COMMITTEE
REPORT ON APPROPRIATION BILL [B2-2007]
Introduction
The Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of the Quality of Life
and Status of Women, having considered the Appropriation Bill and the
associated budget votes, reports that it has concluded its deliberations
thereon.
This year, as in previous years, the Joint Monitoring Committee has focused its
attention on the three issues of poverty, gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS.
The Committee has done so because these are all issues that affect large
numbers of South African women, and - in particular - tend to affect those who
are most disadvantaged. We focus this year, in particular, on the role of
Government's Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
in addressing poverty and HIV 1 AIDS-related care, and the role of the
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development in dealing with
gender-based violence. We touch, in addition, on some other Government
activities and allocations.
This year the Committee's ongoing focus mirrors some of the main themes of the
President's recent State of the Nation Address. In particular, the President emphasised the need to overcome poverty and all its 'ugly
and repulsive' manifestations and consequences. Similarly, he emphasised the importance of addressing crime, within which
the Committee focuses on gender-based violence.
Some indicators of the ongoing nature of poverty and crime
The most recently released official statistics on
crime highlight why the emphasis on gender-based violence is necessary. The
website of the South African Police Service provides the figures for reported
rape over the period April 2001 to March 2006. For the most recent year,
2005/06, a total of 54 926 rapes were reported. This gives an average of more
than 150 reported rapes per day, with many more unreported.
The website states that this figure yields a crime rate of 117,1 rapes per 100 000 members of the population. Rape is,
however, currently defined to apply only to women and girls, and only about
half of the population is female. The crime rate for rape is thus, in fact,
almost twice as high as this if we consider only those who can be victims. The
number of reported rapes decreased very slightly between 2004/05 and
2005/06, but the number in 2005/06 was higher than in any other year. The
number of rapes in
In terms of poverty, Minister Manuel's budget speech this year notes that
the economy continued to grow at a 'robust pace' of 4,9% in 2006. Further,
non-agricultural (formal) employment grew by over 3% in the first nine months
of 2006. The Minister notes, however, that 'more work needs to be done' in a
number of areas if we are to improve the health and growth rate of the economy.
The Committee suggests to the Minister that at least one important item - HIV
and AIDS - is missing from his list. When significant numbers of the
economically active population are ill, this affects productivity of those who
are ill, as well as those (mostly women) who must care for them. The epidemic
also requires additional spending by Government, families and individuals on
health care, resulting in 'wastage' of part of the benefits of economic growth.
Further, despite the growth rate achieved to date, Statistics South Africa's labour force survey of September 2006 found that the female
unemployment rate was 31,7%, compared to 22,6% for men. The unemployment rate
for African women was 37,1 %.
The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is
Government's flagship programme for
Organisation of report
To facilitate engagement with the different
departments, we have organised this year's report
according to the different votes. We have looked, in particular, at the votes
for Public Works, Health, Social Development, and Justice and Constitutional
Development. We comment in a separate report on V ote1: Presidency, which
includes provision for the Office on the Status of Women.
We recognise that in many of the areas we are
interested in, national Government's role is mainly policy, coordination and
oversight. We are collaborating with our sister committees in the provincial
legislatures to ensure that the questions we are asking are repeated at the
provincial, 'delivery' level.
Adequacy of information provided
Last year we commended the Treasury and individual departments on the
amount of information provided in the budget books. We noted, however, that the
potential of
This year we must repeat this comment. We must also note that in respect of our
particular topics of interest, we were often disappointed in the paucity of
information provided. Our task was made more difficult by the fact that some of
the key departments had reorganised the programmes that make up their budget. In some cases, items
that were previously separately specified are now 'lumped' together with other
items, so that we no longer can see what is happening in respect of our
particular items of interest.
In order to find more information, we have sometimes turned to the annual
reports of departments. These often provide more detail than the budget
documents, especially on delivery. We are concerned, however, that these annual
reports are not always as readily available as they should be. We also think
that there could be a closer link between what is reported in the annual reports
and budgets. We give some examples of these weaknesses below.
The Budget Votes
Budget Vote
6: Public Works
The Department of Public Works has overall responsibility for the Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP). In addition, it bears
specific responsibility for implementation of the EPWP in construction and
related areas.
The budget vote is disappointingly reticent about this area of the Department's
work. The strategic overview acknowledges that the EPWP is meant to become the
'government leader in the creation of job opportunities', but states only that
the department has established partnerships with state-owned enterprises and
other spheres of government to scale up Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) interventions. It does not mention partnerships
within its own sphere of government e.g. with the Departments of Social
Development, Education and Health, which bear responsibility for the social
sector EPWPs.
Programme 3 is the National Public Works Programme. This includes a sub-programme
for the Expanded Public Works Programme as well as a programme for Community-based Public Works. The latter was,
however, given its last allocation in 2003/04; while the first allocation for
the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) was in
2004/05. In effect, then, it seems that the EPWP replaced the Community-based
Public Works programme in the Public Works budget.
The narrative under service delivery is again disappointingly short. It states
that the overall objective of the EPWP is to create additional work
opportunities together with training for at least one million people over the
five-year period ending in 2009. It states that at least 40% of the
beneficiaries must be women, 30% youth, and 2% disabled. It says that by the
end of the second year, more than 435300 'gross' work opportunities had been
created, with an overall cost of R5,7 billion, of
which Rl,5 billion constituted wages.
There are several elements that worry the Committee here.
Firstly, we are concerned about the percentage targets quoted. These
percentages differ from those in the Code of Good Practice for Special Public
Works which was formally agreed to by the three social partners (Government,
business and labour) in the National Economic,
Development and Labour Council and published in
January 2002. This code sets targets of 60% for women, 20% for youth (aged
18-24 years) and 2% for people with disabilities. The Department's view also
seems to be at odds with that of Minister Manuel, who states in this year's
budget speech that the Expanded Public Works Programme
(EPWP) has created about 300 000 work opportunities since it began, 'mainly in
rural areas and mainly for women'. The 'mainly for women' contradicts a 40%
target.
Secondly, we need clarity as to what is meant by 'gross' work opportunities?
And how do we marry the 300 000 work opportunities reported by the Minister of
Finance with the significantly higher 435300 reported by the Department? What
is the average length of these opportunities? Do these opportunities include or
exclude the 'learnerships', which are being counted
as EPWP delivery in areas such as HCBC and ECD?
Thirdly, why is only Rl, 5 billion of the R5,7 billion (i.e. only just over a quarter) reaching
beneficiaries in the form of wages? What is the rest of the money being used
for? And how much of the R5,7 billion is 'new' money
that would not have been spent on these investments if there had not been an
Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)?
Fourth, how can we term this programme 'expanded'
when the total amount allocated over the three year period 2007/08-2009/10
(R251 ,64m) is less than the amount allocated to the Community-based Public
Works Programme for a single year, 2003/04?
The Committee understands that much of the EPWP is being achieved through
existing areas of government activity. There are thus not necessarily new and
separate budget allocations for most of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). For monitoring and reporting purposes,
however, we feel that it is important that Government details what is included
when it reports 300 000 or 435300 (new?) work opportunities, whether this is
funded through existing or new special allocations, and who (women or men,
young or old, disabled or not) are benefiting.
The annual report for 2005/06 of the Department of Public Works provides useful
additional information. But it also raises some further questions. In
particular, on page 16, the report notes Cabinet's intention to increase the
'scale and impact' of Expanded Public Works Programme
(EPWP). It is evidence of this intention that we hoped to find in the 2007/08
budget.
The annual report records a total of 208 898 'net' jobs created over the
twelve-month period. Only 18 308 of these jobs are recorded in the social
sector, which is the Committee's area of special interest. The report states
that 500 community ECD sites have been subsidised,
allowing an additional 150 000 children aged 0-4 years to benefit from
subsidies. It is not clear if the money for these subsidies is counted as part
of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) or
separately, as the Department of Social Development was subsidising
some early childhood development (ECD) provision before the EPWP was
established.
In the area of home and community based care (HCBC), the report states that 62
445 caregivers were providing HCBC services nationally, and more than 15 000
received stipends and related training. These numbers are again confusing given
that the same report records only 18 308 'jobs' in the social sector as a
whole. It seems that the
Department of Public Works may also here be reporting on some activities that
are beyond the EPWP, and/or would have happened even had this programme not been in place.
The report states that an 'additional' amount of R4,2bn
was allocated to province as part of their equitable share to expand early
childhood development (ECD) and home and community based care (HCBC) programmes. It notes, however, that some provinces have not
used the additional funding for this purpose. This is something we would have
liked to see discussed in the budget review of performance, including a
strategy to avoid recurrence of the problem in future.
Budget Vote 14: Education
This vote is of potential interest to the Committee because Education is
responsible for the 'reception' year of ECD. There is, however, very little
mention of early childhood development (ECD) in the Education vote. The
strategic overview states that the Department, together with Social
Development, finalised an integrated plan on ECD at
the end of 2005 and implemented this plan in 2006. No further detail is
provided on actual delivery. Programme 2: System
Planning and Monitoring has, as a target, that a funding policy for Grade R
should be established by March 2008. We could find no further mention of ECD,
let alone Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
Budget Vote 15: Health
The Department of Health's vote reports a pleasing expansion in respect of
public health facilities offering voluntary counseling and testing and
prevention of mother to child transmission. We have also seen progress in
provision of anti-retroviral therapy through the public health system. There
is, however, very little written in the vote about home and community based
care (HCBC).
Programme 2: Strategic Health Programmes
contains the HIV and Aids sub-programmes of the
Department of Health. The allocation to this sub-programme
is significant, at R2,4bn in 2007/08, and is expected
to increase at a rate far higher than inflation to R3,2bn in 2009/10.
The discussion of recent outputs for this programme
has no mention of HCBC. Similarly, there are no measures/indicators in respect
of HCBC. The economic classification of the budget allocations shows an amount
of R55,37m going to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in respect of HI V and Aids in
2007/08. This amount increases by only 5% in each of the following two years.
The amount is presumably intended to provide funding to NGOs providing home and
community based care (HCBC) as well as other HIV/AIDS-related services. Yet the
total amount is only slightly above the R53,0m
allocated to a single NGO, 10veLife, for 2007/08, while
HCBC is mentioned under Programme 4: Human Resources.
Firstly, the Department reports that it has collaborated with the Department of
Social Development in developing a new policy on community caregivers. The
policy focuses on standardisation of training programmes, accreditation systems and career paths. The
section on recent outputs also states that by September 2006, 60% of all health
sub-districts had home and community based care (HCBC) programmes
and that in 2005/06, 7 795 caregivers had been trained in HCBC It does not
state whether this was done as part of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). It also does not say if Government is
assisting through provision of stipends for the caregivers. And it does not say
when these services will be extended to the 40% of sub-districts that do not as
yet have them. The latter question is of particular importance as HIV and AIDS
has not spared any part of our country.
Budget Vote 17: Social Development
Within this vote, Programme 3: Policy
Development, Review and Implementation Support for Welfare Services is the most important programme
for the Committee's purposes. HIV and Aids is one of the twelve sub-programmes, and receives the second largest allocation, at
R58,22m in R2007/08. This increases to R65,47m in 2009/10. The vote states that this sub-programme monitors and facilitates social welfare services
for those affected by HIV and Aids.
Under recent outputs, the vote states that a draft community-based care and
support services model has been developed and that consultations are taking
place with provinces and other stakeholders. The document also reports research
into costs and process indicators for home and community based care (HCBC), finalisation of a draft report on norms and standards, an
audit of caregivers, and a situational analysis and needs assessment of HCBC programmes. Finally, the document reports that the
Department has embarked on a capacity building programme
in four provinces (
In terms of planned outputs, the Department seems to have very conservative
targets. It hopes in the next year/s that:
No
statistics are provided as to the actual number of caregivers trained or
provided with subsidies over the last year. We understand that the national
Department is primarily responsible for policy and systems. This may partly
explain the focus on these elements rather than delivery. We will work with our
sister committees in the provincial legislatures to find out more about actual
delivery. We would, however, also hope that in future years the national
Department sees its coordination role as involving responsibility for reporting
on overall delivery and not just systems.
Under Programme 5: Strategy and Governance the budget
document reports the establishment of the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) social sector cluster task team. We could,
however, find no mention of early childhood development (ECD) in the
Department's vote. Our search was complicated by the fact that the Department
has reorganised its budget structure several times
over recent years.
As for other Departments, the Social Development annual report provides some
further information. Under the Children, Families and Youth Development programme (which no longer exists in the current
structure), the report notes the development, together with other departments,
of an integrated plan for ECD. It suggests that this will necessitate an
increase in subsidy for needy young children in registered ECD sites together with
an expansion of the number of young children in these sites. Both of these
would require additional funds, which we would have liked to see recorded in
the budget for 2007/08. From the report, it seems that only a small proportion
of sites were receiving subsidies during 2005/06.
In respect of home and community based care (HCBC), the report notes that 1 058
caregivers were trained on various aspects relating to care and support for
people with HIV and Aids and 2 988 caregivers received stipends. This is a drop
in the ocean when the number of infected people who have progressed to the
stage of being AIDS sick, and thus require intensive care, is estimated at
around 70 000 in 2007.
The annual report also notes that the strategic framework for implementation of
national development programmes, including Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP), would only be finalised in March 2007 because of delay with appointment
of service provider to conduct the socio-economic study. As in last year's
report, we are concerned that with the 2009 five-year mark of the Expanded
Public Works Programme (EPWP) fast approaching, the
social sector EPWP is still busy developing frameworks and guidelines.
Budget Vote 22: Justice and Constitutional Development
This vote has five programmes, and the Committee
has a particular interest in three of them, namely Court Services, National
Prosecuting Authority, and Auxiliary and Associated Services. These three programmes are by far the largest in monetary terms in the
Department's budget.
Court Services consists of 11 sub-programmes. The
Committee is pleased to see ongoing significant increases in the amounts
allocated to the Family Advocate, which ensures that children are provided for
adequately in divorce and other related matters. The Family Advocate is of
special interest to the Committee because it is usually women who bear the main
responsibility for children's care and welfare after divorce, and - in the
absence of adequate provision by former husbands - it is also women who bear
the financial burden. The Family Advocate is thus also of interest from a
poverty perspective.
This year's allocation for the Family Advocate, at R72,31m,
constitutes a 27% increase on last year's. Further increases of 8% and 6%
respectively are expected in the next two years. The narrative explains that
the extra money will be used for appointing additional family advocates and
family counselors. During the apartheid years, family advocates were only used
for divorces which related to civil marriages and which took place in the
divorce courts, and excluded most black divorces. Today, with changes in the
law, the family advocate deals with a much broader
range and larger number of divorces.
Both past and planned delivery statistics of the Family Advocate are
impressive. In 2005/06, the Family Advocate scrutinised
38 422 documents compared to the target of 36000, and finalised
6 842 enquiries compared to a target of 6000. For 2007/08 the Family Advocate
has set itself a much higher target of76 000 documents and 12 000 enquiries.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NP A) programme
is of interest to the Committee because it contains the Public Prosecutions
sub-programme. The latter is responsible for the specialised courts, including the sexual offences courts.
These are, however, hardly mentioned beyond noting that they met the target of
a conviction rate of 70%, with a similar target set for 2007/08.
There is more detail on the Sexual Offences & Community Affairs Unit (SOCA)
of the NPA in the Authority's annual report. This report explains that SOCA was
established through presidential proclamation in 1999 with the specific purpose
of dealing with victimisation of women and children.
Its role includes coordinating the establishment of special courts for sexual
offences. Its brief is also to focus on domestic violence, maintenance, and
child offenders.
The annual report records the establishment of 14 sexual offences courts in
2005/06, bringing the total to 67. The service delivery performance table
notes, however, that about 25 more such courts are required. Elsewhere the
report suggests that there will be a total of 100 such courts in 2006.
Five Thutuzela Care Centres
were established in 2005/06, bringing the total to ten. These Centres allow services of different departments to be
brought together in one place, and so contribute to increased conviction rates
as well as better service for victims/survivors. The report records that
'blueprint' courts have an average conviction rate of 72% for sexual offences,
compared to 68% for other courts. The annual report suggests that a further
eight sexual offences courts will be established in 2006.
Given this past progress, together with the open acknowledgement of the need
for further action, the Committee is concerned at the silence of the budget
document.
Programme 5: Auxiliary and Associated Services of
Vote 22 includes provision for the Commission on
Gender Equality as well as for the Legal Aid Board. The vote notes the
establishment by the Commission of provincial resource centres
in
The section on the Legal Aid Board, as in previous years, lists 'women'... 'particularly in divorce, maintenance and domestic violence
cases' in a list of various priority groups. It does not state what assistance
it has provided for each of these priority groups and issues. Its targets do
not specify priority groups. The Committee places high importance on the work
of the Board. It is therefore pleased that its budget is increasing at a rate
well beyond inflation. The Committee would, however, be more comfortable if it
knew to what extent these funds are being directed at those most in need and,
in particular, at gender-relevant civil cases.
The Department's vote seems to say nothing about another area of particular
interest to the Committee which we have highlighted in previous years, namely
maintenance. The annual report, in contrast, elaborates on activities in this
area at some length. It records the launch of Operation Isondlo
in December 2005 and its 'substantial successes' in awareness raising,
tracing of maintenance defaulters, and payment of money in arrears. It records
the establishment of positions for, and appointment of, 427 maintenance clerks,
86 qualified maintenance officers, 145 maintenance investigators, and 100 legal
interns. It states that this new person power has contributed to decreasing the
delay in finalising maintenance matters from up to a
year to about three months. This should have been of enormous benefit to the
many women and children who depend on this system. The report also notes the
establishment of a task team within Court Services to examine the systemic
problems surrounding maintenance and to come up with solutions. It notes that
the Chief Directorate: Vulnerable Groups was finalising
guidelines for the development of user-friendly forms for maintenance. The
Committee is obviously very pleased with these developments. Our concern is why
they get no mention in this year's budget, which will determine whether the
improved situation continues.
The Department's vote is also silent on the issue of domestic violence. Here,
again, the annual report provides more information. The information on domestic
violence is, however, not as concrete as that provided in respect of
maintenance. Instead, it lists in general terms the allocation of funds for
training, information dissemination, and so on. It states that uniform national
guidelines for courts in addressing domestic violence have not yet been
established. The Committee is concerned that this task has taken so long. It is
also concerned that there is no mention of this in the 2007/08 budget
documents.
During 2006, the Committee received a memorandum undersigned by a large number
of organisations concerned about violence against
women. The memorandum was directed at the Committee as well as the Departments
of Justice & Constitutional Development and Safety and Security. The
memorandum called on the two departments to make the Age of Hope mentioned in the
President's 2006 State of the Nation Address a reality by taking a number of
specified steps.
The list below reflects the required steps listed in the memorandum. The
Committee was unable to see any real evidence of these steps having been
undertaken in the budget document. Nor was it able to see clear plans for them
to be done during 2007/08. The Committee will be monitoring the annual reports
to be produced by Departments in September 2007 for evidence that these steps
have been addressed. Members of the Committee will also ask about these steps
in all meetings with the relevant departments.