BUDGETARY REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, DATED 24 OCTOBER 2012

1. Introduction

Section 77 (3) of the Constitution of South Africa provides for an Act of Parliament which will provide for a procedure to amend the money bills before it. The Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, 2009 (the Act) thus enables Parliament to amend aspects related to tabled money bills. Section 5 of the Act requires that the National Assembly, through its Committees, conducts annual assessment of the performance of each national department with regard to the medium term estimates of expenditure. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to report on the performance of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities.

1.1 The Role of the Committee

The mandate of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Children, Youth and People with Disabilities (the Committee) is to legislate, conduct oversight of the Executive, promote public participation, facilitate international agreements and review matters of public interest in relation to the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (the Department).

In line with Section 5(1) of the Act, the assessment of the performance of the Department is with reference to the following:

· Medium term estimates of expenditure, its strategic priorities and measurable objectives;

· Prevailing strategic plans;

· Expenditure report relating to such department published by National Treasury in terms of section 32 of the Public Finance Management Act;

· Financial statements and annual report of such departments;

· Reports of the Committee on Public Accounts relating to the department; and

· Any other information requested by or presented to a House or Parliament.

Section 5(2) makes provision for the annual submission of the budgetary review and recommendations report (BRRR) for tabling in the National Assembly for each department. It is expected of the BRRR to report on the following:

· Assessment of the department’s service delivery performance given the available resources;

· Assessments on the effectiveness and efficiency of the department’s use and forward allocation of available resources; and

· May include recommendations on the forward use of resources.

In order to enable the Committee to take informed decisions on the performance of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities for the 2011/12 financial year, the Committee consulted the following reports and documents: section 32 reports publishable by the National Treasury, annual reports and financial statements of the Department, reports of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA), the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, the State of the Nation’s Address 2011, and Financial and Fiscal Commission’s presentation. All this information would assist the Committee to decide on the performance of the Department.

1.2 The Department

The Department for Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities (DWCPD) was established to emphasise the need for equity and access to development opportunities for vulnerable groups in South African society. This Department was created in May 2009 to replace the former national multi-agency structures in the Presidency which lacked sufficient financial and human resources and the necessary authority to co-ordinate and oversee their mandates. The purpose of the DWCPD is to drive the Government’s equity, equality and empowerment agenda with regard to marginalised groups and historically disadvantaged communities in each of the three sectors.

Its mission is to create an enabling environment that translates constitutional obligations, policies and legislative frameworks into the realisation of gender, disability and children’s rights. The DWCPD also aims to assist public-funded institutions, organs of civil society, state-owned enterprises and the private sector to achieve national and global goals for gender equality and the rights of children and persons with disabilities. Its legislative mandate includes international treaties such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.

According to its 2011/2012 annual report, the Department is governed by all the laws that inform equality, empowerment, human rights and human dignity processes. These include the following:

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act No. 4 of 2000
Commission on Gender Equality Act No. 39 of 1996
Divorce Amendment Act No. 116 of 1198
Maintenance Act No. 9 of 1998
Domestic Violence Act No. of 116 of 1998
Labour Relations Act No. 56 of 1995
Employment Equity Act No. 38 of 2005
Children’s Act No. 38 of 2005
Children’s Amendment Act No. 41 of 2007
Social Assistance Act No. 6 of 2008

The Department is also expected to comply with the Public Finance Management Act (No. 1 of 1999) and National Treasury Regulations insofar as producing and tabling an annual report within the stipulated timeframe and adhering to financial guidelines.

2. Department’s Strategic Priorities and Measurable Objectives

2.1 Strategic Plans of the Department

The Department’s strategic objective is aligned to the following programmes:

_•Women, Empowerment and Gender Equality;

_•Children’s Rights and Responsibilities; and

_•Rights of People with Disabilities.

2.2 Measurable Objectives of the Department

In terms of the annual report of the Department for the 2011/12 financial year, the Department highlighted the following programmes and sub-programmes.

2.2.1. Programme 1: Administration

The purpose of this programme is to provide effective leadership, management and administrative support services to the Minister and other branches in the department. The programme received R 34.183 million during the 2011/2012 which represents 29 per cent of the Department’s budget.

2.2.2 Programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE)

· Mainstream women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations into government’s policies and governance processes;

· Monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations into government’s policies and governance processes; and

· Coordinate institutional support and capacity development programmes.

The Department aims to achieve these objectives through three sub-programmes:

_·Policy and Planning for Gender Equality;

_·Mainstreaming and Capacity Development for Gender Equality; and

_·Monitoring and Evaluation and Research for Gender Equality.

The Department received R64.629 million for the 2011/12 financial year. An amount of R55.150 million was transferred to the Commission for Gender Equality.

(i) Policy and Planning for Gender Equality

In terms of Policy and Planning for Gender Equality, this sub-programme aims to conduct research and analysis on gender related issues to develop appropriate legislation that is sustainable and can be implemented. The ENE notes that in terms of institutional capacity, this sub-programme has a staff complement of 5 that is expected to increase to 24 over the MTEF period. To this extent, a budget allocation of R 10.1 million over the MTEF period has been allocated to this sub-programme, of which 60.5 per cent will be used for the compensation of employees. In terms of budgetary allocations for this sub-programme, R2.814 million has been allocated for the 2011/2012 financial year. The Committee raised concern with regard to how sustainable this programme is in light of the fact that more than half of the programme budget has been allocated to the remuneration of the staff complement. Moreover, the Committee wanted to know the extent to which the Department would be able to achieve its mandate in light of the limited budget available for programmes.

(ii) Mainstreaming and Capacity Development for Gender Equality

The Mainstreaming and Capacity Development sub-programme seeks to integrate activities and create synergy among government departments, civil society and the private sector, while the business unit of this sub-programme aims to undertake consultations with lead departments to mainstream women empowerment and gender equality in government programmes and national priorities. The sub-programme has been allocated R 13.7 million over the MTEF period and R 3.766 million for the 2011/2012 financial year. 59.6% of the budget has been allocated to the compensation of employees.

(iii) Monitoring and evaluation

The Monitoring and Evaluation and Research for Gender Equality sub-programme tracks the delivery on constitutional, regional and international mandates by:

_·Implementing the sector specific performance tracking system;

_·Verifying sectoral performance evaluation and comprehensive reporting systems;

_·Ensuring that a research protocol is developed; and

_·Monitoring compliance with national and international instruments.

These systems are aimed at monitoring the way in which the South African Government meets its international and regional obligations that pertain to the promotion and realisation of gender equality. This programme has been allocated a budget of R 10.6 million over the MTEF period and R 2.899 million for the 2011/2012 financial year. The Department has allocated 59.4 per cent of the sub-programme budget for the compensation of employees.

2.2.3 Programme 3: Children’s Rights and Responsibilities

The purpose of this programme is to ensure the realisation of children’s rights and responsibilities by:

· Providing leadership and support for planning, coordination and oversight over the MTEF period;

· Reporting comprehensively on children’s rights policies and legislation over the MTEF period;

· Developing and maintaining a children’s rights and responsibilities monitoring and evaluation framework over the MTEF period; and

· Participating in sectoral coordination and in country children’s rights forums over the MTEF period.

The Children’s Rights and Responsibilities Programme was allocated R 35.7 million over the MTEF period and R 9.6 million for the 2011/12 financial year.

The Department has identified the three sub-programmes, namely:

Policy and Planning
Mainstreaming and capacity development
Monitoring and evaluation

(i) Policy Planning and Planning

This sub-programme was allocated a budget of R 10.5 million over the MTEF period of which 60.8 percent will be utilised for the compensation of employees and R2.807 million for financial year 2011/12.

(ii) Mainstreaming and Capacity Development

This sub-programme has been allocated a budget of R 14.5 million over the MTEF period of which 60.8 percent will be utilised for the compensation of employees. R2. 893 million has been allocated for 2011/12.

(iii) Monitoring and Evaluation

This sub-programme has been allocated a budget of R 10.8 million over the MTEF period of which 60.5 percent will be utilised for the compensation of employees. The Department has been allocated R 3.866 million for financial year 2011/12 for this sub –programme.

2.2.4 Programme 4: Rights of People with Disabilities

The purpose of the programme is to facilitate the translation of national and international instruments into empowerment and socioeconomic development programmes. In addition, this programme intends to oversee and comprehensively report on the national realisation of the rights of persons with disabilities and the progressive realisation of equality. This would be achieved over the MTEF period by:

· Reviewing and facilitating amendments to policies and legislation by March 2012;

· Developing and maintaining a monitoring and evaluation framework for the rights of persons with disabilities over the MTEF period;

· Adapting continental and international instruments into local initiatives over the MTEF period;

· Developing and managing catalytic projects and responsibilities of people with disabilities in line with constitutional and international mandates over the MTEF period;

· Facilitating public private partnerships in the interests of persons with disabilities over the MTEF period; and

· Co-ordinating and participating in forums on the rights of persons with disabilities regionally and internationally over the MTEF period.

Programme 4 was allocated R 35.2 million over the MTEF period and R 9.6 million for the 2011/12 financial year. However, as with all the Department’s other programmes, more than half of the programme’s budget is allocated for the compensation of employees leaving very little for programme implementation.

(i) Policy and Planning

A total of R10.4 million was allocated to this programme for the MTEF period of which 60 per cent will be used for the compensation of employees. R 2.808 million has been allocated for financial year 2011/12. The staff complement is expected to increase from 7 to 18.

(ii) Mainstreaming and Capacity Development for Equalisation for Persons with Disabilities

This sub-programme has been allocated a budget of R 14.2 million over the MTEF period and R 3.9 million for financial year 2011/12. The Department indicated that it would implement a poverty strategy for persons with disabilities and develop a national disability agenda under this programme.

(iii) Monitoring and Evaluation

This sub-programme has been allocated a budget of R 10.7 million over the MTEF period.

The Department also indicated that it intends to comply with treaty obligations under the Monitoring and Evaluation sub -programme. The Department indicated that it will continue to meet the 2 per cent employment target for people with disabilities under this sub-programme and has developed a strategy to deal with the target.

The Department indicated that within this sub-programme the spending focus over the MTEF period will be only formulating an economic empowerment policy, developing a monitoring and evaluation framework, establishing a database, developing disability indicators and compiling the initial country report on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

3. Analysis of the Department’s Strategic and Operational Plan, Annual Report and Financial Statements

Apart from Administration, the Department has 3 core programmes. These are the Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) programme, Children’s Rights and Responsibilities programme, and the Rights of People with Disabilities programme.

3.1. Administration programme performance

This programme aims to provide effective leadership, management and administrative support services to the Minister and other branches in the Department. The Administration programme is comprised of the following sub-programmes:

· Strategic planning;

· Research and policy development;

· Inter-sectoral and international coordination;

· Internal audit;

· Legal services;

· Communication;

· Financial management;

· Supply chain management;

· Human resource management;

· Information technology; and

· Office accommodation.

According to the Financial and Fiscal Commission (2012), this programme achieved 63% of its targets. The tables below highlight some of the targets not achieved by the Department and some concerns and questions are raised in this regard.

Table 1: Review on Administration programme performance 2011/2012

Objective
Objective: To draft laws and regulations for the Department
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Draft Women Empowerment and Gender Equality Bill	The Department noted that the delay in the progress of this legislation was due to the absence of the Legal Services Chief Director (sick/incapacity leave) for over 10 weeks. The Department has sought assistance from the Department of Justice.

Objective
Objective: To provide comprehensive security and safe, compliant accommodation Objective: To implement ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Governance Objective: To improve budget planning
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Development of a Health and Safety policy for the Department	After nearly 3 years it is concerning that the Department’s Health and Safety, financial procedure manual and ICT Governance Framework has not been implemented.
Implementation of the ICT Governance Framework
Development of a Financial Procedure manual

Objective
Objective: To conduct, commission and analyse new and existing research towards evidence-based planning and implementation relevant to women, children and people with disabilities
Target Not Achieved		Concerns
Departmental Research Agenda		The annual report indicates that this was not achieved because it was not approved. It is suggested that Members should enquire why this was not approved.
Objective
Objective: To develop, implement and evaluate strategies for stakeholder collaboration and participation
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Develop, implement and evaluate an inter-sectoral and international co-ordination framework	· Its is concerning that this target has not been prioritised and achieved given that the Department has not yet provided any international reports since its establishment.

Objective
Objective: To provide efficient, executive and administrative support to the Minister, Deputy Minister and Director-General
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Develop an electronic monitoring and evaluation system	· Continuing a “paper based” or a manual approach is not only inefficient it is not cost effective.

According to National Treasury, between 2009/10 and 2011/12, overall expenditure for this programme increased significantly from R1.7 million to R42.8 million. This was primarily attributed to additional funding for capacity to provide financial and administrative support to the programmes and the Ministry.

It should be noted that 53.7 per cent of the overall budget for this programme is allocated to the compensation of employees. Furthermore, an amount of R 26.8 million has been earmarked for Goods and Services (42 per cent) and Travel and Subsistence accounts for 38.8 per cent (R 10.4 million). In the previous financial year 2011/2012, Travel and Subsistence constituted 10.1 per cent of the overall goods and services allocation.

Table 2: Administration budget and expenditure as per Annual Report 2010/2011

Main appropriation

R’000

Adjusted appropriation

R’000

Actual amount spent

R’000

Over/under expenditure

R’000

34 183

9 596

67 112

(23 333)

The Department indicated that the over-expenditure was due to the insufficient allocation to the compensation of employees and the commitments that the Department had to meet in line with its mandate. This justification is concerning considering that the Department had an approved Annual Performance and Strategic Plan by the time this budget for this financial year was drafted. This magnitude of over-expenditure could have been avoided with sound financial planning and management.

3.2 Programme 2 Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE) budget and expenditure

The WEGE programme is comprised of three sub-programmes, namely Advocacy and Mainstreaming, Monitoring and Evaluation and Institutional Support and Capacity Development. However, in the detailed programme performance information, the Department also indicates the National Council on Gender Based Violence as a sub-programme.

The strategic objectives of the WEGE programme are as follows:

· To mainstream women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes;

· To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations;

· To coordinate institutional support and capacity development programmes, and

· To coordinate and facilitate the process of establishing the National Council Against Gender-based Violence.

The WEGE programme has a total of 27 identified targets to achieve its strategic objectives. Of these, 10 have been fully achieved, 9 partially achieved and 8 targets were not achieved. The following table identifies the indicators and targets that were not achieved.

Table 3: Review on Women’s empowerment and gender equality programme performance 2011/2012

Objective
Objective 1: To mainstream women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes
Target Not Achieved	Concerns/questions
Decade for African Women 2010-2011 – delivery and funding agreements with AU in place	· The Department needs to clarify its role and timeframes in this regard.
Put a Monitoring & Evaluation system in place	· The Department needs to provide clarity as to what this system refers to given that there is an M&E sub-programme

Objective
Objective 2: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of women’s empowerment and gender equality considerations
Target Not Achieved	Concerns/questions
Put in place a monitoring tool for the implementation of the gender responsive budgeting strategy.	· The Department indicates that it has not implemented the strategy and developed a tool as it has not received feedback from other departments in this regard.
Develop a Gender Barometer for Job Creation Fund	· Unemployment is high among women in South Africa, particularly those in rural areas. The Department must expedite this process.

Objective
Objective 3: To coordinate institutional support and capacity development programmes
Target Not Achieved	Concerns/questions
Report on capacity building and training programmes on gender mainstreaming and gender-responsive budgeting	· The Department indicates that part of the reason it has not met these targets is because these activities fall within the mandates of other departments and institutions such as the Public Administration Leadership and Management Academy (PALAMA) and the Department of Higher Education and Training.
Adult Basic Education Training programmes in all 9 provinces facilitated
Skills development for women in construction, cooperatives, waste management and farming in Further Education and Training colleges facilitated

The purpose of this programme is to facilitate national and international instruments into empowerment and socioeconomic development programmes as well as overseeing and reporting comprehensively on the national realisation of women’s rights and the progressive realisation of equality. The overall budget for WEGE 2012/2013 is R 79.5 million. It should be noted that the transfer payment for the Commission for Gender Equality amounts to R58.5 million, constituting 73.6 per cent of this programme budget.

Table 4 below represents the budget expenditure of the WEGE programme as presented by the Department for 2011/2012 ending March 2012.

Table 4: WEGE budget and expenditure as per Annual Report 2011/2012

Main appropriation

R’000

Adjusted appropriation

R’000

Actual amount spent

R’000

Over/under expenditure

R’000

9 479

13 541

22 045

975

Based on this table, the Department has a balance of R975 000 for the WEGE programme for the 2011/12 period.

3.3 Programme 3: Rights and Responsibilities programme performance

The purpose of the Children’s Rights and Responsibilities Programme is “To promote, advocate and monitor the progressive realisation of children’s rights through Government’s policies and programmes.” This programmes aims to achieve this through the following set of objectives namely;

· Advocacy and Mainstreaming: Facilitate and coordinate the mainstreaming and advocacy of children’s rights considerations into Government’s policies;

· Institutional Support and Capacity Building: Coordinate and facilitate an integrated approach to the provision of capacity building and institutional support of children’s rights; and

· Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitor, evaluate and report annually on the realisation of children’s rights in line with the Constitution, national, continental and international obligations.

The following table identifies the indicators and targets set out to achieve these programme objectives.

Table 5: Review on Children’s Rights and Responsibilities performance 2011/2012

Objective
Objective 1: To mainstream children’s rights considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Finalise the development of the Children’s Rights Mainstreaming Strategy.	· The mainstreaming strategy was not finalised. · The reason was not stated clearly in the annual report.

The following targets even though noted as achievements or partially fulfilled by the Department still require scrutiny as the level of implementation remains unclear.

Objective
Objective 1: To mainstream children’s rights considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Achievements requiring scrutiny	Concerns
National Plan of Action for Children (NPAC) developed	· It is unclear as to why the Department has noted the development of the NPAC as an achievement when it was stipulated that only the children’s input was consolidated into the main document and that it was still in draft form, to be refined and submitted for broader consultation. This indicates that the process is not complete. · Furthermore, the Department then also noted that a children’s participation strategy on the NPAC has yet to be developed during the provincial consultation processes.
Sanitary Dignity Campaigns	· The Department noted this campaign as an achievement in relation to a session held with Departments and a communiqué sent for compiling a database. However, it is unclear as to exactly what the other notable achievements were in this regard.
Mother to child campaign; Education campaign, International and National Children’s Day	· These aforementioned campaigns were also noted as achievements for the Department’s role in establishing partnerships, participation and co-ordination. It is unclear as to what the tangible outcomes of these initiatives were, whether these campaigns actually helped achieve the Department’s objective of mainstreaming children’s rights and how cost effective these were.

Objective
Objective 2: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of children’s rights considerations into Government policies, governance processes
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Development of user-friendly training guidelines for the implementation of the National Plan of Action for Children.	· The guidelines have not yet been finalised and it is unclear as to why or when this will be concluded. · It is unclear as to what guides the Department in the absence of an overarching policy pertaining to children’s rights.
Child Friendly Cities/Communities Model developed	· The draft model has been finalised but still requires further consultation. · This target was reported on in the 2010/11 Annual Report as an initiative that was rolled out to 36 municipalities. Unicef assisted the Department in this regard and the model was piloted in the Tshwane Metro. It appears as if though no further progress has been made in this regard.

Of importance to note was also the following, which the Department stipulates as achievements but requires further scrutiny:

Objective
Objective 2: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of children’s rights considerations into Government policies, governance processes
Achievements requiring scrutiny	Concerns
Children’s Rights Machinery Meetings conducted	· The Department noted this as a partial achievement for having drafted a Terms of Reference document (developed by Institutional Support and Capacity Building) which still needs to be consulted on. · In addition, the Department noted that a children’s machinery meeting was only scheduled for May 2012 which falls in the current financial year. · This target entails conducting machinery meetings which is a cornerstone of the Department’s mandate – engagement with key stakeholders. However a meeting did not take place during the financial year 2011/12.

Objective

Objective 3: To provide institutional support and capacity building for the mainstreaming of children’s rights and wellbeing into Government policy and programmes

The only indicator in this regard related to the co-ordination of the 365 Days National Plan of Action. The Department noted this as an achievement for the contributions made to the concept document for the National Council Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as well as the collaboration that took place towards the 16 days of activism concept paper and calendar. Thus besides the input given to a document i.e. the concept paper, it is unclear what the other tangible outcomes were for achieving this target during 2011/12.

Children’s Rights and Responsibilities budget and expenditure

The table below represents the budget expenditure of the Children’s Rights and Responsibilities programme as presented by the Department for 2011/2012 ending March 2011.

Table 6: Children’s Rights and Responsibilities budget and expenditure as per Annual Report 2011/2012

Main appropriation

R’000

Adjusted appropriation

R’000

Actual amount spent

R’000

Over/under expenditure

R’000

9 566

613

12 004

(1 825)

The Department explains that over-expenditure for this programme was incurred as a result of local and overseas travel for seconded officials. No further explanation has been provided in this regard.

3.4 Programme 4: Rights of People with Disabilities programme performance

The purpose of this programme is to:

Facilitate the translation of national and international instruments into empowerment and socio-economic development programmes, and to oversee and comprehensively report on the realisation of the rights of people with disabilities to equality.

The programme has the following sub-programmes:

· Advocacy and Mainstreaming: To mainstream disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes;

· Institutional Support and Capacity Building: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes; and

· Monitoring and Evaluation: To coordinate institutional support and capacity development into programmes.

Table 7: Review on Rights of People with Disabilities programme performance 2011/2012

Objective
Objective 1: To mainstream disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Finalise the Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Disability Responsive Budgeting Strategy (Legislation) finalised	· Strategy was not finalised. · Consultations have yet to be concluded.

The Department noted the following targets as having been partially achieved however further clarity is sought to determine what the impact has actually been and what the tangible outcomes were. These included:

Objective
Objective 1: To mainstream disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Achievements requiring scrutiny	Concerns
Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and guidelines circulated	· The Strategy and guidelines was stipulated as “still in draft” – in the absence of a finalised mainstreaming strategy how is the Department being guided?
Disability responsive budgeting	· The Strategy and guidelines was stipulated as “still in draft” – in the absence of a finalised mainstreaming strategy how is the Department being guided?
National Disability Policy and Bill in place	· The Department noted this as a partial achievement even though the policy remains in draft and there is no clear indication as to what the status of a proposed Bill is.
National Disability Summit	· A summit was successfully hosted with the attendance of over 300 participants and the recommendations from this were integrated into the National Disability Policy draft. It is unclear as to what the outcome of the resolutions was and how these were effected into a draft policy.
Disability Job Fund	· The Fund was not implemented but consultations were held to develop an intervention in this regard. There was no indication given as to when the Fund would be launched.

Objective
Objective 2: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Audit concluded and report available	· The audit was not completed. · 8 Provinces were still conducting the audit. · The key reason cited for non-fulfilment was due to financial year-end constraints as having had delayed the process of completing questionnaires in some provinces. · The Department would be submitting the survey report by the end of May 2012.
UNCRPD country report submitted	· Country report was not submitted.

The following targets were noted as being partially achieved, however more clarity should be sought in this regard:

Objective
Objective 2: To monitor and evaluate the mainstreaming of disability considerations into Government’s policies and governance processes.
Achievements requiring scrutiny	Concerns
Monitoring tool developed and implemented	· Cited as a partial achievement as the tool was still in progress.
National Disability Machinery Meetings	· The Department is meant to host 4 quarterly meetings and to produce and circulate minutes/reports in this regard. While this target was reported on as having been partially achieved only one meeting was held in the period under review.
Campaigns	· The Department noted its involvement in several campaigns (e.g. Mental Health Awareness) but it is unclear as to what the outcomes of these initiatives were and its feasibility.

Objective
Objective 3: To coordinate institutional support and capacity development programmes.
Target Not Achieved	Concerns
Orientation workshops on disability mainstreaming conducted in all 9 provinces and reports compiled.	· The workshop was not conducted.
Economic Empowerment Policy Framework developed and implemented	· Not achieved due to capacity constraints.

3.5 Rights of People with Disabilities budget and expenditure

The table below represents the budget expenditure of the Rights of People with Disabilities programme as presented by the Department for 2011/2012 ending March 2012.

Table 8: Rights of People with Disabilities budget and expenditure as per Annual Report 2011/2012

Main appropriation

R’000

Adjusted appropriation

R’000

Actual amount spent

R’000

Over/under expenditure

R’000

9 565

1 454

9 553

1 466

The Department explains that under-expenditure for this programme was incurred. This was attributed to human resource shortages as well as limited finances in order to achieve the planned activities. Clarity is required in this regard.

4. Consideration of Reports of Committee on Public Accounts

During the year under review 2011/2012 the Department for Women, Children and People with Disabilities had not appeared before the Committee on Public Accounts and as such no reports are available in this regard.

5. Consideration of Other Sources of Information

A number of sources can be used to analyse the strategic and operational plans of departments. These include:

5.1 The State-of-the-Nation address

The President highlighted in the 2011 State on the Nation Address Government’s commitment to socially vulnerable groups by reiterating previous strategic priorities which, if effectively implemented, would significantly improve the lives of women, children, youth and persons with disabilities by ensuring their access to developmental opportunities. The President also reinforced commitment to the five strategic priorities of Government outlined in 2009.

The President declared 2011 a year of job creation which will be accomplished through economic transformation and inclusive growth. Directly linked to this goal is Government’s New Growth Path which aims to provide the framework for the creation of decent work and this is at the centre of the country’s economic policies.

The Government’s five strategic priorities are:

· Improving job creation and economic development;

· Improving education;

· Improving healthcare;

· Rural development and land reform; and

· Continuing the fight against crime.

All of the aforementioned Government priorities have a direct bearing on women, children and persons with disabilities in South Africa. As noted in the Committee’s previous BRR report, that the Department should have taken into consideration these strategic priorities when planning programmes and activities. To some extent these priorities were incorporated into the Department’s Annual Performance Plan for the year under review. However, the impact of the initiatives undertaken is unclear.

5.2 Standing Committee on Appropriations

In the report of the Standing Committee on Appropriation on the third quarter expenditure of the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities for 2011/12 , the Committee observed the following:

The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (the Department) was allocated an amount of R143.1 million for the 2011/12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter the department has spent R113.7 million (or 79 per cent) of the allocation. The Department had projected to spend R110.1 million (or 76.95 per cent) at the end of the third quarter resulting in an over expenditure of R3.5 million (or 2.5 per cent). This over spending occurred as result of lack of spending on a number of programmes which would be discussed in the following section.

5.2.1 Expenditure per programme

The Department’s budget comprised of four programmes, i.e. Administration; Women Empowerment and Gender Equality, Children’s Rights and Responsibilities, and Rights for People with Disabilities. The programmes which have not performed well have been discussed in more detail here under.

Administration:

Programme 1 was allocated an amount of R42.8 million for the 2011/12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter the Department had spent R46.1 million (or 107.8 per cent) of the budget. An amount of R17.9 million was allocated towards compensation of employees out of which R20.1 million (or 112.5 per cent) has been spent. Under goods and services an amount of R17.9 million has been allocated and R19.2 million (or 108.7 per cent) has been spent during the period under review. The Department had spent its entire budgetary allocation for this programme within nine months. Of note is that this programme has exceeded its spending by R15.4 million for the first nine months.

The reasons for this were as follows:

· The Department employed staff at the higher notches than the approved notched by the Department of Public Service (DPSA); and

· Some staff members were employed outside the approved organogram of the Department.

The Committee expressed concern at the expenditure related to Compensation of Employees to which the National Treasury responded that it was in the process of identifying the underlying reasons for the Department not spending within its approved budget and would make recommendations thereon. The Committee requested the National Treasury to furnish it with a timeframe for the conclusion of the afore-mentioned exercise. It was stated that there was a need for uniformity in respect of the Administration programme across all national departments. A point was made that this Department was under spending in the programmes related to its core mandates, yet the Administration programme’s budget had been exhausted before the fourth quarter of the 2011/12 financial year. This was a concern and a turnaround strategy was needed in that regard.

Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality:

Programme 2 was allocated an amount of R78.1 million for the 2011/12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter, the Department had only spent R51.3 million (or 65.7 per cent). The Department had projected to spend R62.3 million (or 79.8 per cent) at the end of the same period. The under expenditure was due to the lack of transfer payments which were supposed to be made to the Commission for Gender Equity (CGE).

Overall, the reported over expenditure in terms of economic classifications was identified on compensation of employees, goods and services and CAPEX. For instance under programme 1, the Department had spent more than its allocation in the first nine months of the 2011/12 financial year. This was a cause for concern and the sustainability of the programme was therefore requiring attention. The spending by this Department would lead to the shifting of funds and virements and casted doubts over the credibility of the budget and, as such, defeated the primary objectives of the affected programmes.

The Department was one of the newly-established departments which received an unqualified audit opinion from the AG for the 2010/11 financial year with some findings on predetermined objectives and compliance with laws and regulations, which were as follows:

· Lack of preventative and detective measures of unauthorised and irregular expenditure;

· Procurement of goods from suppliers with no Tax Clearance Certificate; and

· Lack of audit committee structures.

Concerns were expressed at the following expenditures that were incurred by the Department:

· An unauthorised expenditure of R3.7 million which emanated from overspending;

· An irregular expenditure of R6.6 million of which R271 thousand was related to Supply Chain Management processes; and

· About 4 procurements were done from suppliers without Tax Clearance Certificates and one was done without inviting three quotations.

Children’s Rights and Responsibilities:

Programme 3 was allocated an amount of R10.1 million for the 2011/12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter, the Department has spent R9.9 million (or 97.9 per cent) which was R2.3 million (or 23 per cent) more than the required 75 per cent of expenditure at the end of the third quarter. The Department had projected to spend R7.6 million (or 75.2 per cent) at the end of the third quarter. This over-expenditure was as a result of a high level of spending on advertising and catering, even though the matter was reported under investigation, it remained a cause for concern.

Rights of People with Disabilities:

Even though the Department has reported over-expenditure in Programme 4, it is important to note that this programme has reported under-expenditure at the end of the third quarter. This programme was allocated R11.9 million for the 2011/12 financial year. At the end of the third quarter, the Department had spent R6.2 million (or 51.8 per cent). The Department had projected to spend at least R9.4 million (or 78.9 per cent) at the end of the same period. Therefore, the Department has underspent by R3.2 million (or 14.1 per cent). This was due to slow spending on compensation of employees as a result of vacant positions under this programme.

6. Reports of the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) and the Financial Statements

The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) findings indicated that the Department received an unqualified audit opinion with findings, the number incidents of non-compliance identified has increased from the prior year. The AGSA indicated in its presentation to the Committee that there have been no improvements in the audit outcome of the Department when compared to the previous year.

6.1 Auditor General Findings

The findings included the following:

6.1.1 Supply Chain Management

· Goods and services with a transaction value below R500 000 were procured without obtaining the required price quotations as required by Treasury Regulation 16A6.1;

· Contracts were awarded to suppliers whose tax matters had not been declared by the South African Revenue Services to be in order as required by Treasury Regulations 16A9.1 (d) and the Preferential Procurement Regulations;

· The preference point system was not applied in all procurement of goods and services above R300 000 as required by section 2 (a) of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and Treasury Regulations 16A6.3 (b);

· Contracts were awarded to bidders who did not submit a declaration on whether they are employed by the state or connected to any persons employed by the state, which is prescribed in order to comply with Treasury regulation 16A8.3; and

· Employees of the department performed remunerative work outside their employment in the department without written permission from the relevant authority as required by section 30 of the Public Service Act.

6.1.2 Predetermined Objectives

Usefulness of information

· Treasury Regulation 5.2.4 requires that the annual performance plan should form the basis for the annual report, therefore requiring the consistency of objectives, indicators and targets between planning and reporting documents. A total of 42% of the reported targets are not consistent with the indicators and targets as per the approved annual performance plan. This is due to the fact that indicators and targets were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process;

· The National Treasury Framework for managing programme performance information (FMPPI) requires that performance targets be specific in clearly identifying the nature and required level of performance. A total of 27% of the targets relevant to programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality were not specific in clearly identifying the nature and the required level of performance. This is due to the fact that indicators and targets were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process;

· The National Treasury Framework for managing programme performance information (FMPPI) requires that performance targets be measurable. The required performance could not be measured for a total of 50% of the targets relevant to programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality. This is due to the fact that indicators and targets were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process; and

· The National Treasury Framework for managing programme performance information (FMPPI) requires that indicators/measures should have clear unambiguous data definitions so that data is collected consistently and is easy to understand and use. A total of 27% of the indicators relevant to programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality were not well defined in that clear, unambiguous data definitions were not available to allow for data to be collected consistently. This is due to the fact that indicators and targets were not suitably developed during the strategic planning process.

6.1.3 Human Resources

· Job descriptions were not established for all posts in which appointments were made in the current year, as required by Public Service Regulation 1/III/I.1;

· Sufficient appropriate audit evidence could not be obtained that appointments were only made in posts which were approved and funded, as required by Public Service Regulation 1/III/F.1(a) and (d);

· Salary ranges of posts were increased without a job evaluation that supports the increase based on incorrect grading and/or without sufficient funds in the budget in contravention of Public Service Regulation I/V/C5;

· Employees received overtime compensation in excess of 30% of their monthly salaries, in contravention of Public Service Regulation I/V/D.2 (d); and

· The human resource plan did not include a budget analysis that ensures that the plan can be executed within the available budgeted funds as required by Public Service Regulation 1/III/D.

6.1.4 Information Technology Controls

· User access controls were not adequate as they did not fully address/mitigate key risks;

· IT management had not formally approved the documented Information Technology (IT) Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP); and

· IT management had not formally designed IT governance controls (policies, procedures, guidelines) to mitigate the risk of IT goals and objectives not being aligned with the business strategic goals. Informal controls were in place, but were inadequate.

6.1.5 Material Errors/Omissions in the Annual Financial Statement (AFS) submitted for Audit

· The financial statements submitted for auditing were not prepared in accordance with the prescribed financial reporting framework as required by section 40(1) (b) of the Public Finance Management Act. Material misstatements of disclosure items identified by the auditors in the submitted financial statements were subsequently corrected and the supporting records were provided subsequently, resulting in the financial statements receiving an unqualified audit opinion.

6.1.6 Financial Health Status

· Current expenditure exceeded the approved current expenditure budget;

· The Department would not have been able to fund all liabilities (accruals) from the current year’s voted funds, if all liabilities had been paid at year-end;

· All voted funds approved for the next year are not available for use;

· An accrual-adjusted surplus for the year was not achieved;

· An accrual-adjusted net asset position was not achieved (total liabilities exceeded total assets); and

· The year-end bank balance was in overdraft.

6.2 Auditor General Recommendations

The following are key recommendations made by the Auditor General in relation to the Department’s 2011/2012 Annual Report.

6.2.1 Supply Chain Management (SCM)

· The Department needs to ensure that the SCM unit is sufficiently resourced. Controls should be implemented to ensure compliance with SCM regulations. Appropriate action should be taken against the appropriate officials;

· Management should ensure that the Supply Chain Management Unit implements the institution’s supply chain management policy and also complies with all the SCM legislation; and

· Disciplinary action should be taken against Supply Chain Management unit officials or other officials for any non-compliance with SCM policy and SCM legislation.

6.2.2 Predetermined Objectives

· The Department should ensure that it follows up on its action plans to ensure that appropriate action is taken timely to address issues noted; and

· Workshops should be conducted with the National Treasury to ensure clear guidance on expectations when the strategic plan is being drafted.

6.2.3 Human Resources

· The accounting officer should establish a mechanism to ensure compliance with laws and regulations;

· The Accounting Officer should initiate the processes in terms of the Treasury Regulations with regards to irregular expenditure;

· Management must implement controls to ensure that the appropriate level of management review and approve overtime as required in terms of the Public Service Regulation 1/V/D.2 (d) which would be at responsibility manager level. Controls should be implemented to ensure that the monthly compensation for overtime constitute less than 30% of the employee's monthly salary; and

· A checklist should be prepared to ensure all the requirements are adhered to. The plan should be adequately reviewed by the HR executive.

6.2.4 Information Technology Controls

· The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who is the data owner should ensure that the PERSAL and BAS user account management procedures are approved and implemented;

· The review of the BAS and PERSAL system controller activities (with regard to user account management) should be regularly performed; and

· In addition, the system controllers should ensure that evidence of monitoring of user profiles is retained for audit purposes.

6.2.5 Material Errors/Omissions in Annual Financial Statements (AFS) submitted for Audit

· These AFS should be reviewed by the governance structures i.e. management, internal audit and audit committee; and

· The AFS prepared should be adequately supported by substantiating evidence to corroborate validity, accuracy and completeness thereof.

7. Committee’s Observations

Having interacted with the Department and the AGSA’s office, the Committee made the following observations:

7.1 Committee’s observations in terms of the engagement with the AGSA:

· The Committee noted the findings and recommendations as presented by the AGSA and the Financial Fiscal Commission.

Department’s response:

In responding to AGSA concerns, the Department responded as follows:

· The in year monitoring reports have been compiled on a monthly basis and submitted to the Director –General’s office for review.

· Monthly cash flow reports have been sent out to the responsibility managers to ensure financial discipline and monitoring. Where funding needed to be shifted, responsibility managers must sign off for approval and revised cash flow reports are sent out. Bi-monthly cash flow reports will be sent out from October 2012.

· Reprioritising of the goods & services budgets were done in consultation with the relevant programmes. The identified funding was moved to compensation to ensure a carry through effect on compensation. This will ensure that there is no overspending on compensation of employees for the next 3 financial years.

· A turn around strategy would be developed to address concerns raised by the AGSA.

In its presentation to the Committee on its turn around strategy, the Department indicated that the key message and objectives of the turn-around is to ensure a clean audit for 2012/13 and beyond and improve organisational performance. The approach in implementing the turn around strategy would be in three phases namely

· Phase 1: Crisis management

· Phase 2: Stabilise and move towards sustainability

· Phase 3: Entrench growth and performance

The Department indicated that the turn around strategy would focus on the following:

Organisational strategy and mandate

The Department does not have a legislative mandate as it was created by means of a Presidential Proclamation. In this regard, the Department indicated that it has embarked on a strategic review process and this has resulted in an overhaul of the current strategic plan with more emphasis on rights and empowerment of women, children and people with disabilities.

Organisational structure

The current organisational structure would be revised once the strategy has been revised to ensure alignment with the approved strategy. This will enable the department to improve its ability to deliver on the revised mandate.

Addressing budget challenges

The Department indicated that is currently operating at a deficit due to misalignment between the allocation, the approved organogram and the strategic plan. In terms of the turn around process, the issue of addressing budgetary challenges would be address in two ways namely, submissions to the National Treasury through the Adjusted Estimates of National Expenditure process in August 2012 and in the Expenditure Estimates for the 2013 Medium Term Expenditure as informed by the new strategic plan.

Skills Audit

The revised organogram will require a process of skills audit to determine alignment of current skills to the new organogram. This exercise will be conducted with the current internal resources; however it might be necessary to source external support to ensure an objective analysis of skills.

Financial Management Improvement

The finance unit requires an extensive overhaul to ensure that we avoid repeat audit findings that have been recurring over the past three years. The appointment of an appropriately skilled Chief Financial Officer is a critical component of financial management improvement within the department. To-date emphasis has been made at EXCO and MANCO meetings on the need to reduce expenditure on travel and events. The delegations have been reduced on international trips to ensure that the least number of employees travel and that those who travel perform more than one role during the trip. Workshops will be arranged internally to unpack the Public Finance Management Act and Treasury Regulations for senior managers and to clarify Supply Chain Management processes. All expenditure has to be supported and confirmed by the Director: Finance and Deputy Director-General: Corporate Management to ensure some level of expenditure within the current allocation.

· Management of oversight

While there are regular meetings held with the Executive Authority and senior management, there is a need to revive the management forums to enable continuous and timely monitoring and evaluation of organisational performance and also to reflect on strategic and operational matters. The reporting template will also include a column on “corrective measures” so that management is able to assess if the corrective measures exist and whether they are sufficient. The PFMA checklist will be included as part of quarterly reporting, to enable early detection of non-compliance and a decision on corrective measures.

· Management of absenteeism

The Department will determine absenteeism due to annual, sick and special leave. This analysis will enable branch heads to assess the extent of attendance and compare it to performance trends with a view to making the necessary changes where applicable. An automated leave system will be developed to ensure integrity of the leave management system.

· Human Resource Quarterly reports

The Department will monitor all areas of human resources and provide monthly reports on indicators such as appointments, promotions, resignations, disciplinary matters, grievances and dismissals.

· Improvement in Financial Management

The department has been experiencing challenges in managing its financial resources and this is evident in the irregular and unauthorised expenditure incurred. The Chief Financial Officer will review all financial delegations and ensure that responsibility managers have accurate delegation letters with clear guidance on the conditions under which the delegations should be exercised. Updated allocation letters will be sent to ensure that all budget managers are aware of their total allocations for the remainder of the financial year.

Internal Audit

The Director for Internal Audit assumed duty on 1 July 2012. It is however necessary that a co-sourced internal audit function is created by appointing an external service provider to work with the new incumbent. Once funds have been secured and a service provider identified an audit will be conducted on payroll, IT governance, donor funding, job descriptions vs. incumbent and review of irregular expenditure. It is anticipated that the Director Internal Audit will focus on the progress report on addressing audit findings by compiling an audit findings register, verified and updated on a regular basis.

· Records management

Institutional memory is a valuable asset to an entity and therefore it is critical that proper and accurate record keeping is maintained. The audit process highlighted serious challenges with regards to records management especially those that relate to personnel and finance. Lack of proper record keeping was also identified within the CORE business units with regards to performance information. There is a need to inculcate a culture of collecting and filing evidence for achieved targets, both monthly and quarterly. The lack of proper recording keeping is a serious risk for the department as it creates an enabling environment for non-compliance and fraud.

· External Environment

The department has been receiving both positive and negative media coverage. To some extent, the negative media coverage is not related to the work of the department but refers to soft issues that ideally should not be in the public domain. A re-branding exercise will have to be embarked upon, wherein the turn-around process is conveyed to the public and various media campaigns are embarked upon to improve the image of the department. An improved compliance environment will also be a significant catalyst for an improved public image. A media monitoring feedback system will then be utilised to assess the impact of the re-branding.

7.2 Observations

General

· The Committee notes with concern the investigations currently underway within the Department.

· The Committee noted that a lack of leadership within the Department was concerning hence it would appear that there was no guidance provided to support officials within the Department for the period under review.

· The Committee noted that the Department continues to engage in initiatives which fall within the ambit of other departments’ service delivery functions for which budgets have already been allocated.

Financial

· The Committee noted with concern that the over–expenditure has doubled since the last financial year with a deficit of R23 million incurred in the Administration Programme and R1,8 million in the Children’s Rights and Responsibilities Programme

· The Committee noted with concern that the Department contravened the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) by not following the proper tender processes as outlined by the AGSA.

· The Department indicated that 7 officials had in fact attended the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and not 3 as indicated in its presentation. This was established only once the Committee sought clarity in this regard.

· The Committee noted with concern that the National Treasury has approved an allocation of R19 million to address the shortfall currently faced by the Department. The Committee was made aware of this during the Department’s briefing on its annual report and financial statements.

· The Department noted that it had submitted financial statements and quarterly reports to National Treasury in the absence of adequate financial management systems, bringing into question the details contained within these reports.

· Given that the Department has worked collaboratively with other Departments insofar as events and campaigns are concerned, the Committee questioned the actual financial contribution/implications for the Department.

Human Resource

· The Department indicated that the posts of the Director-General and the Chief Financial Officer is vacant and has been advertised. The Committee was concerned as to when will these posts be filled.

· The Committee notes with concern that a human resources plan was not adequately budgeted for nor adhered to.

· The Committee raised a concern that the Department’s staff complement appears to be top heavy, with 99 of the 133 filled posts being in the Administration programme, with only 34 staff members employed in the remaining programmes. This is of particular concern as programme implementation occurs within the WEGE, Children’s Rights and Responsibilities and the Rights of People with Disabilities programmes.

· The Committee was alarmed at the performance bonus payout of R14.625 million for 2 beneficiaries and leave payouts of R26.816 million at an average of R5.363 million for 5 beneficiaries.

· The Committee was concerned about the high staff turnover within the Department.

Programme Performance

· The Committee was concerned that the Department has spent more money on campaigns and events than actual programme implementation.

· The Committee noted that the Department did not have a mainstreaming strategy in all programmes and was concern as to how they will guide other departments in the absence of the tool.

· Given that the Department’s core mandate pertains to monitoring and evaluation, the Committee is extremely concerned that the relevant frameworks, strategies and tools have to been finalised to give effect to its mandate. Moreover, policies such as the National Plan of Action for Children and the National Disability Policy Framework have not been finalised and implemented.