Department of International Relations and Cooperation on its 2015/16 Annual Performance & Strategic Plan & African Renaissance & International Cooperation Fund, with Deputy Minister

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International Relations

15 April 2015
Chairperson: Mr M Masango (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

DIRCO said SA hosts the second largest number of foreign representation in the world and had a current global footprint of 125 missions. The changing global environment impacted upon the execution of DIRCO’s mandate which also had to be aligned with the National Development Plan. Regional integration was important on SA’s agenda. Discussions on regional integration were to be held in Zimbabwe from the 29 April 2015 to the 1 May 2015. There was a need to reindustrialise the region given its diverse resources. New allies were on board to assist the region to beneficiate its own natural resources. Reformation of the United Nations was needed with a view to better global governance. The entire continent was occupied with African Agenda 2063. SA’s Foreign Service Bill was also to be tabled in Parliament in 2015. Asia and the Middle East had surpassed Europe as SA’s number one trading partner. In twenty years, trade with Asia and the Middle East had increased 19-fold from R40.2bn in 1994 to R760.2bn in 2013. In the same period trade with Africa had increased 35-fold from R11.6bn to R385bn. SA attached much importance to its membership to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA (BRICS) bloc. Up and coming new players on the global market included Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt and Colombia.

The Committee was provided with an overview of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocation. In terms of government’s priorities of doing more with less, the allocation to DIRCO over the medium term included Cabinet approved reductions of R335.5m in 2015/16, R467.1m in 2016/17 and R168.5m in 2017/18 which DIRCO had to effect on compensation of employees due to vacant posts, goods and services and the transfer to the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund. DIRCO had proposed additional cost saving measures to unlock its fixed cost overhead expenditure items and mitigate the budget shortfall envisaged, including to accommodate some of the new priorities identified for implementation. In response to the budget reductions, DIRCO decided to implement additional cost containment measures. Some of these measures were to review the organisational functional assessment for both head office and missions abroad, to review the provision of support services for the missions’ operations and to implement a property management strategy. The 2015 MTEF allocation did not cater for foreign exchange fluctuations, as a result DIRCO remained vulnerable to foreign exchange rate losses which necessitated a review of how the foreign operations were supported. DIRCO intended to address the shortfall through the adjustment estimates budget process. Strategic objectives, key result areas, MTEF targets and  budget figures were provided for the five DIRCO programmes: Administration, International Relations, International Cooperation, Public Diplomacy and International Transfers Programmes for 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. The total 2015 budget allocations for the respective financial years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 were R5.6bn, R5.9bn and R6.5bn. 

Members were also given insight into the 2014/15 expenditure preliminary outcomes for these programmes:
Programme 1: Administration - total expenditure was 87% of its budget. Underspending was as a result of delays in capital projects due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.
Programme 2: International Relations – it had overspent which was as a result of depreciation of the rand against other major currencies
Programme 3: International Cooperation - it had underspent as a result of the office accommodation for the Pan African Parliament not being concluded.
Programme 4: Public Diplomacy and Protocol – it had underspent due to unclaimed funds by partner departments for the Presidential inauguration activities.
Programme 5: International Transfers – Overspending resulted due to foreign exchange rates losses in the payment of membership fees and assessed contributions to the United Nations, the African Union and the South African Development Community (SADC).

Members raised concerns about the reductions in the allocations in budget towards DIRCO. Would the reductions affect DIRCO’s ability to do its work and could it negatively impact upon its audit outcomes. Would DIRCO be able to meet its commitments for rental payments abroad and membership fees given the cuts in budget. Was it financially viable for SA to host the upcoming African Union Summit given the budget cuts that DIRCO was facing? Figures had also shown reductions in staff compensation which either meant wages were being reduced or there were cuts in staff numbers? Job losses were not an option as the unemployment rate in SA was already high. Questions were asked about the finalisation of premises for the Pan African Parliament. If the matter was not to be resolved soon the fear was that SA could perhaps lose the opportunity to host the Pan African Parliament not to mention the embarrassment that went along with it. Members also highlighted media reports which had spoken to shortcomings in service delivery which was prevalent at certain missions of DIRCO abroad. Concerns were raised about the flare up of xenophobic attacks that had recently taken place. The briefing had highlighted the fact that reforms needed to take place at the United Nations Security Council. What about reforms that needed to take place at the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank?

DIRCO also spoke to the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund’s Strategic Plan 2015/20 and its Annual Performance Plan 2015/16. Members were given insight into the utilisation of the Fund. The Minister must in consultation with the Minister of Finance establish an Advisory Committee which would make recommendations to the Minister and the Minister of Finance on the disbursement of funds through loans or other financial assistance. Detail on performance indicators, strategic objectives, targets and MTEF allocations was provided. Indicative baselines set for 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 were R366m, R412m and R433m respectively. The reductions for each financial years due to belt tightening were R-212m, R-315m and R-1.6m. Once the reductions were subtracted from the indicative baselines the appropriated funds for the respective financial years were R154m, R96m and R431m. It was explained that the recapitalisation took into account that the ARF had surpluses in excess of R1bn. During 2014/15 the ARF had appointed a full time Secretariat for a period of six months as part of the transitional arrangements. It had adopted terms of reference for the Advisory Committee as well as Secretariat. The Accounting Officer had appointed the audit and risk committees. The ARF had also developed an operational framework and adopted DIRCO policies and procedures relevant to the ARF. 

Members felt that even though the ARF was to be phased out its good efforts still needed to be recorded. Given the efforts of the ARF on good governance and promoting democracy did it see to it that voter education took place and that voters’ rolls were updated? Members asked how the ARF handled election observer missions in problem areas like Burundi. How the ARF was involved in pre, during and post election observer missions. Members questioned if certain countries were prioritised over others for humanitarian assistance. In conceiving the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA) did DIRCO look at international models? Were the governance issues which plagued the ARF be resolved before SADPA came into effect? The observation was made that perhaps the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was weak since it should have been foreseen that people would not be captured on the voters roll in the recent election held in Nigeria.
 

Meeting report

Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Annual Performance Plan 2015/16
DIRCO briefed the Committee on its Strategic Plan 2015/20 and its Annual Performance Plan 2015/16. The DIRCO delegation included Deputy Minister Llewellyn Landers; Mr Ebrahim Ebrahim, Adviser to the President on International Relations; Prof Eddy Maloka, Adviser to the Minister; Ambassador Jerry Matjila Director General; Mr Caiphus Ramashau Chief Financial Officer; Ms Dolores Kotze Director: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and Mr Seraki Matsebe Parliamentary Liaison Officer.  

Deputy Minister Landers noted that he did not have much to say as far as opening remarks went. Deputy Minister Landers did point out that there were issues in Cuba and Latin America, the economic recession in Europe and situations in regions of Africa that would be contextualised by what DIRCO was to present to the Committee.

Ambassador Matjila proceeded with the briefing. He noted that DIRCO in its execution of SA’s foreign policy was informed by SA’s global statue. SA hosts the second largest number of foreign representation in the world and had a current global footprint of 125 missions. The changing global environment impacted upon the execution of DIRCO’s mandate which also had to be aligned with the National Development Plan. Regional integration was important on SA’s agenda. Discussions on regional integration were to be held in Zimbabwe from the 29 April 2015 to the 1 May 2015. There was a need to reindustrialise the region given its diverse resources. New allies were on board to assist the region to beneficiate its own natural resources. Reformation of the United Nations was needed with a view to better global governance. The entire continent was occupied with the African Agenda 2063. SA’s Foreign Service Bill was also to be tabled in parliament in 2015. Asia and the Middle East had surpassed Europe as SA’s number one trading partner. In twenty years trade with Asia and the Middle East had increased 19-fold from R40.2bn in 1994 to R760.2bn in 2013. In the same period trade with Africa had increased 35-fold from R11.6bn to R385bn. SA attaches much importance to its membership to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and SA (BRICS) Bloc. Other new players on the global market included Indonesia, Turkey, Egypt and Colombia.

Mr Ramashau continued with an overview of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) allocation. In terms of governments priorities of doing more with less, the allocation to DIRCO over the medium term include Cabinet approved reductions of R335.5m in 2015/16, R467.1m in 2016/17 and R168.5m in 2017/18 which DIRCO had to effect on compensation of employees due to vacant posts, goods and services and the transfer to the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund. DIRCO had proposed additional cost saving measures to unlock its fixed cost overhead expenditure items and mitigate the budget shortfall envisaged, including to accommodate some of the new priorities identified for implementation. In response to the budget reductions DIRCO decided to implement additional cost containment measures. Some of these measures were to review the organisational functional assessment for both head office and missions abroad, to review the provision of support services for the missions’ operations and to implement a property management strategy. The 2015 MTEF allocation did not cater for foreign exchange fluctuations as a result DIRCO remained vulnerable to foreign exchange rate losses which necessitated a review of how the foreign operations were supported. DIRCO intended to address the shortfall through the adjustment estimates budget process. The Committee was provided with insight into the five programmes of DIRCO: Administration, International Relations, International Cooperation, Public Diplomacy and International Transfers. Figures were also provided with regard to the MTEF allocations for the programmes for the respective financial years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18. Strategic objectives were highlighted upon. Key result areas were identified and its respective annual and MTEF targets were elaborated upon.

Members were also given insight into the 2014/15 expenditure preliminary outcomes for each programme:
Programme 1: Administration - total expenditure amounted to 87% of its budget. The underspending was as a result of delays in capital projects due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.
Programme 2: International Relations - the Programme had overspent which was as a result of depreciation of the rand against other major currencies
Programme 3: International Cooperation - the Programme had underspent as a result of the office accommodation for the Pan African Parliament not being concluded.
Programme 4: Public Diplomacy and Protocol – The Programme had underspent due to unclaimed funds by partner departments for the Presidential inauguration activities.
Programme 5: International Transfers – Overspending resulted due to foreign exchange rates losses in relation to the payment of membership fees and assessed contributions to the United Nations, the African Union and the South African Development Community (SADC).

The total 2015 budget allocations for the respective financial years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 were R5.6bn, R5.9bn and R6.5bn.  

Discussion
Mr B Radebe (ANC) noted that the presentation had positive aspects but also had negative aspects like the reduction in the allocations in the budget of DIRCO. He stated that DIRCO had opened up foreign direct investment in SA. Problems like unemployment and poverty were still prevalent in SA. All that was needed was growth in the South African economy. He asked how it was possible that staff compensation could be R2.7bn in 2014/15 and R2.5bn in 2015/16. Usually staff expenses would increase from one year to the next given bargaining chamber wage negotiations. The only other explanation for a decrease in staff compensation could be that there would be job losses. If staff were to decrease who were those that were to lose their jobs. He felt the decrease in staff compensation from one year to the next to be serious and needed unpacking. DIRCO was engaged in trying to increase foreign investment in SA. DIRCO worked hand in hand with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the National Department of Tourism (NDT). He asked what the contributions from the respective departments were. He asked where the Pan African Parliament was to have its permanent establishment. Was it correct that the renewal of the South African House’s lease in London cost R100m? It was a fact that DIRCO was operating in an adverse economic environment in the world.

Ambassador Matjila responded that DIRCO had seen the budget cuts coming so it was no surprise. Yes the effects would be felt but important programmes would not be compromised. There were 125 missions which meant that there were different labour laws applicable depending on the local legal systems in countries abroad. Employees who had reached retirement age were encouraged to retire. He conceded that it was an elaborate exercise. He added that there was a co-ordinating exercise between DIRCO and other government departments like the NDT and DTI. DIRCO identified opportunities for SA. For example DIRCO sent its own staff to tourism indabas abroad. The NDT had a small budget. The NDT and the DTI were more custodians of information. Ambassadors meet Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of companies all the time and hence marketed SA to them as part of economic diplomacy.

Mr M Maila (ANC) also felt that the briefing had been useful but that the budget cuts that DIRCO was facing was frustrating. He congratulated DIRCO for increasing SA’s footprint in the world. New areas of investment like the Blue Economy were being ventured into. There was however threats to the Blue Economy like piracy. The threat of piracy had dissipated and plans were to keep it that way.

Ambassador Matjila stated that piracy was a real threat and hence SA needed to protect its shorelines. SA needed to invest in its defence capability as SA needed to protect its shipping and fisheries. SA had a rich coastline. The problem was that only 8% of shipping stopped at South African ports. Oil rigs pass SA on route to Singapore. SA needed to develop its coastal cities and towns like Saldanha. Piracy was also taking place in the Gulf of Guinea. At least 20% of shipping should stop at SA’’s ports. 

Ms D Raphuti (ANC) was pleased that over the past twenty years trade between SA and Africa had increased 35-fold from R11.6bn to R385bn. She agreed that perhaps there was a change in players on the global trade market but asked what the benefits to the everyday South African on the street were. The eruption of xenophobic attacks once again in SA was concerning and South Africans needed to be educated as to the benefits that foreigners were to the South African economy.  Why was Columbia considered by DIRCO as a possible trading partner for SA? What could SA benefit tangibly from trading with Columbia? She added that ordinary South Africans did not know what the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project was all about. She furthermore asked what was DIRCO projecting for the upcoming African Union Summit.

Ambassador Matjila said that DIRCO needed to consider the capacity of its facilities to operate optimally. DIRCO did a great deal of facilitation and did not wait for departments like the DTI when an opportunity presented itself. For example Russia had indicated a need for SA to supply it with meat and hence DIRCO made it happen. He explained that Columbia was a huge market which SA needed to take advantage of. Brazil and Mexico were also huge markets. SA could not only focus on traditional markets like Europe. There was a need for diversification. He noted that it was sad that xenophobic attacks were taking place only five weeks before SA was hosting the African Union Summit. It was also happening one month before SA was celebrating African Day. Some of the underlying reasons for the attacks were poverty, unemployment and inequality that was prevalent in society. There seemed to be Afro-phobia. SA needed to have a relook at its migration policy. There was also the issue of security that needed to be considered. SA also lacked offices in the provinces to orientate foreigners. 

Deputy Minister Landers stated that in 2014 Colombia had the fastest growing economy behind China. It had one of the largest shipping companies in the world. It was expected that by 2023 there would be 15 000 tourists coming into SA from Colombia. Many companies from SA like Sanlam were already based in Colombia. Columbia was an upper middle income economy. It should be asked why countries like the United Arab Emirates were investing in Colombia. It was the fourth largest Latin economy behind Argentina and was set on surpassing Argentina. Colombia’s main export was petroleum. Colombia also had rich mineral deposits which explained why Anglo-American was already based there. He addressed the xenophobia issue and said that many ANC stalwarts had spent time during the freedom struggle years in camps in SADC countries and other African countries where they were required to remain in camp; written authorisation was needed from the police if one needed to go to town and anywhere else outside the camp. South African immigrants were in camps, not in splendid exile as some people want to believe. Their movements had been curtailed strictly and they were not allowed to have jobs. People must not believe that South Africans have a debt that we must pay to countries who provided shelter to South African exiles. He said that it had to be borne in mind that SA did not have a debt to repay to these countries. What was it that SA owed these countries?   

Mr L Mpumlwana (ANC) asked how DIRCO felt the Committee could assist them in perhaps getting an increase in its budget.

Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) also stated that the decrease in the budget of DIRCO was indeed stressful. It was especially so given the environment that DIRCO had to operate in. He asked whether the reduction in DIRCO budget would adversely affect its audit outcomes. He also asked whether the targets set by DIRCO in relation to economic diplomacy aligned with budget allocations. The review on the reprioritisation of missions by DIRCO was welcomed. How was DIRCO intending to work on trade relations with Columbia when its budget had been cut? He said that SA had to bite the bullet in relation to the increase in international transfers to the United Nations in the amount of $66m. The issue was about Africans needing to find African solutions to African problems. SA was paying huge amounts in membership fees to organisations like the United Nations even though its influence was minimal. How was DIRCO intending to renew its leases given the budgetary cuts? He noted that public diplomacy had a role to play in relation to educating the public about Xenophobia. DIRCO needed to intensify its public diplomacy efforts. He was unhappy with the cuts in public diplomacy budgets. Why subscriptions to organisations could not be cut when it could lead to reductions in international transfers? The savings could be better utilised on public diplomacy.

 Ambassador Matjila said that DIRCO operated in an aspirational manner. Even though budgets had been cut it did not stop DIRCO from doing what it needed to do. It tried to do a great deal with the little funds that it had. There was also a great deal of work being done by the private sector on economic diplomacy. Everyone was doing their bit for SA. Banks like ABSA and Standard Bank were doing their utmost to promote SA. So too were supermarket chains like Shoprite. He noted that the Ubuntu Awards had showcased the various contributions made by people in promoting SA.

Ms T Kenye (ANC) was also concerned about the effect that the budget cuts could have on DIRCO’s audit outcomes. How would budget cuts prevent underspending or overspending? Overspending often happened when there were currency fluctuations in the rand. What was the vacancy rate of DIRCO? How prudent was it for DIRCO to host the upcoming African Union Summit when its budget had been cut?  She asked if it was possible for the Committee to be provided with the outcomes of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Summits. She asked what the impact of the budget cuts were on infrastructure and on Information Communication Technology (ICT) were.

Ambassador Matjila conceded yes that it was a huge expense for SA to host the African Union Summit but there were opportunities that flowed from hosting the Summit. Some of the benefits to SA were to sell railway carriages to the rest of Africa, to sell water testing systems and even to sell the peaceful use of nuclear technology to our African counterparts.

Mr Ramashau responded that the budget cuts would not necessarily affect audit outcomes directly. But it could indirectly affect audit outcomes. Budget cuts could affect the liquidity of DIRCO. The vacancy rate of DIRCO was 13.5%. DIRCO had identified which posts were critical.

Ms S Kalyan (DA) noted that new premises for the Pan African Parliament were supposed to be ready by 2016. She said that there was nothing done as yet. The site had been identified but had construction started? She pointed out that recent media reports had spoken about the inefficiency of the South African embassy in the UK where phones were not working and there was no internet connectivity. Phones were also not being answered and there were no message systems in place. She also mentioned that there was a South African citizen that had been imprisoned in Egypt and that his family had contacted DIRCO. It was 35 days after his arrest, what was being done to assist? DIRCO’s response time did not paint a good picture for itself abroad. She noted huge delays in the processing of passport applications abroad.

Ambassador Matjila assured the Committee that he would follow up on what had been brought to his attention by Ms Kalyan. He did emphasise that a great deal of the work that diplomats did on a daily basis was related to South Africans that were imprisoned in the countries where they were deployed. DIRCO worked with the Department of Home Affairs on the issue of passports.

Deputy Minister Landers stated that the Star Newspaper had the previous day reported that the male incarcerated in Egypt had a valid South African passport and a valid visa. Egypt was accusing the man of being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. He had checked on the matter and had been informed that the SA mission in Egypt had attended every hearing that the accused had appeared in. The Egyptian government was alleging that the accused held dual citizenship. The accused was therefore receiving full consular services and assistance in Cairo. There was work being done behind the scenes.

Mr Ramashau explained that the lease on the premises of the Pan African Parliament had expired at the end of February 2015. Negotiations with the landlord were taking place. The Department of Public Works was dealing with the matter. The rental payable would be less than what it had been previously. The lease was for a five-year period. Ten years ago it had been agreed to build permanent accommodation premises in Midrand. The building project had been suspended due to environmental reasons. Discussions were ongoing to find a funder for the project. The same process was being followed as was undertaken with the construction of the head office building. On the provision of diplomatic services he stated that DIRCO had experienced problems with its service provider. The service provider had not paid the third party who had provided the service. The third party which had been used did have a global footprint with its services. The service provider was currently under administration. He pointed out that DIRCO had two offices in London. One of the problems identified was about internet connectivity. There were capacity issues which needed to be addressed.  

The Chairperson spoke about the reformation of global governance structures and said that focus was mainly on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). What about the reformation of other structures like the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which had a huge impact on trade? Was Africa’s voice in the WTO equal to that of Europe and the West?  Other organisations that needed reform were the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. They had been formed post World War 2 and since then the economy of the world was driven by them. Given the inequality in trade new formations like the G20 and G77 had surfaced. He mentioned the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the US-Africa Summit and the BRICS Development Bank and he was of the view that the BRICS Development Bank which was to become operational in 2016 would counter balance the influence of the IMF and the World Bank. The US had responded by reviewing AGOA and called for a US-Africa Summit. Africa could become influential on world trade given its rich mineral resources and the majority of its populace being youth. He said it was therein that Africa’s strength lied. The issue was whether the West would regard Africa as its equal. Africa was consequently discussing Africa Agenda 2063. The intention was to change the trajectory of development in Africa and how it was perceived. He asked when the Foreign Services Bill was to come before the Committee. Given the international transfers that were made to organisations like the African Union and the South African Development Community (SADC), was there unwillingness by African countries to be part of these organisations? DIRCO needed to work more closely with other government departments on economic diplomacy.

Ambassador Matjila said that SA needed AGOA. SA had R20bn worth of exports to the US. It created over 16 000 jobs to South Africans. SA could not afford to lose the US market. Annually the auto industry made investments in excess of R10bn. SA had AGOA, the European Union and the Asian markets. He noted that in 2010 after much discussion there had been agreement for some IMF reforms but unfortunately the US Congress had refused to ratify the agreement. The stalling by the US Congress had halted the entire exercise. SA had demanded that extra seats be given to Sub Saharan Africa. India was vying for the same seats. Change was difficult and the West was reacting. There was a great deal of resistance. The power balance would change and the change would be forever. From the looks of it, it would seem that the US would extend AGOA. He pointed out that parliament was yet to ratify the statutes establishing the BRICS Development Bank. Given the high cost in trading in dollars, SA was working towards working in rands with its partners.

Mr Radebe on the Pan African Parliament issue said that the agreement between SA and the African Union had expired. What was the situation at present?

Ms Kalyan pointed out that the host agreement between the Pan African Parliament and SA had expired. Even though the issue of funding was being shifted around it still came back to DIRCO.

Mr Ramashau explained that the host country agreement did not have an expiry date. The point of discussion was to revise annexures of services provided and not the host agreement.

Mr Radebe stressed that the Committee needed a briefing on the Pan African Parliament. Other countries were standing in line to host the Pan African Parliament. If SA was not careful it was going to be embarrassed and lose face when it lost the right to host it.

Mr Eddy Maloka, Adviser to the Minister, said that the Pan African Parliament was an organ. When SA had offered to host the Pan African Parliament there were two other countries also interested. One of the two countries had even tried to discredit SA. So there were countries who wished SA to lose the right to host the Pan African Parliament.

The Chairperson said that the report on the Pan African Parliament should come back to the Committee and it would be discussed with DIRCO.

African Renaissance and Internal Cooperation Fund (ARF) Annual Performance Plan 2015/16
DIRCO briefed the Committee on the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund’s Strategic Plan 2015/20 and its Annual Performance Plan 2015/16. Mr Ramashau undertook the briefing.
Members were given insight into the utilisation of the Fund. The Minister must in consultation with the Minister of Finance establish an Advisory Committee which would make recommendations to the Minister and the Minister of Finance on the disbursement of funds through loans or other financial assistance. Detail on Programme Performance Indicators was provided to the Committee. Strategic objectives were identified and targets were set for each. Each strategic objective had an objective statement.  For example on the strategic objective to promote democracy and good governance a target of 100% approved disbursement to support democracy and good governance had been processed timeously. The relevant objective statement had been to support the holding of democratic elections in identified countries in Africa.
The Committee was given detail on MTEF allocations. Indicative baselines set for 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 were R366m, R412m and R433m respectively. The reductions for each of these financial years due to belt tightening were R-212m, R-315m and R-1.6m. Once the reductions were subtracted from the indicative baselines the appropriated funds for the respective financial years were R154m, R96m and R431m. Mr Ramashau noted that the recapitalisation took into account that the ARF had surpluses in excess of R1bn. During 2014/15 the ARF had appointed a full time secretariat for a period of six months as part of the transitional arrangements. It had also adopted terms of reference for the Advisory Committee as well as secretariat. The Accounting Officer had appointed the audit and risk committees. The ARF had also developed an operational framework and adopted DIRCO policies and procedures relevant to the ARF.  

Discussion
Mr Radebe said that even though the ARF was going to be phased out its good work needed to be recorded. One of the strategic objectives of the ARF was to promote democracy and good governance, did it entail updating voters rolls and voter education. Voter turnouts in Africa were sometimes a concern. He noted that there seemed to be an anomaly in the disaster response time by SA in Mozambique and Malawi. The response time to the Malawi disaster was much slower than the response time to the Mozambique disaster.   

Ambassador Matjila said that it was correct that the achievements of the ARF needed to be documented. Part of the weakness of African countries was that they had weak institutions. Institutions needed to be strengthened. There needed to be a culture of buying in by the people. SA helped countries to build up reserve banks and government ministries from scratch. In some countries revenue collection was also strengthened. He pointed out that DIRCO worked with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on voter education in certain countries.  Weaknesses and challenges were looked at and public participation was encouraged. The bottom line was that people should have access. Capacity building was difficult but there were various efforts. SA paid Vietnamese people to train Africans how to plant rice. Cuban doctors were paid to provide health services. The response to the disaster in Mozambique was quicker because SA was closer to it than Malawi. The response in Malawi was through the United Nations. SA responded directly to the disaster in Mozambique. The response given to disaster depended on the gravity of the disaster and also the means of responding.

Mr Mokgalapa asked on election observer missions how the ARF covered problem areas like Burundi. Would the South African Development Partnership Agency (SADPA) also do election observer missions? How did the ARF get involved in pre, during and post election observer missions. How many loans had the ARF dispersed and what were the terms. Were repayments made on loans? He asked whether the recapitalised R154m would be transferred to SADPA.

Ambassador Matjila said that the aim was for elections to be transparent. The problem in many countries was that leaders wished to remain in power.

Ms Kenye felt that greater funding was needed for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Disasters tend to happen unexpectedly. She asked on humanitarian assistance whether certain countries were prioritised over others. On development and training, which areas were prioritised?

Ambassador Matjila explained that choice of countries on humanitarian assistance depended upon whether there was a direct appeal, whether heads of state met or perhaps a United Nations agency had asked SA to assist.

Ms Raphuti asked to which countries loans had been given. What were the repayment requirements? On human resource development what type of training had been offered?

Mr Ramashau said that there were no loans. There were trilateral agreements.

Ambassador Matjila explained that individuals were not trained by DIRCO but rather that groups were trained. Women mediators were also trained. SA was a playing its part in creating a continental reservoir of mediators.

The Chairperson asked whether international models were looked at when SADPA was conceived. He asked whether the R1bn in the ARF’s reserve would always remain in reserve. Seeing that the ARF had governance weaknesses, had they been attended to before SADPA came into effect? What if SA offered assistance in another country and a company within that country was used to provide the service. Would the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) apply? He felt that where SA provided funds there needed to be accountability.

Ambassador Matjila noted that DIRCO had considered international models in coming up with the SADPA model. The SADPA would follow a different approach to the ARF. The SADPA was to coordinate SA’s assistance efforts. Lessons had been learnt from the ARF. Scandinavian countries as well as the UK were looked at.

Mr Ramashau said that the surplus would be carried over to the SADPA. On accountability he said that there were service level agreements that were monitored and disbursements were made accordingly.

The Chairperson said that it seemed that the APRM was weak. It should have been foreseen that people would not be captured on the voters’ roll during the recent elections in Nigeria.

The meeting was adjourned.

 

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