Department of Tourism on its 2016 Strategic & Annual Performance Plan

Meeting report

Briefing by the National Department of Tourism (NDT) on its Strategic Plan 2015/16 to 2019/20, Annual Performance Plan 2016/17-2018/19 and Budget

The delegation from the NDT comprised of Mr Victor Tharage, Director General; Ms Morongoe Ramphele, Deputy Director General: Domestic Tourism Management; Ms Aneme Malan, Deputy Director General: International Tourism Management; Ms Shamilla Chettiar Deputy Director General: Policy and Knowledge Services, Ms Nomzamo Bhengu, Acting Chief Operating Officer/ Chief Director: Governance Support; Ms Nonkqubela Silulwane, Chief Director: Research, Information and Knowledge Management; Mr Farhaad Rajah, Budget Management: NDT; and Ms Petra van Niekerk, Parliamentary Liaison Officer: Office of the Director General.

Mr Tharage proceeded with opening remarks. The NDT had done some reflection and had decided that changes needed to be made to its strategy. The changes would be in line with the NDT’s mandate and would be the type of tourism that was wanted. The NDT’s strategic focus areas were identified. It included sector transformation, skills development for the sector, enterprise development and regulatory interventions. The end result in focusing on the aforementioned focus areas was to create jobs and to reduce inequality. The NDT had undertaken a fresh approach to enterprise development. In the past it had a long-standing relationship with the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP). The relationship had ended, as the TEP was not an entity of government. The new approach on enterprise development was that the NDT had a panel of suppliers who each had their own expertise on certain things. Allowances were made for prequalification. The Committee was assured that the NDT had sound plans and had the resources to carry through on those plans. The two NDT strategic outcome orientated goals were to achieve good corporate and cooperative governance and to increase the tourism sector’s contribution to inclusive economic growth. Some of the strategic objectives identified were to ensure economic, efficient and effective use of the NDT’s resources, to enhance understanding and awareness of the values of tourism and its opportunities and to accelerate the transformation of the tourism sector. Strategic risks that the NDT could encounter included an inability to meet transformation targets within the tourism sector and the inability to adequately plan and implement infrastructure projects. Each of the Deputy Director Generals was tasked with speaking to their respective Programmes’ performance

Programme 1: Administration

The purpose of the Programme was to provide strategic governance and risk management, legal, corporate affairs, information technology, internal audit, financial management and strategic communication support services to the NDT. One of the performance indicators set for the Programme was its vacancy rate. The targets set were to maintain a vacancy rate not exceeding 8% for the medium term.

Programme 2: Policy and Knowledge Services

The purpose of the Programme was to support the tourism sector through policy development and evaluation, research and knowledge management, and the promotion of transformation and responsible tourism. A performance indicator was to have a number of initiatives supported to promote Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) implementation. Targets set for the medium term was to provide secretarial support to the Tourism B-BBEE Charter Council.

Programme 3: International Tourism Management

The purpose of the Programme was to provide strategic policy direction for the development of SA’s tourism potential across various regions of the world. A performance indicator identified was to have a number of programmes implemented to enhance tourism offerings. The targets set for the medium term was in 2016/17 to have a Draft Tourism Investment Master Plan developed. In 2017/18 to have the Tourism Investment Master Plan finalised and piloted and in 2018/19 to have it implemented.

Programme 4: Domestic Tourism Management

The purpose of the Programme was to provide strategic policy direction for the development and growth of sustainable domestic tourism throughout SA.  A performance indicator was to have the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy revised. Medium term targets were in 2016/17 to have the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy reviewed in order for it to be aligned with what was happening in SA and globally. For both 2017/18 and 2018/19 the target set was to have the Domestic Tourism Strategy Action Plan implemented.

The Committee was also given insight into the budget of the NDT. A breakdown of allocations per Programme for the medium term was also provided. For 2016/17 the budget of the NDT was just over R2bn. There were slight increases in the budget allocations for 2017/18 and 2018/19. SA Tourism received for the period on average just about 61% of the NDT’s annual total budget. 

Discussion

Ms M Dikgale (ANC, Limpopo) asked whose footprint was in Mapungubwe. She appreciated the good work that the NDT was doing on youth and women. On the 12 persons being taught Mandarin and Russian she asked what criteria had been used to select people. She referred to page 8, which spoke to planned policy initiatives on NDT’s programmes. Why were there only planned policy initiatives for the Policy and Knowledge Services Programme and not for the Domestic Tourism Programme?

Ms Bhengu explained that Programme 2 was responsible for policy work of the NDT. It however did not mean that Programme 2 only dealt with policies pertaining to the Programme. It dealt with policies covering the entire NDT. It had also looked at the review of the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS).  

Mr W Faber (DA, Northern Cape) noted that the NDT was one of the best-run departments. He would have liked to see the Minister of Tourism, Mr Derek Hanekom, in attendance.  He asked whether the 1.5m persons employed in the tourism sector was the full complement of persons employed in the sector that included persons employed at hotels etc. The tourism sector apparently contributed 9% towards the total employment of SA. The Northern Cape was one of the largest provinces in SA. He pointed out that the Northern Cape was considered one of the best places to visit in the world. If this was true then why was the Northern Cape’s budgetary allocation so small?  Why did the Northern Cape Province not get more exposure? The NDT was asked why it did not market the Northern Cape more. On the international placements of learner chefs he asked what the criteria were.  Given that the NDT had eight capacity building programmes for 577 learner chefs and 300 youth enrolled in the Sommelier training course, he asked what qualifications these persons were going to get. He had visited chefs’ schools in the Western Cape and was disappointed to discover that they were not SA Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accredited. Was the chefs’ programme really empowering youth with SAQA qualifications?

Mr Tharage wished to highlight the fact that there was almost a type of standing apology from Minister Hanekom to the Committee on not being able to attend meetings. The coincidence was that Cabinet met on a Wednesday when the Committee held its meetings.

Ms Malan stated that the 1.5 million was the total number of employed persons in the tourism industry. It included direct and indirect jobs. There were a total of 600 000 direct jobs in the tourism industry. On criteria it was different for each training programme. On the training on Mandarin and Russian, it had gone through a comprehensive process to understand the need for language training in specific areas. Not only were the persons trained in the two languages but they were also placed in that country for a month to further familiarise themselves with its language and culture etc. She pointed out that the twelve chefs had been selected through the Chefs Association. The NDT had also engaged in bilaterals with the Seychelles.

Ms Ramphele said the criterion for youth on the chefs and other programmes was at least a matric certificate. The qualifications that the youngsters received were certified. The institutions were accredited. The intention was to produce real chefs. On the Sommelier training cours, participants had to have some experience in the wine making field. She said that the chefs had a partnership with Ubuntu where they were taken to hotels for training. She explained that signage had been done at Mapungubwe. In other parts route development had taken place along provincial roads. The NDT had worked with the Department of Arts and Culture on the route development.

Mr L Gaehler (UDM, Eastern Cape) agreed that the NDT was one of the best performing departments. He asked on youth empowerment, tourist guides and chefs, how the NDT selected persons. What were the criteria used? He noted that much of NDT‘s efforts were concentrated in the Western Cape and Gauteng Provinces. What about rural tourism? Areas along the Wild Coast had huge tourism potential. The NDT was asked what its plans were to develop rural areas. 

Mr Tharage pointed out that rural versus urban was something that the NDT grappled with all the time. He emphasised that the NDT’s strategies were rural biased. Rural could mean many things. It could be areas like the former Apartheid Bantustans or even areas near the Kruger National Park. Even though there was a deliberate bias towards rural areas it did not mean that urban provinces were neglected. The NDT worked with provinces and municipalities.

Mr J Londt (DA, Western Cape) was concerned that much of the NDT’s focus was on domestic tourism. Efforts should also be made to boost international tourism. Knysna had its own tourism entity and was doing quite well. On the other hand, tourism in Mossel Bay was run by its municipality. He stressed areas surrounding Knysna and Mossel Bay were not tapping into domestic and international tourism. Some places like Prince Albert and Laingsburg were not really marketing their tourist attractions, as they should. What was the NDT doing to assist these types of places to market themselves better? The assistance given by the NDT should be sustainable.

Ms Ramphele noted that there were four groupings that the NDT focused on i.e. youth, women, disabled persons and the elderly. There would be programmes for youth during youth month. On capacity building of local government, the issue at local government level was that officials did not prioritise tourism. The NDT wished that local government officials should see the opportunities that there were on tourism. The NDT was doing work in municipalities. Minister Hanekom had gone to Oudtshoorn. Capacity building had also been done in George. Route development was important and work was being done along the N12. The route covered five provinces.  On Sommelier wine appreciation, the Western Cape and Gauteng Provinces were piloted. 

Mr Tharage, on NDT support to municipalities, said there were two dimensions to it. There was firstly a marketing aspect and secondly a development aspect. At local government level there was direct training of officials to champion tourism. There was also direct interaction with municipalities on what they saw on the ground. The idea was to identify what made a municipality successful on tourism. The NDT would improve on the support that it gave to municipalities. 

Ms Dikgale appreciated that signage was done at Mapungubwe. It seemed as if the Limpopo Province was not covered on training programmes offered by the NDT.

Ms Ramphele said the NDT had focused on eight heritage sites. Mapungubwe was the first site targeted. The NDT was at present focused on national heritage sites. Other departments were also doing work on it. The intention was to build accommodation that would house school children when they visited. The only problem was who would maintain the accommodation was built at Mapungubwe.

Mr Tharage added that a Tourism Infrastructure Master Plan was being developed. It would assist the NDT to identify areas of need. The NDT would work with provinces. At Mapungubwe there were a couple of role-players. At Mapungubwe there was an environmental aspect, a heritage aspect and a tourism aspect. A facilitation process was needed which would allow each department to play its role. The NDT also planned to have a ranking exercise. Sometimes when a problem occurred then funds were thrown at it but no model for sustainability was put in place. He assured the Committee that once a plan was put in place it would be presented to the Committee.

The Chairperson also agreed that the NDT functioned well. He asked how the NDT experienced inter-governmental cooperation. He also appreciated the financial information presented. It was clear and unambiguous. Dr Y Vawda (EFF), a member of the Committee, had in a previous interaction with the NDT asked what it had done on Halaal tourism. It was definitely a market that needed to be considered, as there were many Muslim countries. On regional cooperation he said that SA was a member of the SA Customs Union (SACU). What was being done to support countries in the SADC region to improve their tourism potential? He had been astounded at a meeting arranged by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, which had been attended by all embassy people. Complaints had been received about how people were being treated at the South African embassy in Berlin. He was relieved that the issues around the visa regulations had been sorted. He asked what Mr Tharage’s engagement with South African embassies around the world was.

Mr Tharage said there was a good system in place on cooperative governance both horizontally and vertically. There were good working relationships. The NDT was a member of the International Relations Cluster and was part of discussions. The NDT had direct contact at all levels. He engaged in discussion with Mr Jerry Matjila the Director General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). He felt that the DIRCO had a better appreciation of SA’s diplomats. The NDT similarly had a structured relationship with provinces and there was a functional Ministerial Member of the Executive Committee (MinMEC), which discussed issues of a strategic nature.

Ms Malan, on regional cooperation, said there was a multilateral platform and the NDT was part of the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (RETOSA), the tourism arm of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). On bilaterals there were Memorandums of Understandings (MOUs) with SADC countries. The NDT had identified capacity building as a segment for SADC countries. The NDT had for three years been doing capacity building workshops with SADC countries on issues like grading etc. On Halaal tourism the NDT was working to build relationships with relevant countries. SA was ranked fourth in the world as a non-Muslim country of choice. A great deal of work was being done on SA as a Muslim country.

Mr Tharage said that the tourism sector was very integrated. Sometimes work was being done by the Department of Transport and the Department of Home Affairs. SA was doing a great deal on making SADC somewhat integrated from a tourism/ people movement point of view. Airlines that operated in SA and regionally tried to make movement between countries easier. The waiver of transit visa requests allowed people to travel between SADC countries. He added that there were no more visa issues for China as there was an accredited company system in place, which allowed companies to apply for visas on travellers’ behalf. Since then figures from China to SA had increased. The DHA had also announced a visa waiver for Russians.

Mr Faber pointed out that ordinary South Africans could simply not afford to visit SA’s tourist places. Was the issue being taken seriously? The NDT was asked whether prices would be decreased. Both the Kruger National Park and Robben Island was expensive to visit.

Ms Ramphele responded that South Africans had a right to travel. It was true that people could not afford to pay the entrance fees charged. The NDT had spoken to SANParks over the issue. There was a booklet where SANParks indicated they wished to engage. It included areas in Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape Provinces. SANParks during the month of September had a week where people could enter tourist sites for free. She conceded that the issue of affordability was quite a challenge.

The Chairperson pointed out that he would like to engage further over the issues of signage and student accommodation at Mapungubwe. What was the status at Mapungubwe? The Committee needed to be given timeframes. Even though Minister Hanekom was unable to make it to the Committee’s meetings it did not affect the quality of work that was done.

Committee Minutes

Minutes dated the 6 April 2016 were adopted unamended.

The meeting was adjourned.