NYDA on Adjustment Budget & Revised Annual Performance Plan; with Deputy Minister

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

09 July 2020
Chairperson: Ms C Ndaba (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

Video: NYDA on Adjusted Budget & Revised Annual Performance Plan

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) briefed the Committee on its adjusted Annual Performance Plan and budget for 2020/21.

The key programme areas where budget was reduced: economic participation (R8.4 million); jobs (R16.9 million); National Youth Service (R11.1 million); Research and Policy (R2.23 million); Administration (R32.1 million); and employee costs (R15 million).

Members applauded the improvement of the entity’s report but stressed that its budget adjustment concerning job programme two (reduction of R16 Million) was a lot. South Africa was faced with mass unemployment, especially now during the pandemic. The R2 million reductions in the research section was also a lot. Young people were needed for research in terms of creativity and innovation to address many issues that affected youth. Can the entity elaborate why such big cuts, given that they directly impact youth?

Members asked how the young people in rural areas, women and people with disability were assisted in accessing the Unemployment Insurance Fund and COVID-19 relief funds. They also asked how the reduction of funds would affect these specific people in terms of accessing training from the entity. Has entity started on working on a plan beyond COVID-19?

Members also asked how the entity was planning to address rape culture, particularly in high schools, while also de-normalising patriarchy in schools.

Members highlighted that agriculture must be one of the prioritised sectors that the entity could look at. The issue of land and agriculture must be taken seriously, and the youth needed to participate in this dialogue. Young people in all government constituencies needed to be encouraged to get involved in all forms of agriculture.

The artists (the creative hub of the economy) must also not be left behind.  Members asked the entity to assist the artists; the Agency could do this through partnering with the Department of Sport and Arts and Culture to see if they could come up with something tangible.

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson officially opened the meeting and asked the Committee Secretary to present the agenda to the Committee.

The Secretary announced that the agenda of the meeting was for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to present its adjusted Annual Performance Plan and budget for the 2020/21 financial year.

The Chairperson then asked the Committee to raise any concerns regarding the previous presentation from the NYDA on its Strategic Plan.

Apologies were received from Mr L Mpithi (DA) and Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. The Minister was attending Cabinet and National Command Council meetings. The Minister deployed the Deputy Minister to represent the ministry in this meeting.

The Chairperson updated Dr Bernice Hlagala, together with Mr Waseem Carrim, CEO: NYDA, and Ms Thami Mkhwanazi, CFO:  NYDA, that the Committee had shortlisted 30 candidates for the NYDA and their CVs had been submitted to the Human Resource (HR) department to verify their qualifications. The candidates were sent consent forms and the selection committee required them to submit the original copy of their fingerprints (to be obtained from the police station) for screening purposes. The closing date for the consent form was 08 July 2020 and for fingerprints it was 09 July 2020.

The Chairperson raised a concern from the Committee, that there was a petition on social media with an NYDA logo; the distributors were trying to lobby people and convince them that the process of selecting the 30 shortlisted NYDA committee candidates was not free and fair, and some candidates were marginalised. She asked if the petition was from the NYDA, and if not, the entity must investigate the origin of the petition. The person found using the NYDA logo without executive authority must be subjected to the disciplinary committee.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) asked if the Committee had received the shortlisted candidates’ forms, and what would happen if the candidates did not meet the deadline.

The Chairperson emphasised that no candidate could miss the deadline, unless if the submission was delayed by courier services.

The Committee Secretary indicated that the office had received 17 forms so far and received one apology from the Eastern Cape (Bizana).

Ms N Giba, Unit Manager: Committee Section, Parliament, acknowledged that 17 fingerprints copies from the candidates were couriered in and one email was received from Eastern Cape to report late arrival. Ms Giba received about 23 consent forms and six qualification verifications; two alerts were received from HR about late documents due to delayed courier services.

In the absence of comments, the Chairperson invited the CEO and CFO to deliver the presentation on the adjustment budget from NYDA.

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson officially opened the meeting and asked the Committee Secretary to present the agenda to the Committee.

The Secretary announced that the agenda of the meeting was for the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to present its adjusted Annual Performance Plan and budget for the 2020/21 financial year.

The Chairperson then asked the Committee to raise any concerns regarding the previous presentation from the NYDA on its Strategic Plan.

Apologies were received from Mr L Mpithi (DA) and Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. The Minister was attending Cabinet and National Command Council meetings. The Minister deployed the Deputy Minister to represent the ministry in this meeting.

The Chairperson updated Dr Bernice Hlagala, together with Mr Waseem Carrim, CEO: NYDA, and Ms Thami Mkhwanazi, CFO:  NYDA, that the Committee had shortlisted 30 candidates for the NYDA and their CVs had been submitted to the Human Resource (HR) department to verify their qualifications. The candidates were sent consent forms and the selection committee required them to submit the original copy of their fingerprints (to be obtained from the police station) for screening purposes. The closing date for the consent form was 08 July 2020 and for fingerprints it was 09 July 2020.

The Chairperson raised a concern from the Committee, that there was a petition on social media with an NYDA logo; the distributors were trying to lobby people and convince them that the process of selecting the 30 shortlisted NYDA committee candidates was not free and fair, and some candidates were marginalised. She asked if the petition was from the NYDA, and if not, the entity must investigate the origin of the petition. The person found using the NYDA logo without executive authority must be subjected to the disciplinary committee.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) asked if the Committee had received the shortlisted candidates’ forms, and what would happen if the candidates did not meet the deadline.

The Chairperson emphasised that no candidate could miss the deadline, unless if the submission was delayed by courier services.

The Committee Secretary indicated that the office had received 17 forms so far and received one apology from the Eastern Cape (Bizana).

Ms N Giba, Unit Manager: Committee Section, Parliament, acknowledged that 17 fingerprints copies from the candidates were couriered in and one email was received from Eastern Cape to report late arrival. Ms Giba received about 23 consent forms and six qualification verifications; two alerts were received from HR about late documents due to delayed courier services.

In the absence of comments, the Chairperson invited the CEO and CFO to deliver the presentation on the adjustment budget from NYDA.

Presentation: Briefing by the NYDA on its APP and Budget for 2020/21
The CEO wished everyone good health and offered feedback on the usage of the NYDA logo. The matter had been addressed, and it was referred to the legal department on the way forward concerning the misuse of the NYDA. The CEO would revert to the Committee through email for any updates concerning these issues. The CEO also gave the Members confidence that the application process was fair and just.

The CEO proceeded presenting on the special adjustment budget from the NYDA tabled by the finance department and steps that were taken by the NYDA. The presentation focused on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mandate of NYDA; emergency budget implications; revised budget implications on service delivery targets; and on recommendations made during the Budget Vote.

Some of the highlights of the NYDA presentations were:
Shifted most of its training to online, and further reduced face-to-face trainings to ten young people to maintain social distancing
Provided support to youth regarding Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) claims and special COVID-19 relief grant
Was allocated a seat on the economic work stream of NatJoints, to support youth initiatives
Implemented rotational work schedule at all the offices (50% capacity)
High data costs emerged as a significant barrier for the youth to access information, job applications and other necessary resources
The key programme areas where budget was reduced: economic participation (R8.4 million); jobs (R16.9 million); National Youth Service (R11.1 million); Research and Policy (R2.23 million); Administration (R32.1 million); and employee costs (R15.0 million).

Discussion
The Chairperson applauded the improvement on the NYDA’s report but stressed that its budget adjustment concerning job programme two (reduction of R16 Million) was a lot. South Africa (SA) was faced with mass unemployment, especially now during the pandemic. The R2 million reduction in the research section was also a lot. Young people were needed for research in terms of creativity and innovation to address many issues that affected youth. Can the NYDA elaborate on why there were such big cuts, because they directly impact youth?

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) responded that the NYDA received a 20% cut, which was already huge for an entity of its calibre. The priority of the entity was to maintain the service delivery during the pandemic. The cut was based on evaluation of the activities and initiatives that the entity could not occur due to the pandemic – such as activities that required a training setup, venue and transport. In terms of research the CFO said that most cuts were also made on the activities that would occurred on live settings, such as conferences and other consultations – those that would not happen in the next nine months of the current financial year.

The Chairperson added that in the previous meeting, the Committee requested the National Youth Policy be republished and a new date set. But due to lockdown level five, there was a lack of youth input on the policy due to time constraints.

Discussion
Ms N Sharif (DA) asked the NYDA to provide examples of immediate job interventions that were implemented by the entity. What do they look like on the ground?

Ms Sharif further asked how the NYDA was planning to help create job opportunities and provide training for disabled youth and young women who were in abusive relationships due to financial burdens.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) asked how the young people in rural areas, women and people with disability were assisted in accessing the UIF and COVID-19 relief funds. She also asked how the reduction of funds would affect these specific people in terms of accessing training from the NYDA.

Ms Sharif asked if the entity already had a safety plan. What does this mean about communication, education and precaution that young people have to make?

Ms F Masiko (ANC) asked if the NYDA had started on working on a plan beyond COVID-19 and how the entity would pick up and move forward.

Ms Sharif asked for an update from the NYDA on the measures it was taking to increase access to mental health resources for young people.

Ms Sharif asked how the NYDA was planning to address rape culture, particularly in high schools, and also de-normalising patriarchy in schools.

Ms Sharif asked what the NYDA implied by “mini salary freeze”. Is it for general staff or the executive? What are the implications of this reduction on the employees’ families and wellbeing?

Ms Masiko asked that since the report stipulated that the entity was operating at a 50% workforce from head to local office, are all services operational across head and local offices level? Can young people fully access the services, especially at local level?

Ms Sharif asked whether the NYDA had done research on the hemp/cannabis industry and its potential in addressing youth unemployment.

The Chairperson advised that the Bill around the cannabis/hemp project would be dealt with in Parliament. She asked if the Committee could propose a project to the NYDA where young people could apply rather than asking about the entity about its thoughts on it. This project could further foster partnership with the Departments of Agriculture and Health.

Ms Masiko added that young people should be at the centre of this developing industry. Since pharmaceuticals liked to monopolise this sector, especially along gender and racial lines, there was a need to be pro-active and advocate for the progress of this industry and ensure that the youth of SA was benefiting financially.

Ms Sharif asked if the NYDA could broaden its relationship with the telecommunication industries. She further asked the NYDA that besides data costs, how is the entity dealing with infrastructure and teleconnection issues that were experienced in the rural areas?

The Chairperson seconded Ms Sharif’s point, asking if the NYDA had already met with the Department of Telecommunications in terms of infrastructure and connectivity follow-ups, especially in the rural areas.

Ms Masiko asked who was responsible for the data cost during the online training. She pleaded that the #DataMustFall must be a continuous national wide campaign, to ensure that young people could access internet services, especially during this Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era.

Ms Masiko asked for clarity on the NYDA’s responses to the pandemic (slide three). She noted that the CEO made a reference that due to the pandemic, the entity decided to limit the number of participants on face-to-face basis. However, further down in the presentation, the entity highlighted that the youth still preferred face-to-face contact amidst the pandemic. Could the NYDA clarify this contradiction? Is the entity running the training online, face-to-face (while adhering to the deadlines) or both?

Ms M Hlengwa (IFP) asked for clarity on training and capacitation of young people, so that they could contribute to their communities. She further asked about the role of the NYDA in assisting unemployed graduates.

Ms Masiko asked about the progress of the ‘1 000 businesses in 100 days’ initiative. How many businesses have been invested in so far?

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) asked what initiatives had the NYDA supported thus far on this economic stream. He further commented on the target reached on the APP for youth with disabilities, which would go a long way in retaining the disabled youth in the public sector.

Ms T Masondo (ANC) asked how many disabled people had benefited from these programmes.

Ms Masiko asked the CEO to clarify to the Committee if the establishment between the NYDA and SETA bore any financial benefits, taking into account that the partnerships were reduced from eight to four.

Ms Mgweba asked how the NYDA planned to improve the dissemination and access to the covid-19 relief funds, because issues were raised by young women from the Fezile Dabi Municipality during the Economic Dialogue. Can the CEO follow up on that case?

Responses
The CEO highlighted that six initiatives were identified and fell under the youth service and public employment sector; they included: place-making settlements; social solidarity and care; ending gender-based violence; creative sector and sports; education support, early childhood development and greening; urban agriculture and the environment. The CEO highlighted that women were prioritised under social solidarity and care; ending gender-based violence; and on education support and early childhood development. Under these initiatives people could access job opportunities near their residing place, therefore increasing their household income and their agency.

The CEO advised that he would look further into the Fezile Dabi Municipality issue. In terms of disabled youth, the entity would ensure that they were targeted in any youth service programmes. Should challenges rises, the Members were advised to follow up with questions.

The CEO advised that nothing had been done so far in terms of rape culture; the entity would update the Committee once the issue had been looked at. Perhaps the NYDA could introduce rape culture issue as one of the target areas through youth service programmes.

On the mini-freeze salary, the CEO indicated that it only applied to the employees at the managerial positions and above, during the 2020 financial year. The 50% workforce was applicable such that the entity was clear on when and on who was in or out at each specific branch; when they were unavailable, measures were provided on how to get in touch with them. The CFO further highlighted that there were no job losses in the entity.

The CEO agreed that the entity needed to look at partnering with the telecommunication companies. The NYDA believed that the Presidency needed to speak about the high data cost for young people. The Department of Telecommunications had offered a partial response stipulating that ICASA was fast-tracking the rollout of spectrum, which was expected to reduce data cost. The CEO stipulated that this rollout would offer opportunities for youth in business and companies that would roll out these broadbands.

The CEO advised that enough work had already been done in terms of the hemp industry; the way forward would be for the Minister of Health to deregulate the hemp production, as the DGI had approved it.

The CEO indicated that the entity was doing both face-to-face and online training. The online training was done through zero-rate costs and the NYDA carried the financial burden. The NYDA was in a process of rolling out a programme whereby the youth could come and collect the material they required at their offices. The CEO further highlighted that all branches were operational except for the Umtata Branch. However, young people were encouraged to be in contact with any nearby NYDA services so that they could prepare for their arrival and be able to adhere to covid-19 lockdown regulations.

The CEO advised that on the ‘1 000 businesses in 100 days’ initiative, the entity had already approved 480 business and dispersed about R12.2 million. The entity expected to have approved 750 businesses by end of July and to have the final list of the businesses approved by August 12, 2020.

The CEO highlighted that on the NatJoints participation, all the government programmes highlighted on the presentation had attracted close to 500 000 young that came through this economic work streams.

The NYDA’s approach to the SETA partnership was of a collaborative nature; the entity tried not to rely on SETA by meeting it halfway through bringing some level of co-funding into the partnership, since NYDA could not bring 50% of funds. The budget cut impacted this partnership considering that SETA did not get its skill development levy in the last four months. The CEO was willing to go back and re-evaluate if the entity could increase the SETA partnerships.

The CEO indicated that the NYDA had job databases where it offered learnership opportunities to unemployed graduates and linked them to companies that offered jobs when they were available.

Follow-up questions
The Chairperson asked the NYDA to prioritise about four projects, which it would embark on and would create more economic opportunities for young people, as well as skills development.

The Chairperson highlighted that agriculture must be one of the prioritised sectors, that NYDA could look at. The issue of land and agriculture must be taken seriously, and the youth needed to participate in this dialogue. She advised that young people in all government constituencies needed to be encouraged to get involved in all forms of agriculture.

Ms Sharif asked for her question, on mental health facilities, to be answered.

The CEO responded that the entity did not have any clear programme yet besides enforcing the higher education to prioritise mental health of students. The focus of NYDA was more on the economic sector for the youth. The CEO promised that the entity would improve its services on mental health by re-evaluating its programmes to include psychosocial interventions.

The Chairperson asked Dr Hlagala to provid input on this matter.

Dr Hlagala indicated that the entity had already started looking at the psychosocial impact of covid-19 on young people. There was partnership between NYDA and GIZ; a webinar would occur on 13 July 2020, which would create a dialogue with young people to persuade them to be involved in constructing, conceptualising and designing a programme that would build their resilience and capabilities regarding social and psychological issues experienced by the youth.

The Chairperson asked if the Acting Director-General had any inputs.

The Acting DG asked if there were any economic opportunities for post COVID-19. Can the economy be more inclusive? Women and disabled youth were not well represented. The country was not reaping the youth and gender dividend; the country had 52 % of women and based on statistics, 60 % of the population was below the age of 34. If the population is left behind, how do we expect to have a growing economy and address inequality?

The Acting DG welcomed the NYDA programmes that included explicit disability and gender targets within the NYDA targets. Active interventions were encouraged by the Acting DG on young unemployed women to assist them in gaining access to the economy, so they could not depend on social grant. The Acting DG further advised that the NYDA must also work on active training along gender-based violence lines.

The Chairperson added that the artists (the creative hub of the economy) must also not be left behind.  She asked the NYDA to assist the artists; the entity could do this through partnering with the Department of Sport and Arts and Culture to see if they could come up with something tangible.

Ms Sharif asked if the NYDA had the capacities to help young entrepreneurs who were facing difficulties and were intimidated. She asked for permission to forward the details of some of the women who were facing challenges.

The Chairperson advised Ms Sharif to give the contacts to the Department of Women to relieve the NYDA from many issues that needed to be solved.

MS P Sonti (EFF) asked who was responsible for homeless people, especially in winter and in light of the pandemic.

The Chairperson advised Ms Sonti that the Department of Social Development was responsible in all provinces and referred her to collaborate with the Committee Secretary on that matter.

Closing Remarks by the Chairperson
The Chairperson thanked everyone who participated in the meeting. She highlighted that the Committee was looking forward to the updates and would be pleased to see an introduction of young people in the agricultural sector.

The meeting was adjourned.
 

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