South Africa chairship of the African Union; DIRCO & ARF 2019/20 Quarter 3 performance; with Deputy Ministers

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson opened the meeting and welcomed Committee members and guests to the meeting. She welcomed the two Deputy Ministers, Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini and Mr Alvin Botes, and expressed how pleased she was that they both attended the meeting. She apologised for arriving late and mentioned that she was coming from another meeting prior to this one. She had honoured the Minister’s invitation to the Ubuntu Awards but expressed how displeased she was with the lack of transformation in that space.

The Chairperson said that she would provide greater details on what she felt needed to be transformed with the awards and would submit this proposal to the Deputy Ministers. She agreed with the President’s suggestion at the awards that the Ubuntu Awards needed to be renamed to the Oliver Reginald Tambo Ubuntu Awards. The Director-General (DG) of DIRCO should implement the President’s suggestion.

Apologies
Ms B Swarts (ANC) and Mr C Mulder (FF+) sent apologies that they would arrive later to the meeting.
 

Minutes

The Chairperson handed over to the Deputy Minister Mashego-Dlamini to offer opening remarks before DIRCO officials presented their reports.

Ms Mashego-Dlamini thanked the Chairperson for the opportunity to present opening remarks. DIRCO will be presenting its third quarter report and she will take full responsibility of the outcomes of the reports, given her role as the political leader of DIRCO.

Ms Mashego-Dlamini apologized for not frequently attending Committee meetings as often as she would have liked and explained that it was due to having other responsibilities that she had to attend to as the Deputy Minister. She also noted the President’s suggestion to rename the Ubuntu Awards and would implement the suggestion as instructed; she would also review the need to transform the awards. She extended an apology to the Chairperson for sending a late invitation to her for the Ubuntu Awards. 

Mr Kgabo Mahoai, DG of DIRCO, thanked the Chairperson and the Committee for the opportunity to present and introduced his team to the Committee. He then handed over to Ms Kotze and Ms Bhengu; indicated that the presentation was divided into two sections.

Ms Kotze presented the performance information section of the report, which focused on the operational or non-financial performance of DIRCO. Ms Bhengu presented the financial performance report of DIRCO. Both sections of the report were based on the audit findings from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA).

Ms Kotze said that the performance information section of the report looked at some compliance issues in the various programmes at DIRCO for the third quarter of 2019, starting 01 October to 31 December 2019.

Programme One: Administration
The annual target for compliance in Programme one was targeted at 100% for 30-day payment periods but only 85.28% was achieved due to ITC payment systems failure. The 100% target would not be achieved by the time DIRCO’s annual report was published.
 
The annual targets for training programmes was 85 but only 64 of the programmes were delivered, with 22 out of 64 training programmes targeted and delivered in the third quarter. Twenty generic skills development training programmes, in line with Workplace Skills Plan (WSP), were targeted for 2019 and only 15 of them were delivered. One hundred percent legal services advice and assistance provision were targeted for the first and second quarter of 2019; this was achieved by the end of the second quarter. This target is only reported twice a year.

Ms Kotze reported that six out of ten programmes and projects, which advanced gender mainstreaming, youth development and access for people with disabilities, were achieved. In the third quarter, DIRCO managed to conduct interactive dialogue on workplace bullying, abuse and harassment. Advocacy activities on harassment and disability awareness were targeted for the third quarter but were not achieved due to scheduling challenges.

Programmes Two: International Relations
Ms Kotze noted that South Africa’s (SA) national interests were pursued through bilateral engagements, such as Structured Bilateral Mechanisms, high-level visits and various Economic Diplomacy initiatives undertaken through South Africa’s diplomatic missions. SA continued to accelerate its Economic Diplomacy initiatives and through the DIRCO’s work in this area it has grown its regional, continental and global trade and investment.

The Economic Diplomacy and Image Building activities undertaken by the South African Missions Abroad were aimed at promoting the country’s overall economic interests, including exploring investment opportunities, tourism promotion, skills development and cultural exchanges, amongst others. DIRCO’s tourism promotion events and meetings were held by Missions abroad to boost tourism in SA and to promote the country as a preferred tourism destination for purposes of both business and leisure.

Of the 15 structured bilateral mechanisms targeted for 2019, 16 were achieved. DIRCO had targeted four mechanisms for the third quarter and managed to achieve nine. These were intended to promote the country’s national priorities, including the African Agenda, the Agenda of the South, and to discuss various bilateral and multilateral international issues of interest. The countries targeted for the structured bilateral mechanisms included Nigeria, Denmark, Brazil, Italy, Ireland, India, China and Iran.
 
The meetings focused on discussions on mutual areas of foreign policy interest, including United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform, counter-terrorism and issues pertaining to the African Union (AU). More specifically, these discussions focused on bilateral, economic, cultural and social cooperation;  peace and security;  commercial relations;  trade and investment opportunities;  education and research;  people-to-people exchanges;  tourism;  medical and health care;  agriculture;  science and technology;  energy;  transport; and  women’s rights as well as gender equality.

Twenty high level engagements and visits were targeted for 2019, and 26 were achieved. Six of these engagements were targeted in the third quarter and 10 were achieved in the same quarter. In addition to this achievement, the Deputy President of Uganda and South Sudan made unplanned visits to South Africa, which presented more opportunities for engagement. The countries engaged with in the third quarter include Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Togo, Uganda, South Sudan, Qatar, Vietnam and China. The focus of discussions in the third quarter included matters pertaining to bilateral relations and cooperation and issues of mutual interest; regional and continental issues; political, diplomatic, defence and security, economic and social cooperation; peace processes; the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or agreements; agro-processing; port management; trade and investment; and mining and energy.

One hundred and twelve trade and investment seminars were targeted for 2019 but only 80 were achieved. The annual target might not be achieved by the end of the 2019 financial year. Only 16 out of 28 seminars were achieved in the third quarter. These seminars were intended to showcase South African products and services as well as the ease of doing business in South Africa. Some meetings were postponed and cancelled due to the unavailability of stakeholders.

The trade and investment seminars focused particularly on the following sectors: Tax regulation;  Engineering Automotive;  Environmental Technologies; Agro-processing & Metallurgical; Cross Border Trading and Regulation; Mining and Minerals; Pharmaceuticals; Manufacturing; Medical and Education Cooperation for skills; Renewable Energy; Information Technology; South African Films; Energy, Science & Technology; and Food and Beverages.

Regarding the engagements with chambers of commerce, 84 out 126 annual targets were achieved. In the third quarter, 26 out of 48 engagements were achieved. These engagements were intended to identify trade leads and promote business-to-business connectivity. Some meetings were postponed and cancelled due to the unavailability of stakeholders.

The sectors targeted for chambers of commerce engagements included: Science and Technology; Agriculture and Fisheries; Energy; Education; Infrastructure Development; Oil and Gas; Health; Mining; Tourism and Hospitality; Services; The Green Economy; and Water Management.

DIRCO had targeted 70 meetings to be held with government ministries and 135 were held. This over-achievement was due to conservative financial planning because of expected budget cuts. Eighteen meetings were targeted in the third quarter and 38 meetings were held. The discussions looked at issues impacting cooperation between South Africa and other countries and on how to remain abreast with the regulatory environment.

The government ministries engaged with the following industries:
Mining;  Public Works;  Power (energy);  Water;  Information; Culture;  Finance;  Economic Development;  Science; Technology;  Trade;  Investment;  Education;  Sport;  Justice;  Infrastructure;  Agriculture;  Shipping;  Transport;  Youth;  Labour;  Rural Development;  Entrepreneurship;  Climate;  Environment;  Commerce;  and Telecommunications.

90 meetings with high-level potential investors and importers were targeted for 2019 but 154 meetings were achieved. In the third quarter 30 meetings were targeted, with 39 being achieved. This overachievement was attributed to additional opportunities being identified by Missions.

The sectors involved in meetings with high-level potential investors included:
Agriculture; Logistics;  Engineering;  Education;  Health;  Entrepreneurship;  Banking; Space Systems Development;  Job Creation:  Skills Development;  Automotive Industry;  ICT;  Chemicals;  Technology;  Fresh Produce;  Renewable Energy;  Mining;  Oil;  Energy;  Sport;  Maritime;  Wine-making;  Trade;  Investment;  and Telecommunications.

The annual target for tourism promotion events was 60 and DIRCO achieved 68. Fifteen tourism promotion events were targeted, with 26 being achieved in the third quarter. Various platforms, including meetings, incentives, conferences and events, were used. Additional opportunities were identified by Missions:
For the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) structures and processes to promote peace, stability and socio-economic development in the region, there were seven targets in 2019 but only four were achieved. A SADC-EU Political Dialogue was targeted for the third quarter but it did not occur. The reason was because a decision was taken to only invite SADC Troika Member States, and South Africa was currently not one.

Six SADC observer missions were targeted and achieved for 2019. Four of the six missions were achieved in the third quarter with countries including Mozambique, Botswana, Mauritius and Namibia. These missions were funded by the African Renaissance and International Cooperation Fund (ARF).

DIRCO had targeted to negotiate and influence the outcome of ten multilateral meetings in 2019; eleven out of those ten were achieved. In the third quarter, four multilateral meetings were targeted and six were achieved. These include sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Executive Board; Regular Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 74 Committees; UNESCO General Conference and the Nairobi Summit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development.

DIRCO participated in three additional United Nations (UN) events:

1. The official country visit of the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Human Rights by Persons with Albinism;

2. The country pledge and participation in international events commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and

3. The joint hosting of the regional launch of the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, with the UN Independent Expert mandated with Global Study.

Programme Three: International Cooperation

DIRCO’s one annual target to negotiate and influence the outcomes of one multistage meeting and process was achieved. Although it was targeted for the third quarter, it was achieved in the first quarter at the G20 Leaders’ Summit. Of the 60 targeted positions on identified influential multilateral bodies maintained, 65 international positions were achieved. There was no target for the third quarter. Three peace, stability and socio-economic development, good governance and democracy meetings were targeted for 2019 but only one meeting was achieved, while no meeting was targeted for the third quarter.

DIRCO influenced the outcome of ten meetings and processes of organisations of the South to reflect on South Africa’s national positions. In the third quarter, three meetings were targeted and five were achieved. These meetings included:

1. 18th NAM Summit;

2. IORA Council of Ministers Meeting

3. 110th ACP Council of Ministers

4. South Africa participated in the 9th ACP Summit that was scheduled for the second quarter but that was rescheduled and that took place during the third quarter.

5. South Africa participated in one additional summit, the Russia-Africa Summit during the third quarter, where outcomes were reflected in a submission.

DIRCO engaged in four BRICS structures and processes to advance the Development Agenda, which it had targeted and achieved for the third quarter. These meetings took place at the 11th BRICS Summit.
Two of the targeted national BRICS structures, which were used to implement agreed BRICS outcomes, were not achieved by the end of 2019. Of the four targeted high level engagements with strategic formations of the North, only two were achieved. Only one engagement was targeted for the third quarter, and this was the 8th SA-EU Peace and Security Dialogue Forum.

Programme Four: Public Diplomacy
Twelve public participation programmes were targeted and achieved for 2018. Three were targeted and achieved for the third quarter, and these were the domestic and international developments and foreign policy.

DIRCO had targeted that it would draft 120 media statements for 2019 but only achieved 91. In the third quarter of 2019, 30 media statements were targeted and 31 were issued. These media statements responded to both national and international developments. Of the four stakeholder publications that were targeted, only three were achieved. In the third quarter, one publication – the Ubuntu Magazine – was targeted and published. In addition, of the 12 opinion pieces targeted for 2019, 11 were achieved. Three were targeted for the third quarter and four were achieved.

Two strategic engagements with diplomatic corps were targeted but only one was achieved. There were no targets for the third quarter. DIRCO targeted 100% of requests responded to for protocol services and these were achieved. One hundred percent of these requests were achieved in the third quarter, which includes 19 state visits (14 outgoing and five incoming) that were achieved. One hundred percent (165) of requests for consular assistance were targeted and achieved in the third quarter of 2019. One hundred percent (19 018) of documents to be legalized were targeted and achieved in the third quarter of 2019.

Ms Kotze thanked the Committee for the opportunity to present and handed over to Ms Bhengu to present on the financial report of DIRCO.

Ms Bhengu took members through the third quarter vote expenditure per programme for 2019. She reported that over R5 billion was projected for the third quarter of the 2019 financial year but only R4.6 billion or 72% of the appropriation was spent.

She noted that the administration programme had underspent its projected budget by 26% but there was over-expenditure on the international relations programme by one percent, in the third quarter of 2019. The compensation of employees’ expenditure had increased by three percent to R2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2019; it had reached its ceiling as per National Treasury (NT) regulation. There was under-expenditure in the goods and services budget line, at nine percent for the third quarter.

With regards to the Interest in unitary payments budget line, Ms Bhengu noted that the department had underspent by nine percent in the third quarter. Overall DIRCO has spent eight percent less on its expenditure in the third quarter. The underspending was due to lower spending of capital projects for both buildings and ICT.

The Department was projecting a possible overspending on the Compensation of Employees line item amounting to R245 million. To this effect, DIRCO had requested approval from NT to temporarily increase the ceiling for 2019/20. A request to approve the virement from the capital budget item to Compensation of Employees (CoE) was made to NT to accommodate the increased ceiling. This was a concern for DIRCO as this line item was higher than the budget allocated for projects and programmes. On a different note, the shortfall on SADC membership fee budget amounts to R45 million. A request for virement of funds has been put through to NT for consideration.

Ms Bhengu thanked Committee members for the opportunity to present and handed back to Mr Mahoai.

Mr Mahoai thanked Ms Bhengu, mentioned that this concluded the third quarter performance report of DIRCO and then handed over to the Chairperson.

The Chairperson requested Mr Mahoai to allow the person responsible for the ARF presentation to present.

Mr Mahoai called Ms Dineo Matlhaku to present.

Ms Matlhaku noted that the ARF had targeted to hold four ARF advisory committee meetings. However, none of the meetings could be held because the chairperson of the committee was unavailable. One ARF meeting was targeted for the third quarter, and this was not achieved.

One hundred percent of requests were targeted for 2019, and these were not achieved in the third quarter of 2019. These requests included the project proposal to the ARF for the Competition Commission, Military Ombudsman Project and the Sahawari Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).

Ms Matlhaku mentioned that 100% of the approved disbursements were processed for purposes of supporting democracy and good governance; these targets were reached in the third quarter. These included R1.3 million for the South African Intervention and Contribution to the Kingdom of Lesotho Peace Process and R112 839.55 for SA’s participation in the Election Observer Mission in Mozambique, Botswana and Malawi. There were no disbursements for socio-economic development.

Only two out of four of the disbursements targeted were processed to support humanitarian assistance. The first payment of R14.7 million was processed for the humanitarian assistance to South Sudan. The second payment of R9.7 million was processed for the assistance to the Kingdom of Eswatini. Two payments were approved for quarter three but were not processed because Namibia had a drought relief project and the payments were not made before the December financial closure. Only fifty percent of the disbursements targeted were processed to support capacity building. The only payment processed was R8.1 million for the AWID Annual Women Dialogue Project.

Only one payment that was approved in the third quarter was moved to the fourth quarter. The reasons for this were because of the Capacity-Building Human Resources Development for the Office of the Public Protector (African Ombudsman Research Centre) and an incomplete registration on Central Database at NT.

One approved disbursement of R23 090.82 was paid to the South African Intervention and Contribution to the Independent Boundaries Committee for South Sudan to support cooperation with other countries and partners in various areas of development. The target for paying the Prevention and Resolution of Conflict was met and a payment of R581 913 was processed. The target for the quarterly project progress reports was also achieved.

Ms Matlhaku took Members through the summary of statement of financial performance as at 21 December 2019. The annual appropriation amounted to R46 million; investment income amounted to R48 million; and total revenue amounted to R94 million. The expenditure was as follows:
1. Local and foreign aid assistance amounted to R45 million
2. Forex gain amounted to R5 million
The surplus for the third quarter was R55 million

Ms Matlhaku reported a summary of statement of financial position as of 31 December 2019. The total assets of cash in the bank amounted to R908 million. The total net assets and liabilities also amounted to R908 million. This amount could be broken down into provisions amounting to R407 million, payables from non-exchange transactions amounting to R6.1 million and the accumulated surplus amounting to R495 million.

Ms Matlhaku lastly took members through the reconciliation of available funds. She stated that DIRCO currently had R184 million as of 31 December 2019.

Discussion
The Chairperson opened the floor to Committee members for questions and answers.

Mr D Bergman (DA) thanked the DIRCO team for the presentation. He felt that the report’s indicators were a whitewash of what the Committee wanted to conduct oversight on and monitor. The report lacked depth and substance enough to interrogate it. The report should include indicators such as the number of complaints on Missions received from other countries. For example, the Brussels Mayor submitted complaints to the South African government over the use of a generator that was causing pollution in the city. He asked whether the South African government was allowing people into the country and what the updates were on this – DIRCO could start using as indicators for such matters.

Mr B Nkosi (ANC) agreed with Mr Bergman on the use of better indicators. Is DIRCO ready to engage the EU and Britain on the implications of Brexit?

Mr Nkosi also questioned the classification of South Africa as a non-developmental country and the possibility of being removed from Algoa; noted issues with the third quarter report on generic training for WSP. Is this provided for in the Supply Chain Management (SCM) department and the finance department?

Mr Nkosi felt that the gender mainstreaming report seemed shallow and could be given more depth; it should have discussed more broadly how it intended to empower women.

With regards to the ARF presentation, Mr Nkosi asked about the impact of the delays caused in processing disbursements to donor recipients of ARF.

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) inquired on whether the chairperson of the ARF Advisory Committee had missed important meetings that perhaps would have required the direction of Chairperson. Has DIRCO made any efforts to look after South Africans affected by the Corona Virus in China, now that there had been lock downs in severely affected in China?

What efforts have been made to stop the targeting of people living Albinism, particularly those living in the African continent? What are the requirements needed for a country that wants to become the Chair of the UNHRC? Does South Africa have a seat at UNESCO Executive Board? If so, who sits in it?

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) referred to the indicators used to assess performance, and suggested that the Department not put performance indicators for things it did not have control over. There were certain targets that DIRCO had set but could not achieve due to factors outside of its control. By doing so, it would prevent DIRCO from seeming as though it is failing to meet its targets.

Mr Mpanza cautioned DIRCO not to spend money it did not have, referring to how high its wage bill was. Does DIRCO have a plan in place to ensure that its wage bill does not exceed the required limits? He further cautioned DIRCO on its use of ICT funds to solve wage bill issues while it had an ICT infrastructure crisis. How has the ARF improved while DIRCO continues to get unqualified audits?

Ms T Msane (EFF) referred to how the previous meeting left a bitter taste in her mouth. She was displeased with how DIRCO spent its budget allocation. The financial reports were shallow and failed to indicate how money was spent.

She argued that the accommodation of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, Gauteng was expensive. What is the status of the Israeli Embassy? Has DIRCO maintained its relations with Israel, given the apartheid regime in Israel?

She enquired on why the fee increase of the AU had not been reported. The ICT procurement issues needed to be finalized by April 2020. What is the status of refugees and the outcomes of this issue?

Ms Msane felt that the high level visits undertaken by DIRCO were ticking exercises. She failed to see the impact of these visits on ordinary South African and Africans. What were the intended outcomes were for the Russia-Africa Summit that SA could achieve and benefit from?

Ms Msane questioned the long term goals of humanitarian assistance given to the Kingdom of Eswatini when the King already lived in opulence and evidently oppressed his citizens who lived in abject poverty.

She questioned why R8 million was spent on the Annual Women in Dialogue and whether there was a need for such an expensive event. She shared her skepticism of this event, and asked whether this event was impactful and whether it touched the lives of many South African women. The targets and achievement of this dialogue should be detailed clearly in the report.

Ms Msane also requested that the report be clear and explicit about what kinds of efforts DIRCO had taken to raise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and how these investments would be used to positively impact South Africa and the rest of the African continent. The poverty levels in the continent were rising and yet there are efforts to raise FDI. She also cautioned this FDI and mentioned how it can trap the country into unending debt.

Mr D Moela (ANC) thanked DIRCO for their presentation and welcomed the Deputy Ministers. He agreed with the suggestions made by Members. He was worried that some of the issues raised in this meeting had been discussed in previous meetings and nothing has changed.

He referred to the ICT issues and linked them to not achieving 100% targets on 30-day payments. It was important to modernise and streamline processes at DIRCO as it would ensure that 30-day payments were processed quicker. He argued how it remained unclear what the status of the ICT issues were at DIRCO and whether a service provided has been appointed to work on the issues, despite DIRCO having made promises to resolve in previous meetings.

He reckoned that most of DIRCO’s issues were linked to the SCM and queried whether the WSP training programmes had not been arranged for this Department. He raised the importance of training and attributed some of the issues at DIRCO to how some senior managers instruct their subordinates to do their work without adequate training. Is there training for senior managers?

He referred to the AWID event and asked whether this was an event hosted by the Zanele Mbeki Foundation.

Mr Moela asked what impact was on the reimbursements of the Namibia drought relief, given that the payments given that the payments were processed in the fourth quarter, when they were meant to be processed in the third quarter.

He also mentioned that the frequent non-attendance of the Chairperson of the ARF Advisory Committee was worrisome; he felt this reflects negatively and wanted to know what the reasons were for it.

The Chairperson thanked members for their questions. She was worried that DIRCO had not presented some of the challenges raised in previous meetings as well as in the Legacy Report. She referred Members to the 100% target of processing payments in 30 days and argued how this emanated in the 2010 Legacy Report. She argued how it had taken a decade to respond to issues, many of which have not been resolved. She asked how far DIRCO was with appointing a service provider to respond to ICT issues. She was displeased with how the Department was run and raised suspicions of corruption.

The Chairperson mentioned that although advocacy programmes and projects had been achieved, there were still a lot of issues that persisted, and wondered whether DIRCO officials knew what their responsibilities entailed and what DIRCO’s mandate was. She questioned whether there was no unauthorized expenditure on the state visits because there were over achievements. Some of the planning processes of set targets were overachieved, while some were not achieved at all.

She also questioned why the Committee was not invited to attend observer missions with DIRCO Officials as well as Heads of Missions parties when the Committee was intended to conduct oversight on its work. Despite this, the Committee will continue to hold DIRCO accountable.

The Chairperson questioned why DIRCO opted to abstain to vote against human rights abuses and violations in Burundi, Venezuela and Syria as reported in the UNHRC report; questioned the reasons for this, knowing the political stance of the country and the ruling party on these matters.

The Chairperson felt that the ARF had become a sledge fund for DIRCO. She asked Mr Mahoai when SADPA would happen because it was requested a long time ago. She referred Members to page five of the ARF report which spoke of processing payment to the Public Protector for the African Ombudsman Research Centre which was instituted by Thuli Madonsela. Ms Madonsela was no longer the Public Protector so who is now responsible for this project?

Given all the issues noted by the Committee and the Chairperson, she reckoned that the budget would not be approved until consequence management had been implemented. She agreed with Mr D Bergman that DIRCO must provide an update report on the novel coronavirus. She also agreed with Ms Msane on the humanitarian funding granted to Eswatini and recalled interactions of the King and his treatment towards people.

The Chairperson asked about the undocumented foreign nationals and the killing of police officers, and wanted to know what resolutions the Department of Home Affairs and DIRCO had taken regarding this matter. What is the Military Ombudsman’s Project?

The Chairperson also asked when the Chief Operations Officer (COO) would be appointed.

The Chairperson handed over to Mr Mahoai to respond.

Mr Mahoai responded in the following order:

Coronavirus
Mr Mahoai mentioned that DIRCO is doing all it can to ensure that South Africans in China are taken care of. He said that there are approximately 165 students and 54 teachers in Wuhan and Hubei who have been tested and are safe. He noted that there is a contingency plan to evacuate South Africans out of China but there has not been any instruction to do so and the Ambassador of China has been helpful with giving updates to DIRCO. However he noted that the decision has been that those who are at risk should be quarantined for 14 days, but no one has been quarantined to date. He noted that those that could potentially be quarantined would require a court order and sign indemnity forms that confirms that they would be moved from China’s quarantine to quarantine in South Africa. The Mission in Beijing has however been shut down and workers have been instructed to work from home as a precaution, however this has made it difficult to collect information and updates on the number of infections and status of South African citizens in China.

Mr Mahoai mentioned that DIRCO received information about 12 members in a cruise ship in Yokohama, Japan who were suspected of being infected with the virus had requested assistance from SA to be evacuated. This matter was still being discussed with Japan. There were arrivals of Chinese people in SA and this created fears of the virus spreading within the country.

The Chairperson interjected Mr Mahoai and mentioned that this could potentially really become a problem because South Africa had no capacity or measures in place to deal with such a threat.

Mr Mahoai responded that despite all the challenges with the coronavirus, DIRCO was working on contingent solutions.

Mr Mahoai wanted to acknowledge that the targets set had been ongoing since 2014 and that these were in line with DIRCO’s strategic plans. The indicators and targets were aligned with SMART planning and the AGSA framework.

He then handed over to Ms Kotze who responded to issues on target settings.

Target settings
Ms Kotze noted Mr D Bergman’s question and responded that there was a complaints mechanism at DIRCO. In future, the Department would report on the issues which the Committee complained on.

Ms Kotze also noted that there were generic skills development and training programmes that were offered to staff members, including staff members of SCM and finance department and its senior officials at DIRCO. These were also aligned to performance agreements.

With regards to the targets set on gender mainstreaming, Ms Kotze noted that DIRCO used an equity report that ensures that salary levels and positions were allocated equitably. She mentioned that a report could be presented to the Committee and acknowledged that DIRCO should not only report on gender issues through dialogues only but this should also be reflected in DIRCO’s own internal reporting.

She indicated that SA’s seat at UNESCO expired in November 2019 and was not renewed; SA had opted to sit in the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

She agreed with Mr Mpanza’s suggestion to not set targets and indicators of things outside of DIRCO’s control. She noted, however, that the reason they had added these indicators was because the indicator was aligned to a budget allocation.

With regards to the high level visits, she noted that it was an oversight on DIRCO’s side and mentioned that in future they will report in detail on the intentions, outcomes, achievements and benefits of these visits.

Ms Kotze mentioned that the trade and investments meetings that were cancelled were mainly due to scheduling challenges and other unforeseen challenges such as terrorist activity. Two meetings in Beijing were cancelled because of scheduling issues and may not take place any time soon because of the coronavirus. Another meeting in Damascus on import and export trade dialogues was postponed to the fourth quarter and another meeting in Mogadishu was also cancelled because of political instability and terrorist activity.

The Chairperson asked for the list on trade and investment meetings to be emailed to the Committee Secretary.
 

Ms Kotze handed over to Ms Bhengu who answered questions on the financial information of DIRCO.

Financial information

Ms Bhengu mentioned the following plans on CoEs to ensure affordability:

1. DIRCO requested the NT and Department of Public Services and Administration (DPSA) to allow older staff to opt for early retirement packages without incurring any penalties.
2. DIRCO had plans to rationalise missions to reduce the number of officials in missions and reducing other post levels.
3. Adjust foreign allowances and benefits; this was suggested to DPSA for approval. Benefits and allowances would also now be aligned to the UN norm.

Procurement of ICT service providers and infrastructure

Ms Bhengu confirmed that the procurement of an ICT service provider was at the bid adjudication process.

The Chairperson reminded Ms Bhengu that a Chief Information Officer (CIO) was supposed to be appointed and that her question referred to the appointment of a CIO and not on procuring ICT infrastructure and hardware.

Mr Mahoai confirmed that the appointment of a CIO had not been finalized because the Department struggled to find a suitable candidate.

The Chairperson asked why DIRCO wanted to purchase ICT infrastructure and hardware when it was at an advanced stage of appointing a CIO. This matter should be investigated and reported to the Deputy Ministers because this has been an ongoing matter since 2010.

Mr Mahoai mentioned that the procurement of infrastructure and hardware referred to computers and electronic machines.

The Deputy Minister acknowledged that the Department was not in good standing with the Committee. The Department was strained by various factors and this made it difficult to attend to some of the pressing issues raised by the Committee. For instance, the Department had carrier diplomats who also had administrative duties. Despite this, the Department was in the process of positive change and was starting afresh with competency and qualified officials. The Department appreciated the challenges of SMC and its challenges with appointing good service providers. To rectify them, the Deputy Minister DIRCO would conduct a head count of diplomatic officials; diplomatic missions would be staggered in order to ascertain who was illegally employed at DIRCO.

Annual Women in Dialogue
Ms Matlhaku confirmed that the AWID event was hosted by the Zanele Mbeki Foundation. The foundation was donated a grant amounting to R37 million.

The Chairperson asked whether there was a Committee that approved the grant to the Zanele Mbeki Foundation.

Ms Matlhaku confirmed that a request was submitted to the ARF advisory committee by the Zanele Mbeki Foundation and the Women’s Chief Directorate of DIRCO, which was approved by the Minister of DIRCO through consultation with the Minister of Finance.

The Chairperson asked whether a Minister could approve grants to foundations.

MR Mahoai confirmed that this was allowed.

The Chairperson asked when SADPA would be finalized.

Mr Mahoai explained that SAPDA was established but the ARF was not repealed so that it could replace ARF. There were challenges with deregistration and he was not in a position to determine timeframes. This process was determined by the Public Services Act.


Follow-up questions
Ms Msane mentioned that this matter has long been standing even before the appointment of the new Committee.

Rev Meshoe asked whether there were guarantees that South Africans in quarantine were taken care of and whether they will be repatriated. He also asked whether those on cruise ships wanted to return home.

Mr Nkosi suggested that the Committee should meet with Home Affairs, Health and SARS to discuss the Corona Virus.

Mr M Chetty requested a full detailed report on the Corona Virus with a focus on how many people were in the affected provinces in China. He responded to the Deputy Minister’s efforts to do a head count and confirmed that he had received tips from whistleblowers that there were ghost diplomats employed at DIRCO and placed on missions abroad.

Ms Msane lauded the Deputy Minister for her efforts but mentioned that the matters on SADPA should be taken to SCOPA.

In rebuilding DIRCO, she mentioned that the Committee must be given timeframes and more details on where and how monies had been spent. Where money was misused, people must be held to account, especially the money spent on the AWID event. She asked about the status of the Chancery House in New York.

Ms Kwabe responded to the issues around UNHRC and mentioned that the process was ongoing in preparation for the legacy project. The Chancery House was still being worked with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.

The Chairperson asked how a wetland would be rehabilitated and Ms Kwabe mentioned that she did not know of this issue but mentioned that an alternative land for a Chancery House has been identified.

Ms Swarts mentioned how displeased she was with the Chancery House matter and suggested that this be resolved by October 2020.

The Chairperson postponed the fourth item of the agenda and asked the Deputy Minister to respond on this matter.

Mr Chetty mentioned that he was displeased with the superficial answers given by DIRCO officials and also referred to previous meetings on the CFO recusing himself from the findings on the AGSA reports.

The Deputy Minister pleaded with the Committee on behalf of DIRCO. With regards to the CFO’s attempts to take the AGSA to court, she mentioned that he could do so because he had already accepted the findings of the report. She agreed that there needed to be consequence management for the issues reported.

The Chairperson asked about the visit to Geneva.

Mr A Botes confirmed he would attend the visit. He also noted that the next quarter’s report must look at the geo-political issues that could provide greater context on the issues raised on multilateralism and international solidarity. He spoke about the issues of the USA’s intention to remove SA from Algoa as it was no longer considered a lower development country but now considered a middle income country.

Ms Msane mentioned that she also wants to get clarity on the stance on Israel.

The Deputy Minister confirmed that this was still an ongoing process and the Minster was still to decide on the matter.

The Chairperson mentioned that the Committee would have a special meeting without DIRCO and relay the risen issues, with SCOPA.

The Chairperson urged the Deputy Minister to use her powers to change the situation at DIRCO.

She was not optimistic about the BRRR and was worried that the President may not be pleased with the outcomes of what was happening at DIRCO.

The meeting was adjourned.