Independent Electoral Commission & Film Publications Board 2009/10 Annual Report: briefing

Meeting report

Independent Electoral Commission Presentation
Ms Pansy Tlakula, Chief Electoral Officer, IEC, presented the Commission’s annual report.

The Commission set out seven key strategic objectives in the carrying out of its mandate. The first strategic objective was to project the IEC as the global leader in electoral affairs. It had participated in four international observer missions and 6 technical assistance programmes. It had also assisted with the management of elections of 99 other institutions. The second strategic objective involved developing strategy, monitoring project implementation and facilitating independent assurance processes to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the Commission. In this regard, monthly and quarterly reports were submitted to the Auditor-General, the Risk Management Committee met regularly and the Audit Committee met 4 times. The third objective was to maintain systems and procedures which would ensure an accurate and up-to-date national voters’ roll. The Commission had registered 22 911 527 people on the voters’ roll. This figure exceeded the target (22.6 million) by more than 300 000. 19 726 voting stations were established during 2009 National and Provincial Elections. Of these, 18 608 were permanent, 1 061 were temporary and 57 were mobile. Mobile voting stations reduced by 2% thereby exceeding the Commission’s target by 0.3%. Of 18 608 permanent voting stations, 16% did not have electricity, 6% did not have ablution facilities and 10% did not have running water. Infrastructure task team met twice a year as planned with aim of improving infrastructure at voting stations.

The fourth objective was to implement and promote effective electoral processes that would facilitate the participation of political parties and candidates in the management and delivery of free and fair elections. Over the past year, 1254 Party Liaison Committee Meetings were held at national, provincial and municipal spheres. 6 new parties were registered and 36 parties were deregistered. Registration and deregistration of parties were completed within legal timeframes.
The fifth strategic objective was to deliver well-run elections which produce results that are credible. All necessary electoral material, including voters’ roll, ballot papers and security material, for use in 2009 elections were procured and distributed in time. This represented a 100% achievement of target. The sixth strategic objective was to educate and inform civil society with a view to optimizing citizen participation in democracy and electoral processes. In this regard, the IEC had conducted about 1, 3 million civic education initiatives, which included community presentations, workshops, site visits and seminars. A Voter Satisfaction Survey was undertaken on election Day and several media initiatives were carried out as part of this objective. The eighth strategic objective was the development and maintenance of effective business practices, which included legal, human resource and IT aspects, to ensure the effective functioning of the IEC. The current staff of the IEC numbered 806, with a 21% vacancy rate. Disciplinary action had been taken against 17 employees for reasons of financial misconduct, misconduct or fraud.

The Commission managed to fulfill most of the targets set in its strategic objectives (see document). However some of the Commission’s targets set in the strategic objectives were not achieved due to lack of adequate human resources capacity. Some of these target failures included reconciliations, which were not finalised by the 10^th of each month, payments, which were not made within the prescribed 30 day period, updating financial directives, policies and procedures and revising standard operating procedures.

The Commission received a qualified audit report for the first time since 2001 from the Auditor-General. Part of the qualified audit arose from the exclusion of the future expenditure based on the lease term and escalations for the 235 MEO offices not taken into considerations as is required by the Accounting standard. The qualified audit further arose from the amount of R114m paid to temporary electoral staff who worked on Election Day 2009. From the audit sample the error found by the auditors was R 27 443 but the total expenditure was qualified. The payment of the 200 000 plus electoral staff members that worked on Election Day during the 2009 National and Provincial Elections presented some verification problems for the Commission.  Part of the concern was that not all staff members had turned up for work on Election Day. Where there was a need for replacement formal employment contracts were not entered into with all the replacement staff members.
There were cases where some attending staff members did not sign attendance registers or where a formal employment contract for the day was not entered into or was subsequently mislaid in the process of having to be forwarded from the more than 19 000 voting stations to central storage points.
There were a few cases where staff members that were recruited and trained for Election Day, as best can be established, did not report for duty but were nevertheless paid as their details were not deleted from the electronic register before the date of payment.

For audit purposes all expenditure had to be verified by documentary evidence. Staff were allocated to voting stations in terms of a set formula that took voter numbers and facilities into account and that in no instance were more persons paid than was supposed to be the case. Tariffs were predetermined in the electronic financial system of the IEC and that all those who were paid, were paid the correct tariffs.

The Commission further received a qualified audit for non-disclosure of future contracts that the Commission had either a legal or contractive obligation to make payments in future and were available for audit. The estimated future payments included all the contracts of the Commission and not only those that were legal commitments. Despite the qualified audit, all funds expended by the Commission had been accounted for and there were no misdemeanours involved in any way as far as the basis for qualification is concerned.

The Commission received R 937 233 000 from The Department of Home Affairs. Other revenue consisted largely of investment income of R 20 030 445 and sponsorship income of R 4 250 000. All the funds had been accounted for and disclosed in the financial statements.

Discussion
Ms A Lovemore (DA) commented that the IEC had performed well over the years and the low turnover rate of staff was an indicator that the Commission was an employer of choice and congratulated the Commission on this. She sought an explanation about the comments in the AG’s report pertaining to management and performance issues. She asked about the Commissions work in educating the public on voting and the election process. Had the Commission assessed the potential for electronic voting in its review processes? What role did the IEC play in addressing the issue of electoral reform?

Ms Tlakula replied that the Commission had piloted a voter education project and had sought to introduce it to schools so as to educate learners. The Ministry of Basic Education had however rejected the introduction of the project in schools due to the fact that it felt that several projects of a similar kind already existed. The Commission had looked at the issue of electronic voting and would conduct further comparative studies in countries using that system of voting. The IEC would assess the pros and cons of such a system in South Africa before implementing it. The Commission did not feel that electoral reform was part of its mandate and would defer to relevant political processes on that issue.

Dr Brigalia Bam, Chairperson, IEC, commented that the most important part of the electoral process was the verification and announcement of results. She added that before implementing an electronic system of voting, South Africa would have to look at how best to utilise such a system especially since many parts of South Africa still lacked modern amenities such as electricity.

Ms Tlakula responded to an outstanding issue which was raised by Ms Lovemore pertaining to the audit. She said that the audit had been conducted immediately after the 2009 Elections and as a result some members of staff were on leave at the time of the audit. The Commission struggled to calibrate performance successes due to the nature of the work the Commission did which was mostly intangible and harder to document in stringent form. The IEC would make improvements to reporting on progress as time went on.

Mr Zolisa Mafuya, Chief Financial Officer, IEC, added that the Commission was learning to improve its reporting for the audit process and would improve that process even with respect to financial statements.

Mr M Mnqasela (DA) addressed four issues. Firstly, he noted the remorse shown by the Commission on receiving a qualified report. Secondly, he highlighted the good work and commitment shown by the Commission in the recent past. Thirdly, he asked whether the IEC had gone to remote villages and rural areas in its drive for voter education. Lastly, he asked how many people had been prosecuted for fraudulent activity under the IEC’s name.

Ms Tlakula replied that the Commission had been proactive in educating voters in both the rural and urban areas with areas such as the Eastern Cape and the North West receiving attention as well as all other provinces.

Ms Thoko Mpumlwana, Deputy Chairperson, IEC, added that at every municipality the Commission had permanent as well as voluntary workers who ensured that people of all backgrounds were catered to before and during an election with regard to civic education of the voting process.

Mr Mafuya replied that the Commission had a zero tolerance policy on theft and fraud and once a person had been identified as having committed such an offence, the person was reported to the police and the Commission had internal processes which it could implement against defaulting employees.

Ms D Mathebe (ANC) asked whether the Commission had hired permanent teachers ahead of unemployed youths in light of complaints from some communities. She sought clarity on the voting age, whether it was 16 or 18.

Ms Tlakula replied that it was important to keep people who had experience in the area of elections and teachers were used as presiding officers but more than 50% of the electoral staff used in the 2009 Election was from the ranks of the unemployed. Voters were registered at 16 but did not vote until they were 18.

Ms T Gasebonwe (ANC) asked how many of the cases referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) involving IEC staff had been resolved and what the outcome had been.

Ms Tlakula said that the outcome of the CCMA cases could be found in detail in the Annual Report.

Ms P Maduna-Peterson (ANC) asked how the 17 electoral staffers who had participated in fraudulent activity had been disciplined.

Ms Tlakula replied that electoral staff were not permanent employees and were therefore only paid for services rendered. If they did not report for work they were not paid, some people however fell through the administrative cracks and sometimes the IEC head office would issue payment for an absent staffer due to the system not being updated to exclude a no-show electoral employee. The IEC would work to improve the system and was in the process of doing so for the 2011 local government elections.

Dr Bam reiterated the shock of the Commission upon receiving a qualified opinion from the Auditor-General.

Film Publications Board Presentation
Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, Chief Executive Officer, FPB, and Ms Mmapula Makola, Chief Operating Officer, FPB, presented the Board’s Annual report. The Board received a clean audit for the current financial year. The Board was mandated to classify films, games and publications and was required by law to carry out compliance monitoring.

During the financial year under review, the Board managed to strengthen compliance and accountability, improve reporting on performance information, increase presence and visibility in cyberspace and increase awareness of its work through an awareness campaign. It managed to classify all films and games that were submitted for classification, it increased raids on non compliant distributors in conjunction with the SAPS and it improved relations with employees.

During the period under review, the FPB classified 6 657 films and games and 24 publications, in comparison to 6 341 movies and games in the 2008/2009 financial year. The growth in the number of movies classified reflected the increased efforts by the FPB to ensure that distributors were empowered and provided with the necessary support and information to ensure that they comply with the Film and Publications Act.

The Board faced challenges in the registration of Bollywood (Content of Indian Origin) and Nollywood (Content of Nigerian Origin) distributors and products. Whilst Classification and Compliance Monitoring remained central to the mandate of the FPB, it was equally important for the FPB to build community awareness on the need to protect children against harmful content and to ensure that consumers understand and abide by the age restrictions that the FPB attached to films, games and certain publications.

The FPBs Child Protection Unit made strides in raising awareness of these matters, with close to 60, 000 members of the public reached through community awareness programmes and 51 school principals, 180 life-orientation practitioners, 692 learners and 110 religious leaders engaged in community activities to promote awareness of the dangers of child pornography and the importance of safeguarding children from unsuitable content. The Board received 72 reported cases of Child pornography of which 6 cases were verified and dealt with. It reviewed and updated all Human Resources policies so as to improve relations with employees as well as instituting performance contracts which all employees signed.

The FPB had 3 cases at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), one of which had been settled out of court. Job evaluations were undertaken by the Board and all members of management participated with the CEO and Executives being enrolled in coaching and mentorship programmes to improve their leadership skills. The Board had set aside programmes targeted at dealing with new media which would only be tackled in the next financial year due to resource limitation and prioritisation of other programmes in the year under review.

Most of the FPBs funds emanated from the grant subsidy whilst regulation fees played a role in the addition of the Boards other funds. The Board’s grant subsidy was R39 million for the 2009/10 fiscal year which presented an 18% rise from the allocation of R33 million in 2008/9. Regulation fees were R7 million which was a 32% dip in the fees of R10 234 314 which were raised in the 2008/9 fiscal cycle. Personnel costs rose as a result of filling previously vacant posts and due to the 7.5% increase implemented in the year by government. Operating costs decreased by 5.7% due to cost saving measures introduced by the Board in various areas.

Discussion
Mr Mnqasela complimented the Board on the sterling work it had done and said that the Board should continue to do good work. He noted that the Board had improved its situation from the previous year when it had received a qualified audit report. He sought information on the issue of unsigned contracts and out of court settlements which was raised in the presentation. What progress had the FPB made regarding reports of illicit behaviour from the public on its website and call centre?

Ms Makhasi replied that the unsigned contract issue had been one incident which had occurred when the FPB had initially moved into a building which it shared with the National Film and Video Foundation three years ago when the two organisations had committed to share security but the agreement had not been formalised. The FPB had since corrected that issue and would work to insure that such an incident did not happen again. The out of court settlement had been agreed upon in 2007 between the FPB and a disgruntled manager who had taken the Board to the CCMA and the Board had decided that it was in its interest to settle out of court to save on unnecessary costs. The FPB had felt that it did not have a strong case and had decided to settle.

Ms Makola added that the hotline had received 72 reports of child pornography of which 6 were local cases which had been verified and dealt with.

Ms Maduna-Peterson thanked the FPB for its presentation and the work it did in reaching out to rural communities. She asked what had happened to the case between SARS and the FPB and who had been responsible for paying SARS. Since the FPB outspent its allocation, had it found areas in which it could save or make cuts to better its spending patterns?

Ms Makhasi replied that the process of paying SARS started at human resources and then was meant to be sent to the finance department to issue payment to SARS. This had not been done as there was a problem with SARS as to who the tax invoice was being addressed to at the FPB. The problem was being sorted out with SARS and would be resolved amicably. The Board had identified areas where it could save money in and would be working to reduce costs where possible and necessary.

The Chairperson commended the Board on its unqualified report and expressed her hope that the standard would remain high for the Board.

The meeting was adjourned.