NYDA Quarter 2 2020/21 performance; with Deputy Minister

Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities

27 October 2020
Chairperson: Ms C Ndaba (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) briefed the Committee on its Quarter Two performance report for the 2020/2021 financial year. The meeting took place on a virtual platform. The NYDA continues to function operationally – it has safely reopened all offices and thus far has only had seven confirmed cases of Covid-19 amongst employees with no deaths. There is a continued focus on the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund and the restoration of all products and services. Branches and centers have opened for NSFAS applications from 15 September 2020. The NYDA supported government on relief programs and economic recovery through NATJOINTS and made detailed inputs to the Economic Recovery Plan. Management submits monthly reports to the Ministry and Department on the status of the organisation. The NYDA in-year budget has been cut again by R14 million in the MTBPS – this is due to Covid-19 and the decision to cut budgets to provide funding to SAA. This is in addition to the R97 million cut announced in the supplementary budget taking the cumulative annual cut to R111 million.

The presentation then addressed the impact of COVID19 on business operations, outcome of the audit, performance of key programs, financial information for the quarter, human resources and outstanding matters.  

Members asked the Agency if it monitors funds allocated to assist young people in rural areas. How is the Agency providing mental health services to young people during COVID-19? Why is spending on youth service low? Members wanted to know how the Agency will catch-up the time lost during the national lockdown. Committee Members were also highly concerned that the Agency is not doing enough to assist young people in rural areas.

The Deputy Minister was concerned about 17 management contracts that will expire and requested the Committee to find ways of assisting the agency. Committee Members were grateful to the NYDA for acquiring a sixth consecutive clean audit in the absence of a structured Board. It agreed to assist the Agency on its main challenges pertaining to management contracts and the Board. As a way forward, the Committee made a resolution to invite the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities to present a detailed report on the National Youth Policy consultation processes.

Meeting report

Opening Remarks by the Chairperson

The Chairperson welcomed all Members of the Committee and was thankful to God for protecting Members from COVID-19. It is crucial to always obey regulations put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus. Friends and families must always be reminded to wear face masks and maintain physical distancing at all time. The Chairperson showed gratitude to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) for their availability to the meeting in the mist of all the challenges confronting the organisation. One of the challenges facing the NYDA is that they do not have a board. Another frustration is that contracts of some of its senior managers will expire without a possible extension. This has been a major crisis facing the organisation and the non-existence of the board makes it difficult to extend some the contracts. The Chairperson requested the Portfolio Committee, together with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), to strategise means of rescuing the NYDA.

Deputy Minister’s Remarks

Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize, Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, commended the Chairperson for reminding Committee Members to obey lockdown regulations at all cost. She said the absence of the NYDA board also affects the operation of the DWYPD. The Department and the NYDA continue to serve the interests of young people through these challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department is grateful to the NYDA in obtaining its sixth consecutive clean audit report from AGSA for the 2019/2020 financial year. Through the shareholder performance agreement between the NYDA and the DWYPD, both entities will work together to strengthen the overall performance of the NYDA. The agreement clearly outlines the relationship between the two parties at strategic and operational levels. The relationship strengthens cooperate governance of the NYDA to ensure transparency, accountability and sound management. It also outlines how both parties will work together to ensure an appropriate balance between performance, delivery and compliance in order to avoid duplication of rules and responsibilities.

To further enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the NYDA, the Department is in the process of amending the NYDA Act as part of its legislative programme. The Draft Bill has already been tabled in government clusters and will soon be presented to Cabinet committees for guidance, comments and inputs. The Bill deals with all challenges that affect the effectiveness and efficiency of the NYDA. The National Assembly referred the report on the recommended candidates for the NYDA Board back to the Portfolio Committee and the process remains in complete. Prof Mkhize said the Department will hear from the Portfolio Committee in terms of the progress made regarding the appointment of Board Members. She applauded Mr Waseem Carrim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO): NYDA, for the outstanding performance of the organisation in the absence of a board. As the NYDA continues to operate without a board but the CEO continues to submit monthly reports to the Department. The CEO of the NYDA and Director-General (DG) of the Department meet regularly to enhance the interests of young people.

On a positive note, it is a pleasure to announce that the National Youth Policy 2020/2030 has been approved by Cabinet. All comments provided by the Committee were taken into consideration and the Department acknowledges scrutiny as it improves performance. Prof Mkhize informed the Committee that there are 21 managerial contract positions in the NYDA held by two executives, two senior members and 17 managers that will expire by the end of the year. The NYDA indicated that due to budget cuts, not all contracts can be renewed and only seven positions will be filled.

The Chairperson declared that the Committee is anxious that some of the targets were altered and no substantive reason was provided explaining why the targets were changed. Maybe in the presentation, the NYDA will explain why some targets were changed and perhaps share plans they have in place to improve their performance.

NYDA Quarter Two Report 2020/21

Mr Carrim presented the NYDA’s 2nd Quarterly Report for 2020/2021. He told the Committee that the NYDA continues to function operationally and have safely reopened all its offices. Thus far the Agency has only had seven confirmed cases of Covid-19 amongst its employees with no deaths. The NYDA have continued to focus on the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund and the restoration of all products and services. All branches and centers have opened for National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) applications as from 15 September 2020. It has provided detailed inputs to the Economic Recovery Plan of the President and management continue to submit monthly reports to the Ministry and Department on the status of the organisation. He told the Committee that the organisation’s in-year budget has been cut again by R14 million – this is due to Covid-19 and the decision to cut budgets to provide funding to South African Airways (SAA). This is in addition to the R97 million cut announced in the supplementary budget taking the cumulative annual cut to R111 million.

In terms of the impact of COVID-19 on business operations, the NYDA has adjusted to Level 1 of the Risk Adjusted Strategy and the Agency has returned to full capacity except at eight centres which do not have sufficient space for social distancing and continue to operate at 50% capacity. All offices have been successfully reopened to the public. The agency has received a sixth consecutive clean audit report (unqualified with no material findings) from the AGSA for the 2019 / 2020 financial year. The Agency also achieved 23 out of 24 planned targets for the financial year. This translates to a 96% performance achievement. In this period under review (April – September 2020) the NYDA has 25 key performance indicators (KPIs), of which ten are met, five are due in quarter four and five are met and exceeded. The overall achievement is 75%.

In terms of the audit outcome, the NYDA has received a sixth consecutive clean audit report (unqualified with no material findings) from the AGSA for the 2019 / 2020 financial year. The Agency also achieved 23 out of 24 planned targets for the financial year. This translates to a 96% performance achievement. The NYDA also incurred irregular expenditure of R171 000 (0.03% of the total expenditure). An investigation indicated that an employee who was involved in the procurement process failed to declare a conflict of interest. The employee has been subjected to a disciplinary process and pleaded guilty to the charges. The employee has been suspended for three months without pay, docked salary of R150 000 and has been placed on a final written warning. No fruitless and wasteful expenditure was incurred during the 2019 / 2020 financial year. The Agency is preparing the Annual Report for tabling in November.

Looking at the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund, the NYDA developed the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund as a response mechanism to Covid-19 for particularly young entrepreneurs affected by Covid-19. Fund targeted at niche community of youth micro enterprises which may be missed by other relief funds. R10 million capital was provided by the NYDA. R2 million was provided by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government.  The NYDA will publish the list of all beneficiaries to maintain fairness and transparency

Currently the Youth Employment Intervention is focussed on the development of the SAYouth.Mobi. This is a platform being developed by Harambee, NYDA, SALDRU, Tshepo 1 Million and the Department of Labour and Employment. It was part of the announcements made at SONA 2020 and will be launched in the third quarter. It will create a platform for young people to build a profile for themselves and be connected to economic opportunities closest to where they live.

The 1 000 Businesses in 100 Days campaign was announced in the State of the Nation 2020 by the President as one of the first initiatives of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention. The original vision was to have 1000 businesses funded through an existing pipeline between 14 February (SONA) and 16 June (Youth Day). The hard lockdown meant almost 70 days were lost and the adjusted date agreed between the PMO and the NYDA was 12 August, International Youth Day. The project was completed on the 12 August 2020 and the final report was submitted.

The NYDA / NSFAS partnership has been run successfully for the last three years. Young people register through NYDA centres where they are assisted step by step by NSFAS staff in completing their application. Last year, close to 120 000 young people applied for NSFAS through NYDA centres. NSFAS has already opened applications for the 2021 academic year.

Mr Carrim then discussed the quarter two performance - in this period under review (April – September 2020) the NYDA has 25 KPIs, of which 10 are met, five are due in quarter four and five are met and exceeded. The overall achievement is 75%. Implementation of most programmes started in quarter two due to lockdown challenges hence the improved performance as compared to quarter one. More stringent verification and data collection measures are applied across all programmes. Catch up plan has been developed, targets not met will be monitored closely and be achieved by end of quarter three.

The NYDA grant programme has been contributing to various sectors such as agriculture, construction, arts and culture, engineering, services, hospitality, ICT, retail, and manufacturing. The sectors where most recipients of grants were coming from are service, agriculture and manufacturing whilst least recipients are from the hospitality, engineering and arts and culture sectors. By end of quarter two grants were highly consumed by young people between the ages of 26-30 who constituted 42% of the grants issued, followed by those aged 31-35 at 35%. There was a lower consumption for young people between the ages of 18-20.

The presentation then addressed the financial information for the quarter. On COVID19 expenditure, the NYDA had to procure hand sanitisers and masks for the staff members, these were delivered on 25 March 2020. On 28 March 2020, the President announced the lockdown and the offices were then shut down from 28 March 2020. The entity closed operations during level 5 and level 4. The entity’s operations resumed on level 3 lockdown regulations on 1 June 2020, this was only for head office staff members and was on a rotational basis. The building had to be cleaned and additional PPE had to be procured to comply fully with the lockdown regulations. On 15 June, the operations from branches also resumed but only for staff members, procurement of PPE had to be done before hand to ensure compliance with lock down regulations. The entity opened all the branches to the public from 26 August 2020 after the lockdown regulations were relaxed to level two. The details of all the procurements of PPE have been included as an attachment to this presentation. The Auditor-General audited the entity’s COVID-19 related transactions as requested by Treasury and no findings were raised. All Covid-19 expenditure has been reported to National Treasury.

On outstanding matters, the NYDA is working closely with the DWYPD on the NYP2030 and the NYDA Amendment Act. It is working with the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform, AGRISeta and the Land Bank on the release of state land, training of youth in agriculture and funding of youth enterprises in agriculture. Support to small scale farmers was identified as one of the priorities in the Economic Recovery Plan. The NYDA is part of NEDLAC discussions on the deregulation of hemp.

See presentation for further details

Discussion

The Chairperson stated that the Committee is worried about the changes made in the report pertaining to targets. In some of the outcomes, there are changes in wording and the Committee does not understand why changes were made. The Committee understands that in Quarter One the Agency was affected by the lockdown and it is expected that the Agency presents a plan outlining how they will meet the targets that were not met. Another concern of the Committee relates to contracts that will expire before the end of the year. What plans does the Agency have in place to ensure this will not affect the work of the agency? It is important for the Committee to know exactly what the Agency plans in order to mitigate these challenges so that it can see how it can help the agency.

Mr Carrim replied that the NYDA does not have the authority once the Annual Performance Plan (APP) is approved to make changes on the outcomes. Researchers can engage the NYDA and pinpoint where changes were made just to double check if everything is 100% correct. He apologised for any changes in the outcomes or miswording in any of the outcomes.

There are two dynamics that are concerning regarding the contracts. On one hand, it is a bad feeling that people’s contracts will come to an end in the middle of the pandemic. Equally, to fill positions that the agency cannot afford to fund is physically an irresponsible decision. Even though there will be shortage of staff in the agency, the Portfolio Committee expect the same level of work and the agency will ensure the quality of work continues undisturbed for the sake of young people.

Mr L Mphithi (DA) observed that on slide 13 of the presentation the total is 20 but in the table the total is 16. Is there any clarification for this mistake? What action has the NYDA taken to ensure young people from rural areas benefit from the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund, in particular those young people who do not have the formalised requirements needed to benefit from the fund?  The informal sector contributes enormously to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and thus the NYDA must find ways to assist small businesses operating informally. He applauded the NYDA for championing the production of Hemp and ensuring that young people interested in its production benefit from the project.

He asked the Deputy Minister to provide a full report of all consultations that have taken place regarding the National Youth Policy (NYP), so that this can be communicated to the constituencies. What is the consultation timeline?  In which stage is the process at and what were the resolutions? What is the relationship between the NYDA and the Youth Directorate of the Department? What type of partnerships have been working and not working between the Department and NYDA?

Mr Carrim replied that one thing the Agency does differently regarding access to the relief fund is to reduce compliance requirements. For example, the Agency supported young people not registered for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). As much as the informal sector is important, there is a need to focus on formalising the sector. Having a bank account or being registered for tax is very important to small businesses because it guarantees them better access to government funding.

The relationship between the NYDA and the Department is evolving. The Department attends the Agency’s sessions and it will attend the audit committee meeting. The DG has been very supportive of the NYDA and the Agency thanked them for time they take to consult with the NYDA.

Dr Bernice Hlagala, Acting Chief Director: Youth, DWYPD, replied that the NYP has been approved by Cabinet and the NYDA Bill has been presented to various flusters. The Bill will then be presented to Parliament on 4 November 2020. Once it has been approved as a discussion document it will be subject to consultation and inputs will be integrated to improve the Bill. After refining the Bill, it will be presented to Parliament for approval. Before the end of the financial year in March 2021, the Bill would have been tabled to Parliament. The Department will provide the Committee with an activity plan with a clear timeline on what will be done to the NYDA Bill.

She also went on to say that the Department and the NYDA have a shareholder performance agreement signed by the Minister and it articulates clearly the role and responsibilities of the NYDA and the Department. In one of the previous meetings, the Committee made a resolution to invite the Department to give a presentation on the role and responsibility of the NYDA and the Department. Prof Hlagala told the Committee that the Department is ready to deliver the presentation at its convenience. The Department has actually worked very well with the NYDA in developing the NYP. Another successful project between the two parties was the development of the National Youth Service Framework. The Department developed the framework and handed it over to the NYDA for implementation to various stakeholders. Other key successful projects include the implementation of the 25 year review, where the Department is working closely with the NYDA to develop review chapters.

Ms A Mhlongo (ANC) welcomed the report of the NYDA and applauded their work in the absence of a board. She went on to ask when the NYDA will publish the list of all beneficiaries of the Youth Micro Enterprise Relief Fund in-order to maintain fairness and transparency. What was the outcome of the report submitted to the Presidency regarding the 1000 Businesses in 100 Days campaign? What was the contribution of the NYDA to the Economic Recovery Plan? And how will the NYDA give effect to the Economic Recovery Plan? What exactly is the NYDA doing to assist the youth in accessing the State land made available by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform? She advised the NYDA to strengthen its communication system in rural areas because most of their programmes and the information it provides does not reach young people in most parts of rural areas. The NYDA can use media platforms such as the radio because it is more effective than internet platforms in reaching rural communities.

The Chairperson replied that the NYDA did submit the list of beneficiaries and the list was circulated amongst all Committee Members.

Mr Carrim replied and said that item one and two on the Economic Recovery Plan of the President are the most important. The first item on the Recovery Plan declares infrastructure as a priority sector to get the economy going. Companies that win contracts for work done in infrastructure must prioritise women and ensure between 80% to 90% of the staff employed are young people.  On the second item, the President emphasised massive employment with 800 000 jobs available immediately. The plan shows that 300 000 jobs are set aside for assistant teachers in basic education.  This is one of the recommendations that the NYDA and the Department have been making for a long time. The role of the NYDA is to ensure that projects are implemented and that young people are major beneficiaries. The President also spoke about the energy sector and the NYDA is running some interesting energy projects with the Provincial Government in Mpumalanga partnering with SASOL.

To improve information access to young people in rural areas, the Agency will develop data free communication platforms. The other solution is to establish offices in rural areas or a help desk in libraries or municipalities but with the current budget establishing new offices seems impossible.

Ms P Sonti (EFF) said she is concerned about the NYDA operating without a board. Why does the NYDA continue with its operations without being monitored? She said even though the work of the NYDA is good, unemployment is still a major problem amongst the youth. The achievements mentioned by the NYDA are not satisfying because most of the services mentioned are nowhere to be found in the rural areas of South Africa. Why are the NYDA projects not visible in rural areas? She emphasised on the severe conditions that are facing the young people and that nothing is being done to mitigate the situation. The large expenditure by the NYDA during the lockdown did not benefit the rural poor because there is no evidence in rural communities. The agency must not take rural communities for granted. 

The Chairperson replied saying that the Committee needs to applaud the NYDA for its job well done as it has maintained a clean audit from AGSA in the absence of a board. It is important to congratulate them because it is not easy to achieve an unqualified report without structured governance.  At the same time, it is also important to mention when they are underperforming. She told the Committee that while criticising the agency that it should also provide solutions.

Ms F Masiko (ANC) requested the Department to circulate the close-up report submitted by the NYDA in order to get a sense of the number of women who benefited from the programmes and the nature of businesses engaged by young people. She made a follow up on matters raised in a meeting that was held on 25 August 2020. What progress has been made in implementing the resolutions that were tabled in this meeting? What is the status of the NYP 2030 and the NYDA Amendment Act?

Mr Carrim replied saying that the Agency will share the close-up report on 1 000 businesses before the end of the year.

Ms N Sharif (DA) asked the NYDA to provide its contingency plan and mitigation factors to ensure that they achieve their targets. She went on to ask why there was overspending on the budget and what was this money spent on. She asked for more clarity on the SAYouth.Mobi site of the NYDA.

The NYDA is doing a great job by assisting young people in getting them involved in the production of Hemp. How has the NYDA been thinking about providing access to mental health practitioners, given that COVID-19 has had a devastating effect especially on young women? The lockdown has been a major problem in the operations of the Agency. What does the catch-up plan look like and what does it entail? Young people operating businesses are struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and others are retrenched and seeking jobs. The NYDA has a role to play in assisting young people with these challenges.

Mr Carrim replied that SAYouth.Mobi is not a database but an opportunity for young people to create their profile as to what skills they have, where they are located, their experience and qualifications. This will help the Agency to better understand the needs of young people without them visiting branch offices. A key component is that this platform is data free. Lastly, the platform is about maintaining a continuous communication channel with young people.

He explained that the NYDA is more focused on the economic side of opportunities. Lack of opportunities translates to mental health problems amongst young people. It is distressing for young people to wake up every day and have nowhere to go. Therefore, economic opportunities that the NYDA offers to young people allows them to wake up every day and have somewhere to go. These opportunities in turn help young people to battle mental health challenges because they have a reason to wake up every day. The Agency would appreciate suggestions from the Committee that can help to improve the mental health of young people.

The catch-up plan is starting to take effect in how the Agency does things. Equally, due to time loss during the lockdown the Agency will work much later into December 2020 and come back much earlier in January 2021.  This message has been conveyed to all staff of the organisation. The organisation will have a short break in December 2020 to make up the time lost in Quarter One and Quarter Two.

Ms T Mgweba (ANC) acknowledged the NYDA presentation. She said in Quarter One and Quarter Two of 2020/2021, the presentation shows spending of 27% which then decreased to 21%. What were the reasons for poor expenditure on national youth services, research and policy? What is the agency going to do to change the percentage reflection? Why was there an overspending on CAPEX?

Mr Carrim replied saying that the national youth service is mainly funded by donors. The Agency has been waiting for authorisation from the donors that fund the project. When the donors approve authorisation, expenditure on the national youth services will increase. During the lockdown, attendance on skills development training was very low because of social distancing. As the economy is gradually opening there will be more spending on training and projects.

Mr Thami Mkhwanazi, Chief Financial Officer: NYDA, explained that over expenditure on CAPEX was due to four average vehicles that the agency needed to procure in the first quarter. 

Mr S Ngcobo (DA) asked why the NYDA only spent 10% and 13% on youth training and projects. He asked how the NYDA will correct this in Quarter Three and Quarter Four. In 2015, the Minister of Labour approved the code of good practice on employment of people living with disabilities. In terms if these codes an employer should circulate job advertisements of organisations representing people living with disabilities. Does the NYDA circulate employment positions to organisations representing the interests of people living with disabilities?

Mr Carrim responded that there are ten targets that are met and five that are not met. In total 15 targets are met and five are due in Quarter number four. Maybe it is the words “due in quarter four” that are misinterpreted at times. To give an example: looking at two particular targets on training, there was no target required to achieve in Quarter number two. However, work had already started and because the lockdown was lifted earlier than expected those targets are reported as exceeded. He said sometimes it is just an interpretation issue but if Members feel the Agency should not report the targets as achieved, it will decrease the targets to three and increase the targets due in quarter number four to seven.

The Agency is compliant to codes and good conducts for people living with disabilities. The Agency advertises all its positions to be gender, youth and disability sensitive.

Ms B Maluleke (ANC) commended the NYDA for their performance in terms of financial management. What plans does the Agency have to ensure that targets that were not met due to COVID-19 are met before the financial year ends?

Ms M Khawula (EFF) asked the NYDA for specifics of youth that benefited in the Eastern Cape. She asked if the NYDA is referring to the youth in townships or rural areas. Does the NYDA monitor all its expenditure and ensure financial support reaches young people in rural communities? There is no form of evidence that the youth in rural Idutywa and other villages in the Eastern Cape are receiving financial support from the NYDA. Young people in rural areas of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal confirmed that they have not benefited from the relief fund. The NYDA should make a plan to provide support to young people in rural communities. There is plenty of arable land in rural areas that is underutilised and it would assist if the NYDA can provide all the necessary implements and tools to farm the land. Young people are committing crime and consuming drugs because they are not supported by the government. The Committee always suggests intervention projects to help young people, but all the projects do not reach rural areas. She said the young people should benefit from PPE tenders of government and should be provided with opportunities to own their own businesses in order to provide employment opportunities.

Mr Carrim responded that the rural development, agriculture and land reform issue should not be seen in a silo. The NYDA cannot just give away grants and the story ends. There are multiple steps that need to be taken to build a sustainable agricultural system. On one hand there is Provincial Government that needs to be involved and the Department of Agriculture to release arable land under the state for young people. Secondly, skills and development authorities need to come on board to provide mentorship and the necessary training required by young people in order to run successful businesses. Access to finance is another problem that needs special attention because the financial grants that it offers to the youth are sometimes not enough. The private sector should also be taken into consideration so that young people are linked to continuous, reliable markets. He said if this can be achieved, it can benefit many young people and allow them to tap into agricultural opportunities

The Chairperson said it is clear that the Committee is highly concerned about rural development. Does the NYDA have a plan to improve the lives of young people living in rural areas? What is the agency doing to ensure young people participate in the Economic Recovery Plan?

Mr Carrim acknowledged the poor performance of the NYDA in rural areas and said the Agency will strategise means to better engage young people in rural areas. 

The Chairperson reminded the NYDA about the agricultural land that has been released by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform for use by young people. The Portfolio Committee expects the NYDA and the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities to provide a list of all the young people that have been assisted to apply and access the land released by the Department.  She asked what its offices in all the provinces are doing to assist young people in applying for this land.

Ms Khawula told the Committee that most rural communities of South Africa are rich with arable land but the land is underutilised because young people do not have farming equipment and implements to work the land and start farming. Does the NYDA and the DWYPD monitor how the money meant for agricultural projects is spent?

Dr Hlagala replied that in reaching out to young people in rural communities the Department submitted a project to the Minister based on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The project seeks to train young people in areas of 4IR and it will target mainly young people in rural areas. The other project that will bring the Department and NYDA together is the National Resilient Project which seeks to address mental health challenges affecting young people. The Presidency suggested that the Department should include the Economic Recovery Plan in the NYP and the Department is busy consolidating its inputs. Moving forward the Department will strategise monitoring measures that will ensure that young people from rural areas benefit from their projects.

The Chairperson said the issue of trainings offered to young people was not properly explained and requested the NYDA to explain more.

Mr Carrim replied that because of social distancing requirements trainings were affected. Since the rules have been relaxed training is proceeding smoothly in all branches of the NYDA. The apprenticeship, internship and learnership program is also running accordingly.

The Chairperson told the NYDA that it was quiet about their operations during the lockdown and requested the agency to make young people aware that their programmes are up and running since lockdown rules have been relaxed.

The Chairperson asked the Department when it was going to present the NYP to the Portfolio Committee.

Dr Hlagala replied saying that the Department is ready to do the presentation whenever it is convenient for the Committee.

Mr Mphithi asked the Department if it has done enough consultation regarding the NYP and what the timeline would be going forward.

Dr Hlagala replied saying that the Department consulted adequately and as such a consultation report has been presented to Cabinet and can be made available to the Committee. The Department will present an activity plan to the Committee outlining exactly how they will take the NYP forward.

Mr Mphithi said that it would be of interest to see the comments/inputs provided during consultation and how the inputs were integrated to the final report.  Is there any way that the Department can explain how comments were integrated to form the final report? Who made the comments? Which comments were considered and which comments were excluded? There was also a process conducted by the Department where young people were allowed to submit their inputs via email. It is very vital for the Committee to know how inputs from young people were dealt with and how they were integrated in the final report. 

The Chairperson said the Committee will schedule a meeting for the Department so that they present a full report on the whole process of the NYP.

The Chairperson asked the NYDA if they are still receiving donations from the private sector during the lockdown.

Mr Carrim replied that all donors are still implementing projects and are even increasing their spending in the projects. There are also other projects in the pipeline to assist young people but are subject to delays in the approval and implementation stage.

Ms Khawula asked the Department how it will implement the NYP to help rural communities in South Africa benefit from the projects they implement.

Dr Hlagala replied and said that the objective of the NYP is to address the challenges facing rural communities and will target women and people living with disabilities. The policy also articulates on various projects that will be implemented to enhance the lives of young people living in rural areas. It will also articulate on skills programs needed to empower young people. The Department also monitors all the stakeholders responsible for implementing the project to ensure targets are met.  

Mr Mphithi asked what the initial amount budgeted for small businesses through the relief fund was and why has the allocation of the funds only benefited 12% of the businesses that applied for support?

Mr Carrim replied that the entity experienced a budget cut and that is why only 12% of businesses were funded.

The Chairperson told the Department that it might soon be invited to come and present how it monitors other departments it works with to ensure it delivers on what is expected from them. Officials from all provinces will also be invited to account on how money allocated for PPE was spent.

Adv Mikateko Maluleke, Director-General (DG), DWYPD, said all questions to the Department are noted and it will try by all means to assist the NYDA on its challenges. She said the Department is working together with the Department of Rural Development to ensure women and young people benefit from the State land released by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

The Chairperson said that if the Department feels the information regarding state land made available by the Department of Rural Development has not been conveyed correctly to rural areas; it can request the Department to extend the submission date. The Committee will also request all provinces to account on how funds meant for sanitary pads were spent. The Chairperson appreciated the attendance of the NYDA, the Department and the Members.

The meeting was adjourned.

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