Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation & National Youth Development Agency on Annual Performance Plans, Strategic Plans and Budget, with Minister

Meeting report

Remarks by Minister

Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluationin the Presidency, asked the Committee to invite the Department to discuss some of the issues that the public had brought forward through the Presidential Hotline, ensuring transparency. He said youth development was a major priority for the Department, and part of the budget would be transferred to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). There was evidence of the Department reviewing the performance agreements between the President and Ministers, as well as monitoring the Programme of Action website, as a way of facilitating progress in the accountability of the Executive.

The Citizen-Based Monitoring (CBM) had created ten new facilities. These were people who went into the communities to see if people were satisfied with service delivery and were thus able to get complaints and grievances at first hand. The Youth Desk was a monitored implementation of the youth policy, and submitted reports to Cabinet by the end of this financial year. In terms of human resources, 245 posts in the Department had been filled as of 31 March 2015, and 1 050 posts would be expanded with additional funding from National Treasury. This would result in job creation in the country.

The Budget continued to increase in order to fund key programmes of the Department. However, it was important to note that donor funding was received from the Department for International Development (DFID) UK, with about R27 million for frontline service delivery. Despite this, there were challenges such as the lack of critical programmes for the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP) and for improving the quality of frontline services and empowering communities to monitor these services. Much work needed to be done in the coming years.

Briefing by National Youth Development Agency (NYDA)

Mr Yershen Pillay, Chairperson of the NYDA, briefly outlined the three NYDA programmes that had been referred to by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation Address -- the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship (National Skills Fund), the NYDA Business Grant Programme and the Book Loan Programme. He said the NYDA’s strategic focus had been integrated with the plans of the President and the Minister in the Presidency.

Mr Kathu Ramukumba, Chief Executive Officer of the NYDA, said that providing feedback to the Committee on the promises made during the last government was the imperative duty of this presentation. It would also to share the vision of the management going forward, in order to see the full realisation of youth empowerment and job creation in South Africa.

Mr Waseem Carrim, Chief Financial Officer of the NYDA, said that the audit outcomes had been clean in the previous financial year, but much was still to be done in order to improve some of the shortfalls that were seen in the Auditor-General’s report. He went on to say that the negative report on the supply chain management was a legacy of the Agency, and this required that irregular expenditure be reduced.

The issue of the loan book was under consideration, as the NYDA had been able to collect only 60% of money that had been loaned to people by the Agency. As a developmental institution, 60% was a fairly high percentage. This remained a legacy issues and should thus be closed. Writing off the loans should be considered. The NYDA was in the area of job creation, so businesses could enter into a negotiation agreement with the Agency to have their loans cancelled if they could not be repaid.

The Auditor-General’s findings would not be dealt with in the new financial year, since most of them had already been dealt with. All staff members had received training to deal with the issue of irregular expenditure, and executive managers had agreements with the CEO. Vigorous criminal investigation had been undertaken in connection with employees involved in the illegal theft of R8 million, and the Public Protector was still investigating the World Youth Festival.

Mr Ramukumba added that the NYDA’s response to decisions taken by government representatives were in line with youth accords ratified by Parliament, ensuring that certain demands were met without delay. The National Youth Policy goals would be allocated specific funding, upscaling key priority services in career guidance and job preparedness, and ensuring accessibility to local NYDA offices across the country.

Mr Carrim said that in terms of the 2015/16 budget, the NYDA would take into serious consideration unavoidable costs -- including employment costs -- even though the Portfolio Committee had added R200 million to the NYDA budget. The current allocated budget was R409 million, and donor funding income was R32 million. 20% of this overall amount was spent on national youth services, such as education and skills development. NYDA was moving from ten directorates to five directorates for the purpose of integrated delivery. The functional structural change had resulted in a 14% reduction of salaries, and this money will be injected back into youth development programmes with the creation of at least 500 more jobs.

Discussion

The Chairperson said Minister Radebe, in his budget speech, had mentioned a reduction of R15 million. How would that affect the running of the Department, even though there was a need to increase capacity?

The Chairperson asked the NYDA about the loan book issue. How would it be resolved, as it kept reappearing in the Auditor General’s report? It should be dealt with accordingly in this financial year. Was the current plan feasible -- was there enough capacity?

Mr M Dirks (ANC) suggested that the NYDA should be congratulated on their work in the previous financial year. The presentation showed that they were dealing with the Auditor-General’s considerations, and that they understood their mandate.

Ms R Lesoma (ANC) referred to the Minister’s presentation outcomes, and asked whether there had been any real progress thus far? It would be great for the Committee to hear more about the Presidential Hotline in general. The overstretching of the workforce could have an impact on the output of the Department, and this should be critically considered, keeping in mind their well-being. For the NYDA, the verification of qualifications needed an inter-departmental approach. There had been no mention of the turn-around strategy, and this needed clarification. Had the CEO signed his own performance agreement? Some targets had not been met – what were the reasons for this?

Ms Z Dlamini-Dubazana (ANC) asked about the need to add more human capital and, if so, why there was a small roll out of posts. The money allocation was puzzling, because as a specialised department, there should be very skilled employees. South Africans had to be told how the Department spent its money – honestly and accurately. The NYDA still had a lot to do. The CFO was not correct in using words like “income” in his budget report – this had been embarrassing to witness. The allocation of funds did not reflect expenditure to achieve the same objectives as the donors. The NYDA still had to re-look at its restructuring, as it did not reflect the interests of the Committee. It still appeared problematic.

Mr S Mncwabe (NFP) questioned the Minister’s request to add 1 050 posts to the Department in order to allow for performance and the achievement of the strategic plans. The NYDA had shown that it had taken the Committee’s comments into consideration. It was puzzling, however, that R10 million was being spent on matric rewrites, as this money should come from the Basic and Higher Education departments. This money could be used by the NYDA for other purposes.

Mr A van der Westhuizen (DA) asked about the annual performance plan, saying that the strategy did not follow some of its goals. Could the Minister answer to that? What was the current state of the National Development Plan? There were concerns about the current state of the youth in South Africa, but there was little in the output of these policies. The challenges were increasing-- could the NYDA give this committee hope in that regard?

Mr S Motau (DA) asked about the plans of the Department being aligned with the National Development Plan. The Department did not have a mandate for implementation, but rather for constructive monitoring and evaluation. Human resource management seemed to be performing poorly, and this should be looked at more closely. What could this Department do to ensure that entities that did not perform were called upon to justify their plans?

Mr M Booi (ANC) asked what the Department was going to do to ensure that the British and Canadian donors did not think twice about funding the Department. Could their targets be met in order to ensure their continued confidence in funding South Africa? Strict consequences through disciplinary action must be taken against those identified in the NYDA investigations, so that this did not become a trend in government. People’s bad behavior should be punished, and the Minister must suggest how this will be dealt with.

Mr M Ntombela (ANC) said that more information should be shared about the Presidential Hotline so that the Committee could have a sense of people’s concerns. An audit unit should be a risk indicator as to how funds were being utilized, rather than being a defence line. Why had two firms instead of one been hired over the issue of dismissal?

Dr M Cardo (DA) asked why there was a youth desk in the Presidency, when there was the NYDA. Was that not a duplication of tasks and functions? The employee costs of the NYDA were about 46% of the budget. This was a large percentage, and why was this so? Less money was being spent on key programmes, such as economic participation and education – a small percentage as compared to functional costs and employees. The allocation for service delivery had increased -- what was the money being spent on? Had there been an analysis done to consider the budget constraints on the NYDA, given the current economic status of the country? What were the institutional implications of all the recommendations – especially for the Provincial Advisory Boards?

Mr Booi suggested that there must be an agreement with the Minister to hold him directly accountable for the monitoring mechanisms that he implements in various entities.

Ms Lesoma asked about other departments’ delegation of authority, as decision making seemed to be slow. How could this be speeded up? Effective governance need to be ensured.

Minister Radebe responded to the issue of measurability in the National Development Plan, saying that targets were considered. Individual Ministers had signed performance contracts, to make it easier for them to be monitored. On the issue of vacancies, 245 out of 266 staff posts had already been filled as at 1 April 2015. Capacity building and interventions included forums that convened and networks with provinces that engaged frequently. The South Africa Monitoring and Evaluation Association had convened at Witwatersrand University recently to deliberate on capacity building in the Department. The Department had received a clean audit report, and all the concerns raised in the Committee would be taken as a way to improve it.

There would be a meeting with StatsSA today, where the Department would deliberate on ways in which monitoring could be done efficiently, broadening into online platforms. The system would also capture targets of the African Union and the United Nations to achieve these goals realistically. There was capacity for a socio-economic impact through a joint venture between various departments, and there were adequate resources available in this regard. This Committee must call to account any member of the Executive, to have them accountable for their decisions and responsibilities. All responsibilities for youth development had been given to the Deputy Minister in the Presidency, and perhaps he could be invited and to explain his work with the Committee.

The need to utilize the Public Finance Management Act, which regulates charges of financial misconduct rather than dismissal, was the reason for the hiring of two private law firms for disciplinary hearings. When the National Planning Commission’s term of office came to an end, a new Commission would have to be appointed, with a new mandate focused on the implementation of the NDP. They would meet on regular basis. By 1 June 2015, the new NPC will be announced and a proper handover would take place.

Mr Thulani Masilela, Acting Director-General in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, said that they could share information on the Presidential Hotline, especially on resolved complaints and some unresolved ones. Follow up sessions had been done with those who had made inquiries on the hotline. Citizens had expressed satisfactory ratings, and this could be presented to the Committee in due time.

Mr Ramukumba, NYDA’s CEO, said that staff with criminal charges and found guilty should definitely be put on a database, so that these people were not appointed in future. The issue with the two law firms was that the case had dragged on from 2012, and it had taken too long for the process to be seen through. The independence of the process had not been clear, so its integrity could be reconciled only by an outside party. The two firms were appointed on the basis that one firm adjudicated the process and the other one prosecuted the parties. The NYDA would make solid plans to ensure that the process of the loan books was well thought through and the necessary deliberations were carried out. The budget allocation for economic development had decreased because the money had been moved to skills development.

Mr Carrim said that internal audit was more robust and the NYDA would ensure it used its internal auditors to have a serious look into its financial expenditure and income from National Treasury.

Mr Pillay indicated that young attorneys would be used in the future. Approximately 150 000 students failed matric each year, so the NYDA attempted to assist these students have a second chance in the schooling system. On the issue of the National Youth Policy, Deputy Minister Buti Manamela should be called to answer on these policy issues.

The Chairperson mentioned that the NYDA should be gender representative – there must be a woman represented in the management at the next meeting with the Committee.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.