After-Care programme will remain static at 1 856 for this financial year.

The budget for the Facilities programme increased by a marginal 4% for this financial year.

Public Service Administration (PSA)

Key concerns of the PSA include:

• Unilateral implementation of the 7-day establishment and reduction of overtime by the DCS. The implementation of the 7-day establishment should be accompanied by an improved salary dispensation for members and increased human resources to ensure security.

Key concerns of SAPOHR include:

• Inmates should not receive gratuity for work but instead should be paid a minimum wage salary which is taxed.

Key concerns of CSPRI and NICRO:

• The DCS budget does not reflect the paradigm shift to rehabilitation.
• The prison population will continue to increase which will necessitate more staff, thus placing enormous demands on the budget. Targets should be set in terms of offender numbers and the policies and budget need to be aligned toward these targets.
• The costing of the Correctional Services Act, No. 111 of 1998 should be prioritised to ensure that the department can deliver on its legislative requirements.

Key concerns of the Judicial Inspectorate of Prisons include:

• The necessity to continuously increase the correctional services budget is directly a result of an increasing number of prisoners within the system. The problem resides mainly with the increasing number of sentenced prisoners as steps have been taken to control the ATD population.
• More money should be allocated for Care and Development programmes to appoint additional teachers and psychologists rather then to the Security programme for additional security staff. More money should be allocated to the After-Care programme to improve the functioning of the community correction offices. More money should be made available for the maintenance of prison facilities.

Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU)

Key concerns of POPCRU include:

• The unilateral reduction of the weekend establishment by the DCS which posed a security risk to staff and the effect of movement to a 7-day establishment on the take home pay of members. The salaries of members should be improved.
• Staffing in the DCS should be increased over and above the additional 8 000 staff which will be recruited. In addition, members (including managers) should be trained with the skills necessary to ensure the proper care and rehabilitation of offenders.
• DCS Head Office should be streamlined to ensure more staff on operational levels.

South African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC)

Key concerns of the SACBC include:

• The DCS must become more integrated with the ‘social’ cluster in order to ensure that its goal of mobilising communities to assist in reducing recidivism is achieved. Money should be allocated to additional programmes aimed not at offenders, but at ensuring that people are kept out of prison. Prevention of crime is key.

• More attention needs to be given to the reduction of overcrowding both of ATDs and sentenced offenders by speeding up the criminal justice system by diverting more offenders, and by ensuring that poverty is not a barrier to release on bail or fines and making better use of correctional supervision and other alternative sentencing options.
• Offenders should be kept occupied more often.

Institute for Security Studies (ISS)

Key concerns of the ISS:

• The key challenge to DCS is that the number of prisoners increases at a greater rate then the cell accommodation and officials. This is especially problematic in terms of security concerns and rehabilitation. Overcrowding means that workload increases faster than capacity. Short term and long term measures need to be implemented to address this problem.
• Positive steps taken by DCS to manage the budget include moving from a non-contributory to a contributory medical scheme and managing overtime by moving to a 7-day establishment. Other cost-saving initiatives should be explored such as outsourcing administration.
• Mechanisms should be explored to penalise other departments for delays in their systems which negatively impact on overcrowding in DCS.

South African Council of Churches (SACC)

• There is no indication in the budget on the collection of data on recidivism which will assist in measuring the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes. More money should also be allocated to After-Care programme to reduce the possibility of recidivism.
• Concern around the small increase in spiritual sessions envisaged for 2005/06 and the budget for spiritual services in the MTEF.

Key concerns of the CSVR include:

• The budget does not effectively address the key concern of overcrowding and is not sufficiently aligned with the requirements of the White Paper on Corrections.
• The appointment of 7 000 new staff is not sufficient to reduce the staff: offender ratio in the prison sections as most staff will be used to staff the four new prisons and for implementation of the 7-day establishment. Staff appointments in entry-level positions will not have the skills or expertise to render developmental programmes or train offenders. The shortage of psychologists and social workers is noted as a key concern. Skilled staff, physical resources and space need to be made available to ensure an increase in participation of offenders in development programmes.
• The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, together with the Department, should take the lead in persuading the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster to re-evaluate current legislation which impacts on overcrowding in prisons and put in place policies that would facilitate a more manageable penal system.

The following are some of the main observations and concerns of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services and the departments responses thereto:

• 7- day establishment

The Members of the Committee raised a number of concerns related both to the process for implementation of the 7-day establishment and the budget related to this. Members were concerned that the allocation for implementation of the 7-day establishment was more than that allocated for overtime in 2004/05 and yet the purpose of movement to a 7-day establishment was to reduce the overtime budget.

The Department reported that presentations have been made to stakeholders on the movement to the 7-day establishment since 2004. However, due to the fact that the departmental bargaining chamber only became operational on 31 March 2005, the Department has agreed to delay implementation of the 7-day establishment to allow for a period of concerted discussion and negotiations with the relevant unions. Phasing in will probably only begin from 1 May 2005.

The DCS reported that the 5 - day establishment cost the department approximately R800 million for weekend overtime payments during 2004/05. A decision has been made to phase in movement to a 7 - day establishment by 2007/08. This will be done by declaring Saturday as a working day from May 2005 and continuing to pay overtime for Sunday.

The budget for weekend overtime for 2005/06, which refers only to overtime payment for Sundays, is approximately R707 million. In addition, the costs of implementing the 7-day establishment must include the salaries of 3 057 additional entry level officials who will be recruited during 2005/06. Thus the total costs for 2005/06 will be about R980 million. According to the Department, if the DCS had retained the 5-day establishment it would have cost R1.2 billion for 2005/06.

• Scarce skills and retention strategies

Members raised a number of concerns regarding the shortage of professionals such as nurses, doctors, teachers, psychologists and pharmacists within the DCS and questioned what strategies are in place to attract and retain professional staff.

The DCS reported that R20 million has been allocated to implement aspects of the scarce skills policy. This money will be used specifically to attract pharmacists and psychologists. The DCS has asked the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) to identify ‘rural areas’ which will allow for the payment of rural allowances for nurses, as at present they cannot be paid with the scare skills allowance as this only covers some specialist nurses. In addition the DCS has began to identify social workers that will be eligible for a scarce skills allowance backdated to April 2004. Additional categories of professional staff which should be covered by the scarce skills policy include state accountants, auditors, employee assistance professionals and human resource development trainers. This has been prioritised and will be costed by the DCS.

• Health care provisions

Members raised a number of concerns around the provision of health care including the accessing of ARTs by offenders, training of nurses in primary health care and the availability of 24-hour comprehensive health care facilities. Other problems identified included the poor attitude of sessional doctors and the fact that mentally ill people are incarcerated.

In line with a Cabinet decision of 19 November 2003, the DCS cannot distribute anti-retrovirals. Some of the reasons include the fact that DCS hospitals do not have laboratories or the relevant personnel necessary for this purpose. The DCS has a list of centres in all the regions and the DCS refers offenders who are assessed by DCS nurses to these centres for treatment.

According to the DCS the department provides a 24-hour service by ensuring that there is a nurse on standby at all time and by referring offenders to public hospitals. Offenders are never without some form of access to a health care service. In addition, DCS works with outside partners such as dentists and psychologists in the provision of services. There are problems with regard to the recruitment of professionals such as doctors to the DCS. The department has a budget to recruit 2 doctors in each region but has had too few applicants and thus cannot fill all these posts. There are problems with sessional doctors, which can only be fully addressed once these doctors fall under the ambit of the DCS rather than the Department of Health. DCS makes use of pharmacists and psychologists who are doing community service. The same cannot be done for doctors until there are permanent doctors within the DCS to supervise. The department also stated that the implementation of the Mental Health Act would pose challenges to the DCS which does not have psychiatric nurses to diagnose and manage mentally ill offenders and ATDs.

A number of professional nurses have been trained in primary health care. In addition 22 nurses have been trained in dispensing and will be registered. All nurses will be trained and the DCS has prioritised training of nurses in terms of the allocation of bursaries.

• Public-private partnership (PPP) prisons

Members raised a number of concerns around PPPs, including the need to review the PPP contracts in order to ensure that they are more favourable to the department, and highlighting the possibility of using these prisons for offenders such as the youth who should be prioritised for rehabilitation.

According to the DCS, the existing PPP contracts are currently under review and once the final report is completed, negotiations with these private prisons will begin. The DCS is considering options such as utilising these facilities for youth, in line with the focus of the department on rehabilitation.

• Head Office allocation

Members raised the concern that about 42% of the budget for DCS is allocated to Head Office. The DCS explained that almost 92% of this amount is allocated to the various regions and only 8% remains for sole use by Head Office.

• Non-financed posts

Committee members identified the problem that too many DCS officials are in acting positions. Members required information on whether the 2005/06 budget would ensure that acting posts could be filled permanently.

The DCS stated that provision has been made in the budget to fill all financed acting posts during 2005/06. In future, however, it is projected that the staffing situation could once again be problematic as the need for staff increases. Thus in 2006/07 the total financed posts will be 37 788 and the actual need grows to almost 45 000.

• Facility maintenance

The DCS has been unhappy with the management of maintenance programmes by the Department of Public Works and has requested that these functions be taken over by the DCS itself. Offenders will be used to assist on the maintenance programmes. They will be paid a gratuity, which they can take home on release.

• Medical Aid

The Committee is aware of problems with the current medical aid system. To address this problem, the DCS is in the process of migrating from Medkor to the Government Employee Medical Aid Scheme (GEMS).

• Implementation of Parole Boards

Members requested a progress report on implementation of the new Parole Boards.

According to the DCS, the only region that has not yet appointed chairpersons to the Parole Boards, is the Western Cape. The Minister of Correctional Services has signed off all other chairpersons in the regions. To speed up the process in the Western Cape, positions for chairpersons will be advertised on radio and other community channels. Once the Deputy Chairpersons have been identified by the Commissioner (they will be members of DCS), the boards will begin to function.

• Overcrowding

The Committee raised the concern that the DCS needs to be aware that an increase in the construction of new facilities cannot by itself address the overcrowding problem.

According to the DCS, the projected inmate population for ATDs will decrease from 58 144 in 2004/05 to 47 692 in 2005/06, 46 622 in 2006/07 and 45 553 in 2007/08. In contrast, the sentenced inmate population is projected to increase from 137 063 in 2005/05 to 144 251 in 2005/06, 152 011 in 2006/07 and 159 772 in 2007/08.

The percentage overcrowding for ATDS will decrease from 98% in 2004/05 to 82% in 2007/08. The percentage of overcrowding for sentenced offenders will increase from 54% in 2004/05 to 58% in 2007/08.

Mechanisms to reduce overcrowding include the establishment of new correctional centres. Four new centres are scheduled for completion in 2007/08 in Leeukop, Klerksdorp, Nigel and Kimberley which will provide an additional 12 000 bed spaces. An additional 4 prisons will be constructed from April 2006/07 in Port Shepstone, Polokwane, East London and Allandale. The DCS has allocated R390, 350 million in the 2005/06 budget for the construction of new facilities. The allocation for 2006/07 rises to R538, 284 million and in 2007/08 to R625, 309 million.

• Communication with DCS staff

The Committee highlighted the concern that there is inadequate communication between management at various levels and staff on the ground within DCS particularly around key policies and strategies.

The DCS reported that this has been identified as a major weakness and that the DCS will put effort into resolving this problem. This problem can be attributed to a lack of management skills and the reluctance of management to call proper meetings to discuss issues, as well as the fact that correctional officials on the ground do not want to read circulars and information distributed in written form. Recent improvements in the relationship between the DCS and the unions may lead to improvements in this regard.

The Portfolio Committee supports the allocation to the Administration Programme. The Committee supports the movement to a contributory medical aid scheme as well as the decision to change from the current Medkor scheme to the GEMS. However, the Committee also recommends that additional steps are taken to improve the salaries of correctional officials, especially in the light of movement to a 7-day establishment and the reduction of overtime. The Committee urges the department to ensure that the large number of acting posts within the department are filled as a matter of priority.

The Committee supports the increase in the Security programme allocation. The Committee welcomes the movement to a 7-day establishment within DCS but recommends that it is implemented with consideration to the needs and concerns of DCS staff. The Committee particularly welcomes the recruitment of an additional approximately 7 000 staff over the next three years to fund the 7-day establishment.

The Committee supports the slight increase in the Corrections programme allocation. However, the allocation to this programme will need to increase in subsequent years to ensure the proper assessment and profiling of all offenders and to ensure that sufficient social workers and other professional staff are recruited and retained to perform these functions.

The Committee supports the increased allocation to the Care programme but is concerned that this allocation may not be sufficient to cover all the challenges faced in this programme. These include ensuring the provision of three meals a day for offenders, in line with the requirements of the Act and ensuring the provision of adequate health services to offenders. The shortage of nurses, social workers, doctors, psychologists and doctors within the DCS remains of concern to the Committee. The Committee welcomes recent attempts made by the DCS to improve the salaries of professionals by using the scarce skills and rural allowances, as well as its attempt to recruit doctors.

The Portfolio Committee supports this allocation but recommends that more priority is given to ensure sufficient education and development programmes within prisons in order to assist in the rehabilitation of offenders and to reduce recidivism.

The Portfolio Committee supports this allocation but recommends that capacitating of Community Corrections is identified as a priority by the Department in order to ensure that more offenders are sentenced to community corrections rather than imprisonment.

The Committee supports this allocation and welcomes the construction of 8 new prisons in the near future. The Committee supports the decision by the DCS to review the contracts of the existing public-private prisons and believes that these prisons may be better utilised for juvenile and minimum offenders.

The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services supports the 2005/06 budget allocation for the Department of Correctional Services. The Committee will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the DCS in realising its mandate as outlined in the Correctional Services Act, No. 111 of 1998 and the White Paper on Corrections.

Report to be considered.

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

This report covers the study tour undertaken by the Select Committee to the North West, Mpumalanga, Eastern and Western Cape Provinces from 8 – 12 November 2004. Sample studies of projects were undertaken as part of the oversight visit to gauge the developments, progress and challenges encountered in the implementation of aquaculture production in South Africa, as well as the provision of water and sanitation services.

2. Aquaculture Production in South Africa – an overview

Aquaculture in South Africa consists mainly of freshwater species of trout, crocodiles, ornamental fish, catfish and tilapia and marine species such as abalone, prawns, oysters and mussels, whilst candidate species such as eel, crayfish, cob, yellow-tail, grunter, tuna, turbot and seaweed are also receiving priority. The technology and services is well established for species such as trout, crocodiles, catfish, abalone, prawns, oysters, mussels whilst still lacking for species such as eel, tilapia, cob, tuna and seaweed.

Various factors are currently stimulating the development of aquaculture development in South and Southern Africa, including:

• Availability of resources: water, land, labour, energy, etc.
• Limited fisheries resources.
• Market factors.
• Marine and agricultural infrastructure.
• Need for diversification and optimisation of resources.
• Access to technologies.
• International partnerships and collaboration.
• Socio-economic factors.

Factors that are currently inhibiting development within the industry include:

• The lack of a national policy with regard to aquaculture development.
• Complicated and fragmented statutory procedures.
• The lack of marketing structures and access to global markets.
• Limited access to finance and developmental capital.
• Limited human resource capacity, skills and expertise.

• Some constraints in terms of natural resources are seasonal variation in climate, particularly in the southern and high-lying regions, as well as a high-energy coastline, with limited sheltered areas.
• Human resources are poorly development and will need to be addressed in order to ensure sustainable and equitable development.
• Low cost unskilled labour may provide opportunities in certain labour intensive sectors.
• Expertise on managerial level is however limited, particularly with regard to large scale intensive farming systems. Economic resources provide an opportunity in terms of available infrastructure, though access to capital and markets are difficult.

A joint venture strategy based on complementary partnerships is proposed to address weaknesses in terms of human and economic resources in the short term. It is important however that the initiative is taken by South Africans to ensure equitable participation in such ventures.

production – North West

• Briefing by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation,

Aquaculture and Food Security:

• Potentially can contribute to food security and rural livelihoods.
• Sustainability needs to be ensured through funding, training and support from government.
• Can be achieved through ‘on-farm diversification strategies’ for emerging farmers and ‘culture-based fisheries’ for subsistence farmers.
• Small-scale commercial aquaculture should be developed.

Small-scale commercial aquaculture:

• Small-scale commercial aquaculture has great potential in South Africa.
• Requires higher levels of sophistication and organisation than food security aquaculture projects.
• Technical support required in the initial stages.
• Formal markets essential.
• Community-public-private sector partnerships could be established.

1. Aquaculture in the North West Province

North West Province, due to its relatively warm climate and abundance of dams, has great potential to develop its aquaculture sector. Rural aquaculture can play a significant role in rural food security and depending on the circumstances of the location (for example, local ambient temperatures and distance from market) can become commercially orientated.

Currently, there is a national programme (to take place over the next 3 to 5 years) that has been initiated by the Water Research Commission and the National Department of Agriculture and which is being implemented by the Rural Programme of the Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science, Rhodes University to develop aquaculture within the rural sector.

• North West Province: Aquaculture considerations

• Intensive aquaculture requires significant capital investment, for example, tanks, pumps and piping.
• Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) required.
• Aquaculture licensing and permit issues.
• Requires trained expertise in diverse fields from animal husbandry to entrepreneurial skills.
• Market chain needs to be established.

• Translocation or introduction of alien and/or invasive species into rivers threatens ecosystems.
• Escape of aquaculture species into the wild during floods.
• Introduction of parasites and diseases, for example, carp louse potentially causing harm for indigenous species.

• Develop a provincial policy and vision for aquaculture.
• Identify resources available for rural aquaculture (skilled staff, infrastructure and funding).
• Training for DACET extension officers to provide aquaculture support.

• Aquaculture identified as having significant potential in North West Province.
• Potential economic benefits for the people of the Province.
• Can provide food security for rural people, but requires state intervention and support to sustain these initiatives.
• Currently under-developed but can be developed through the Water Research Commission (WRC) national aquaculture development programme.
• A recent WRC survey found that rural aquaculture in South Africa is not constrained by available land, water and infrastructure.
• Ongoing technical support required.
• Training and experience in aquaculture a limiting factor.
• Small scale commercial aquaculture to be more viable than ‘food security’ aquaculture projects.

• Develop a strategic plan for the DACE with regard to developing this

sector.

• Identifying resources available to the DACE with regards to developing

rural aquaculture (for example, staff with skills, infrastructure that would

be used for rural aquaculture, funds to start pilot projects, etc.).

• Developing policy and a vision (with regard to aquaculture) for the DACE.
• Training of DACE extension service officers in aquaculture.
• Need for national policy on aquaculture for South Africa – DWAF and NDA

are developing these.

• Need for financial, technical and capacity building support for NWDACET

staff and potential rural community aquaculture projects.

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Eastern Cape Province was a fact-finding mission regarding aquaculture projects in the provinces.

The Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs visited an aquaculture project outside Umtata, which falls under the Oliver Tambo District (instead of visits initially planned for aquaculture projects in the Amatole and Chris Hani Districts).

• Background of the Oliver Tambo District

The Oliver Tambo District covers most of the former Transkei. With Umtata as the main centre, the district includes most of the beautiful Wild Coast and Pondoland. The coastal belt is sub-tropical, especially from Port St Johns northwards, and holds a number of nature reserves with indigenous forests. Hills beyond the coast gradually rise to 1,500 metres beyond Umtata. The district is well watered, with many rivers and rainfall above 700mm per annum in most areas.

Oliver Tambo has the second highest population, an estimated 1,504,411 in 1999. It has a high population density for a mostly rural district, 90/square kilometre, reflecting the apartheid inheritance of the homelands. Oliver Tambo has a relatively small formal economy compared to the rest of the province, providing 11% of value added. Subsistence agriculture makes a major contribution to household food security. The main challenge facing the Oliver Tambo District is to grow the economy and create employment. The unemployment rate is a very high 77% and the formal economy is small and centred on Umtata and public services. The rich natural resources of the district in existing forestry and the potential in irrigation and livestock farming need to be utilised through partnerships between communities and the private sector. Fishing has potential for development, possibly through a small fishing harbour at Port St Johns and community partnerships in aquaculture in a limited number of areas.

1. Site visit to the Aquaculture project in Umtata

Aquaculture in Umtata was started years ago. It initially received support from the provincial department of environmental affairs and skills and expertise from the University of Transkei’s Department of Marine Biology. However, when the professor left, the project went into decline and financial support also dried up. The aquaculture facilities in Umtata are currently underutilised and not fully maintained.

Among the challenges that are currently facing the facility include:

• Lack of funding and proper support from Government.
• Poor state of facilities and lack of maintenance.
• A need to have access to water, particularly the local dam.
• A need for a new and powerful water-pump.
• Lack of skills and expertise, such as a biologist from a local university.
• Lack of cooperation with sector departments such water affairs and environmental affairs.
• A need of resources.

There are a number of positive spin-offs of aquaculture in the area. These include:

• Generation of income, serving as job creation, for those people working at the facilities.
• Poverty alleviation purpose and improving dietary/nutrition needs of the communities. Potentially it can contribute to food security.
• Need for diversification and optimisation of resources.
• Has potential of harvesting different types of fish and other marine species such as eels for export purposes to overseas markets.
• Similarly there is potential for local market.

• DWAF and NDA are developing a national policy for aquaculture for South Africa, the Select Committee needs to input on this policy based on their first hand experiences of visiting aquaculture sites.
• A workshop must be planned with the relevant stakeholders working on this issue in South Africa to ascertain a holistic overview of provincial initiatives on aquaculture production. The Select Committee will host a 2-day workshop, bringing all relevant people in South Africa to provide insights on ‘best practices’ utilised at various levels.
• Need for provincial Government, especially sector departments, cooperation and support.
• Develop a strategic plan with regard to developing aquaculture for commercial, recreational and subsistence purposes.

• Water Services Provision – Status Quo

There are 11 Water Services Authorities (WSA) and 5 Water Boards in the North West Province. These comprise 2 district councils and 9 local municipalities.

• Household sanitation – 2,850,000 persons (R1568 million).
• Bucket replacement – 40 268 hh (R250 million).
• Clinic sanitation (R7 million) funds transferred to district municipalities and implementation is in progress.
• School sanitation – 62 schools (R30 million).

• Provision of basic water supply – 1,140,000 persons (R1538 million).

• The introduction of the MIG posed a number of challenges in terms of:

• New national management structure.
• New national management systems and procedures.
• New funding criteria.
• Establishment of project management units (PMU’s).
• Involvement of sector departments.
• Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
• Increased allocation.
• Committed CMIP and DWAF projects.

Source: Department of Developmental Local Government and Housing, North West Province

• Ensure completed Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) (11 WSAs).
• Ensure feasibility studies are done for identified projects.
• Approve technical reports of selected projects.
• Participate in PMUs 9Central, Bophirima, Southern Bojanala, Rustenburg, Madibeng, Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom) for guidance and support.
• Sustainable service delivery:

• Monitor the sector performance.
• Pre-assessments of draft WSDPs and assistance to WSAs to prepare WSDPs.
• Give support to municipalities to implement the free basic services policies.

• Sustainable institutions:

• Support to WSAs to identify training needs to build capacity.
• Support to implement MIG programme by providing toolboxes and guidance to WSAs/PMUs.
• Support WSA’s for the Section 78 process.

• Transfer of assets:

• Three transfer of assets agreements finalised (Ga Segonyana, Phokwane and Moshaweng).
• Drafting of transfer of assets agreements for other WSAs.
• Promoting WSP/WSA agreement with water boards and WSAs (Moretele, Moses Kotane, CEDM and Rustenburg) depending the outcome of s78 process.
• Refurbishment of schemes (R21.5m).
• Performing joint inspections.

• Planning (technical) support to WSIs

• Support IDP and WSDP processes.
• Support MIG processes.
• Liaise with provincial government departments.
• Drought relief activities.

• Information management and monitoring

• Access information from Macro-plan, WRM and MIG.
• Monitor backlog clearance.
• Monitor free basic water and sanitation provision.
• Provide information to MIG, WSDP, WRM and NIS.
• Monitor water boards.

• Region’s capacity to meet challenges

• Reorganise the team in line with new functions.
• Support and oversight functions.
• 20 posts are identified.
• 13 posts are occupied.
• Filling critical vacant posts.

• Concerns were raised at the huge backlog of delivery of sanitation

services in the North West. These concerns focused on the reason for

only 25% targets in sanitation being met after 10 years.

• The issue of the non-establishment of PMU’s was also raised.
• The figures presented by the officials showed a large under-spending

of money in the Rustenburg municipality and this revealed the

discrepancy of the allocated amount to the amount spent by this

municipality.

• The issue of expenditure and monies being retained by the

municipalities was a serious one and Members probed extensively on

this component of the presentation.

• The slow transfer of assets to municipalities raised a number of

questions.

• Limited infrastructure in rural areas hampered the effective delivery of

provision of water and sanitation services.

• Limited resources to support the IDPs hamper the work of the

municipalities.

• Need to work more extensively with municipalities in the North West to educate officials on the meshing of budgets and IDPs.
• The limited infrastructure for the provision of water and sanitation services hampers delivery and therefore, this issue needs to be critically addressed in rural areas.
• The transfer of assets to municipalities must be fast tracked and the target date set by DWAF of 2006 must be achieved.

2. Mpumalanga

• Overview of provincial framework on water and sanitation

Unfortunately, the above figures do not include the backlogs served by other programmes like CMIP, etc. DWAF is currently in the process to consolidate the information for the sector.

During the ten years since 1994, it was mainly the function and responsibility of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to address the water backlog.

As from April 2003, most of the funding was transferred directly to Municipalities in order for them to address the water provision backlog in their areas of jurisdiction. The MIG process was fully introduced in April 2004 and DWAF will be involved in this process with policy. WSDPs, monitoring of sector conditions, support to WSAs and intervention.

From 1996 to 2000, community members in Mpumalanga, in relation to improving their own sanitary conditions and lives, contributed an estimated R260 000 – this was over and above the labour contributions that were made in terms of households that dug their own toilet pits.

Cumulative expenditure during these years was just below R3, 2 million, and this saw slightly over 2700 toilets built.

The years from 2000 to 2002 saw the provinces’ sanitation project implementation falling under a programme known as the Mpumalanga Regional sanitation Programme (MRSP). This programme was managed by the Mvula Trust and funded by the Mpumalanga DWAF regional office.

Cumulative expenditure during these years was just below R30 million. These funds were effectively utilised to build just under 6 900 household toilets, 1 175 school toilets in 105 schools, and enabled a substantial cholera campaign to be conducted in partnership with the Provincial Department of Health.

Phase 3 – 2003/2004

Cumulative expenditure during 2003/2003 was just below R38 million. Over 13 500 toilets were built – an amount just under one and half times greater than the cumulative total of all toilets delivered over the previous years since 1994.

Phase 4 – 2004 onward

The 2004/05 will see a targeted 17 000 toilets built in the on-going MIG/DWAF contractually committed projects. Further, several new MIG sanitation projects are going ahead and the 2005 MIG target for sanitation service delivery could be estimated at 20 000 toilets.

• Visit to water and sanitation projects

• MIG PMUs are not fully functional and the rollout of the MIG

programme is not as smooth as anticipated.

• Some local municipalities are not reporting regularly or actively taking

part in drought relief programmes and this is cause for concern.

• The capacity of the sanitation sector is still problematic as the sector

relies heavily on current DWAF support.

• The internal capacity of local municipalities in handling water and

sanitation issues is problematic.

• The provincial integrated strategy to address backlogs is outstanding

The purpose of the visit by the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs to the Western Cape Province was a fact-finding mission regarding water and sanitation projects and services in the provinces.

Written and oral input of the officials from Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and Water and Sanitation – North West Province, 2004

Written and oral input of the officials from Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and Water and Sanitation – Mpumalanga Province, 2004

Report to be considered.

1. Introduction

2. Objective of the study tour

1. The National School Nutrition Programme.
2. School sanitation and water supply.
3. Early Childhood Development.
4. Adult Basic Education and Training.
5. Further Education and Training.
6. Education for Learners with Special Educational Needs.
7. Functionality of School Governing Bodies.
8. Programmes on HIV and AIDS.
9. School vandalism.
10. School staffing and availability of classes.
11. Teacher and learner abuses.

1. The Hon. Mr. B. J. Tolo, Mpumalanga Province (As the Leader of the delegation).
2. The Hon. Mr. M. Thetjeng, Limpopo Province.
3. The Hon. Mr. J. O. Tlhagale, North West Province.
4. The Hon. Ms J. Vilakazi, KwaZulu-Natal Province.
5. The Hon. Ms. J. M. Masilo, North West Province.
6. The Hon. Ms M. Madlala-Magubane, Gauteng Province.
7. The Hon. Ms A. N. D. Qikani, Eastern Cape Province.
8. The Hon. Ms H. Lamoela, Western Cape Province.
9. The Hon. Mr. M. A. Sulliman, Northern Cape Province.

The following Parliamentary support staff accompanied the delegation to the study tour:

1. Mr. T. Madima, Control Committee Secretary (He joined the Committee on 10 November 2004).
2. Mr. Z. A. Mvulane, Parliamentary and Committee Researcher.

During the study tour, provincial and district managers accompanied the delegation.

The major challenge that is facing the Department of Education in the Eastern Cape Province is over-expenditure. The Department is paying more than R3.5 million per month in interests to service its over-expenditure. By March 2004, it had paid over R15 million in interest. The over expenditure depletes the budget available to the Department and limit its ability to address some of the major challenges facing education in the Province.

A major concern about the over-expenditure is that it is in personnel. It has been established that the main causes of this is poor budgetary systems. The over-expenditure is also caused by backlogs in salaries and retirement funds for retired teachers. Some of the retired teachers were not paid for over a long period and the Department is compelled to pay them despite the shortage of funds.

Generally, the Department has a history of poor management and administration systems. It has a shortage of adequately trained personnel, especially in management positions and key strategic positions like financial management and planning. It also has a vacancy of rate of over 60% posts in critical positions. In some instances this limits its ability to implement and monitor government policies effectively.

However, measures have been put in place to address many of the challenges that are facing the Department and education in the Province, particularly in improving the administration and management structure of the Department. In order to ensure that the Department has the necessary personnel, systems and structures to address some of the weaknesses, the Department has prioritised the Finance and Corporate Services Section and filling critical posts, particularly in management positions. The national Department of Education, through the Interim Management Team, is also assisting the Department in finding means to address the issues associated with over-expenditure and poor performance of staff.

The Eastern Cape Province is facing massive backlogs in infrastructure in schools. This include new classrooms, the renovation of old classrooms and school structures, administrative blocks, kitchens, and laboratories. However, the Province does not receive any budget from the National Treasury (Department of Finance) to address this backlogs. As a result, it budgets backwards every year, which means it has to budget for infrastructure backlogs of previous years.

However, this issue has been raised with the National Treasury and with the national Department of Education for urgent interventions. There are indications that measures will be put in place to address the Province’s backlogs in the next financial year.

The Eastern Cape Province is in a process of reorganising its schooling system. The Province still has a large supply of junior primary and secondary schools that were inherited from the homeland education system. The Department is also planning to ensure that all new schools have the necessary infrastructures and systems necessary for effective education.

The influx of learners in some areas, particularly learners who move from poor performing schools to better schools, has exacerbated the issue of a shortage of classrooms in some schools. The Department is devising more options in order to address the issue of lack of classrooms in the schools.

The problem of learners studying under dangerous conditions is a major issue in the Province. Department is devising mechanisms to cater for the needs of these, particularly those studying under mad and collapsing dangerous structures that were largely built by communities. It is also planning to amalgamate some schools where the number of learners has declined substantially and to create hostels where learners have to travel long distances.

From a leadership perspective, the provincial Department of Education has been among the unstable departments in the Province. Since 1994 it has had 9 Heads of Department (Superintendent-Generals) and six MEC’s. Some people in critical posts in the Department do not know their job descriptions and functions, which affect the ability of the Department to deliver services effectively.

However, proper systems have been put in place to address most of these challenges. The Interim Management Team from the National Department of Education is assisting the Department to address some of the challenges, particularly those associated with personnel matters. Thus far, there are indications that the situation is stabilising and improving. A new departmental structure with properly defined roles and responsibilities has been established. This will ensure that people understand their job descriptions and responsibilities in delivering quality services to the people. Displaced employees within the structure will be placed in positions that match their competencies and where they will be able to perform optimally.

The current budget for the School Nutrition Programme in the Eastern Cape Province is just over R177 million. This amount has proven inadequate to cover all the needy schools in the Province. The Department has had problems with the Programme since taking it over from the Department of Health early in 2004. The tender process is in dispute.

Despite poor infrastructure and the lack of personnel to administer the Programme effectively, the Department was compelled to take over from the Department of Health. Few months after taking over the Programme, it was discovered that the Proof of Delivery system, which was used by the Department of Health was fraught with corruption and mismanagement. As a result the Department initiated the Goods Receive Vouchers system to ensure that goods are accounted for during delivery. This system ensures that the school keeps a record of the delivery of food, the date it was delivered and the person who received the food on behalf of the school.

However, Goods Receive Vouchers system has resulted in a lot of paper work for the Department, particularly at district level. For each feeding day at school, there is large number of invoices for the districts officials to process. The paper work tends to cause delays in the payment of the service providers. As it stands, the Department has a huge backlog of paper work relating to payments and purchases of food in schools.

The suppliers of the food in schools are also major contributors to the challenges faced by the Department in administering the Programme effectively. They frequently do not claim in time and some suppliers do not deliver the food to schools as required.

Many schools in the Province have reported problems on the current operation and structure of the Programme. As a result, the Department is reviewing the Programme to improve it. Several options are considered, including that of the Northern Cape, as proposed by the Select Committee on Education and Recreation in 2004.

There are indications that some of the problems associated with the Programme could be addressed if it is decentralised. However, the Department needs to carefully investigate the effectiveness and challenges of decentralising the Programme so that when it is decentralised there are no interruptions.

The Department is planning to implement the new model for the Programme in the coming new financial year. In all the options that are considered, there is strong indication that there is a need for effective provincial monitoring systems for the Programme. The new model for the Programme should ensure that the Department focuses more on educational issues rather than seeking ways to improve administrative systems, as is currently the situation.

The Eastern Cape Province has a supply of over 600 000 teachers. The teacher to administrator ratio in the Province is 93:7 rather than the national norm of 80:20. Despite the large supply of teachers, the Province appears not to have enough teachers in certain areas, particularly in the rural parts of the Province. This is mainly because the redeployment of teachers has been slow. As a result, temporary educators have had to be employed in many schools.

The Department plans to deploy 6 000 teachers to schools where they are needed, specifically to rural schools. It is also devising a strategy to address the issue of temporary teachers and acting principals. In some instances there have been reported fatalities when people are not appointed to the posts that they have filled in an acting capacity for some time.

A major challenge in the redeployment process in the Province is that teachers do not like to be redeployed to other areas, particularly to rural schools. This has resulted in a large supply of teachers in the urban areas and a limited supply of teachers in areas where they are needed most like in rural schools.

The Eastern Cape Province has a large supply of non-performing schools or schools that achieve a pass rate below 20%. The Province also has a very low pass rate in Grade 12, particularly in schools located in disadvantaged communities. The problem is mainly attributed to the fact that some schools push learners to do Standard Grade subjects.

The Province also has a very low supply of Mathematics and Science educators. Thus, teacher-upgrading, particularly in Mathematics and Science subjects needs to be followed up in order to ensure that it is in line with the curriculum needs of schools.

Generally, scholar transport is a major issue in the Eastern Cape Province. This has been exacerbated by the influx of learners from former disadvantages areas to urban areas where most of the performing schools with proper infrastructure are located.

The lack of a subsidised scholar system in many schools in the Province is mainly as a result of budgetary control measures in order to curb over expenditure. The geographic set up of some areas makes it difficult cars to reach schools. In some areas learners have to walk long distances, particularly in summer where heavy rains damage roads.

The Province also has a system of a large supply of dangerous scholar transport like bakkies, which are not permissible to transport people. Some of these vehicles are not road worthy and are not maintained and serviced by their owners. There have been several fatal accidents of bakkies transporting learners to school. The Department of Education is working with the provincial Department of Transport to device a proper and safe scholar transport system for the Province.

5.1.1 Challenges

a) Poverty

b) The National School Nutrition Programme

c) Vandalism

d) Lack of Classrooms

e) Lack of computers

f) Water and sanitation

g) Impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic

h) Abuse of learners

i) Learner Support Materials

j) Substance abuse

5.1.2 Committee recommendations

5.2 Lindokuhle Junior Secondary School

1. Challenges

a) Lack of classrooms

b) Water and sanitation

c) Scholar transport

d) Poor road infrastructure

e) Fencing

f) The National School Nutrition Programme

5.2.2 Committee recommendations

5.3 Ikhwezi Junior Secondary School

5.3.1 Challenges

a) Water and sanitation

b) Telephone

c) Education for Learners with Special Education Needs

d) Non-payment of school fees

e) The National School Nutrition Programme

5.3.2 Committee recommendations

5.4 Vukuzenzele Junior Secondary School

5.4.1 Challenges

a) Lack of critical staff

b) Lack of a proper sanitation system

c) Scholar transport

d) Lack of support from the district

e) Insufficient budget

5.4.2 Committee recommendations

5.5 Nompumalanga Special School

This school was established in 1988. It is located in the same premises with Vukuzenzele Junior Secondary School. It trains learners with special educational needs with basic skills. Some of the learners at the school are slightly educable and, thus, the school teaches them the normal curriculum. Some of the learners have learnt to read and write since arriving at the school.

a) Lack of critical staff

b) Lack of a proper sanitation system

c) Scholar transport

d) Lack of support from the District Office

e) Insufficient budget

• The budget give to the school is insufficient. The school is not given a special budget to meet the special needs of the learners.

5.5.2 Committee recommendations

5.6 Xuraview Junior Secondary School

5.6.1 Challenges

a) Lack of classrooms and overcrowding

b) Water and Sanitation

c) Electricity

d) Telephone

5.6.2 Committee Recommendations

5.7 Hillbrow Senior Secondary

5.7.1 Challenges

a) Water and Sanitation

b) Education for Learners with Special Education Needs

c) Teenage Pregnancies

d) Scholar transport

e) Sporting facilities

f) The National School Nutrition Programme

5.7.2 Committee recommendations

5.8 D. D. Siwisa Primary School

5.8.1 Challenges

a) Shortage of classrooms

b) Inadequacy of the School Nutrition Programme

5.8.2 Committee recommendations

5.9 Roodeblom Farm School

5.9.1 Committee recommendations

5.10 Thembalesizwe Primary School

5.10.1 Challenges

a) Lack of sporting facilities

b) Toilets not conducive for use by Grade R learners

5.10.2 Committee recommendations

5.11 Masiphathisane High school

5.11.1 Committee recommendations

5.12 West-end Primary School

5.12. 1 Challenges

a) Centralisation of education administration in the District

b) Delivery of Learner Support Material

c) School Governing Body

d) Insufficiency of the School Nutrition Programme

e) Lack of subsidised scholar transport

f) Lack of training for teachers to deal with Learners with Special Educational Needs.

5.12.2 Committee recommendations

• The Department should take urgent measures to ensure that at least all the learners up to Grade 4 are fed.
• The Department should ensure that Learner Support Material is delivered and given to the learners at least before the start of the school calendar.
• The Department should ensure that teachers at the school are trained to assess and understand the educational needs of learners with special educational needs.
• The Department should ensure that learners who come as far as more than five kilometres away from the school are assisted with subsidised scholar transport.
• The Department should ensure that the School Governing Body is properly trained to effectively manage the school and play a key role in the administration of the school.

5. 13 Fanti Gaqa Primary School

5.13.1 Challenges

a) Lack of classrooms

b) No Nutrition Programme

5.13.2 Committee recommendations

5.14 Kuswus Laerskool

The Committee visited the following FET colleges throughout the Eastern Cape province:

King Hintsa Public FET College is facing the following challenges:

The College depends solely on the Department of Education for funding. Parents in the area are too poor to pay for their children’s academic fees. There is a substantial number of learners who are unable to buy even the basic materials required in their courses.

The College does not have a resource centre. This has resulted in the use of an office in the administration block to keep some of the College’s learner support materials.

The communication facilities in the College are not reliable. An e-mail system, which was installed in September 2004, is no longer functioning. This prevents the College from looking for other sources of funding (for example international donors). Some campuses do not have telephones, which makes communication a challenge.

Although the College does have electricity, there are continuous electricity failures. It takes a while for Eskom to address such interruptions because they have to be reported to the East London office. The plumbing of the College is very old and needs to be upgraded.

The College does not have health inspectors. The Principal has taken over the duty of inspecting the health conditions of the College.

The College does not have a laboratory. It uses workshops for all its work. Some of these workshops are in a very bad state and dangerous to the learners.

6.2.1 Challenges

6.2.2 Committee recommendations

6.3. Grahamstown FET College

6.3.1 Challenges

1. Lack of institutional policies

There is a lack of institutional policies to guide the merging of the College, while the amalgamation is moving at a very fast paste. The current policies in the new institution are fragmented. The various campuses are still implementing their own old policies.

2. Staff vacancies

The College has about 28 staff vacancies. Most of the staff in the college is working on part-time basis.

3. Lack of updated computer facilities

The College uses outdated computers with old computer programmes. Most of the computers need to be replaced.

4. Dilapidating buildings

The R40 000 yearly maintenance budget for the College has proven to be very insufficient. As a result many of the campus buildings are dilapidating. The building of the College belongs to the Department of Public Works, however, it is not maintained. The College does not even have boarding facilities, which is a major challenge for attracting learners from far way areas, particularly those from rural areas.

5. Lack of bursaries for poor learners

6.3.2 Committee recommendations

6.4 Highland Campus Public FET

6.4.1 Challenges

a) Structure of the learnerships

b) Insufficient budget

c) Inflexibility of the college structure

d) No building maintenance of the College

e) Lack of administrative block at Uitenhage campus

f) Graff-Reinette campus not conducive for teaching and learning

6.4.2 Committee recommendations

7. Meetings with District Offices