State Owned Enterprises and Women Empowerment: briefing by Department; Committee Programme

Meeting report

PUBLIC ENTERPRISES PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
4 August 2004
STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: BRIEFING BY DEPARTMENT; COMMITTEE PROGRAMME

Chairperson: Mr Y Kariem (ANC)

Documents handed out
Contribution of State Owned Enterprises to Women Empowerment over the past 10 years
Government’s Programme of Action: Economic Cluster
Developing a programme for five year term linked to Medium-Term Expenditure Framework 2005-2009
Setting Committee Objectives
Draft Committee Programme
Business Plan For 2005-2006

SUMMARY
The Committee discussed and adopted its programme for the remainder of 2004. It also discussed how to how to compile its Budget and Business Plans for the next five years. The Business Plan discussion was led by Mrs NP Keswa (Manager of Legislation and Oversight Division - Committee Section).

The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) made a presentation on how State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) were addressing the issue of Women Empowerment. The DPE’s presentation painted a rather bleak empowerment picture in certain SOEs and the Committee requested more detailed information on this issue.

MINUTES
The Chairperson said the Committee had an important responsibility with the new emphasis given by the Government to State Owned Enterprises. It had sent out a draft Programme, and had to come up with a Business Plan and a Budget.

Mrs. Keswa explained what was required from Committees with regard to their Business Plans. Committees were expected to plan properly and clearly translate their methodology. She highlighted that Committees should look at the resources required for their Business Plans and Budget. These plans had to be submitted by the end of August 2004.

The Chairperson admitted that Members did not have the technical skills to compile the Business Plan and asked Mrs Keswa to assist the Committee to draft one.

He said the Members would be attending workshops with the DPE to better equip them for their upcoming programme. He asked Mrs Keswa why the Departments were allowed to have Business Plans before they have Budgets with that not being the case with the Committees. He thought the same should apply to Portfolio Committees.

The Chairperson said it would be reasonable to expect the Committee to have a Business Plan around March next year. They would look at last year’s Budget and submit a Draft Budget on 18 August. He added that the Ministry and Department were finalising their own Budget and Business Plans. He hoped Mrs Keswa was empowering the Committee Secretary with the technical skills to work on these plans.

Mrs Keswa said Parliament had the resources and that she was available to assist the Committee. She needed to get the Schedule of the Committee in time.

The main discussion topic was around the SOE’s and Women Empowerment. DPE Assistant Deputy Director General, Mr James Theledi, gave background on the seven SOE’s that reported to the Department. The main ones were Eskom, Transnet and Denel.

DPE Transport Sector Director, Ms Raisibe Lepule, made a presentation on four of the SOE’s, dealing with their contribution to Women Empowerment. Transformation in these SOE’s had been facilitated in 3 areas, namely, Skills Development, Employment Equity, and Black Economic Empowerment

In terms of Skills Development, Transnet’s Mainstream Gender Initiatives Strategy focussed mainly on Executive Women and excluded women at lower levels. Transnet needed to look at development from the lower levels. It was negotiating Technical Skills Training for all women.

Employment Equity in Transnet has improved since 1999. The number of women on the Board of Directors had gone from 5/13 to 6/15. In terms of BEE procurement, there has not been much improvement in terms of the Board Composition of women.

In terms of Employment Equity at Eskom, the focus was primarily on management which included supervisory staff and professionals. There was a Women Advancement Programme, focussing on the development of technical leadership of women to take up senior positions.

In 2001 the Board approved a policy to assist in mainstreaming economic empowerment. Women Economic Empowerment was measured in terms of defined BEE procurement expenditure which started in 2002.

Denel had a percentage of 26% female employees against 74% male employees. It had targeted 10% representativity of females at Executive, Management, and Technicians levels. There had not been a significant increase in Employment Equity in Denel in relation to women empowerment.

In terms of Skills Development, out of 164 external bursaries, only 39 had been offered to females. In 1999, there were 3 women out of 14 members on Denel’s Board. Currently, there were only two females on the Board.

She added that SOE’s would be monitored quarterly and annually in terms of women empowerment issues. The Department would measure women empowerment initiatives with regards to HIV/AIDS issues. The DPE would like to gear SOE’s as stimulators of economic development.

The number of black women employed at management level in the DPE, had exceeded the minimum Affirmative Action targets.

The Department had not done much in terms of skills development. It needed to focus on capacity building initiatives, with reference to women. It had a transformation Committee in place to address key issues relating to gender.

In terms of restructuring transactions, 55% of retail investors in the Telkom Initial Public Offering were women. There had been a deployment of women in SOE executive structures. In terms of tenders, equity and empowerment were preconditions for bidders.

Discussion
Mr Tsietsi Louw (ANC) said the long-term objective of Women Empowerment was to see women as job creators. He asked why Transnet had not approved a strategy for its Women Development Programme.

Ms Nana Mnandi (ANC) said the Department should get the exact locations of empowerment in the SOE’s. The Department was not playing an oversight role on SOE’s.

Mr Chris Gololo (ANC) asked if there were future plans to accommodate disabled persons.

The Chairperson was concerned that the way the department reported was not detailed enough. He asked for more specific information in the future. He asked where exactly the empowerment was taking place.

Mr Theledi welcomed the concerns and stated that the report attempted to summarise developments thus far. More details and a full report on SOE’s would be available next August.

Mr Bhutana Komphela (ANC) asked what the position of Eskom was around the empowerment of women and learnership programmes.

Mr Gololo (ANC) commented that the DPE needed to produce employment figures for Denel and at what levels women were employed.

Ms Nana asked if DPE employed disabled people. Mr Louw said the Department had a disabled Deputy Director, and it would monitor SOE’s around the disability question.


The meeting was adjourned