Health and Social Development Annual Reports: Analysis by Parliamentary Researchers
NCOP Social Services
31 October 2006
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Meeting report
SELECT COMMITTEE ON SOCIAL SERVICES
31 October 2006
HEALTH AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ANNUAL REPORTS: ANALYSIS BY PARLIAMENTARY
RESEARCHERS
Acting Chairperson: Mr B J Tolo (ANC, Mpumalanga)
Documents handed out:
Analysis of the Annual Report for the
Department of Health
Analysis of the Annual Report for the
Department of Social Development
SUMMARY
The Annual Reports of the Department of Health and the Department of Social
Development were analysed by the Parliamentary Researchers for key issues and
inconsistencies to provide the Committee with a tool to hold the Departments
accountable for their work during the 2005/06 reporting year. Both reports
adhered to a user-friendly format that made comparison with original plans
possible. However, the Department of Social Development lacked clarity in their
reporting style for outcomes. The Department of Health had a user-friendly
format with little inconsistency between the reports. The Committee found the
briefings useful in preparation for formal hearings with the two departments about
their annual reports.
MINUTES
In the absence of the regular Chairperson, the Committee elected Mr B J Tolo
(ANC, Mpumalanga) to act as Chairperson for the duration of the meeting.
The Chairperson opened the meeting by welcoming everyone present and commenting
that he should not always be elected as acting Chairperson as he was sure
others could do as well or better and should share the responsibility.
The Chairperson expressed apologies for Ms J M Masilo (ANC, North West), Ms F
Mazibuko (ANC, Gauteng) and Ms S Chen (DA, Gauteng) who were all away, and Ms A
Qikani (UDM, Eastern Cape) and Mr T S Setona (ANC, Free State) who were off
sick. He said that in future they should be able to read the Annual Reports
prior to meeting about it. It limits their ability to engage productively if
the report has not been read. The meeting should have been postponed until they
had read it for analysis and so that important issues could be flagged for
meaningful questions.
Mr M A Sulliman (ANC, Northern Cape) said that the Committee had a legal
obligation to discuss reports but cannot as they only received them minutes
before meetings.
The Chairperson responded that they would discuss the Annual Report with the
Department at a later date. This meeting was to hear a briefing from the
parliamentary researchers about the report.
Presentation
by Parliamentary Researcher on Health Annual Report
Ms B Makani-Mansomi (Parliamentary Researcher) presented her analysis of the
Department of Health’s Annual Report. She commented that the format of the
report makes it a good tool to help the Committee with their oversight
function. There were a few structural changes to programs within the Department
and a new program for human resources was added. She highlighted the importance
of keeping the format of all Department reports identical so that meaningful
comparisons can be made between the initial plans and the outcomes. She
speculated that the Department had missed so many of their deadlines because of
over-ambitious timelines at the planning stage of programs. In summary, the
Department performed well in areas that were highlighted by the President but
not as well in other areas. There are problems at a policy level.
Discussion
The Chairperson asked what the acceptable variance in Department spending is
according to Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) guidelines.
Ms Makani-Mansomi replied that under spending was never acceptable.
The Chairperson asked what the difference between under-spending and savings
was.
Ms Makani-Mansomi replied that savings are often a way of masking
under-spending, but it is possible in some instances like in Program 4. She
further said that there had been no information on the spending of conditional
grants until that morning, which accounts for its absence in her report.
The Chairperson asked if the provinces are spending as they should, as it was
important to Select Committees. Fiscal dumping and lack of capacity was a
problem. Was it possible to get the spending trends before the Committee meets
with the Department?
Ms Makani-Mansomi said that she would forward a report on provincial spending
to the Committee.
The Chairperson clarified that the Committee would not meet the Department in
2006 so there was not a tight deadline.
Ms Makani-Mansomi continued her presentation saying that the Department of
Health had received a qualified Audit Report for the third year in a row. She
outlined what questions would be important for the Committee to ask the
Department.
The Chairperson thanked her and said her analysis was very good and highlighted
all the issues.
Presentation
by Parliamentary Researcher on Social Development Annual Report
Mr F Abrahams (Parliament Researcher) presented his analysis of the
Annual Report of the Department of Social Development. He apologised for his
report excluding one program and promised to send a complete report as soon as
possible. He identified high staff turnover and high vacancy levels as the
biggest challenge in the department. The SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) had
been established to handle social security grants. This created challenges as
it drew capacity away from the Department. The report was good but lacked
clarity in the reporting outputs. Public access to documents and information
from the Department was poor.
The Chairperson asked if the Department took on interns.
Mr Abrahams said that he did not know and that it was not mentioned in the
report.
The Chairperson said that Cabinet had decided that every Department must have
interns and it was thus important to find out. Departments usually pay interns
what they like and there is no regulation of this. The Committee needed this
information.
Mr Abrahams said that there was no overarching social security plan in the
Department and that this was a clear weakness. There was a problem with
comparing the outcomes with the Strategic Plan. The Annual Report does not give
information about how they addressed problems on the ground. Attention is still
needed to those provinces that did not have regional offices.
Mr Sulliman asked whether ‘stricter controls’ in the Free State being the cause
of low spending implied that other provinces did not have strict control. He
said that the wording of reports should be very specific so as not to be
misleading.
The Chairperson clarified that the controls must be in place, but it was a
problem if the Department underspent.
Mr Abrahams pointed out that the reasons for underspending were provided in the
report.
The Chairperson clarified that the question should go to the Department and not
to Mr Abrahams.
Mr Abrahams said that the assessment tools differed between provinces even
though there are standards in place. It is easier in some provinces to get
grants.
The Chairperson said that they must ask the Department if it was right to have
such inconsistencies.
Mr Abrahams continued that the reporting style is unclear. He pointed out where
the Department made inconsistent points.
Ms Lamoela asked for clarity on spending by Mpumalanga.
Mr Abrahams explained that Mpumalanga had spent all the grant money but had
under spent the administration money for grants.
The Chairperson said that they needed the complete reports and that for Home
Affairs before Parliament rises. Members must read the reports to ensure that
the researchers’ analysis is correct.
Committee
business
The minutes for 12 and 19 September and 11 and 17 October 2006 were accepted.
The Chairperson said that the report from the oversight visit to the Western
Cape had been adopted but the Committee needed to decide whether they should
debate the report. It would be futile to schedule a debate for the next year as
it would then be over a year since the oversight visit. There was only one week
left as the Committee would be away in the Free State in the following week.
The Chairperson said that the debate would not affect the implementation
anyway. Questions in the house could have the same affect. The report then goes
back to the provinces. The Committee’s recommendations are not instructions to
the executive.
Ms J N Vilakazi (IFP, KwaZulu-Natal) said that they should highlight the issues
in the statement to mitigate the problem of time.
The Chairperson said that they still had to pass a Bill by the end of the year
and this may require public hearings and consultation with the Department. They
should submit a statement if everyone agreed.
Mr J O Thlagale (UCDP, North West) said that the program is set for the next
two weeks. Even if they would like to debate the report, he did not think the
program can be changed.
The Chairperson suggested that he would make a ten-minute statement if a slot
in the program could be found. The Committee agreed to this.
The meeting was adjourned.
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