National Youth Commission Annual Report 2005/6: Briefing

JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF CHILDREN, YOUTH AND DISABLED PERSONS
24 August 2007
NATIONAL YOUTH COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT 2005/6: BRIEFING

Chairperson: Ms W Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC)

Documents handed out:
National Youth Commission 2005/2006 Presentation
National Youth Commission Annual Report 2006
Umsobomvu Youth Fund 2005/6 Presentation
Umsobomvu Youth fund 2005/2006 Annual Report

Audio recording of meeting

SUMMARY
The National Youth Commission addressed the Committee on the 2005/06 Annual Report. A delegation from the Czech Republic also attended the meeting. It was indicated that the Chairperson and CEO responsible for the work during the 2005/06 period were no longer holding office, and it was therefore a little difficult for the current presenters to report on that period. The activities of the Commission were outlined, which included work with the Independent Electoral Commission, monitoring legislation, setting up guidelines to establish local youth units at municipal level,  and facilitating implementation of the national youth programme. The presenters detailed the emphases of matter raised by the Auditor General and the corrective action that had been taken. The internal audit function had been contracted out, and an audit committee had been appointed. The sources of revenue were detailed and explained, and a schedule of expenses was tabled. Members pointed out that the current executives could clearly not answer for matters arising before they took office. Clarity was sought on the source of donations, and concern expressed over the high expenditure on stationery, the fact that some current initiatives and the relationship with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund had not been discussed, and the need for a broader programme with the IEC. The delegates from the Czech Republic commented that further programmes and education about prevention of AIDs would be important and education measures were being discussed between the two countries. 
 
MINUTES
The Chairperson welcomed delegates from the Senate of the Czech Republic, who were attending this meeting to gain insight into the workings of the Committee. She briefly outlined the responsibilities of the Committee to those delegates and described the Committee's work.

National Youth Commission (NYC) Briefing on 2005/6 Annual Report
Ms Nobulumko  Nkondlo, Chairperson, NYC, said that the purpose of this presentation was to introduce some issues as a precursor to the Annual Report. This was the fourth meeting with this Committee, and it was necessary to evaluate whether qualitative progress was being achieved. This meeting took place three days after the review done by the ad hoc Committee reviewing Chapter 9 institutions. The NYC would be sending a detailed report on this review. NYC welcomed the oversight role of the Committee.

NYC was currently reviewing the National Youth Development Policy Framework, which had been sent to the Committee for review and feedback. It would be useful to hold the outstanding strategic planning meeting with the Committee because it would point out the progress in terms of integration. The Annual Report now being presented dated back to 2005/6 and the Commissioners responsible for the work in that year were different from those presently in office.

Ms Nkondlo stated that the mandate of the NYC was to advise government on the challenges faced by youth at ground level, and to propose policy interventions to better the lives of the youth. The Commission believed that the youth were an asset and a resource, and strove to create an enabling environment for them to unlock their potential and grow, to the ultimate betterment of life the country..

Mr Elrico van Rooyen, Commissioner,  NYC, said that local government remained one of the key gateways in integrating youth development into the Integrated Development Plans (IDP). NYC had issued guidelines for establishing local youth units at municipal level and had held road shows. A team of officials had visited Belgium for an exchange programme in youth development and were taught how to ensure that youth matters were taken up to government. The NYC worked with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in promoting the notion of youth voting as a way of voicing their opinions to government. NYC was monitoring legislation and was reporting on progress to the Joint Monitoring Committee. There had been progress in numbers of youth units being established at local government level. A youth version of the State of the Environment had been created. In regard to policy implementation and influences, the NYC continued to play a facilitation role to ensure the national youth programme was implemented. The NYC also was looking constantly at ways to encourage the youth to be active members of the economy.

Ms Yoliswa Makhasi, Chief Executive Officer,  NYC, highlighted that the difficulty of presenting this report was that both the former CEO and former Chairperson had left the organisation when the report was drawn up. The Auditor General's report contained emphases of matter, including the absence of a fraud risk prevention plan which needed to be aligned to the risk management strategy. NYC had since rectified this by developing a fraud risk prevention plan. Another matter highlighted was that no internal audit reports were issued for this financial year.  Pricewaterhouse coopers had since been appointed to be the internal auditors as the Commission was a small organisation and did not have a separate unit to undertake the duties of internal auditors. The third issue was the that the NYC at that stage did not have an audit committee. An audit committee had been appointed in March, but was not yet operational at the time the report was drawn up. That Committee was now operational and functioning quite well. Finally, the procurement policy of the Commission was reported as not developed properly, having failed to meet certain requirements in respect of procedures for the disposal of assets.

Ms Makhasi stated that the salaries paid to commissioners and executive members were not determined by the Commission, but by law. The revenue of the NYC came from interest received and government grants from the office of the presidency. Donor funding was used to support the functions of local government. Sponsorship was received from the Department of Environmental Affairs to assist the Commission on producing a youth report on the state of the environment, and this report would be launched in September. Further  sponsorships from the office of the Premier and from the Department of Arts and Culture were mainly used for the celebrations on June 16, and Eskom also made a contribution. The total revenue received in this period was just over R17 million.

Operating expenses included advertising for vacancies and the hiring of contract work for the anniversary on 16 June, which required quite extensive expertise. Professional service costs related to matters that the NYC had to outsource in certain areas. Travelling expenses amounted to about R2.5 million as the work of the Commission involved extensive travelling and fieldwork.

Discussion
Ms Newhoudt-Druchen (ANC) asked about the donation from the Premier’s office, and requested clarity whether this had been from one office or from various offices.

Ms E Ngaleka (ANC) requested clarity on the amount given for bad debts, telephone expenses and stationery expenses. In her view excessive amounts were spent on stationery and this could not continue. She also asked for explanations for the changes in spending patterns between the previous and current years.

Mr A Madella (ANC) congratulated the Commission on their efforts. He acknowledged that this report was drawn up before the current executive team took over, and that it would not be fair to interrogate them on issues that were not their responsibility. However, it must be remembered that they were taking over an established entity, comprising both positive and negative aspects. NYC aimed to convene a youth convention. It was indicated that the summit had been delayed until the next year, and he asked for the reasons. He was pleased that the emphases of matter were dealt with

Mr M Moss (ANC) noted that NYC was not a Chapter 9 institution even though some recommendations were made during the investigations in the Chapter 9 institutions. When . the committee visited the Northern Cape and the Free State, he was interested to see the range of youth programmes being implemented there, such as the home based carers programme. He said that the NYC should talk about the quality of the services that they offered and their national programmes. He also requested that the report should mention the NYC’s relationship with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.

Mr B Mkongi (ANC) agreed with Mr Moss that the National Youth Commission was not a Chapter 9 institution, but that the ad hoc Committee had relied upon information presented by the NYC and had not called the youth affected by its work, hence that work had not really been questioned independently.  He felt this report was somewhat incomplete as did not talk about current issues such as the policy review system. The Joint Monitoring Committee was not consulted about this policy review system, and this was undermining the Committee's work. 

Mr Mkongi was concerned about the relationship between the NYC and the IEC. The report stated that this relationship was established to encourage the youth to vote. He proposed that the NYC should rather  broaden its programme with IEC and encourage students to stand as class representatives and SRC members. The programme should include nation building and canvassing with councillors in their areas, to be part of implementing changes in the communities. He lastly asked the NYC for the percentage of local units that had been launched, and whether  the municipalities were participating.

Ms Alena Paleckova, Senate of the Czech Republic, thanked the Chairperson for granting permission to participate at the meeting, which was lively and enthusiastic. She asked if the programmes implemented by the Commission included programmes around awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention, with a view to improving the economic state of the country. Treatment of HIV/AIDS was quite costly and influenced the lives of everybody else and prevention measures would allow more people to work and boost the economy. She commented that supporting education of young people was a very important element in youth sectors. The Czech Minister had been engaged in consultations in this regard with the South African President and they looked forward to further discussions around the issue.

Ms Nkondlo responded to the issue on HIV/AIDS by saying that the Commission worked with the "Abstain, Be faithful and Condomise" strategy for prevention. The NYC would work also with youth structures which included youth living with HIV to speak out and counsel. She would welcome further input on any other strategies to tackle the issue.

The meeting was adjourned.