National Department of Tourism on 2nd Quarter 2016/17 performance

Meeting report

The Chairperson asked the National Department of Tourism (NDT) to also speak to performance in Quarter 1 as well. How far had the NDT progressed in Quarter 1 as there were targets that had not been achieved? She had concerns on how the NDT had spent its budget. Programmes 3 and 4 had only spent 63% and 18% respectively. For Quarter 1 the NDT had only achieved 255 targets from a total of over 3000. How far would the deadlines of the NDT be shifted? Would the NDT be able to sort out internal delays?
 
National Department of Tourism (NDT) on its Quarter 2 2016/17 Performance Report
The delegation comprised of Mr Victor Tharage, Director General; Ms Morongoe Ramphele, Deputy Director General: Domestic Tourism Management; Ms Shamilla Chettiar, Deputy Director General: Policy and Knowledge Systems; Ms Aneme Malan, Deputy Director General: International Tourism Management; Mr Ralph Ackerman, Chief Financial Officer; and Ms Petra van Niekerk Parliamentary Liaison Officer. Mr Tharage kicked off the briefing with the Deputy Director Generals speaking on the performance of Programmes for which they were responsible. For Quarter 2 the NDT had achieved 70% of its targets. 17.5% of targets had not been achieved and 12.5% of targets had also not been achieved but significant work had been done on them. The Committee was informed that Deputy Director Generals had given the Director General assurances that targets would be achieved by the end of the financial year with the exception of Further Training and Education (FTE) targets. The NDT at the end of the financial year would be close to achieving 90%of its targets. On service delivery regarding the management of complaints by tourists, 100% of tourist complaints were referred to appropriate authorities for resolution within agreed timeframes. A procedure for the lodging of tourist complaints had been developed in consultation with stakeholders. There were no international tourist complaints but there were 12 domestic complaints of which 1 was resolved and 11 were in the process of being resolved. A breakdown was provided on the number of complaints received as per province.

Programme 1: Administration
The quarterly target for the tabling of the NDT’s Annual Report 2015/16 in Parliament had been met. Another quarterly target was not to have the NDT’s vacancy rate exceed 8%. The vacancy rate was maintained at 6.8%. It had to be remembered that the NDT was currently going through a restructuring process. On women representation in Senior Management Service (SMS) the quarterly target was for it not to fall below 50%, which was maintained. The quarterly target of people with disabilities had to be kept above 3%, the actual performance was 4.9%. Black representation in the NDT had a target of not falling below 91.5% which was maintained. There was also 100% compliance on the management and handling of grievances, misconduct, disputes and collective bargaining.

Programme 2: Policy and Knowledge Services
On the National Tourism Information and Monitoring System (NTIMS), draft regulations had been developed in accordance with the quarterly target. It went out for public comment during Quarter 2. On programmes to capacitate tourist guides at World Heritage Sites i.e. iSimangaliso Wetlands Park and the Cradle of Humankind a progress report on the implementation of training programmes had been completed in accordance with the quarterly target. In total 72 guides would participate in the programme. A quarterly target had been set for data collected for the 2015 State of the Tourism Report new indicators however actual performance was that data collection for the 2015 State of Tourism Report new indicators had not been done. The reason for the variance was that there was a delay in the finalisation of the procurement process. Corrective action had been taken and all the procurement processes had since been finalised and data collection would now commence. The NDT would meet a service provider within the next two weeks.

Programme 3: International Tourism Management
The Programme had at the end of 2015 only achieved 25% of its targets with 75% not being achieved but that significant work had been done on them. However, presently 75% of targets had been achieved with only 25% not being achieved but with significant work having been done on them. On skills development opportunities facilitated, a quarterly target of having a service level agreement for the placement of 12 learner chefs had been finalised with the Seychelles. On the implementation of the accreditation of travel companies programme for visa facilitation the quarterly target had been to call for applications for accreditation based on the framework but this had unfortunately not been finalised. However, letters for call for applications for accreditation based on the framework were drafted and signed. The reason for the variance was because there was further consultation with the objective to get a buy in on the prioritised countries for the accreditation of travel companies programme. The corrective measure taken was that letters for call for application for accreditation based on the framework had been finalised and were sent to SA missions.

Two issues that were being dealt with which did not necessarily form part of Quarter 2 performance was that on the congestion at OR Tambo International Airport the NDT had made recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs and had met with National Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration to find ways of resolving the DHA staff shortages at the airport. The NDT was also working on the implementation of the final recommendation of the inter-ministerial committee over the matter of the unabridged birth certificate. An Immigration Advisory Board had been appointed on which the NDT served. Concerns of the tourism industry were presented to it. They in turn would present it to the Minister of Home Affairs.

Programme 4: Domestic Tourism Management
On the review of the Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy the quarterly target was for the outcome of the audit review of the 2010/11 Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy to be presented to stakeholders. The audit was completed but the outcome of the audit was not presented to stakeholders as meetings with stakeholders had been postponed. The corrective action to be taken was to engage stakeholders and to solicit their inputs on the outcome of the audit review. The report on the outcome of the audit would be available at the end of Quarter 3. On the implementation of the enterprise development programme the quarterly target was to have 100 rural enterprises supported on mentorship, market access, business development and training. Actual performance was that only 12 enterprises were workshopped on the events industry market access programme. Reasons given were that there were delays in the implementation of the project. Corrective measures taken were that implementers were appointed and would be allocated the work in their respective provinces to provide mentorship, market access, business development and training.

Mr Ackerman briefly spoke to the financials of the NDT. As at 30 September 2016 the NDT had spent 50% of its budget. The budgeted allocation at that time was just over R2bn and expenditure was just over R1bn.   

Discussion
The Chairperson asked whether the NDT was reviewing the White Paper on Tourism. She also asked what the revised targets for FTE jobs were.

Ms Chettiar explained that the NDT had reviewed the contents of the White Paper on Tourism. Twenty years after its formulation the White Paper covered issues which still were very much relevant. She felt it to be a fairly extraordinary document. However, issues of transformation were not covered in the White Paper extensively. It also did not speak to the sharing economy i.e. Uber. These were matters that could not have been foreseen 20 years ago. By far and large policy issues were still covered in the White Paper. The NDT had reviewed the White Paper against what was at present in the policy space. The NDT had not taken the route of drafting a new White Paper. Other legislation had covered some of the gaps that were there.

Ms L Makhubele-Mashele (ANC) referred to slide 9 which spoke to complaints from clients of tourism products. She asked that the NDT compile a list of places where people could lodge complaints in all nine provinces. She was personally contacted in December 2015 by persons in the KwaZulu-Natal Province who wished to lodge complaints. She referred to Programme 4 which had implemented capacity building programmes. She asked what specific training had been given at local government level. Capacity building should help with uplifting rural tourism.

Mr Tharage said that the matter of complaints officers would be addressed. Awareness raising mechanisms were needed. The public needed to have information. 

Mr Ramphele explained that capacity building was packaged for municipalities. The NDT went directly to the area and enquired about what people needed capacitation on. For example, at Bushbuckridge a tourism officer and an authority was needed.

Ms E Masehela (ANC) also had concerns about Programme 4, not only was its performance low but its expenditure as well. What was the cause for Programme 4 performing so badly? The programmes in Programme 4 were important for job creation. An amount of R100m had also been allocated to Programme 4 for the promotion of domestic tourism. What if the allocations were stopped due to Programme 4 not performing?

Mr Tharage, on the concerns over Programme 4, conceded that the NDT did realise that Programme 4 was heavily loaded compared to the other Programmes. The NDT tried its best to ensure that Programme 4 had the resources it required. The NDT’s work on the Expanded Public Works Programme was almost a programme on its own. Enterprise development too was almost a programme on its own. The NDT tried to get a sense of balance of allocations. He explained that the R100m related to funds for domestic tourism that had been appropriated to SA Tourism.

Mr J Vos (DA) stated that tourism was not only about arrival figures, it was also about product development, business development and human development.  He was pleased that guides were being trained. Guide training should be about diversifying skills. The individual should add value to the entire tourism sector. Guides could even champion tourism products. More emphasis should be placed on the multi-skilling of tour guides. He noted that the policies of the NDT should deal with the discourse between tourism and poverty eradication. Money should trickle down to the poor. The emphasis should not only be about rural tourism but also about township tourism. There should be dedicated programmes for township and rural tourism. There was a great deal of economic opportunities. He asked why the Tourism Grading Council of SA (TGCSA) was placed with SA Tourism. Why could a separate entity not be created? A full-scale review of grading was needed. The use of the unabridged birth certificate in the immigration regulations was an ill-conceived idea. A birth certificate was not the best form of identification. Passports were a better form of identification. Children could be issued with passports or the child’s details could be captured in parents’ passports. Visitor information centres had an important role to play; how would the NDT assist municipalities with visitor information centres? Tourism was after all a concurrent function.

Mr Tharage, on the TGCSA, explained that legal provisions provided for the Minister of Tourism to assign the TGCSA to any organ of state. The decision was made to sit the TGCSA with SA Tourism. The issue was about resources as the TGCSA had a small budget. SA Tourism was just an administrative home of the TGCSA. On the unabridged birth certificate issue and the facilitation of travel, the spirit and letter of the cabinet decision had to be implemented.

Ms Malan, on the issue of the unabridged birth certificate, said that one of the resolutions of the inter-ministerial committee was to capture the details of parents in their children’s passports. The process was already ongoing.

Ms Chettiar, on tour guides, agreed that they were the face of tourism for tourists. At the time tour guides did not have the correct skills. On visitor information centres, there were 245 across SA. The NDT did try to assist. There was a very detailed framework of what a visitor information centre should be. There was also the capacitation and training of staff of visitor information centres. The NDT had developed a very specific training programme. The training programme was in place and was National Qualifications Framework (NQF) rated. On the 245 visitor information centres, there could be a need to increase the number or to reduce numbers as not all might be required. There was mobile apps training to close gaps on visitor information centres. Perhaps a rationalisation of visitor information centres was needed. Visitor information centres at airports were open 6am-10pm, with two shifts of staff. The NDT worked with provinces for a meaningful model on a face to face interface as well as on who was to have information available on technology. She stressed that visitor information centres had not been neglected. The NDT prioritise National Tourism Information Gateways.

Mr T Rawula (EFF) pointed out that on the Quarter 2 review the achieved target was 70%. There was a drop of 4.4%. What was the reason for the drop? He observed that the appeals of tourism guides had been upheld. He asked whether there were stringent requirements for tourism guides. Would the NDT not perhaps consider amending the requirements? In the Committee’s previous meeting the point was made that perhaps taxi drivers should be trained as tourist guides. How could it be ensured that persons like taxi drivers formed part of capacity building? On complaints received about misleading services and refunds not being paid, he asked were the majority of complaints local or international. On the vacancy rate of the NDT he asked for actual numbers and not percentages. He also wished to know in which categories of employees there were vacancies. He asked against what figures women representation figures were compared to. He pointed out that a workplace skills plan was often used as a vehicle for skills development. It was a key thing for pivotal skills. The NDT was asked what the nature of disputes was. In what categories of employees were disputes occurring? Was it lower staff or senior staff? The NDT was asked to provide the Committee with a breakdown in terms of demographics in provinces of its enterprise development efforts.

Ms Chettiar explained that tour guides only had to be registered if they were paid for their services. Tour guides were registered because they needed proper training and also if a tourist received a bad experience then they had recourse against guides. Guides also needed to be trained in business skills, confidence and presentation skills. These were things considered by the NDT when training guides. It was not only about guides being trained in site interpretation. She emphasised that the requirements for tour guides were not onerous. It was not impossible for persons to become tour guides. Every province and every tourist site had its unique challenges. The Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality, and Sports Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) managed guide training.

Mr Tharage, on the training areas in regard to workplace skills plans, explained that it depended on the needs of the organisation. On the Expanded Public Works Programme projects it was important to have training on contract management and risk management. Planning capacity was another area that needed addressing. On disciplinary cases concluded, some were at entry level and at middle management level. The NDT considered the nature of the grievances. On disciplinary cases an investigation was first done. Thereafter a decision was made on charges to be laid. As Director General, he would implement the decision of the presiding officer. The Minister of Tourism was the appeals authority. In the cases reflected in the presentation the Minister of Tourism had upheld the decisions of presiding officers.

Ms S Xego (ANC) felt that the payment of service providers within 30 days was important. It was concerning that a large portion of targets that had not been achieved was on domestic tourism. She asked how the NDT drove the recruitment of youth for its training programmes. Were advertisements placed or were universities and Further Training and Education (FTE) Centres approached. She suggested that on promoting domestic tourism the NDT needed to work with the Department of Education when it came to youth, and for the elderly the Department of Social Development should be approached. She asked whether there were policy gaps under domestic tourism.

Mr Ackerman said the NDT submitted reports to National Treasury for the previous month’s expenditure. On a report submitted on 7 October 2016 for the month of September 2016 there were no outstanding payments. For the report submitted on the 7 November 2016 for the month of October 2016 there was one payment that had gone beyond the 30-day period. 

Ms Ramphele, on the recruitment of food safety training candidates, said the NDT looked at unemployed tourism graduates. FTE College graduates were also considered. On tourism buddies, advertisements had been placed. The NQF for chefs would be a diploma. Blue Flag Beach training was on NQF level five.

Mr G Krumbock (DA) referred to slide 17 which spoke to the quarterly target of 91.5% on the representivity of black people. The NDT’s actual performance was 95.1%. He did not believe in quotas. People should be given jobs based on merit. If the quota was based on representivity what was the representivity based on. Was the NDT figures based on national figures such as the voters roll. He referred to slide 68 which spoke to workforce representivity as at 30 September 2016. For blacks the figure sat at 85.8%, which was different to the previously mentioned 95.1%. What was the actual figure for blacks? What was being strived for. Staying on slide 68, he asked whether it was a coincidence that a total of 24 white people was employed by the NDT and that the figure for disabled persons was also 24. On slide 65 he referred to the jobs created by Social Responsibility Implementation (SRI) projects and said he assumed that the reasons for variances were valid. He did not get any sense that the jobs created were sustainable. He wished to have a sense that FTE jobs as well were sustainable. Slides 50-53 spoke about enterprise development and capacity building efforts of the NDT but there was no sense of how real these efforts were. Of the 100 enterprises assisted were they running on their own now? He hoped to get a sense of the permanence of the assistance that the NDT was providing. He asked whether the chefs training candidates were all employed. He made a plea to the NDT to in the future provide over and above presentations a sense of whether things had an economic impact.

Mr Tharage, on the issue of the NDT’s representivity, pointed out that the figure of 91.5% was in accordance with the Employment Equity Act. Blacks included Africans, Coloureds and Indians. He conceded that the NDT did experience challenges on the recruitment of white persons at lower levels. The issue of representivity was looked at and discussed. In order for a job to be an FTE job the person must have been in the job for one year. He believed that there was economic benefit in the work that the NDT did. There was room for improvement. The NDT not only did things for now but also for future benefits i.e. capacity building.

The Chairperson asked whether capacity building was about in-service training or further education. 

Ms Ramphele said that the issue was more about information sharing and relationship building.

Mr Ackerman said that on slide 68 blacks comprised of Africans, Coloureds and Indians. If figures were added for Africans, Coloureds and Indians it would come to 95%.

Ms Ramphele said that the figure of 100 represented the enterprises that the NDT had assisted the previous year. There was low intake in the North West, Northern Cape and Gauteng Provinces. The figures for the rest of the provinces were not so bad. On skills development training the number of chefs that had been trained had increased. The chefs training programme had been managed by the SA Chefs Association. On SRI and the number of FTE training that was hoped to be achieved when the NDT had done an analysis the budget identified was a total of R277m, which comprised of incentives and the normal budget. Total expenditure stood at 68% and it was hoped that it would increase to 70%.  On the sustainability of training given with chefs there was an absorption rate of 60%, on food safety the absorption rate was 70% but with tourism buddies there were still problems. She agreed that programmes needed to be evaluated in order to check on sustainability.

The Chairperson asked how the NDT assisted museum guides. Were provinces assisted with the training of museum guides? Domestic tourism was a concern. Especially since other African countries’ Gross Domestic Products had increased due to a rise in domestic tourism.

Ms Chettiar undertook to check up on efforts over the training of museum guides. The focus of training was at sites of national significance. 

Mr Krumbock was very uncomfortable about people being considered based on the colour of their skin. If Africans, Coloureds and Indians all fell within the definition of black what was the required numbers of each group within the definition. He asked whether the NDT implemented national or provincial quotas. He asked that in future when the NDT present targets that a paragraph be included which spoke to the sustainability of targets. Was sustainable value for money received in return?

Mr Tharage said the NDT was all about representivity. Posts were advertised and applications were received. There was a court case involving the Department of Correctional Services which took into consideration provincial demographics. The NDT worked solely on national demographics. There were some challenges at lower levels.  On sustainability, the NDT’s focus was on infrastructure. There was a degree of control. The NDT did not have control over labour market factors. It was unlikely that every person trained would get a job.  

Ms Masehela, on slide 52, noted that she had not heard the Free State Province being mentioned. She noted that the NDT had received an award from the Auditor General’s Office of SA. Mr Tharage had also been voted the best Director General in SA.

Ms Ramphele pointed out that the number of tourism buddies in the Free State Province was 100 the same as in the Eastern Cape Province. 

Mr Vos was concerned that if the TGCSA was under SA Tourism it might lose its purpose given that the terms of reference of SA Tourism was international and domestic marketing. He felt that the TGCSA should get more prominence.

The Chairperson agreed that a rethink was needed on the TGCSA.

The meeting was adjourned.