Mining Qualifications Authority Annual Report 2006/7: briefing

ECONOMIC AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
17 October 2007
MINING QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY ANNUAL REPORT 2006/7: BRIEFING

Acting Chairperson: Ms N Ntwanambi (ANC, Western Cape)

Documents handed out:
Mining Qualifications Authority Annual Report 2006-2007
Mining Qualifications Authority Presentation [Part 1] & [Part 2]

Audio recording of meeting

SUMMARY
The Mining Qualifications Authority briefed the Committee on its mandate and achievements, noting that it as set up on the recommendation of a Commission of Enquiry in 1996 to try to improve standards in the mining industry. Various learning materials were developed in terms of its mandate under its governing Acts, which catered for different levels and sectors. Achievements of the MQA included standards generation, qualifications and unit standard registration. Several of the specific training programmes were detailed, with breakdown tables given across the programmes, learners and provinces. Some of the major challenges faced by the organisation related to the registration of people in the ABET programme, the difficulties in recruiting more women and redressing gender imbalances, and the present state of the mining industry and the mineral beneficiation programme, on which the government had not given a concise direction on the way forward.

Members asked questions on the gender representation at Board and training levels, provincial representation, investment in only four major banks, employment of graduates after training, and the relationship with the Chamber of Mines and with various sub-contractors. The criteria for learnerships and the qualifications of assessors and moderators were clarified, and further information was sought on the provincial breakdown and the ex-miners who had been trained.
Specific components of the learnership courses support of broad based black economic empowerment, inclusion of people with disabilities, and mineral beneficiation were also addressed. The legal challenges described in the Annual Report were explained, and it was also clarified that there was a register of assets. 

MINUTES
Briefing by the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) on the Annual Report for 2006/2007
Mr Livhu Nengovhela, Chief Executive officer, MQA, noted that the purpose for the establishment of the MQA, following the recommendations of a commission of enquiry into mining accidents in 1996, was to ensure that proper standards were met in the mining sector. Its mandate in terms of the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996 was therefore to ensure appropriate standards were registered under the mining and minerals industry. The MQA had authority to educate and train persons under the Skills Development Act of 1998 as a core function. Additionally it had a mandate of Quality assurance under the SAQA Act of 1995 and accredited training providers.

A further mandate related to collection of levies by the MQA. These were managed through the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and channelled to the Department of Labour (DOL) for distribution. Projects undertaken by the MQA were determined under the National Skills Development Strategy II (NSDS) and the Mining Charter Support Strategy (MCSS).He stated that it had a tripartite governance structure, with a fifteen-member Board, of whom five were from the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), five from the DOL, and five from employer representatives. The Board had several standing committees, including one responsible for mining health, one responsible for training programmes and the Audit Committee, for internal checks and balances.

There were about 450 000 employees in the mining sector, with gold mining accounting for 37% and diamond processing for 0.3%. The geographical spread was outlined. Lower numbers of women in the industry was something to be addressed in transformation of the industry, and women were slowly becoming involved in the technical aspects of the industry.

Mr Nengovhela noted the entrance level for learnerships, which affected employment trends, and noted that the Mining Charter support linked the MQA’s projects in many ways. The income of the MQA was dependent on Skills Development Levies, which had increased to R378 million in 2006/07, despite a decline in gold mining industry. Mandatory grants, which comprised 50% of the income, were paid to the industry upon submission of workplace skills programmes and annual trading reports. Approval was given in the last year for  R154 million expenditure. The MQA received a clean audit from the Auditor General (AG).

Mr Nengovhela highlighted the flagship courses, as well as smaller projects such as retraining of ex mineworkers and Executive Preparation programmes intended to assist people interested in mining who hade no technical skills.

The achievements of the MQA included generation of standards, and the numbers trained were tabled. The target was training of 2 236 learners by March 2007, the majority in the artisan programmes. Skills programmes were tailored to address critical skills, for instance mining health safety. He noted that scarce artisan skills could be trained up using the learnership programmes and prior training was recognised. He conceded that adult basic education training (ABET) was a major challenge, but this was being investigated by the industry.

The projects and grants had the potential to benefit different levels and sectors, including small and micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs). District municipalities partnerships aimed to identify and support skills development needs of unemployed mineworkers. Training of small scale miners was beneficial to the industry, as they would then tend to proceed to legal mining, instead of illegal mining. Additional funding would be needed to train more graduates. There were still few role models for black students, as most of the industry’s successful players were still white.  Grants to fund mining and minerals-related Further Education and Training (FET) colleges had been given. 

Mr Nengovhela  tabled the provincial breakdown of the registered attendance, bursaries and practical training, accredited providers, registered assessors and moderators, learners in ABET training, skills programmes, learnerships, apprenticeships and graduates. Graphs also showed  small scale miners, minerals beneficiation project, project management for women in mining, ex-mine workers and mining-related FETs. It was hoped to increase the numbers with better funding.
 
Discussion
The Chairperson noted that there was a gender bias towards males in the Board, which she found disappointing, given the MQA’s contention that the organisation was striving for equitable representation. She requested that MQA should look into having at least two women represented on the board.

Ms Pessy Mnisi, Policy Developer, MQA Board, noted that through the intervention of the Minister two women had been appointed to the board.

Ms Jay Moodley, Manager: Standards Generating Body, MQA noted that the photos included in the annual report did not reflect equitable representation and stated that the reports would in future reflect a better composition.

The Chairperson noted that the presentation seemed to suggest that the MQA focused only on the Nelson Mandela municipality of the Eastern Cape. She asked why the organisation did not concentrate on other parts of the Eastern Cape, for instance, the rural areas.

Mr Nengovhela noted that there were various projects being carried out in the OR Tambo municipalitiy areas of Eastern Cape.

The Chairperson requested why the organisation did not invest in other smaller banks that would benefit people in the rural areas, and only invested in the four major banks.

Mr Mfundo Mdingi, Accounting Officer, MQA, noted that the mandate to invest in the four major banks was determined by the regulations imposed on the MQA, which set out the banks in which investments could be made.

The Chairperson noted with concern that the training of women related to areas such as bead weaving and pottery, and wanted to know whether there were no other fields that they would be trained in.

Mr Nengovhela said that it was true that the training of women was currently focused mainly on fields such as bead weaving and pottery but noted that women were also being trained in other areas, for example diamond processing.

The Chairperson sought to find out, despite the challenges faced by the MQA on the graduate training programme, whether MQA was keen on taking on trained graduates.

Mr Nengovehele stated that the organisation employed most of the graduates that had gone through the learnership programmes, with some being taken by other institutions and organisations.

Mr Z Kolweni (ANC, North-West) asked whether the projects undertaken by the MQA covered his constituency.

Mr Nengovhela noted that the organisation had projects in all the various provinces represented by the Committee.

Mr Kolweni asked further to be informed of the nature of the relationship between the Chamber of mines and the MQA.

Mr Nengovhela stated that the one of the members of the board was from the Chamber of Mines.

Mr Kolweni enquired about bursaries.

Mr Nengovhela responded that the MQA was not providing bursaries at the primary, or high school level but was focused on the higher level. This was partly because of limited resources and because it would also contradict government policies, stating that the goal was to actually provide free education at that level.

Mr Kolweni asked why the MQA concentrated on training graduates instead of introducing the training programmes in the tertiary institutions.

Mr Nengovhela stated that the focus of the training was on young unemployed graduates who would be taken through the graduate training programme, so that they could be equipped with technical skills with respect to mining. 

Mr Kolweni asked if the same standards and programs which where mentioned by the MQA where also applied by the various subcontractors.

Mr Nengovhela responded that the MQA is only providing the base for learnership programs but cannot force the subcontractors to submit to those programs. He agreed that those are loopholes for some companies but there are also subcontractors that do participate in the skill development programs.

Mr Nengovhela was of the view that the involvement of subcontractors in the training programmes as dependant on their interest to be trained. However he noted that since most employers required the people they employed to conform to the standards set by the MQA, these subcontractors were subjected to training.

Mr Kolweni asked to be informed of the criteria of enrolment of the learnership programme.

Mr Nengovhela noted the minimum requirements for the learnership programmes were determined by the employers. The first step for inclusion in the learnership programme was to find an employer who was willing to employ a learner. The MQA then registered those persons identified by the employer.

Ms M Themba (ANC, Mpumalanga) noted with respect to the assessors and moderators that there seemed to be no equitable representation, with few women. She asked for the criteria used to ensure involvement of both females and males.

Mr Nengovhela noted that the standards set for the qualification of assessors and moderators were high and could not be compromised. The gender representation would depend on whether the persons met the qualifications. There were steps to involve more women.

Ms Themba noted the breakdown of participation in the provinces - for example, ex-miners in the District Municipality - was not precise, as it did not give information on who the relevant people were, such as would enable Members to interact with the beneficiaries and identify whether the training was reaching ex-miners.

Mr Nengovhela stated that in future the organisation would give detailed reports on the persons that had benefited from the projects within the various provinces.  

Ms Themba asked what happened if the organisation had planned, for instance, to train 80 ex-miners, and instead trained 40.

Mr Nengovhela noted that the report reflected projects that were ongoing, and the training of the ex-miners, small scale miners was proceeding as planned.

Ms B Matlhoahela (ID, Northern Cape), noted that there was mention of the inclusion of maths and science in the learnership programmes. She asked how the MQA promoted maths and science in ABET to enable the trainees to acquire technical skills as opposed to skills that would only allow them to work as labourers.

Ms Moodley noted that maths and science was taught in ABET level 1,2,3 & 4 as part of the literacy programme, to enable persons acquire technical skills.

Ms Matlhoahela asked whether the MQA trained the miners on global warming.

Mr Vijay Nundlall, Chief Director, Specialist Unit, DME, noted that the organisation trained miners on environmental pollution, and the green house effect, so that this programme covered global warming.

Ms Matlhoahela wanted a clarification of what was meant by transition of the unemployed to employment.

Ms Moodley clarified that this indicated that the organisation trained retrenched persons and ex-miners, after which they acquired new employment based on their new skills. 

Ms Matlhoahela asked whether land owners whose properties had rich minerals were trained on mining.

Ms Matlhoahela asked whether the organisation had supported broad based black economic empowerment during the year.

Ms Matlhoahela asked whether there was a criterion for the selection of persons to benefit from the training programme, taking into consideration gender and the youth.

Mr Nengovhela noted that the majority of the persons trained were the youth and that the organisation had supported black empowerment, as seen from the figures on the participation in the provinces, where training was predominantly for black people.

Mr D Gamede (ANC, Kwazulu Natal) asked whether there was inclusion of people with disabilities.

Mr Nengovhela  noted that there were various programmes undertaken by the MQA that targeted persons with disabilities, especially those who had been rendered disabled in their employment within the mining industry.

Mr Gamede asked to be informed of the plan of the MQA with respect to the mineral beneficiation.

Mr Nengovhela  stated that the issue of mineral beneficiation was a major challenge to the organisation. Mr Nengovhela noted that there were support structures put in place by the MQA, but that these were done through a piecemeal method, awaiting the precise directive of the government.

Mr Gamede requested to be informed what happened if the members of the board did not attend the meetings instigated by the Auditor General, as there was mention of non-attendance of some members in the annual report.

Mr Nengovhela stated that the comment about the non-attendance of some members at meetings would be brought to the attention of those members.

Mr Gamede asked what led to the legal actions against MQA by service providers.

Mr Nengovhela noted that the legal actions arose out of the indirect commitment of MQA in the ABET programme and mandatory grants. MQA was at a stage facing serious financial limitations and would not provide the prerequisite grants. However there were ongoing negotiations to settle these disputes. 

Mr Gamede asked whether the organisation had a register of assets, whether the organisation had any staff debtors who were advanced loans for purposes of training and how the organisation was reimbursed.

Mr Mdingi noted that MQA had a register for their assets, and added that the Auditor General’s report stated that there was no requirement for the adjustment of the assets in the current or prior periods. Mr Mdingi noted further that the organisation did not give loans to its employees for training purposes, but only loans to assist them during financial difficulties. These loans were repaid to the organisation through the deduction of a certain percentage of the staff salary.

Mr Mdingi clarified that the MQA was a collecting agency receiving the revenue from the Department of Labour. Therefore the MQA was not in a position to know who had collected what. He also noted that the accounting policies of SETAs had changed in general and referred to page 65 of the Annual Report stating that SETAs were not responsible for revenue beyond the information they are getting from the Department of Labour. He added that irregular expenditure was another difficulty, which must be seen in the context of grant regulations. MQA had not in fact exceeded its administrative expenses, but because of the way the grant regulations had been set up, this point was open to differing interpretations.

Mr Gamede asked whether there were committees that were responsible for the evaluation of the organisation.

Mr Nengovhela confirmed that MQA had several committees that evaluated the duties of the MQA to ensure checks and balance in the organisation, and that these committees worked independently.

Mr J Sibiya (ANC, Limpopo) asked about the nature of the partnership between the District Municipalities and the MQA in identifying ex-miners. He noted that he was not aware of such a relationship in his area and requested to be informed of the persons with whom the organisation interacted, as he would like to get feedback from the identified individuals.

Mr Nengovhela noted that there were several projects being undertaken in the Limpopo constituency with the District Municipalities.

Mr Sibiya asked what factors led to the discontinuation of trainers with respect to the ABET programme, as very few of them completed the ABET 4 stage, and whether MQA had a backup to counter this.

Mr Nengovhela stated that one of the major challenges of the ABET programme was the number of dropouts. He noted that NQA was trying to curb this problem by recruiting more people in the ABET programme to ensure that a substantial number of them finished the programme.

The Chairperson asked whether MQA undertook any projects in the Western Cape, especially in Cape Town with respect to diamond companies. Her concern was that when she and other members of the committee visited a company in Cape Town she noted that there were only two black people, who seemed to have been token employees for purposes of the members’ visit.

Mr Nengovhela noted that most employees who were employed by the private companies would undergo the training programmes through private funding from the companies, and therefore the organisation could not control the employment policies of such companies.

The meeting was adjourned.