"PEOPLE’S PARLIAMENT AT WORK TOGETHER WITH OUR PEOPLE"

The delegation from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, would like to extend their appreciation to:

• The people of Limpopo Province, specifically to people from the Tzaneen areas.
• Traditional leaders and Religious leaders.
• Ministers, Mayors, Premiers, Ward Councillors, Members of the Executive Committees (MECs) and the National and Provincial Departmental officials.
• The South African Police Services (SAPS).
• All Traffic Departments that provided excellent security services.

The 2005 Taking Parliament to the People programme was a success due to this assistance. The generosity of spirit, warmth, and security provided the delegation with the capacity to undertake this crucial component of their oversight work.

Three years ago, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) adopted a programme of Taking Parliament to the People with the aim of promoting public participation in parliamentary affairs and to assist the NCOP in carrying out its oversight function. In order to facilitate this process the NCOP has undertaken to visit two provinces each year. The Programme is aimed at strengthening Parliament’s commitment to a people-centred Parliament that is responsive to the needs of the electorate in order to realise a better life for all the people of South Africa. By visiting these rural communities, the NCOP gives a voice to those who would not necessarily have the opportunity to address or discuss (in their home language) issues with their representatives. Taking Parliament to the People began with a visit to Umtata in the Eastern Cape Province in 2002, and was followed by Taung in the North West Province in 2003. Earlier this year, the NCOP sat in KwaMhlanga in Mpumalanga Province, and recently, the NCOP had sat in Tzaneen, in the Limpopo Province.

The NCOP had a sitting in Tzaneen from 31 October to 4 November 2005. People gave their inputs on a wide range of topics, raising important issues of concern in areas such as social security, the provision of basic services, poverty alleviation and gender equality. In addition to Members of the NCOP, the Premier of the Province, provincial and municipal Speakers, Managers of government Departments, Mayors, and Councillors, as well as other relevant stakeholders participated in the sitting. Special meetings with farmers, youth, people with disabilities and women highlighted some of the challenges facing government in the delivery of services in their areas of concern. As part of the programme, special delegations comprising of Members of the NCOP carried out visits to health centres, farms, schools and projects falling under the EWP, with the aim of ascertaining the situation on the ground.

The Limpopo Taking Parliament to the People programme was underpinned by a strong human rights and service delivery framework, aimed at creating a platform for people to engage government and Parliament on various issues of concern. The following themes underpinned the formal inputs/submissions and site visits:

• The creation of a people-centred Parliament through the Taking Parliament to the People programme.
• The state of municipalities in Limpopo and challenges regarding capacity and delivery: Meeting with Councillors on local government matters.
• Poverty Alleviation and Educational and Social Needs: public hearing on social security.
• Agricultural as a Tool for Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation: Meeting with Farmers.
• Structures put in place to address the challenges faced by children, the youth and people with disabilities: Meeting with youth and people with disabilities.
• Structures and institutions set up by government in the past ten years of democracy towards the advancement of women: Meeting with women.
• The provision of water as a basic human right: successes and challenges facing the government.
• The impact of Expanded Public Works programmes and other programmes directed to the creation of jobs.

The sections that follow provide input from formal meetings and site visits that broadly and specifically impact on the Limpopo Province.

In his opening address, the Executive Mayor expressed, on behalf of the people of the Mopani District Municipality, a great sense of appreciation and honour that the NCOP decided to gather and hold its Taking Parliament to the People in Tzaneen. The Executive Mayor wished that the NCOP would, during its interaction with the people, gain a deeper understanding of the issues confronting the area and the rest of the province. The NCOP, through its oversight role, will help to highlight and overcome the constraints faced by local municipalities. The gathering gives the NCOP and the local sphere of government the opportunity to enhance the spirit of co-operative governance. Furthermore, the NCOP will be able to assess the impact that the legislation it had passed has had on the development and empowerment of people and their communities. The biggest challenge for municipalities is providing adequate basic services to communities and meeting expectations and targets such as providing clean water to all the people by the year 2008. The Executive Mayor appealed to all participants to give the NCOP support and use the opportunity to engage and raise issues of concern with the delegation.

The Hon Hosi M Ntwanwisi noted that while there has been significant improvement in many areas of governance since the 1994 democratic elections, there is a need to rethink the meaning of freedom, so that it encompasses the responsibilities and obligations that go with that particular freedom. The traditional leadership asked the NCOP representatives to engage their constituencies, in their respective provinces, on issues of common concern. The objective of such meetings should be to forge strong bonds and relationships between the NCOP and the Houses of Traditional leadership in order to achieve the goal of a people’s parliament.

One of the challenges, noted by Hosi Ntwanwisi, is to push back the frontiers of poverty. In order to achieve this objective, the local government sphere needs to strengthen the involvement and participation of the people. This would assist in developing a sense of ownership and commitment by communities of projects and programmes aimed at raising the standard of living of poor people in the society. The Hosi noted that to achieve these objectives, municipalities should submit regular reports to the NCOP, to enable it to evaluate and make judgement on whether satisfactory progress was being made in achieving objectives set out by government. One of such area of concern, as highlighted, is lack of infrastructure to support education. In Mopani, there are still classrooms without roofs. Many children do not go to school and some drop out early. It is the obligation of all leaders to ensure that children go to school. It is through education that children will be able to take part in the task of nation building.

The Premier of the Province, Mr S Moloto, pointed out that the sitting of the NCOP in the province provides a rare opportunity to share best practices and insights on service delivery and intergovernmental practices. He indicated that the biggest enemies of the people are poverty and unemployment. These challenges are compounded by lack of basic infrastructure and services such as roads, electricity and water. It is a fact that poverty has a race, age, geographic and gender dimension. Poverty and unemployment are found mostly among Africans who live in rural areas, and among women and the youth. This also includes farm workers, who continue to be subjected to evictions and harsh treatment, despite the laws that protect them.

One of the top priorities of government is to protect the most vulnerable in society. These include, women, children, the elderly and the disabled. The Limpopo government has created offices in the Premier’s Offices and the national government has also created offices in the Presidency to look after the interests and concerns of these vulnerable groups. The government spends close to 90% of the Social Development Budget on social security in the form of old age pensions, disability and support grants, and social relief interventions. The government has improved access to the social grants and has been successful in its indemnification campaign to weed out ghost pensioners.

The Premier acknowledged that land reform is one of the challenges facing the Provincial government, where approximately 80% of the productive land is under claim. The Provincial government is concerned about the slow pace in the resolution of claims. The health care system is improving. There are a number of factors that hamper speedy progress towards a sustainable health care system. The health of our people is affected by factors such as proper housing, sanitation and access to safe drinking water, and an effective and efficient public transport system. There is a need for a closer working relationship between water authorities, local municipalities and the Department of Health. HIV and AIDS infections continue to be cause for great concern. The Premier noted that while the scientific community search for a cure, government must insist that people should exercise abstinence, be faithful and use condoms. He recommended that government should also increase the number of accredited sites for the rollout of comprehensive management and treatment plan of HIV/AIDS.

Limpopo is currently facing a drought that is ravaging the province. The Limpopo government has urged the national government to declare parts of the province disaster areas. Preparations are at an advanced stage to make a formal request for assistance to deal with the drought. The government has provided water to more than 1.3 million people. He noted that this is good achievement, however, millions continue to be without water. There is need to invest in water harvesting technologies. However, the Water Act and the Water Services Act pose a challenge in that they require government to build the capacity of municipalities to deliver water. Inability to find solutions to these problems will undermine the achievements of the last eleven years of our democracy.

The implementation of Project Consolidate is one of the priorities of the province. The government is committed to giving precise and decisive support to municipalities. The recently held budget Lekgotla decided on three areas for intervention. R100 million would be allocated for drought relief and water provision. Another R100 million would be allocated for electricity. Road and infrastructure would also be allocated R100 million. The Premier concluded with a quote from the late, Honourable President of the ANC, Mr Oliver R Tambo, "We have it within our power, working together as fellow South Africans, to transform this land into a land of plenty for all".

The Chairperson of the NCOP, the Hon Mr J Mahlangu, dealt with the role od the NCOP. He indicated that many people do not understand that the NCOP is the National Council of Provinces and that it was designed to fit into the constitutional framework of the country and to address the needs of the people on the ground. The NCOP is obliged by the Constitution in Section 42(4) to represent the provinces to ensure that provincial interests are taken into account in the national sphere of government mainly by participating in the national Parliament and on issues affecting the provinces.

Parliament has adopted a number of programmes to ensure that the people are involved in influencing its decision making process. He said it is very important to interact with the people.

The majority of the citizenry cannot travel to Cape Town and take part in the decision making processes of the Parliament. The NCOP has decided to create a opportunities and platforms for the poor and the illiterate to interact with their elected representatives.

The purpose of Taking Parliament to the People is to ensure that communities are aware of participatory democracy, are educated about how Parliament and government functions. It is also to create an opportunity for government to report progress with respect to its mandate.

A number of delegations of the NCOP visited clinics or health centres to observe the delivery of health services in the Tzaneen area. The three clinics or health centres visited were the Grace Mugodeni Health Centre, the Mokgapeng Clinic and Nkowankowa Health Centre.

The Health Centre was established in 1990 as a clinic with a staff component of four professional nurses. The number has increased to ten professional nurses. It provides a twenty-four hour service to a community of 36 000 people.

It renders chronic and geriatric services, mental health, mother and child services, minor ailments, growth and nutrition monitoring. It performs voluntary counselling and testing, pmtc, health promotion and youth services.

The government departments have provided significant support to the Centre. The SAPS has a satellite police station at the Centre to ensure security of staff, patients and premises.

The Centre faces a number of challenges, including the following:

• High staff turnover
• Lack of transport of urgent transfers to neighbouring hospitals
• Insufficient provision of water to the centre
• Lack of resources such as telephone and faxes
• Lack of security fence around the health centre
• Dilapidated infrastructure, and
• Insufficient office space

The Clinic was established in 1997. It has a staff component of five professional nurses, two enrolled nurses, one social worker and three general assistants. It provides services to a population of about 15 000 people. It renders a 24-hour service using a call system.

It renders chronic and geriatric, mental health, mother and child service, minor ailments, growth and nutrition monitoring, vct, and pmtc, rehabilitation, health, promotion, youth and cancer screening services.

The Clinic has a wellness awareness programme, which has a co-ordinator, with three staff members responsible for home visits and referral of patients to the hospital.

The Clinic has observed that patients with HIV and AIDS do not make full use of the wellness programme due to denial of their HIV status.

Patients who are on TB treatment do not comply with the treatment obligations. The home based care givers are concerned that the community does not assist them to monitor patients to ensure that they take their medication regularly.

The clinic faces a number of challenges, including the following:

• Insufficient water supply
• The problem of understaffing
• There is no medical doctor assigned to the clinic
• Lack of transport for urgent transfer of patients to hospitals
• Lack of a proper waste system disposal

The Health Centre provides health services to about 5 villages. It has one local area supervisor, 16 professional nurses, 10 enrolled nurses, 3 administrative clerks and 10 general workers.

The services it renders include chronic and geriatric, mental health, mother and child services, growth and nutrition monitoring, voluntary counselling treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission.

The Centre has formed strategic partnerships with the Headman, Councillors, members of the community, traditional healers, Departments of Home Affairs, Education, Social Development, Agriculture and Public Works.

The Centre has registered the following successes:

• Specific outreach for youth on matters of sexuality
• Suggestion box
• Family medicine programme
• Immunisation has reached 93%
• The centre is run successfully on a 24 hour basis

It faces the following challenges:

• Insufficient water
• In-transit theft of ordered medication
• Unavailability of a social worker
• overcrowding.

The Deputy Minister indicated that the Project Consolidate programme is playing a significant role in highlighting some of the challenges faced by rural municipalities. Through the Project Consolidate process 136 municipalities in need of support have been identified. The knowledge that government is gathering through the process will be put into use at provincial and national level to provide better support for rural municipalities, and will also be used to make informed decisions on how to improve the lives of the poor and to give guidance to municipalities.

Limpopo is one of the poorest provinces. In Sekhukhune, the unemployment rate is at 69% and in the Capricorn region it is at 41%. These figures are of great concern since it is more than the national unemployment number and needs serious attention. High rates of unemployment places a further burden on the Department as more and more people become part of the indigent. This limits a municipality to effectively collect revenue. National government is concerned that people will be trapped in the cycle of poverty and will be unable to live dignified lives. Budgets are diverted away from capital projects to cater for more social spending and lead to lack of infrastructural investments in areas.

The Deputy Minister noted that there is need for a cohesive approach by all three spheres of government to direct its strategies to a common goal. A blueprint was created consisting of the National Spatial Development Framework, the Provincial Growth and Development Plan, the Integrated Development Plan and the Local Economic Development (LED) Strategy. Only Sekhukhune District Municipality has an adopted a Local Economic Development Strategy. Bohlabla’s LED is under construction and Capricorn has a draft LED strategy. These raise serious concerns as unemployment is high and yet the municipalities are unable to finalise their LED strategies. The LED strategies should be used to promote the economic development of a region and creating job opportunities for communities. It seems like municipalities that are unable to complete the development phase will face even more serious concerns when it comes to implementing these plans. Questions that need to be raised include: whether the drafting of the strategies are too complex; are there too many requirements that municipalities need to comply with? If this is the case then national government should assist municipalities and release them to focus on service delivery.

Sanitation, water and electricity seem to be the biggest challenges in the region. The Ministry is concerned with the reasons provided by municipalities on their inability to deliver services. Reasons provided include: the finalisation of Section 78 (Which Act?), which stifles water provision and sanitation. Sekhukhune are awaiting council approval on the recommendations for water provision. Capricorn Water Services Authority gained status to provide water but the District Municipality were unable to adhere to all the provisions of the Act. Councils need to accelerate the pace of decision-making and need to approve or disapprove recommendations made to them more swiftly. Policies should not remain in draft form as it paralyses the municipalities ability to deliver services.

Many municipalities cite the lack of skilled staff as contributing to the inability to deliver services. Municipalities point a lack of technical skills in project management, engineering and supervisory disciplines as the main problems they face. Rural municipalities are not able to retain staff from moving to bigger cities. More and more communities take to the street to voice their dissatisfaction with non-delivery of services. It seems like communication is problematic, as communities are not informed on the plans of municipalities. The issues that municipalities must confront include whether communities are part of the Independent Development Plans process; are IGR Forums creating interaction with communities; are Community Development Workers and Ward Committees functioning? These structures should be used to communicate with communities and should work in conjunction with and not against municipalities.

The Deputy Minister indicated that there is enough information to indicate the backlogs and the challenges of municipalities, but decisive steps need to be taken by municipalities to speed-up the service delivery process. Municipalities should build their institutional capacity and get communities involved in the decision-making process. National government is aware of the challenges and continuously revisits its organisational capability. Municipalities should follow this example and ensure that we create a better life for all in this country.

The Deputy Minister noted that 136 municipalities are currently being assisted through Project Consolidate to improve service delivery. She stated lack of communication as one of the disadvantages affecting the effectiveness of community participation. Ward committees should interact with communities and refer concerns to the Speaker. Ward committee meetings are not taking place, because of the vast areas to be covered. Municipalities are obliged by the Constitution to budget for this process.

The Chairperson indicated that the visit to the Limpopo Province is a Constitutional requirement in terms of Section 152 (1), which states the following functions for local government:

1. to provide democratic and accountable government for local communities;
2. to ensure the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner;
3. to promote a social and economic development;
4. to promote a safe and healthy environment; and
5. to encourage the involvement of communities and community organisations in the matters of local government.

The Hon Mr Mahlangu indicated that municipalities need to deliver efficient and effective services to poor households. The indigent should be able to get free basic services delivered to them efficiently and in a good quality. A few positive highlights include: that the NCOP visited North-West and Kwazulu-Natal and people were complaining that they did not see their councillors and meetings were not happening. Two months ago, the NCOP visited the areas again, and was informed that councillors are now more visible and meetings are happening. The community is happy with this because they are now part of the decision-making structures. It is only through people working with communities and where citizen participation occurs that people understand and appreciate the challenges confronted by municipalities. In some provinces the ward system is still not working and this creates problems and need serious interventions.

He noted that some municipalities spend most of their budget on salaries and not on developmental programmes. This is in conflict with the developmental nature of local government. There are municipalities that are not able to generate any income and are totally reliant on the equitable share allocation. These municipalities are mostly situated in poor rural areas where unemployment is rife. A number of municipalities are not able to attract skilled and experienced staff especially technical and financial staff. These municipalities are unable to submit financial reports and build infrastructure. The high rate of irregular behaviour by public officials is a point of concern. People that are involved in theft, fraud and corruption should be dealt with seriously. They need to be exposed and acted on. Failure to do this will result in people’s basic rights being denied and the vicious cycle of poverty repeating itself. People should, however, guard against labelling people as corrupt without any evidence.

The Hon Mr Mahlangu pointed out that the National Government passed the following laws:

• Municipal Systems Act
• Municipal Structures Act
• Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act
• Municipal Finance Management Act
• Intergovernmental Relations Framework Act

The challenge now is to assess whether these laws assist municipalities or hamper their ability to deliver services. Municipalities raised the fact that the Municipal Finance Management Act poses a number of challenges. The reason for this is that they do not possess sufficiently skilled staff to deal with it.

2.2.3. Identified Challenges

• Under/over-spending: There is a need to develop revenue bases and to ensure that revenue sources are neither over nor under-utilised.
• Appropriate Service Levels: Municipalities should need to identify appropriate service levels (as these choices have long-term financial implications).
• Coherent Financial systems: In terms of equitable share, there is a need to collect data on estimated costs of municipal service delivery and the development of a reliable revenue-raising capacity measure.
• Capacity Framework: There is a need to develop a framework that recognises the different circumstances and capacities of municipalities.
• Public Participation: The participation of people in poor communities is undermined by lack of funds for the operation of ward committees. This challenge has impacted on the accountability of ward councillors to their constituency. People should be educated about their rights with regard to partaking in the local government process.
• Provision of free basic services: In most rural areas, there is a poor delivery mechanism of free basic services. As a result, the Free Basic Services policy is not being implemented at the desired level nor reaching the intended beneficiaries. This problem is compounded by the fact that most municipalities have limited funding to fund free basic services programmes. .

Lastly, it was indicated that the biggest challenge to local government is to use the NCOP to assist and develop frameworks where people can co-operate meaningfully. Local government should engage fully with NCOP to address challenges and carve a way forward. It is in every ones best interest that these processes happen to ensure that the lives of people are changed.

• The impact of drought: The persistent drought in most parts of the Limpopo Province is crippling agricultural activities and putting pressure on scarce water sources. Most dams are in their lowest levels in years and municipalities are struggling to provide water services to communities due to severe lack of water.
• Lack of water services: Countless issues were raised from the floor on the lack of water services in most rural communities in the province. It was noted that people often travel long distances to fetch water from water points. This situation has resulted in people in some other areas utilising water from polluted rivers, increasing their vulnerability to typhoid, cholera and other water borne diseases.
• Lack of sanitation services: While most community members recognise the efforts that local government is making on housing issues, it was noted that issues around sanitation are sometimes neglected. A suggestion was made the sanitation programme be integrated with the RDP housing programme as a way of addressing the blockages regarding the provisioning of sanitation services to poorer communities.
• Sub-Standard Housing: RDP houses in some areas have been built with inferior material such as ‘sponge bricks’ which absorb water when it rains. Community members indicated that these RDP houses have become a liability and a threat to their health and lives rather than developmental assets.
• Poor Infrastructure: It was noted that some communities are struggling with regard to access to public transport due to inadequacy infrastructure. People travel long distances to schools and bus stations, and thus increase their vulnerability to crime. It was recommended that government ensure that poor communities have access to quality infrastructure, especially roads, as this has direct impact on the sustainability of their livelihood.
• Letaba Fire Protection Association: The Letaba Fire Protection Association submitted a business plan for approval to the Mopani District Municipality, and for the last three months the municipality has not responded. The Association wanted to know about the progress on the submitted business plan.
• Unfinished RDP Houses: In some areas under the Greater Tzaneen Municipality RDP houses were left unfinished due to lack of funds and other problems. It was indicated that there is a lack of monitoring by the municipality on companies contracted to build RDP houses.
• Electricity Services in Petanenge: Ten years after the electrification of adjacent villages, Petanenge village is still without electricity. As a result, community members feel isolated and rejected by the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. It was asked about the progress that is being made to ensure that the community have access to electricity.
• Sub-standard tarred road: The issue of a sub-standard tarred road in the Xihoko area was raised. It was indicated that although the construction of the road is complete, motorists do not use the road due to the melting of the tar, since no concrete stones were used in the construction.

2.2.5. The Response of Government

• The province has a plan to finish the incomplete houses and will address the issue of the poor quality of bricks and other building material
• Learnerships and internships are there to address the issue of people not having qualifications. It is a universal issue that jobseekers should have experience and a degree for certain jobs. The NCOP should address the issue of the youth having degrees but no experience
• The business plan for the Letaba Fire Protection service will be followed up
• The province will make allocations to municipalities to build houses but it may not be enough to address the need for houses. Insufficient funds cause some of the delays in building more houses. Nepotism that occur when making housing allocations will be addressed by the province
• Communities should have meetings to discuss and monitor projects happening in their areas.
• A problem occurred where tenders were given for contractors to supply water and then it water was not provided. This issue s currently being addressed
• About 70% of the villages in Greater Tzaneen have been supplied with electricity. The community was informed that the electrification would happen from a certain point and move onwards from there. Problems arose where Eskom started installation contrary to the agreements that were reached. The issue will be addressed with Eskom
• The money that has been set aside by the Premier is for the whole region and not for a specific region. This will assist in addressing some of the challenges that exist
• The quality of roads are bad and the issue will be addressed with the engineers are they should inspect the quality and report to the municipalities
• The issue of remunerating ward committees is currently being discussed in Parliament. In the Northwest Province the council pay for out of pocket expenses of the ward committees. Government need a unified approach to deal with this issue
• The allowances for councillors from the rural areas are less than that received by the councillors from urban areas. The discussion in National Government is to ensure that councillors are not left out of pocket for rendering a service to the community
• Demarcation is a work in process. Communities should be consulted on the boundary changes affecting them. Provincial boundaries are the responsibility of the provinces concerned. Public hearings will be held in provinces for people to make submissions on boundaries in the affected areas.

Minister Mapisa-Nqakula stated that to access the different services, people need Identity Documents (IDs) and therefore the Department of Home Affairs plays a vital role in poverty alleviation. She further noted that there is an obligation on the State not to deprive people from these services and much has been done by the Department of Home Affairs to ensure access to these services.

The Minister stated that IDs and birth certificates play a key role to obtain e.g. grants (Child Support grants, Foster Care Grants etc). She stated that at times the mothers of these children do not themselves have IDs and this is a challenge for the Department.

The Lokisha Ditokomane campaign has been launched to rectify mistakes in Identity Documents and these changes are made free of charge and to give parents, who are not registered, an opportunity to do so. This campaign has been extended to the end of December 2005 and it will be reviewed if necessary. The Minister also encouraged older persons to come forward to rectify mistakes in their IDs.

Achievements of the Department include: online birth registration at hospitals and extended hours of operation to 18:00 during weekdays.

The Minister’s Response to Questions

The Minister stated that with the programme of Lokisha Ditokomane, parents may go to Home Affairs offices to rectify any changes/corrections that need to be made with regard to Identity Documents, free of charge.

The Minister further noted that there is no need for people to wake up early in the morning and standing in long queues, the reason being that there are multi-purpose centres, mobile units that are being utilized in the province.

The Deputy Minister stated that when there is talk about educational services provided for by the State, there is need to do so in the context of the challenges facing the nation. A major challenge is to create a functionally literate and numerate society possessing the necessary skills that are required to stimulate and sustain a high level of economic growth so as to deepen our social transformation. The Deputy Minister further noted that the Department of Education will focus during the coming years, on reducing the cost of education to the poor as to enhance their access, whether it is relation to early childhood development, general education, further education and training or tertiary education.

Parliament recently passed the Education Laws Amendment Bill, which for the first time in this country’s history creates a no school fee system. The effect of this legislation is that poor parents, who want to give their children a good education but struggle to afford the expenses, will now be able to do so.

According to the draft amended National Norms and Standards for School Funding, the schools in a province must still be ranked from the poorest to the least poor school. However, only one criterion will be used and it is the poverty of the community around the school.

ECD services are divided into two main programmes: One programme deals with the expansion of Grade R as part of the Foundation Phase and the other deals with the development and coordination of the integrated service delivery for children below the Grade R age group.

One of the activities that the Department has been engaged in, with all the provinces, is the upgrading of the qualifications and has started with ECD level 4 qualification. A total number of 665 of the practitioners that have received the level 4 qualification are from Limpopo.

The Deputy Minister stated that it is essential for the State to provide services that also enhances the nutritional status of learners. The Department has implemented a National School Nutrition Programme to enhance the nutritional status of learners from impoverished communities. The programme is currently feeding cooked meals to about 5 million learners at 16000 of the poorest schools over 156 days.

The number of students who have received financial assistance amounts to 402,833 to date totalling 940,135 awards from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).

The Department is putting initiatives in place that seek to ensure that the youth and the community are able to access information on career guidance. The department in collaboration with the National Information Service for Higher Education (NISHE) project of the Higher Education SA (HESA) has produced a career information booklet. This is a Grade 9 career guide into higher education and has been distributed to all Grade 9 learners in the public schooling system.

The Deputy Minister said that the President has consistently called for greater emphasis and investment in the teaching of mathematics and science as means of responding to the acute skills shortages in critical sectors of the economy. The department has responded by launching the National Strategy for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in 2001.

The Hon Surty reported that the number of specialist schools in mathematics and science has increased from the 102 to over 400. The curriculum has been redesigned to ensure increased proficiency in numeracy, and from 2006 all learners will still study mathematics or mathematical literacy beyond the compulsory phase of schooling.

The Deputy Minister’s Response to Questions

The Deputy Minister stated that funding is given to students who excels. Students also need to look at various tertiary education institutions e.g. FET Colleges, Universities, and Universities of Technologies etc.

On the question of whether a school principal can expel a learner who has not paid his school fees, the Deputy Minister stated that this could not be done.

The Department promotes social integration through strengthening families and communities. The Department has in the last 10 years been concentrating on the provision of various social grants, like old age pensions, child support grant and other forms of grants. Recently, in view of the establishment of the Social Security Agency that is going to be responsible for the distribution of social grants, the Department has been shifting the focus of its work to the other components of its mandate.

It is engaged in the fight against poverty through the promotion of sustainable livelihood. It is engaged in the struggle to combat HIV and AIDS by preventing and mitigating its consequences.

The scope of the Department’s services is as follows:

• Promotion and prevention services.
• Rehabilitation services.
• Protection services.
• Continuing care services.
• Mental health and addiction services.
• Youth Development: Socio-economic programmes and Moral Regeneration programmes.
• Poverty reduction programmes: facilitation of developmental centres, promotion and facilitation of the establishment of cooperatives and integrated empowerment programmes.
• Community profiling: assessment of community structures.
• Implementation: facilitation of implementation of identified development activities, according to the plans developed by involving the community.
• Evaluation of implementation: monitoring of implementation of jointly planned activities, giving feedback to the community and re-planning action where required.

The nature of social welfare services:

• Childcare and protection: services to abused, neglected, orphaned children.
• Services to families: vulnerable, single parent/child headed.
• Probation services to perpetrators and their families as well as children in conflict with the law.
• Victim Empowerment Programme.
• Services to youth at risk, in conflict with the law, out of school unemployed.
• Services to women, victims of violence, poor and unemployed.
• Services to protect and care for older persons.
• Services to those affected /infected by HIV/AIDS.

The services of the Department could be accessed by people approaching any of following offices or organisations:

• Provincial office.
• Regional, district office.
• NGO’s, CBO’s
• Local Government
• Civic society (Community members, councilors, health care practitioners)

The Deputy Minister’s Response to Questions

With regard to the gender parity why men receive Old Age pensions at the age of 65 and woman 60, the Deputy Minister stated that it is positive discrimination.

The Deputy Minister stated that the Department has a number of programmes that assist children to grow up healthy and, which provide quality care when children get sick.

It is very important that all children be immunised and the Limpopo Province is a leading province in this regard, where 92% of children under the age of one are fully immunised. Many episodes of illnesses are prevented when children are fully immunised.

A school health project has been implemented that provides for free assessments and health promotion to learners. This is very important as it enables the Department to pick up problems early, especially those problems that impact negatively on the ability of children to learn.

The health of the youth also needs to be looked after. In order to make services more user-friendly the Department has assisted 64 health facilities to become more youth friendly. There are 7 of these youth centres in the Limpopo province and the Department has trained more than 170 health workers in how to be youth friendly.

The Deputy Minister stated that the Department is proud of the initiatives taken by the province to improve access, and in this regard the Limpopo Province has shown how to ensure greater access by opening a 24 hr service than any other province.

She further noted that in Tshilidzini the community has developed a programme that provides rape survivors with support and care and similar levels of dedication need to find ways to other parts of the province.

Besides caring for physical health, it is also important to care for our mental health. The province has done well in strengthening its mental health services, including the improving the integration of mental health into primary health care. This means that when a person to the clinic the nurse will be able to treat any mental health problems that he or she may have and this makes possible the provision of holistic care in our facilities.

People also need nutritious food to be healthy. With the assistance of government, communities have embarked on these projects with passion and dedication- so much so that there are over 150 community gardens in the province, which benefit families. It must be ensured that every community in the province has a sustainable community garden that feeds the most vulnerable members of that community

The Deputy Minister stated that the Department is aware that there are many community based organisations in Limpopo e.g. the fact that the province has established over 360 community/home based care sites which have a total of 90 000 beneficiaries. The government has to ensure that these projects take care of our people who have all types of chronic diseases.

While there are successes in Limpopo, there certainly are challenges as well.

These include:

• The creation of sustainable jobs for the people, especially the vulnerable.
• Making health service more accessible and the role of the community leaders, including hospital boards and clinic committees.
• Ensuring that our facilities are safe for health personnel and that they treat patients with respect and vice a versa.

The Deputy Minister’s Response to Questions

A member of the public complained that she was not treated well in the clinic where she had her baby and after giving birth to her child the staff at the clinic did not inform her what should be done. The Deputy Minister stated that the matter would be referred to the MEC of Health in the province and that an investigation will be launched to what the situation was, but that the Department does apologise for what happened.

The Deputy Minister also stated that there is a programme that has been developed to pay volunteers a stipend or a salary.

The Deputy Minister further noted that the department is aware that the shortage of nurses is not only a problem in the Limpopo province, but that it is a national challenge, but that the Minister is working hard to get nurses back. It was agreed with all the MEC’s of Health in the provinces to open the nursing colleges in the provinces e.g. Limpopo province currently has 3, but another 2 will be opening soon.

The Deputy Minister stated that from Limpopo there are currently 44 medical students undergoing training in Cuba, and when they return they will be working in the Limpopo Province.

According to the Minister, at the present moment land prices are not favourable to government to reach its objective of ensuring a speed land reform delivery. The Land Summit deliberations exposed the weaknesses with regard to the willing-buyer-willing-seller approach and its impact on the price of land required for the land reform programme. One of the key disadvantages of this approach, apart from inflated land prices, is the fact that negotiations on the purchasing price often takes too long, thus affecting the pace of land delivery to the previously disadvantaged persons. The Land Summit recommended that other alternatives in the acquisition of land be investigated, and government is already in the process of identifying these alternatives.

The Minister reiterated and confirmed government’s commitment to land reform and the sustainable development and success of land reform projects. With the aim of achieving that objective, government has initiated the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and Micro Financial Institution of South Africa (MAFISA) programmes to assist emerging farmers with regard to access to finance and technical support. Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture has prioritised the programme around extension officers.

In responding to issues raised by people on the floor, the Minister noted that the rights of workers are protected by the Constitution, which forbid any form of discrimination and abuse of workers. Hence, nepotism and any form of corruption is not acceptable in the workplace or anywhere within the society. The rights of workers are protected, amongst others, by legislations such as the:

• Labour Relations Act
• Basic Condition of Employment Act
• Employment Equity Act
• Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act

The Minister encouraged workers to make efforts to be aware of their rights as stipulated in these legislation. Workers have a right to join a labour union of their choice and be able to bargain for their salaries rather than beg to be paid.

The NCOP visited a number of farms to observe progress made with regard to farms that have been the subject of restitution, challenges that the emerging farmers are encountering and general conditions of people in farms.

The farm is 1900 hectares, of which 147 ha is set aside for litchis and citrus farming, and 1 703 ha for grazing and sisal production. The farm has been under the caretakership of the Provincial Department of Agriculture for the past 10 years. At the current moment, the farm is not productive due to lack of financial capital, after the Provincial Department had substantially decreased its budget allocation.

The farm has 61 employees whose work is limited as the farm is not fully operational. The farm is part of a land claim by the Berlyn Community Property Association and a counter claim by the Babirwa ba Mangena community. These competing land claims were identified as key obstacles to the development and functioning of the farm.

The farm was acquired through a SLAG grant to the value of R600 000 with the extent of 191 ha. In total, the farm has 90 beneficiaries, only ten are involved in the daily operation of the farm. Initially, the main activities of the farm were dairy and crop farming. After loosing the dairy cattle, beneficiaries have resorted to crop farming only.

The lack of involvement by the majority (80) of beneficiaries on the farming project was found to be a crippling factor. The ten beneficiaries were unable to sign agreements with interested partners who want to invest on the farm. At the moment, there is an opportunity to venture into chicken farming with an interested private strategic partner, However, the agreement cannot be signed without the approval of the majority of the absent beneficiaries.

This is a farmer’s settlement project comprising of 26 emerging farmers (20 men and 6 women). The farm produces mainly bananas and citrus fruits. Of all three projects visited by the NCOP, Mariveni farm is the most successful farming project, demonstrating a significant upwards business growth trend. The farm is a cooperative which is managed by an elected Board of Directors. More than half of its produce is exported to Europe and the Far East. The farm employs local people and has also made available land for a flourishing community garden.

• Slow pace of land reform: the land reform process, especially restitution was taking place at a slow pace. Claimants from various claims in the province indicated that the Commission should speed up the resolution of claims .
• Lack Post-settlement support: Claimants alluded to the lack of adequate post-settlement support, especially with regard to farming skills and business planning. As a result restitution beneficiaries are not able to take full advantage of the restored farmland.
• Employment for the Youth: it was indicated that, whenever local municipalities advertise vacant positions, an emphasis is put on the candidate’s extensive experience. As a result, recently qualified graduates are excluded from these opportunities and but have no other alternative migrate to cities.
• Lack of funds: The implementation of both CASP and MAFISA is taking place at slow-pace. Land Reform projects have limited sources of financial assistance, and most of them rely on Both MAFISA and CASP as an answer to this challenge.
• Marketing of Agricultural Produce: Farmers indicated that government should do more with regard to making sure that emerging farmers have access to markets for their produce.
• Exploitation of workers: Local people were being exploited by unscrupulous business people who refuse them to join trade unions and do not adhere to the Labour Relations Act.
• Job Losses: An issue about the once flourishing local industrial area was raised. For the last ten years, most factories have relocated, leaving empty infrastructure and thousands of retrenched local people stranded without employment. Members of the community wanted to know, from the municipality, the cause of relocations and what government is doing to address this problem.

The Deputy Minister stated that government wants an active and willing nation. He stated that the Department currently has 14 programmes running in the Limpopo Province. He noted that a major challenge for the Department is finances and therefore programmes have to be prioritised.

He informed the people that the Department has formed a partnership with SA Confederation and Olympic Committee (SACOC), to ensure that the Olympians win some medals at the Olympics and these include the disabled Olympians as well.

The Deputy Minister stated that the Department has made a survey and found that they need R14 Billion for sports facilities in the country and that the department is addressing this challenge pro-actively.

The Deputy Minister stated that the department has build 100 facilities a year in the country, but these funds have been moved to the local government. He further noted that if the local government in the region has prioritised the building of sports facilities in their Integrated Development Programme (IDP), whether to upgrade or build new ones, people should interact with the local government in their area.

He further noted that the backlog must be eradicated and that the need for sports facilities is imperative to identify potential and talent.

The Deputy Minister stated that the Department is in the process of re-introducing school sports, and as he stated, that this is the nursery where talent can be identified. He further noted that sport ensures social cohesion.

Dr Kornegay explained that it is important that people who want to open their own business have to look at a targeted assistance programme, as well as the skills development programme.

She stated that wheelchairs are available at hospitals and clinics. Also if people see that fraud is being committed regarding obtaining fraudulent disability grants that they should report this.

Dr Kornegay explained that there is a means test to determine whether a person qualifies to get a grant and which grant will be applicable to the applicant.

She further noted that municipalities need to address issues regarding access to buildings. She urged members of the public to raise these issues during meetings with their local municipalities.

She informed people to contact the person in the office of the Premier dealing with the Status of People with Disabilities.

The major challenge facing the National Youth Commission is the question of access to its service by young people. It has decided to address the issueu partly by setting up a toll free number. It hopes that that will enable young people to access its services more than they had done in the past.

The Chairperson indicated that the other challenge facing the National Youth Commission is the question of skill development. It is committed to the implementation of the National Youth Service Programme to address the lack of skills among the youth. In terms of the youth skills programme, the youth will be given not only skills but relevant experience. atioWith regard to skills the Chairperson stated that colleges is to

The Umsobombu Youth Fund has embarked on a campaign to increase the extent of its funding for projects. Mr Kekana informed the members of the public that as from 1 November 2005, people applying for funding would be required to pay R200 and not R500

The Fund has reached an agreement with the Limpopo Development Agency on various programmes. Agreements have been reached with First National Bank and if members of the public want access to these funds, they have to liase with the FNB branch in their region.

The Youth Fund has established a solid network with all the municipalities in Limpopo and young people should utilise the local government in their areas.

With regard to learnerships, Mr Kekana conceded that the absorption of students into the labour market is low, but that the training for young people must continue.

He said that with respect to crime, communities, working the members of the SAPS, must continue to be vigilant and assist the police in identifying the perpetrators.

Mr Modjadji encouraged disabled people to make use of structures that have been put in place to deal with their needs. He urged them to speak with one voice.

One of the issues or challenges facing transformation is fronting for tenders. He urged people with disabilities to be vigilant and not to be used by fraudsters. He urged them to work very closely with government to curb the problem of fronting.

In his conclusion, Mr Modjadji urged people to seek more information on entrepreneurships and their rights. The offices of the DPSA are always open to people who need assistance on a range of issues raised in the course of the meeting.

Mr Ngaweni, on the issue of rural development, encouraged the people to utilise their land for agricultural purposes. He urged the communities to make use of SMEs. Lastly, he highlighted the importance for communities to work closely with their municipalities and to obtain more information of entrepreneurship.

The Deputy Minister said that the people should be proud of the South African democracy because it has given them a voice and opportunity to interact with their leaders. He urged the communities to use the structures that have been put in place to deal with their needs.

On the issue of fraudulent Identity Documents, he said that his Department is in the process of producing new identity cards to curb the problem. He urged communities to exercise great care when using their Identity Documents.

He warned people that are selling fraudulent Identity Documents that the law will deal with them when they are caught.

She urged people with disabilities to assert their needs. She responded to a question on why there is a need for special schools for disabled persons. She said that special schools are necessary for those who need special help. Those who do not need special schools are able to attend schools of their own choice.

She informed the meeting that her office is always open for the people that need special assistance, whether it is bursaries or business opportunities.

The NCOP visite the Letaba Special School, and Yingisani School to observe and interact with the schools which are providing services to children with special educational needs.

The principal, Mr Easters, welcomed the delegation and extended a warm appreciation for the fact that their school is being visited. The school was established in 1969 and the first learners admitted in July 1969. On 15 November 1969, the buildings were officially opened.

Letaba currently has 210 learners who are resident in the hostels. Letaba has 25 teaching staff and 61 non-teaching staff. The school is financed by the Department of Education, but is heavily reliant on donations and sponsors.

The motto of the school is: "because of your light, we see the light", and the principal equated this to visit by Parliament to be that light that they can see.

Mr Leonard Madantsyela made the presentation on behalf of the School Governing Board. He thanked the NCOP for visiting the school and wished the delegates well during their interactions with different stakeholders.

The school identified the following challenges:

• The woodwork of the roofs needs urgent attention.
• The roofs of the walkways need to be replaced.
• The server in the computer room is too small the handle the volume that the school uses and this negatively affect the training that can be given.
• A recreation hall is needed to promote drama, music and indoor sport.
• The sport field needs to be upgraded.

The growth of the Letaba has been seriously hampered by the aftercare centre for adults, which are occupying two of the hostels. There are concerns around the fact that adults and children share the same premises and are being exposed to liquor, sexual activities, etc. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of security measures.

Mr J Nkuna did the presentation on behalf of the school. The school has 265 learners with multiple disabilities. The school, like Letapa School, faces number of challenges which include the following:

• Classroom shortages.
• Lack of hostel accommodation.
• Inadequate computers.
• A library that is well equipped.
• An administrative block.
• A need for a diagnostic and audiology block.

The school is experiencing the problem of being vandalised and this causes a security threat to both learners and staff. The school is requesting that the DOE erect a security fence around the school to minimise the damages to the fencing.

The neighboring school, Letaba, has a tarred road and Yingisani has a gravel road. Submissions were made for the road to be tarred. During the rainy period the gravel road becomes inaccessible.

There is a need for recreational activities and athletic, soccer, netball and volleyball fields are urgently needed. It is important that students are able to use recreational facilities to integrate them and make sure that they do not feel marginalized.

The Deputy Chairperson commended government and the country in general on the progress that is being made with regard to the empowerment and emancipation of women. However, it was quickly pointed out that while progress has been made in enacting gender sensitive legislation and establishing organisations to address women’s issues, more needs to be done in ensuring that those legislations are adequately and coherently implemented.

It was noted that despite the structures put up by government with regard to the empowerment of women in the workplace, the private sector still lags behind when coming to advancement of women. State organs need to lead the way in the empowerment of women as examples to the private sector. The Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act also advocates for preference for black women when it comes to issues of procurement. Tender Advice Centres (TACS) are also highlighted as mechanisms to increase the participation of marginalised groups (including women) in the public procurement system. With the increasing emphasis on broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), it is foreseen that black women will be more empowered in the future. To that effect, section 2(d) of the BEE Act 53 of 2003 provides this as one of its objectives: "to facilitate broad-based economic empowerment by increasing the extent to which black women own and manage existing and new enterprises, and increasing their access to economic activities, infrastructure and skills training."

The government has committed itself to the adoption of the entire Beijing Platform for Action. Thus, women’s equal access to resources and opportunities and equal treatment in economic and social life are, in turn, necessary for the full realisation of their human rights. Lack of equal access to resources and opportunity is a denial of rights, which results in the perpetuation of poverty for many women.

There have also been major achievements in government at higher decision-making level. In 1997, women were only 31,57% of the total number ministers and deputy ministers, at the moment the figure lies at 44,89%. Seven out of nine provinces have now met the minimum 30% quota for women representation. Furthermore, about 27% of women are in the senior management level in the public service. Currently, there is a process involving government, working together with civil society organisations, the Commission on Gender Equality and the Legislatures to develop a National Programme of Action on Women's Empowerment and Gender Equality for the next ten years. There is also the Presidential Working Group on Women as well as Women’s Parliament to deal solely with women issues.

The Commission on Gender Equality (CGE) is an independent, statutory body established in terms of Section 187 of the Constitution of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996). The role of the CGE is to promote respect for gender equality and the protection, development and attainment of gender equality. The powers and functions of the CGE are outlined in the Commission on Gender Equality Act 39 of 1996. In terms of Section 11(1)(a) of this Act, the CGE must, inter alia:

• Monitor and evaluate policies and practices of organs of State at any level, public bodies, private businesses and other institutions. In order to promote gender equality and make any recommendations that it deems necessary.
• Conduct information and education programmes to foster public awareness on gender equality, and to communicate its research findings.
• Investigate gender-related complaints, subpoena if individuals do not volunteer information that will help it to do its work effectively.
• Have the ability to on its own and/or with others institute legal action that will impact on the promotion of gender equality and/or the rights of women.

Dr Maitse stated that the existence of the institutional framework for gender equality is a key component of the Government’s commitment. Structures such as the Commission on Gender Equality, the Office on the Status of Women in the Presidency as well as in the Premiers’ offices and a Minister responsible for gender are an important framework that ensures that issues that affect women are not left out of the national agenda for transformation. However, all sectors of society need to commit to promoting and protecting gender equality. The private sector and traditional authority should be the key partners in this task.

One of the most serious challenges for bringing about effective equality is poverty. Poverty has the potential to undermine the advances that were made with regard to women issues, hence programmes that are meant to alleviate poverty have to take cognisance of its gendered nature. This includes planning budgets in a way that addresses the feminisation of poverty and the efforts to address the economic empowerment of women.

The implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) and the Maintenance is inconsistent, and officials are culprits in this regard. The corruption and ineffectiveness of some officials discourage women from accessing support that they deserve. The CGE conducts education and information programmes, very often in collaboration with other stakeholders. The CGE intervenes in litigation as a friend of the court, such as the Omar case where the constitutionality of a certain section of the DVA was explored. It must be clear that the Domestic Violence Act does not only protect women but also includes men who are abused by their wives.

2.6.3. Presentation by the Hon Ms L M T Xingwana, Deputy Minister of Minerals and Energy

The Hon Xingwana stated that from the dawn of democracy in 1994, government’s commitment and dedication to the restoration of women’s rights has always been a priority. The Deputy Minister congratulated the NCOP, for creating a platform that gives communities and government the opportunity to engage in issues that will further make democracy a reality. In addition to this process, a need was realised by the government to reach out to get a clear understanding of what is critical for the people through engaging with them through Imbizos, and bringing Parliament to the People. The process of development in South Africa has generally marginalised women and deprived them of their control over economic resources in spite the fact that South African women are approximately 22 million, over 50% of the population.

The economic empowerment of women remains a significant challenge in our society. The government and society in general, must involve women in economic empowerment projects to enable them to improve the lives of their communities. Women, especially those in rural areas, are amongst the poorest and the most marginalised section of society. With regard to the role of women in the mining industry, the newly enacted Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, entrenches and provides for substantial and meaningful expansion of opportunities for women and their participation in management, ownership and procurement from existing and future mining exploration, and production operations. The Department is aggressive in transforming the mining industry with regard to the inclusion of all historically disadvantaged people, women in included.

According the Deputy Minister, Limpopo Province is experiencing a boom in mining and minerals development, which is the highest in the last five years. A total of 732 applications have been received by the region:

• 516 Prospecting Rights
• 35 Mining Rights
• 36 Conversions (Prospecting)
• 11 Conversions (Mining)
• 130 Mining Permits

One of the critical terms and conditions of granting all these rights is the inclusion of women before a right is granted. There is a need for provincial support to the Regional Procurement Strategy designed by the Regional Office together with Trade and Investment Lampoon. Government would like women to prepare themselves to participate in this strategy as soon as it unfolds. Historically mine environmental management and mine rehabilitation have primarily been a white male dominated career discipline and business in South Africa. However, strategies were developed to enable black women to enter the business of mine environmental management as well as the rehabilitation of mines. The Department has also adopted a pro-active strategy of change to ensure the participation and involvement of black women at the tiers of ownership, management, skills development, employment equity, procurement and rural development within mine environmental management and rehabilitation.

2.6.4. The Community Identified the following Challenges:

• Child Abuse and Abuse of Grants: the abuse of children is rife and usually comes in the form of neglect. While people appreciate the effort that government is showing to protect women from harm, little is being done to ensure that children benefit from the monthly child support grant. The fact is mothers (usually young girls) spend the money on themselves buying clothes and most often beer.
• Role of Fathers in Raising Children: It was indicated that the gender awareness that government has undertaken is biased towards women and does not take into consideration the role that men play in raising children. As a result there is confusion as to the various roles that parents should take in raising their children. For example, men are often hiding behind the ‘50/50 principle’ to avoid supporting their children.
• Rape and Rape Offenders: Community members revealed their unhappiness with the early release of rape offenders. When rape offenders are released early or given light sentences government is actually sending the message that rape is not a serious crime, which is contrary to what this government is trying to portray.
• Empowerment of Women: While government is encouraging women to venture into business and become entrepreneurs, the Provincial government must ensure that rural women have access to information and much more, financial resources that government is offering is doing little.
• Access to Health: It was noted that most local clinics are not user-friendly (to women) with regard to family planning and contraception issues. Young girls prefer not to go to clinics for contraceptives (condoms, pills, injections, etc.), because nurses at these facilities are not welcoming. Government should also distribute condoms for women, which is known as ‘femidom’ to ensure that women become proactive in the process of protecting themselves, and not rely solely on men.

The Minister pointed out that from 1994 to 2003 the Department was responsible for the provision of water to the communities. The reason was that the other spheres of government did not have the capacity to implement this function. However, this function has since been transferred to the district municipalities. The Department remains the custodian of water and is obliged by the Constitution to ensure an equitable provision to all the communities.

She said that before 1994, water was linked to landownership. The person who owns the land, by virtue of such ownership, owned the water found in that piece of land. The Department has developed a White Paper and enacted the Water Services Act to transform the situation where our people have land, but have no access to water.

She stated that the government’s objective to ensure a minimum quality of water in order to prevent diseases. The Department is responsible for developing norms and standards. The municipalities are responsible for the provision from the water resources to the taps in the households. However, the reality is that the local sphere of government lacks the capacity and many municipalities do not have the technical capacity. It is the Department’s goal to transfer the function of water provision to local government with resources, together with personnel.

Some of the problems relate to the issue of cooperative governance. The Minister hopes that the recently passed Inter-governmental Relations Act will go a long way towards addressing the problems relating to intergovernmental relations.

In her response to questions, the Minister addressed a range of issues. In relation to the Water Boards, the Minister said that although cost recovery was important, the emphasis, as government policy, was not profit. Government wanted the Water Boards to respond to the government policy.

The Hone Mokgodie noted that the issues that the local sphere of government is seized with are complex, and varied, and are also emotive in nature.

The colonial and apartheid era was not only characterised by the denial of franchise to the majority of our people, but also the denial of basic services such as the provision of water. In 1995 a new system of local government was put in place. It replaced the unelected and non-statutory bodies called the Interim Transitional Councils.

The Deputy Chairperson of SALGA stated that when the new municipalities were elected into office, they were struck by realty of the size of the backlog prevalent in the communities. This showed itself in the form of a lack of basic infrastructure, lack of resources and institutional capacity. In Limpopo, the problems were aggravated by the rural nature of the province.

Approximately, about half of the municipalities in the province are under Project Consolidate. They need targeted and continuous institutional and administrative support to enable them to fulfill their constitutional mandate.

SALGA continues to play a crucial role in supporting municipalities. In the province, sector collaboration has been strengthened with the setting of the Provincial water Sector Collaborative Committee, which is made up of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Department of Provincial and Local Government and other interested parties.

The backlogs on water services are as follows:

• 2,7 million people to be served on RDP standard for the Domestic Water Supply.
• 4,2 million to be served on RDP standard for Domestic Sanitation.
• 140 Clinics to be served with water supply infrastructure.
• 326 schools to be served with sanitary facilities.
• 1573 schools to be served with water supply infrastructure.

The province has also registered successes:

• Lephalale Local Municipality is a best case on transfers.
• The District Municipalities of Sekhukhume, Mogalakwena , Bohlabela, Polokwane, Capriconrn and Vhembe have signed transfer agreements.
• Sector collaboration has been strengthened and aligned efforts to support water service authorities are in place.
• The total poor population benefiting from free basic water provision has increased from 45% to 58%.

SALGA joins the call to declare certain parts of the province struck by the drought as disaster areas in order to entitle them national resources.

Mr Lehong stated that the Water Board was set up in 1997 as the successor to the Phalaborwa, Northern Transvaal and Bosveld Water Boards. Its area of jurisdiction covers 72% of the Limpopo Province. A 15 member Board, who are appointed by the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry for a 4-year term, constitute its governing structure.

The Water Boards have developed capacity and expertise of bulk water purification and distribution. They operate across municipal boundaries and are therefore able to distribute water equitably. Because the Water Boards are focused, they are able to optimally utilise the benefits of economies of scale, which enhances affordability of water.

He stated that the Water Boards are self-financing. They raise their capital from the open market. Because of these considerations, they must generate enough revenues to maintain and sustain their operations, and meet their financial obligations.

Mr Lehong emphasised that it is therefore important that water services are paid for. Local municipalities, when adopting free basic water policy, must make provision to finance them.

The Water Board intend to spent R67 million on the refurbishment of infrastructure.

Mr Chauke said that the March 2005 Labour Force Survey by Statistics SA indicates that recently the employment rate has improved slightly in that the number of people employed increased from 11,4million in March 2004 to 11,6 million in September 2004. From September to March 2005 it increased to 11,9 million. The period between September 2004 and March 2005 in particular showed an increase in employment opportunities of over 250 000.

However, unemployment generally remained high. In terms of the expanded definition, the unemployment rate is still above 40%. The situation was made worse by job losses in industries such as construction, which lost 11 000 jobs within the same period. In Limpopo, the trend has manifested itself in slight increase in the rate of unemployment from 31, 2% in March 2004 to 32,4 % in March 2005. Predominantly, in Limpopo (and the country in general), those that are mostly discouraged from seeking work are women.

The Department of Housing has taken a conscious decision to enhance efforts that are aimed at employment creation, targeting people from low-income households. The Comprehensive Plan on Sustainable Human Settlements, which was approved by Cabinet last year, would utilise the opportunities created in housing delivery such as the installation of infrastructure, the actual construction of houses, the construction of social- economic infrastructure and the management and maintenance of housing stock, to create jobs. It prescribes for the labour intensive construction methods in the building and the development of human settlements including the facilitation of job creation through the establishment of on-site housing materials production activities. In delivery of top structures in the current financial year for 2004/5, for example, the construction of houses created over 30 000 job opportunities nationally.

On the EPWP programme, Mr Chauke, noted that municipalities have been allocated specific responsibilities for developing plans that will achieve the objectives of government. In addition, housing’s contribution to fighting unemployment comes also in the form of EPWP. Nationally, a total of R2 039 847 043 has been budgeted for the programme. For Limpopo, five projects that are estimated to cost R32 104 088 have been identified. Government estimates that these will provide 1 325 job opportunities with the targeted jobs including 359 given to youth, 269 to women, and 13 to the disabled.

Through the comprehensive plan, the Department has put in place some measures that will boost the performance of housing sector to enable government to achieve the objectives of its programme of action. Among other things, funding has been increased in relation to subsidies. Limitations regarding the selling of state subsidies have been reduced from 8 to 5 years to create more demand in the housing market. The Department is confident that the demand for residential property generally will boost the construction industry and thereby create more job opportunities for both semi-skilled and the unskilled.

Mr Chauke stated that on 30 March 2005, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Banking Council had been concluded as part of the work of the Financial Service Charter. Through the MoU banks pledged to invest a target of R 42billion in 2008 in the form of various options of housing finance for the low to middle income sector. This will enable increased home ownership for those sectors of the society that had been excluded previously by banks; a development that in turn should increase the construction activity. The intention is to strengthen the performance of the industry to ensure the creation of jobs.

The Deputy Minister indicated that Expanded Public Works Programme is aimed at giving people jobs and skills that they can use in the near future. The programme is not aimed at providing people with permanent employment. People were advised to go to Labour Centres for relevant advice. On local roads, the communities should take an initiative and assist with providing the services. Youth should be encouraged to participate in EPWP especially those that cannot afford going to tertiary institutions.

The MEC, referred to road shows held in June yearly on road constructions. The province is currently involved into two programmes (Limpopo Roads Agency and Gundu Lashu programmes), which is meant for those who do not have a source of income and women. Eight projects have been completed in the Mopani district. There is a Provincial Growth Strategy that is aimed at improving people’s lives. Mr Motimele also indicated that not all the roads are the responsibility of the province; there are municipal, national and provincial roads. He indicated that roads to hospitals would be given a priority.

Mr Chabane reported that there are different projects directed to poverty alleviation. Most of them emanate from Social Development, Public Works and Agriculture departments. Mr Chabane admitted that some projects inherited problems since their inception and sometimes the profit that is generated cannot sustain them. Projects were never assessed for sustainability. The province is currently reviewing the projects that have faltering in order to link them to the job market.

In relation to skills training and finance, there are offices located in most municipalities. They provide business advice and how to draw up business plans for free. They are funded by the State and provide finance for farmers.

In responding to the public, the Hon Minister admitted that between 1994 and 2001 most housing projects went wrong. Some contractors were not adequately capacitated to do the job. As a result some projects were blocked. Those blocked projects will commence as soon as funding is available and that will also lead to job creation.

Furthermore, houses that have problems will be repaired. The community was requested to assist in identifying the houses. Currently, municipalities do not have sufficient personnel to deal with housing issues. In 2006, approximately 200 000 emergency houses will be built to cater for vulnerable groups.

The honourable Ms Mashabane reported that emergency houses would be built in 2006. Houses for the poor will also be built in cities and suburbs. She admitted that some houses were built in wrong places hence relocation is considered. Communities will be visited to verify beneficiary lists. Learnerships are meant to provide skills to those who have not started working. She concluded by encouraging the communities to report all fraud and corruption practises.

The NCOP visited the three EPWP projects to observe progress that was being in the implementation of projects, and challenges facing government.

This road project is one of the EPWP pilot projects awarded to 13 local contractors by the Department of Public Works. The project has employed a total of 86 local residents, of which 51 are women and 25 are youth. Employees are paid R30 per completed task, and they can only perform a maximum of two tasks per day. The going rate of R30 was informed by a survey wherein the Department of Public Works established the payment trends for farm and community workers. Currently, the project cost R550 000 per Kilometer, and the lifespan of the constructed road is estimated at least 5 years.

The Lefara Road Project is part of the Local Municipalities’ Integrated Development Planning Programme (IDP) funded through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG). Initially, in the implementation process of the project, EPWP guidelines were not adhered to as stipulated in the MIG policy. For example, contractors used labour reductive technology (machinery) in the construction of the road to cut down labour costs and increase profit, which is contrary to EPWP objectives. Currently, the project cost R350 000 per kilometre, and the lifespan of the constructed road is estimated at least 5 years.

The Petanenge Road Project is also a MIG funded project which forms part of the R2.9 million grant allocated to four surrounding villages (Serare, Lusaka, and Refara). The road project is complete; however, concerns were raised by the delegation.

• It was observed that pupils and teachers of Malwandla Primary School used the nearby bush for ablutions. Toilets could not be utilised because of lack of water. It was recommend that ‘dry’ toilets be constructed as a matter of agency.
• Machinery was extensively used in the construction of both Petanenge and Lefara Projects. Contractors used machinery to cut down labour costs and increase profit margin. This is clearly contrary to the objectives of the EPWP programme, which is to create jobs through labour intensive construction methods.
• It was noted that there were no budget for allocated for the maintenance of the constructed roads. The roads constructed were of a poor quality and poorly constructed.
• Questions were raised by the delegation with regard to the manner in which funds were allocated to projects. It seems the municipality was hurriedly allocating funds to projects to under-spending.
• The delegation recommended that an increase on the R30 per task rate be increased in accordance with EPWP guidelines.
• It was recommended that the Provincial government engage local municipalities to develop maintenance plans for the constructed roads. The road from Koop-Letsitele should be given priority in the next financial year.
• The Delegation recommended that follow-up be made on matters pertaining to the tender committee terms of reference, whether the municipality received the funds on time and the rational of the 1.5% deduction by the municipality from the contractors.

In his address to the NCOP, the President of the nation indicated that the programme of Taking Parliament to the People must remain a central feature of the country’s democracy. Taking in consideration the inherited legacy and the challenges faced by nation on issues of service delivery, the institution of Parliament has to play a significant role with regard to the process of the reconstruction and development of the country. Hence, the NCOP’s regular interaction with the people would contribute greatly to the realisation of the objective that Government should be transparent and accountable. However people must be sufficiently empowered with the knowledge they need to enable them constructively to participate in determining their future.

He indicated that the NCOP occupies a unique position within the constitutional system of governance. This derives from the fact that it is the only institution within this system that straddles all three spheres of the co-operative governance construct (the three tiers of government: national, provincial and local). This places the NCOP in a strategic oversight position. It has the possibility and the mandate to keep a constant eye on the processes that must integrate legislative and executive decisions in all spheres of government and ensure the practical implementation of these decisions.

The President noted that municipalities must have the capacity to serve all people and have the requisite capacity to provide regular and reliable services to citizens as well as being at the forefront of the reconstruction and development of the country. There is a need for efficient and effective municipalities to ensure that poor households have access to basic infrastructure and free basic services. Furthermore, the EPWP programme is accelerated there is a need for municipalities to be strong to be able to work in partnership with other spheres of government.

He indicated that the Cabinet is engaged in an Imbizo process that involves visits to municipalities. The central purpose of the Izimbizo is to hear directly from the people about their concerns and their needs, allowing them to raise any issue on their minds, with no restrictions. This process has helped greatly to sensitise the Cabinet to the expectations of the people on many issues of immediate interest to them. The people’s response confirmed that government is correct in its emphasis of the critical importance of local government as the one sphere of government that faces the greatest challenge to maintain the closest possible contact with the people, the best placed to give practical expression to the vision that the people shall govern.

The President expressed concern against people who seek occupy local political office (in the coming local elections) for personal and selfish reasons: he indicated that the unseemly scramble for political power in municipal government appears to be driven by the desire to abuse elected positions to lay hands on the economic resources that the local authorities have the possibility to access. This includes the power of members of municipal executive authorities to determine the outcomes of municipal tendering processes, regardless of the fact that the Municipal Finance Management Act expressly prohibits the involvement of councillors and mayors in adjudicating bids for municipal tenders. The nation cannot build such a system of municipal government by electing councillors driven by criminally selfish motives, who have absolutely no interest in serving the people and who do not belong among those determined to occupy the forward trenches in the difficult and complex struggle for the reconstruction and development of the country, focused on the achievement of the goal of a better life for all.

The President urged the NCOP to use its powerful voice as elected representatives of the people, to urge all parties and local communities to present as candidate councillors people they are convinced are truly committed to serve the people of South Africa. The NCOP must indicate the kind of behaviour that is unacceptable in the nomination processes, as well as the behaviour that is acceptable in the nation’s democracy, to help the masses of our people to understand the kinds of activity elected legislative organs and the rest of governance system find impermissible. As President noted, this would help to create the national climate that will help people to elect an echelon of municipal leaders who enjoy the confidence of the people.

President Mbeki stated that it was indicated that the Municipal Izimbizo differs significantly from previous provincial Izimbizo. The strategic objective of Municiapl Imbizo is to help the municipal authorities to meet their obligations, regardless of their size and resource endowment. This process has been have been greatly by work done by Project Consolidate and the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) Hearings Panel Reports, both of which detail the constraints impeding effective service delivery and socio-economic development. Part of the problem was identified by Project Consolidate, which said that almost 20% of municipal posts were vacant, significantly this included 15 of the top managerial positions, 85 within the Professional Category including engineers, town planners and so on and 130 skilled artisans required for maintenance and operations.

The President said that it is obvious that without these skilled personnel, the district will continue to experience serious shortfalls in terms of meeting its own IDP objectives. During the Gert Sibande Imbizo attention was also drawn to gross imbalances in terms of the staff employed by the various local municipalities in the district. Govan Mbeki Local Municipality accounts for about 25% of the population of the district, while Albert Luthuli Local Municipality has 21% of the population. And yet Albert Luthuli Municipality employs only 191 people, compared to the 1448 employed by the Govan Mbeki Municipality. It is perfectly obvious that with such a small staff, Albert Luthuli can never hope to achieve any of its development objectives.

The reason for this extraordinary disparity became very clear when it was explained that Govan Mbeki Municipality covered the town of Secunda, while the Albert Luthuli Municipality covered the former KwaNdebele bantustan area. In order words, the democratic order has permitted the perpetuation of the gross imbalance that existed during the apartheid years between white South Africa and bantustan South Africa.

The President recognised the the fact that most municipalities have made significant efforts to ensure that they establish the Ward Committees. However, it was noted that there are some problems that need to be solved to improve the effectiveness of these Committees, which play a vital role in ensuring the interaction between the people and the governance system. Ward Committee members raise such questions as the need to ensure adequate funding of their Committees, some emolument for the members, improving interaction between the Committee and the Councils and feedback from the Councils, extending the mandates of the Committees beyond one year and strengthening the Speakers’ Offices to improve their capacity to support the ward committees.

The President stated that these detailed matters about local government were aimed at encouraging the NCOP to take the issue of strengthening the system of local government as one of its major challenges. the NCOP would necessarily also have to focus on the realisation of the objective of co-operative governance, without which it would not be possible to build an effective system of local government. The President stated that the central task facing the nation during this Second Decade of Freedom is to ensure the implementation of the policies and programmes that have evloved during the eleven years of liberation. This decade must see the nation move forward to achieve the targets set with regard to such important matters as the reduction of unemployment and poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).