Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities on its 1st Quarter 2013/14 Performance

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

18 September 2013
Chairperson: Ms D Ramodibe (ANC)
Share this page:

Meeting Summary

The Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities presented its Performance Overview for the First Quarter of the 2013/14 Financial Year. During its current financial year it planned a total of 26 targets for the 1st quarter and achieved only 13 targets (50%):
Programme 1: Administration: Of the 9 targets, 2 targets were achieved (22%) were achieved.
Programme 2: Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality: Of the 9 targets, 7 (78%) were achieved.
Programme 3: Children’s Rights and Responsibilities: Of the 5 targets, 4 targets (80%) were achieved.
Programme 4: Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Of the 3 targets, 1 target (33%) was achieved.

The Committee complained that the Department was not providing the Committee with substantive information on the activities it had undertaken. The Chairperson provided a list of requirements indicating what information and reporting it wanted from the Department for each programme. Members said the Department was aware of its capacity challenges but it was failing to find solutions to address them. Members asked DWCPD if it thought it had achieved the objectives of the Turnaround Strategy. Members asked the Department what DWCPD's take was on being referred to as the "worst department".

The Director General - whom the Committee acknowledged had inherited "a mess" - said their strategies would be sent to the Committee. An update on the Turnaround Strategy would be in its Annual Report which would be tabled in Parliament on 30 September 2013 and the Minister would be present for that briefing. It would be difficult to say how soon the Committee would receive all its requested reports but she assured them that the reports were on the way. They would address the issues raised by the Committee during their next presentation to the Committee on 10 October 2013.
 

Meeting report

Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities (DWCPD) 2013/14 Performance
Ms Veliswa Baduza, DWCPD Director General, thanked the Committee as well as the other attending institutions for this opportunity. She apologised on behalf of the Minister who was unable to attend.

Ms H Lamoela (DA) said in the past the Committee had to postpone meetings to accommodate the Minister's agenda. She was concerned about the constant absence of the Minister.

The Chairperson said a strong signal would be sent to the Minister about her absence during meetings because it implied the Department did not take the Committee seriously. Although she would give the Department a chance to present, the Committee had already gone through DWCPD's Quarterly Report which it felt had contradictory information and it was not satisfied with the reported content. Given the outstanding issues that could not be resolved by the Department, she was worried about the very foundation of the Department and was not pleased with its outcome.

Ms Baduza said she acknowledged the Committee's concerns and would engage with her principals in discussing the concerns raised.

Performance Overview for the First Quarter of the 2013/14 Financial Year
Ms Baduza said the Department's goal was to promote, facilitate, coordinate and monitor the realization of the rights of women, children and people with disabilities. It had planned a total of 26 targets for the 1st quarter and achieved 13 targets (50%) while the remaining 13 targets (50%) were not achieved. The total budget for 2013/14 was R198 312 million (including the Commission on Gender Equality) and actual expenditure for the 1st quarter was R37 507 million (19%). For Administration, actual expenditure amounted to R19 417 000 (78%). For Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE), projected expenditure was R19 770 000 but actual expenditure was R14 298 000 (72%). For Children’s Rights and Responsibilities (CRR), projected expenditure was R1 970 000 but actual expenditure was R1 604 000 (81%). For Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPD) projected expenditure was R3 026 000 but actual expenditure was R2 188 000 (72%). 

Programme 1: Administration
This provided management and administrative support to the Department. Out of the 9 targets planned for the 1st quarter of the current financial year, 2 targets were achieved (22%) while 7 targets (78%) were not achieved. The key performance indicators were:
- Number of Internal Audit reports issued on the three-year rolling plan: it had an annual target for 2013/14 was 4 and Q1 target of 1 was unable to be achieved because the three-year rolling plan was not yet approved.
- Management action plans followed up and verified: its annual target was 100% with a Q1 target of 20% which it was unable to achieve as the follow up on audits was not done in the 1st quarter as outstanding tasks from the previous financial year still had to be completed.
- 365 Day Plan of Action (POA) coordinated: its annual target was to have 100% of planned actions achieved, its Q1 target was to produce a Council Strategy, a Terms of Reference and Action Plan approved and a Council calendar approved but it was unable to because Council was still in the process of reviewing the documents (Strategic Guidelines and Terms of Reference).
- % of deviation on expenditure against allocated funding: this target was not achieved because the Department indicated that the projections were not in line with Operational Plans.
- % of reduction of vacancy rate: the Department had an annual target of 7% and a Q1 target of 2% reduction but it was unable to meet its Q1 target with only a reduction of 1.1%.
- Events coordination for three sectors in DWCPD: its annual target was to produce reports on events coordinated but it was unable to reach its target because resources were prioritized towards events that were done in collaboration with other departments and provincial departments such as Child Protection Week and Orange Day
- Annual Stakeholder Forum (ASF) coordinated: its annual target was to coordinate 1 annual stakeholder forum, and in the first quarter it achieved its target since the concept document and action plan on the ASF was approved.
- Communication Plan: its annual target was to develop a communication plan. Although a market research and report on the DWCPD brand was produced it was unable to reach its target because the development of the terms of reference took longer than anticipated.
- Number of research analytical reports on the status of women, children and people with disabilities produced: its annual target was to produce 6 reports and its Q1 target was to produce 2 reports which it was able to achieve.

Programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality (WEGE)
Ms Thandeka Mxenge DWCPD Deputy Director General: Corporate Management, said the programme's purpose was to facilitate and report comprehensively on the translation of national and international commitments into empowerment and socio-economic development programmes towards the realisation of women’s rights and the progressive realisation of equality. Of the 9 targets planned for the 1st quarter, the WEGE branch achieved 7 targets (78%). Of the planned budget of R19 770 000, actual expenditure was R14 298 000 with an under expenditure of R5 472 000. The key performance indicators were:
- Number of programmes on WEGE policy coordinated: the Department had an annual target of 8 and for the 1st quarter it achieved 2 WEGE policies. The finalization of legislation on the WEGE Bill through consultations and advocacy on the implementation of the WEGE policy on 50/50 representation.
- Number of programmes coordinated for on women’s socio- economic opportunities and development: this had an annual target of 5 and it achieved the coordination of 1 programme on socio- economic empowerment of rural women.
- Number of capacity building institutional support programmes facilitated and coordinated: it had an annual target of 3 and during 1st quarter it facilitated 1 capacity development programme for gender mainstreaming and responsive budgeting.
- Number of initiatives on institutional support and capacity development framework: it had an annual target of 3 and it achieved convening 1 technical team for gender mainstreaming and responsive budgeting.
- Number of National Gender Mainstreaming (NGM) programmes it coordinated: it had an annual target of 4 and a Q1 target of 1. The Department achieved its Q1 target by coordinating the National Gender Machinery on 10 and 11 April 2013.
- Number of initiatives coordinated for young women in science (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields: it had an annual target was 4 and Q1 target 1. The Department was unable to meet is Q1 target due to the delay in revising service level agreements (SLA).
- Number of status report on programmes for women empowerment and gender equality: it had an annual target of 3 and a Q1 target of 1 which it achieved by the production of a quarterly report on WEGE.
- Number of Provincial Programmes on implementation of women empowerment and gender equality monitored: it had an annual target of 4 and a Q1 target of 1 which it was unable to achieve.
- Number of Compliance Reports to regional, continental and international commitments: it had an annual target of 2 and a Q1 target of 1, it was able to achieve this through the production of a report on the African Union (AU) Women’s Protocol.

Programme 3: Children’s Rights and Responsibilities
The Director General said the purpose of this programme was to promote, advocate and monitor the realisation of children’s rights through Government’s policies and programmes. Out of the 5 targets planned for the 1st quarter, Programme 3 achieved 4 targets (80%). The planned budget of R1 970 000 saw an expenditure of R1 604 000 with an under expenditure of R366 000. The key performance indicators were:
- Number of social campaigns on rights of children conducted: it had an annual target of conducting 3 campaigns and a Q1 target of 1 was achieved by conducting a successful Child Protection Campaign.
- Child Friendly Cities/ Communities model launched: it had an annual target of developing a child friendly cities/communities model and a Q1 target of developing a child friendly cities/communities model to present for consultation with its stakeholder. The Department managed to successfully achieve its Q1 target by consulting with stakeholders on 27- 28 June 2013.
- Monitor and Evaluation Strategy finalised: it had an annual target to finalise its M&E strategy and a Q1 target of drafting an M&E strategy which would be presented to its stakeholders for consultation. It was able to successfully achieve its Q1 target by presenting a draft for consultation with heads of M&E units in the Northern Cape; Eastern Cape; Free State and the Western Cape.
- M&E Data Systems developed: it had an annual target of having a completed an M&E data system. The Q1 target of producing an M&E data concept to present to its stakeholders was achieved by having consultations with StatsSA on indicators and a data system for Ulwazi children and an agreement on the template for the finalization of metadata and a Service Level Agreement.
- Number of Regional and International periodic reports produced and deposited: it had an annual target of producing and finalising 2 African Union-African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (AU- ACRWC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) reports. Its Q1 target was submit the AU-ACRWC and UNCRC reports to Cabinet but it was unable to achieve this target because it missed the date initially earmarked for Cabinet submission.

Programme 4: Rights of People with Disabilities (RPD)
Ms Modjadji Seabi, Deputy Director General: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality, noted the purpose of this program was to facilitate and report comprehensively on the translation of national and international obligations into empowerment and socio- economic development programmes towards the realisation of the rights of people with disabilities and equalisation on opportunities. Out of the 3 targets for the 1st quarter, it achieved 1 target (33%). The planned budget of R3 026 000 million saw actual expenditure of R2 188 000 with an under expenditure of R836 000. The programme indicators were:
- Number of Disability Rights Campaigns coordinated: it had an annual target of 5 and a Q1 target of 1 was unable to be achieved due to the costing and design of the branding.
- Number of transversal projects that mainstream disability considerations supported: it had an annual target of 6 and a Q1 target of 1 which it was able to achieve by the successful implementation of the Access to Justice and Child Safety project. This was supported through a workshop on the Sexual Abuse and Victim Empowerment Programme (model) involving professionals in the criminal justice system, the Department of Social Development (DSD) and Department of Basic Education (DBE) including parents of disabled children.
- Number of published reports on the Status of People with Disabilities: it had an annual target of 6 and a Q1 target of 1 which it was unable to achieve because the supply chain process was still underway.

Discussion
Ms L Van de Merwe (IFP) thanked the Department for its presentation and said the compilation of its report was more succinct this time around. She requested clarification on one of the performance indicators in Programme 1 aiming to reduce the Department's vacancy rate. The Department currently had a vacancy rate of 17.9% which equated to approximately 25 jobs, she asked if these vacant positions were senior level positions. She did not understand why the Department lacked a marketing and branding strategy, the public sentiment about the Department was highly negative and this needed to be addressed. She asked if the Committee could get an update on its website development and asked where the Committee could access its analytical reports about women and children. She asked what the cost implications were for the Departments UN Orange Day event and what it would be doing to address the issues raised during that event. In its attempt to achieve its Programme 2 targets, there was a lot of travelling overseas. She asked what the nexus was between travelling overseas and producing reports as well as what tools were in place to inform the Committee that the solutions being adopted by the Department were viable grassroots solutions.

Ms Lamoela said her main concern about the presentation was the lack of clarity. She did not understand how the Department operated because one did not set targets it was unable to achieve. She asked how the balance of remaining targets would be achieved since the Department was now approaching its second quarter. She said the Department was aware of its capacity challenges but it was failing to find solutions to address them. The huge vacancy rate currently supported by the Department was an important part of its failure. With all the current challenges facing the Department, it was important to draw in its sister departments and make use of the skills other Departments had to offer though it must not take the achievements of these Departments and present it as its own. She asked if there were any annual salary increases planned or any performance bonuses. She asked DWCPD to provide the Committee with a report within seven days about how it went about developing a tool to assess institutional arrangements at District/Municipal level.

Ms I Ditshetelo (UCDP) said she wanted a list of the donors and the amount of funding received per donor, the purpose of funding and whether donor objectives were met. She asked why there was a 126% over expenditure on the budget allocated to the Ministry. She asked for DWCPD's take on being referred to as the "worst department".

Ms M Tlake (ANC) asked if the Department thought it had achieved the objective of the Turnaround Strategy. There was nothing indicating how DWCPD would achieve its 2% reduction in vacancy rate. She asked what programmatic actions it was going to take about its findings during its hosted United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) conference. She was worried about the under expenditure and the lack of articulated numbers when referring to donor amounts.

Ms C Diemu (ANC) asked what the status was in terms of how donor funds would be used and why the usage of donor funds was not being reported.

The Chairperson said the Committee was repeating itself again as DWCPD was not providing the Committee with any substantive information on the activities it had undertaken plus it was failing to address the most important question which was whether it was addressing its Turnaround Strategy.

Ms Lamoela readily agreed with the Chairperson and found it shocking that although 61% of its budget was going to Administration, DWCPD was still unaware of how many people it had employed.

Ms P Peterson-Maduna (ANC) said the Committee should not let DWCPD present unless until it was ready to provide the Committee with legitimate answers to the concerns it raised.

The Chairperson said DWCPD was an important department. It had to rethink the tools it was using to ensure that it remained viable and influential. The Committee had fought to get this Department underway since 2009 and by dissolving it, it would disadvantage the groups it targeted. As a Committee, they had drawn up a list of requirements indicating what they wanted from DWCPD with regards to each programme:

Follow Up Issues for Department of Women, Children And People With Disabilities
Programme 1: Administration

The Committee wanted a financial overview per programme indicating what was allocated, spent, its over expenditure, irregular expenditure and to indicate the usage of consultants. It wanted a list of donors and the funding received per donor. It wanted DWCPD to provide a human resource management report which detailed the status of human resources with information on posts, vacancies, leave (sick leave, special leave), disciplinary hearings, staff turn-around, analysis of exit interviews and its retention strategy. It should provide the Committee with an organogram clearly indicating funded posts filled and vacant posts, level of the post per programme. It should provide time frames in which all funded posts would be filled by and provide a written update on the skills audit. In general, the Committee wanted DWCPD to provide it with various Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and or contracts with stakeholders and submit all reports produced with respect to women, children and people with disabilities.

Programme 2: Women Empowerment and Gender Equality
The Committee wanted DWCPD to clearly stipulate number of campaigns, outcomes, indicators of success and cost incurred, and provide a summary report of the outcomes of Gender Machinery meetings, and a list of members of the Gender Machinery. It should provide a list of activities the WEGE Programme had undertaken within in each province for 2012/2013, provide a report on the monitoring of databases focussing on women in construction; women in tourism and women farmers (women in agricultural activities). It should provide a copy of the monitoring tool for gender responsive indicators, a copy of the gender audit tool and a plan for dealing with outstanding performance indicators with clear time frames.

Programme 3: Child Rights and Responsibilities (CRR)
The Committee wanted DWCPD to clearly stipulate number of campaigns, outcomes, indicators of success and costs incurred. It should provide a summary report of the outcomes of the Child Rights Machinery meetings. It should provide a list of members of the Child Rights Machinery, submit the monitoring and evaluation tools for child rights, and submit a list of indicators developed for monitoring child rights. It should provide a list of activities the CRR Programme had undertaken within in each province for 2012/13; a list of cities in which the Child Friendly Cities Model was being rolled out and a plan for dealing with outstanding performance indicators with clear time frames.

Programme 4: Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPD)
The Committee wanted DWCPD to clearly stipulate number of campaigns, outcomes, indicators of success and costs incurred. It should provide a progress report on the implementation of the Resolutions of the Conference of State Parties held in 2012. It should provide a summary report of the outcomes of the National Disability Machinery meetings; a list of members of the National Disability Machinery and submit the Disability Indicator Matrix. It should provide a plan for dealing with outstanding performance indicators with clear time frames; a list of activities the RPD Programme had undertaken within each province for 2012/13 and a report on the monitoring of the 2% employment equity target for 2012/13.

Ms Lamoela said asking DWCPD to provide all the requested reports was beyond its capacity. It would make more sense if DWCPD produced weekly reports to Committee in answering the questions they raised.

Ms van der Merwe said the DG, on her appointment, had walked into quite a mess. Perhaps it would serve DWCPD better if it had fewer targets it was working towards achieving. The decline of DWCPD began with the previous DG who the Committee had failed to fully engage with. She asked how both DWCPD and the Committee could streamline the link between what it wanted to achieve and it would achieve it.

The Director General said DWCPD had all its strategies compiled in a document which it would send to the Committee. With regards to an update about the Turnaround Strategy, there would be an annual report which would be tabled in Parliament on 30 September 2013 and the Minister would be present for that. It would be difficult to say how soon the Committee could receive its requested reports but she assured them that the reports were on the way and they would address the issues raised by the Committee during its next presentation to the Committee which would be on 10 October 2013.

The Chairperson said 10 October 2013 was an acceptable date but DWCPD would still have to send in the requested reports before that date.

Ms G Tseke (ANC) asked DWCPD what its take was on being referred to as the "worst department".

Ms Tlake said it was unfair for DWCPD to answer that question without the presence of the Minister.

The Chairperson made the ruling that DWCPD would send them written responses. She thanked members for their participation and stated that she did not accept the Minister's apology.

Committee Report on oversight visit to Commission on Gender Equality from 30-31 July 2013
The Committee approved the report without amendment.

Committee Minutes
The Committee approved the committee meeting minutes of 24 July 2013, 14 August 2013 and 11 September 2013 without amendment.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

Present

  • We don't have attendance info for this committee meeting

Download as PDF

You can download this page as a PDF using your browser's print functionality. Click on the "Print" button below and select the "PDF" option under destinations/printers.

See detailed instructions for your browser here.

Share this page: